I definitely get asked for slow cooker recipes more than anything else. As it gets colder outside the number of requests for war, comforting food just skyrockets!
This is a really great recipe that I modified to be slow cooker friendly. It’s tasty, relatively inexpensive to make, and leftovers make for a delicious soup!
In addition, Giada Laurentii’s recipe calls for a touch of bittersweet chocolate over top to really make the flavours of the dish pop. It was certainly a first for me!
Beef Short Ribs with Tagliatelle
Adapted from Everyday Italian
Ingredients:
1/2 cup smoked meat, chopped
2 1/2 pounds short ribs
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 x 14-ounce can tomatoes, whole or diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup red wine
1 pound fresh or dried tagliatelle*
4 teaspoons bittersweet chocolate, shaved
* – you can substitute fettuccine if tagliatelle is not available
Combine the onion, carrot, parsley and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely minced. Then add the tomatoes and tomato paste and pulse. Place mixture in slow cooker.
Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, and add to the crock pot. Add the smoked meat to the pot and stir. Add the rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, beef broth, and wine. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Pass the contents of the crock pot through a strainer and reserve the liquid as soup or stock for another time (freezes well). Discard the bones and fat. Shred the meat with a fork and return the beef and vegetables to the crock pot to stay warm. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes for dried pasta. Drain the pasta, add to the crock pot and stir to combine.
Transfer to serving bowls, top each bowl with 1 teaspoon of chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.
Serves: 4-6
Hanukkah is right around the corner, and I have been cooking up lots of traditional holiday dishes. I thought, though, that I’d opt for a twist on the traditional latke. These hybrid sweet potato latkes topped with some super charged sour cream make for a great combo.
Take Your Latkes To The Next Level: Kick-Ass Crispy Quinoa Cakes
If cilantro’s not your thing, try mixing it up with another fresh herb you may prefer.
Sweet Potato Latkes with Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream
Ingredients:
1/2 medium yellow onion
1/2 pound Yukon gold potato, about 1 large, peeled
1/2 pound sweet potato, about 1 medium, peeled
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch cayenne
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil
1 cup Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream (recipe below)
Preparation:
Grate the onion into a large bowl. Grate both potatoes into the same bowl, grating down the length of the potato to get long strands. Toss the potatoes with the onions as you work to keep them from discoloring.
Put potato mixture in a clean dish towel and wring out excess liquid. Toss the latke mixture with the flour, salt, and cayenne. Stir in the egg.
Heat a 1/4-inch oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Working in batches, spoon about 1/4 cup of the latke mixture into the skillet, pressing lightly to form latkes. Take care not to overcrowd the pan. Cook, turning once, until just golden, about 2 minutes per side.
Serve the latkes topped with a small dollop of Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream.
Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream:
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Combine all the ingredients except the cilantro in a medium bowl and whisk together. Stir in cilantro.
Serves: 4 to 6
Your crescents should come 4 in a tube. Stack two of the sheets together, press the dough to combine and using a ring mold and a shot glass form into donut shape. Take the cutout dough, press back together and form your second cronut. Repeat this with the last two sheets to make four cronuts in total. You can bake the cronuts on a baking sheet at 375F for about 12 minutes, flipping once half-way through. Make sure to watch them closely as they go from done to over-done fairly quickly. To fry them simply deep-fry at 350F until cooked. Again, watch them carefully as they need to cook through but you don't want to burn them either. Remove them from the fryer or oven and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate In a saucepan melt butter over low heat. Sprinkle in the flour slowly mixing constantly to incorporate. In a small bowl whisk together the Guinness, mustard, egg yolk and Worcestershire sauce. Slowly pour into the pot mixing constantly until combined. Add the cheese in and stir until combined to make a thick sauce. If you find the sauce is a bit dry you can add in some more Guinness to loosen it. If it's too runny sprinkle in a bit more flour. Split the cronuts in half and spread mayonnaise on each bottom half. Now layer on the bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato. Lastly, spread a good dollop of Irish cheese sauce on the top half of the cronut and prop that up on top of your SAMCROnut. Dig in!
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