Burgundy beef stew

I don't normally cook beef, for health reasons, red meat and all but for the last few weeks, I have been craving for beef stew, probably the result of trying the one at Cafe Rouge and being of the view that mine is better. This beef stew is one of the first recipes I tried from my French cookbook. During that time, I had a housemate E who was allergic to chicken and couldn't try most of my cooking since I normally cook chicken 80% of the time. So I made this stew for us, one day. He really liked it.

So to cook this, fry some bacon/gammon till they are brown and remove from the pan. Add stewing beef to the pan and brown on both sides. Remove from the pan when done and add in diced carrots, garlic, celery and onions. Saute till soft and add in 1 1/2 tbsp of flour. Mix well. Pour in red wine (preferably Burgundy) and add 1 tbsp of tomato puree and bouquet garni. Bring to the boil and return the meat to the pan. Add enough beef stock to cover the vegetables and simmer for 3 hours. Meanwhile, saute some mushrooms in butter till golden and add them 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time. When cooked, remove the bouquet garni and stir in some fresh parsley.

Olive oil roasted chicken with mediterranean vegetables

Our Christmas roast chicken lunch was quite a success. The chicken came out of the oven, the skin crispy and savoury, and the flesh moist and tender. I can't wait to cook this recipe for my family and friends, should they visit.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Rub the chicken all over with olive oil and season with pepper. The chicken I used today was 1.175kg. Place a lemon quarter in boiling water and cook it for around a minute. Stuff the lemon inside the bird along with a sprig of thyme and some sage leaves. Put the chicken, breast side down, in a roasting tin. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and season with salt. Turn the chicken right side up and baste with the juices from the tin. Surround the chicken with potatoes, mix well with the juices and return to the oven to continue roasting for 20 minutes. Add capsicums, (I used one yellow, one red and one orange capsicum), diced celery (2 sticks) and 6 garlic cloves (unpeeled). Drizzle more olive oil and mix in 3 sprigs of thyme and more sage leaves. Return to the oven and cook for another 30 minutes till the chicken is cooked, turning the vegetables occasionally.

Chicken tomato bake

Roast chicken meal is postponed to tomorrow lunch as per the orders of M. Instead, I modified my mom's baked rice recipe to make what I call, Chicken tomato bake. Basically, pan fry diced chicken, celery and leeks in olive oil till the vegetables are soft and the chicken is brown on both sides. Add in mushrooms and continue frying for around 2 minutes. Pour in a can of tomatoes, mix in some fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper. As is the case with baked rice, place cooked rice in a baking dish and pour in the chicken tomato mixture. Spoon in a layer of creme fraiche and sprinkle lots of cheese on top. Interestingly, we found out that if you use mild cheeses like mozzarella, you get a nice layer of melted bubbling cheese on top. But if you use medium cheeses like cheddar, you get a crispy layer of cheese. Anyway, bake in the oven at 200 degrees for around 15 minutes or till the cheese is brown.

M prefers this to the traditional baked rice as she doesn't like tinned soup. She thinks its cheating.

Farfelle with chicken and cherry tomatoes

So its Christmas eve lunch and M is busy at work. (I know its sad, we all think its sad). Left by myself, I didn't want to demean the occasion (as insignificant as it may be) by having instant noodles and also so that I can take photographs of my food in sunlight, I decided to make a proper meal. Obviously, I didn't want to mess up the kitchen especially since I am going to make roast chicken with stuffing and all for Christmas eve dinner, (M says that she will be home), the logical choice was pasta.

Place diced chicken in a bowl and mix well with diced rosemary and white wine. Season with salt and pepper. In a pan, fry onions at medium heat for around 5 minutes. Add in the chicken and fry till the chicken is white on both sides. Add cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and paprika. Simmer for around 5 minutes till the chicken is cooked. Mix in cooked farfelle and diced rosemary. Season and serve.