Beef and Sherry Casserole #recipe from Eris Field

Guest Post from Eris Field

If it is one of those times when you want the heady scent of something delicious cooking gently in the oven to welcome people coming home, go for labor-free, my fail-proof Beef and Sherry casserole, but add a surprise with the refreshing taste of a gremolata topping.

Warning: This dish creates powerful memory traces of pleasure.

BEEF and SHERRY CASSEROLE

1 ½ pound of chuck beef
1 can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom Soup
½ can of water
½ package of Lipton Onion Soup mix
½ can of good sherry, use the one you drink and have a glass before dinner.

Preheat oven to 325°F

Cut the beef into bite size pieces, about ¾ of an inch, (no browning thank goodness). Lay meat in a Dutch Oven. Stir in the other ingredients, cover, and then bake for 2 ½ hours.

GREMOLATA

Photo by Popo le Chien

¼ cup finely chop parsley, flat parsley is better but curly is good too
2 tbsp. coarsely grated lemon rind
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Mix these ingredients together. Cover tightly and refrigerate until needed.

Serve the casserole over cooked noodles or rice. Or add cooked baby white potatoes, tiny boiled onions, and mushrooms at the last minute to cooking the beef and heat through.

Top the dish by sprinkling the gremolata.

This recipe serves four but can be doubled and the cooking time increased to 3 hours.

In my contemporary novel, No Greater Love, on a snowy evening in Western New York, Janan adds gremolata to a casserole of lamb shanks and serves it to the man she has just fallen in love with. Here’s a little more about their turbulent romance.

Janan, orphaned at age eight by an earthquake in Turkey and adopted by an American couple in a small town in Western New York has grown into a beautiful woman, a Circassian beauty. She dreams of having a home of her own, a home with love, but spends her time working as a nurse and looking after her family that includes an elderly, honorary uncle, Carl who had been sent as a child from Leiden to escape Nazi deportation of Dutch-Jews and now yearns to go home.

Jilted once, Dutch child psychiatrist Pieter has retreated from life and devotes himself to caring for the child refugees flooding into Amsterdam. Now, struggling with late-onset leukemia, he travels to New York for a second opinion and to visit his old friend and mentor, Carl. At Carl’s home, he meets Janan and feels love again.

Janan recognizes Pieter as the man of her dreams. Believing that love is passing her by and knowing that Pieter will be gone in the morning, she asks him for one night. Pieter introduces Janan to the purposes and outcomes of each of eight magical kisses and vows to himself to overcome his illness and return a well man.

Later, alone and facing complications of pregnancy, Janan accepts an unusual offer of help even though it may destroy her chances of finding happiness.

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Eris Field was born in the Green Mountains of Vermont—Jericho, Vermont to be precise—close by the home of Wilson Bentley (aka Snowflake Bentley), the first person in the world to photograph snowflakes. She learned from her Vermont neighbors that pursuit of one’s dream is a worthwhile life goal.

As a seventeen year old student nurse at Albany Hospital, Eris met a Turkish surgical intern who told her fascinating stories about the history of Turkey, the loss of the Ottoman Empire, and forced population exchanges. After they married and moved to Buffalo, Eris worked as a nurse at Children’s Hospital and at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

After taking time off to raise five children and amassing rejection letters for her short stories, Eris earned her master’s degree in Psychiatric Nursing at the University at Buffalo. Later, she taught psychiatric nursing at the University and wrote a textbook for psychiatric nurse practitioners—a wonderful rewarding but never to be repeated experience.

Eris now writes novels, usually international, contemporary romances. Her interest in history and her experience in psychiatry often play a part in her stories. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Western New York Romance Writers. In addition to writing, Eris’s interests include: Prevention of Psychiatric Disorders; Eradicating Honor Killings, supporting the Crossroads Springs Orphanage in Kenya for children orphaned by AIDS, and learning more about Turkey, Cyprus, and Kurdistan.

Learn more about Eris Field on her website. Stay connected on Facebook.

#Beef Short Ribs #recipe from @sloanetaylor2

Guest Post by Sloane Taylor

Beef is a favorite with Studs and most men. Beef on bones is like mana from heaven to them. Must be something carried over from caveman days. Here's an easy recipe that will satisfy the beefaholic in your life.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

2-3 pounds beef short ribs cut into 2-inch pieces
Freshly ground pepper to taste¼ tsp. thyme
½ cup flour
2 tbsp. lard or solid shortening
2 medium onions, chopped
½ cup carrot, chopped
1 tbsp. garlic, pressed
¼ tsp. dried thyme
1 cup beef stock
2 small bay leaves
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Pat ribs dry. Grind pepper over the meat. Pour flour into a paper bag. Add 2 - 4 ribs at a time. Shake bag gently to coat the meat. Remove the ribs and set on a large plate. Continue until all the ribs are coated.

Melt the lard or shortening in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Carefully add ribs and brown them on all sides. Don’t crowd the pan. You’re better off to brown the meat in batches. Return ribs to the plate. Lower heat to medium.

Add onions and carrots to the same pot. Sauté until onions are soft and transparent. Add garlic. Cook for 45 - 60 seconds.

Stir in the stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Scrape in any brown bits clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Nestle ribs in the pan and bring to a boil. Cover and then place in the oven. Braise the ribs for 1 ½ hours or until the meat shows no resistance when pierced with a fork.

Arrange ribs on a clean platter and tent with foil to keep them warm.

Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Press down hard on the vegetables to extract the juices. Discard vegetable. Skim off the surface fat.

Bring the pan to a hard boil. Cook for 2-3 minutes to intensify the flavor.

Pour the sauce into a gravy boat and serve alongside the ribs.

Sloane Taylor is an Award-Winning author with a second passion in her life. She is an avid cook and posts new recipes on her blog http://sloanetaylor.blogspot.com every Wednesday. The recipes are user friendly, meaning easy.

Taylor currently has five explicit romance books released by Toque & Dagger Publishing. Excerpts from her books can be found on her website, blog, and all popular vendors.

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