Tea Sandwiches and Transversally cut bread

It has been beautiful here in western New York recently, and the SO and I decided to go on a picnic. There is a really beautiful lake nearby that we decided on as the spot for our munching, and the only thing left to do was to figure out what to munch. I didn't have much in my fridge (this is very typical, really) but the SO was hell-bent on making what basically amount to tea sandwiches. We had them a lot when on our trip to Argentina so see his family a couple years ago. They are square, usually thin sandwiches on thin white bread, with a very small amount of filling.

(Image taken from Asado Argentina)

The basic idea behind these is that you have to eat about 50 to satisfy hunger, but they are defninitely light and would be easier to haul around than thirteen Tupperware canisters full of potato salads, cocktail weiners, and all the other elaborate food I wanted to pack. So, we made them. Ah, but how does one get the bread so thin?

By cutting it lengthwise instead of width wise!

The fine people at Wegman's were understandably confused, but could not fight my rock solid logic. 

"This is the last loaf," the bread woman said skeptically. "I can't cut it that way here." We both looked from the loaf in my hand, to the machine, and then back to the loaf. I allowed my face to settle into a patient, oh so very patient smile.

"Is there any reason why you can't do it here? Can't you just put it in the other way around?"

And she did, and it worked. She was definitely not impressed with my bread cutting style, but since it was the last loaf and all (and it's not like I was at the bakery section of a grocery store or anything, right?) I can understand her attachment to it. The point I'm trying to make is that Wegman's is full of excellent people who always try to accommodate the customer. Even if we are weird bread-murderers!

The great thing about these sandwiches is that you can basically put whatever you want on them. We did three types: cuke/mayo/mustard/ham/salt ,  cuke/mayo/tomato pesto/turkey/tomato , and cuke/mayo/tomato/ham/mustard.

Yum!!! We had a great picnic, and though I didn't make fifty, I wish I had--because I really could have eaten at least three more. I wonder how much of sandwich eating is eating a bulky crust? Maybe that's why most people can only eat one real sandwich, but fifteen of these?

Turkey Chili a la Eugenia

So after waiting forever for Eugenia to write this post, I have decided to.
This is a very, very tasty and easy chili made with Turkey...good for a warm day, a cold day, or whatever! Yay Chili!

Ingredients:

1 really large onion, or 2 medium onions

1.5 lbs turkey, ground

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 can chicken broth

1 can kidney beans

salt

pepper

oregano or other spices to taste

1. Fry the onions in some butter until lightly browned. Add the turkey and cook all the way through.

2. Spoon this meaty onion mixture into a saucepan. Add the (drained) can of diced tomatoes. 

3. Add everything else. Stir madly! Well, maybe not so madly...you don't want chili everywhere, do you? No. Just in your tummy. Don't fret, it will be....soon.

4. Okay...now, heat everything up to a simmer, and simmer uncovered for about fifteen minutes. To serve, spoon it into bowls, shred a mountain of cheese on top, and sprinkle in some Fritos. Voila! The easiest dinner ever! Make a ton and eat it for weeks!

White Beef Stew with a little bit of Everything

(That's me!)

I am a firm believer in every story having a happy ending, or at least having an unhappy one for a good reason, which is usually that a happier ending is on the way. (I like to think of myself as an optimist in this way.) What does this have to do with my cooking blog, you may ask? Let me tell you.

I was trying to make this recipe tonight, and had bought all the ingredients yesterday... EXCEPT, I had forgotten red wine and beef stock. Ok, no tragedy, you're thinking. WRONG. My cut of meat was also only 1.3 lbs, not the required four, and I was out of pepper. I was beginning to panic, because I had this meat sitting thawed in my fridge, and I really needed to do something about it. 

So, I did what all good chefs must do at some point or another. I grabbed the seat of my pants and flew. Unfortunately, there are not too many pictures in this post...it it hard to take pictures while holding the seat of your pants.

For this recipe, you need:

A cut of meat, like a tough cut of roast or some stew meat, about 1.3lbs ;)

1/4 c. tequila                 

dash of white cooking wine                  

salt and pepper to taste

1.5 tsp stone ground mustard                  

2 medium bay leaves or one large            

 1 Tbsp. thyme

1 large onion, coarsely chopped             

3 medium potatoes, coarsely diced             

2 cloves garlic, minced                    

8 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely cut

1 c. water to start, more to be put in later                    

a pinch of allspice                  

1 tsp. of flour

1. Heat up the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Pour a little bit of olive oil into a dutch oven or large pot, and brown the meat on all sides. Then, add your 1 c. water, minced garlic, tequila, cooking wine, thyme, allspice, half the mustard, and a dash of salt and pepper to the pot. Bring this to a boil and then cover it and stuff it into the oven for about 1 hour. 

Here are some suggestions as to what to do with your hour:

-Mooch some books.

-Find some local farmers and food.

-Get fabulous!

-Make a puzzle of a fish or a rearing horse.

3. Ping! Your time is up! Pull the pot out of the oven. Be careful, it will be super hot. I know this because my hands are covered with burn marks made by not remembering this simple fact! Place the pot on the stove, on low heat, and if you have a really large chunk of meat (like I did), take this time to pull it out and cut it into stew-sized chunks, then add it back into the stew. Add the carrots, onions, and potatoes, then add just enough water to almost cover it all. 

4. Add in the rest of the mustard (you can add more if it still tastes bland to you) , the bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and the flour. Stir this all together well, then cover and let simmer until the potatoes and carrots are soft, about 40 min - 1hr. Keep tasting the stew during this time. I am a big advocator of the taste test... how are you supposed to fix it if you have no idea what you are really cooking?? 

5. When done, ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with a sprig of thyme, and serve with black bread. (if you have none of that, settle for rye.)

This is a super light, almost soupy stew. I hope you like it! I am glad to finally be reaching the end of our long, Rochester winter, myself. This stew is like the trailing end of a series of thick, hearty stews I have made this winter.

Bon appetit, from Lili "Whatever I happen to have on hand" P.