Amy's Version: Beef Pot Pie

I tried something new the night before last for dinner.  I got the recipe from this month's Real Simple Magazine - Mushroom Potpie.  Well, I wanted to have some protein and changed the recipe accordingly. 

More changes I made were how it was baked.  The recipe called for an 8" x 8" dish but I used ramekins - accordingly to Paul, a great thing.  He really liked having it baked like this.  Here are the pictures.

Amy's Beef Pot Pie
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
11 Oz. (Net Weight) of Crimini & Baby Portabella Mushrooms, Diced
2 Carrots, diced
2 Celery Stalks, Diced
1 Medium Onion, Diced
1/4 tsp, Ground Garlic
2-3 Tbsp Fresh Herbs (Sage, Rosemary, Oregano), Minced
Salt and Pepper, to Taste
1/3 Cup, Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 Cups, Chicken Broth
1 Cup, Frozen Peas
1 Sheet Puff Pastry, Thawed
3/4 lb, Ground Sirloin


Method:
** Make sure to thaw the Puff Pastry for at least 40 minutes to 1 hour on the counter.
1. Dice Vegetables in approximately the same size. 
2. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Heat Olive Oil in a Medium Size Non-Stick Skillet (try a S.S. one, too)
4. Brown 3/4 of the Onions and then add 1/4 tsp of Ground Garlic.  Then, add the rest of the veggies and fresh herbs and saute until soft: 15-20 minutes.
5. During that time but in a separate pan, saute the rest of the onion and all of the Ground Sirloin.  As you brown the meat, make sure to "chop up" the Sirloin so that it is all similar shaped, but still a bit "lumpy."
6. Once the meat and veggies are cooked, at 1/3 cup Flour to the Veggie mix and saute for 30-60 seconds to "cook" the flour.  Then mix in the beef and saute for 1 minute.
7. Add the Chicken Broth and Peas and boil for 1-2 minutes.
8. For Baking: Add mixture to ramekins and then cover with the Puff Pastry, making sure to slice vents.  For additional color, brush the Puff Pastry with an Egg Wash (1 Egg and 1 Tbsp of Water) and sprinkle with minced Herbs.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The Pot Pies are done when the Puff Pastry is Golden Brown and the filling is bubbly.  Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Serving Suggestion: Boston Lettuce Salad with Toasted Almonds and Fresh Homemade Italian Dressing, with chopped Tomatoes.  We had it with a very nice Red Wine (we're usually not Red Wine drinkers, but this one we definitely like!! - Picture at the end of post).  Additionally, the mixture is even better if made the day before.  The prep time is at least 45 minutes to 1 hour. 
Serving Variations: Since the Holidays are coming up, substitute Ground Sirloin with Cooked Turkey.

Here is a little bit of whimsy! These Halloween Nutcrackers are actually Mom and Dad's (they collect Nutcrackers), but it does give us some Halloween Decor! Down at the bottom-left, Mom's homemade Halloween card - thank you!

Dinner at Houston's/Hillstone

To help thank Mom for watching the dogs and just to enjoy a night out, we went to Houston's (now going as Hillstone) the night before Mom left.  Extraordinary good salad with Pickled White Beets - I actually ate one.....and liked it!!! Now, that's extraordinary.

We had a great meal!  The food is always delicious - nicely varied.  I had sushi (Rainbow Roll and Spicy Tuna) - I really preferred the Rainbow Roll.  See first picture above.


Mom and Paul had the French Dip - Hillstone is FAMOUS for the French Dip.  It truly is a tasty dish and the shoestring french fries just add that special touch.

Here's a nice little pic of Mom and me after our feast.  Love you Mom!  Thanks for everything!!

Indian Night! Cooking In...

So, taking my inspiration from Y and Samia, I went for it and spent hours and hours in the kitchen to come out with some Southern Indian dishes.  What an experience!  I really enjoyed getting in there and having fun while cooking - though I am going to have to recruit Paul as a Sous Chef.  I need help with the prep work and the clean up!!! What do you say?!


Overall, the food ended up being really good - yeah!  Mom and Paul said they enjoyed it...my Daal (Dahl/Dal - the spelling seems to confuse me...) was dry, but I'll be able to fix that for next time.  By far, the best thing of the night was the Spinach Pakoras (Gram Flour mixed with water, spices, spinach to make a batter then fried).  Wow - they were so easy to make.  I do avoid frying and this was probably my first experience with it and actually like it.  It wasn't difficult.  I don't have a good thermometer but used Samia's test with the piece of bread and that worked like a charm!

I didn't want to use Garam Masala because it tends to be so heavy, thus it's name meaning warm or hot spices.  Essentially, hard to digest.  But, the flavor is nice at times.  I copied what Y did when we stayed at her house in Singapore.  It ended up quite good - but, I should have fried it until the oil came to the top.  I thought I had, but you can see the difference between Y's and mine - my photo is below.

Here is Y's:

We DID NOT try to make Naan - we ordered it from a local Indian Restaurant - which was a very good idea!  Very nice - we will order from them again.  It's nice way to bring the whole meal together.

We enjoyed some Mango Chutney and Harissa that we bought from Coriander Leaf (Samia's Restaurant).  It also adds a lot to the meal.

I also made up Loki Raita (Seasoned Yogurt with Grated Squash).  You par-boil the Squash - I used Yellow Squash and it worked quite well.

I ended up cooking from three different Coriander Leaf Recipe Booklets: South Asian Adventure, Frontier Works & South Asian Classic.  How about that for putting together a meal.

Mom really enjoyed it - I watched the spice; one reason is that I couldn't get to the Pacific Ocean Marketplace to get fresh chilies.  But, we enjoyed it anyway.  We're having a friend over on Saturday night and I'm going to try out some more things out on him.  

Egg in Bread?!

I had thought this dish was English but D was doubtful and they both hadn't heard of it, so I promised pictures if I every made it at home.  I first learned of the egg dish in the movie "V for Vendetta" (a good post-apocolyptic film - I love those break-down of society/government movies and books. Am I weird or what?!)

Since I talked about in Singapore, of course, I couldn't wait to make it when I got home.  

You tear out the middle of the bread and butter both sides, lay it in the pan, then break an egg in the middle and cook it just like a fried egg (soft, medium or hard).  We thoroughly enjoy this as a breakfast - just not too often :-)

Giving Thanks

I had to give Y&D thanks one more time.  I took the above picture 2 days before we left.  It's a bit foreboding - making me feel that our time there was too short, but also just right.  We loved being there and we hope that we will get to repay their graciousness someday by them visiting us wherever we may live...that's always a mystery isn't it?!

We made cards; Paul rested; we enjoyed many wonderful meals (ever had an Avocado, Japanese Mayo & Lettuce Sandwich - yum!); talked; watched Love Actually, Conviction and The Girl in the Cafe; Paul and I enjoyed the various Jazz music including Stuart McCallum.  What a visit.  We felt welcome and reveled in the chance to get to know each other better.


We love you.

The Last Supper - Kind of...

I did get to help out, a bit, in the kitchen today and we're having some Indian food - but, we did special order Naan from Coriander Leaf - yum!  We had a good time in the kitchen - hopefully next time Y and I can play in my kitchen :-)  She has inspired me and I've been cooking a bit different since I got home (pictures to come!!!).

The table was always decorated beautifully - every night we stayed in felt like we dined out - just a wonderful experience.  The last night was no exception.  We really enjoyed the meal: Simmered Chicken, Daal, Mango Chutney, Naan - yum! 

We stayed up a bit and I had a nice glass of Sambuca (or Sambucca) Negra - my favorite.  I'm on a mission now that I'm home to find the dark version of the Liqueur.  I do enjoy it.  We had an early morning - unfortunately, we couldn't make it through the movie, but we did find the ending of "The Girl in the Cafe" on Youtube.  We found out that we were actually quite close to the ending...very interesting movie.  I loved the voice and inflection of the girl's (Kelly McDonald) voice - very enchanting.  Of course, Bill Nighy is always good.  Paul researched it a bit and found out that since it was from the same people that did "Love Actually" they had thought of releasing it to a bigger audience but felt that the movie did not have the formula good ending, so it went to DVD.  What a shame - a heartrending film, but we all need that sometimes.

Last Visit to the Botanic Gardens

What a treat!  I visited the Botanic Gardens twice during our visit to Singapore - the last visit was quite hot.  I tried to draw a bit, but when you are constantly fighting with the humidity, it's a bit too much effort.  I did get some great photos that I look forward to drawing later.

There was an area of the Gardens that was just Hibiscus - quite close to another Lily Pad pond.

There are a number of different Dragonflies - my favorite!  Here is a red one - I've never seen that before...

Another interesting thing about the Gardens is that they have a few "Heritage Trees" - other plants grow up within them.

 

Here are a few other trees of interest...

The tree I liked the most was the most difficult to photograph - see below.  The sun was quite vicious that day and the tree is in the midst of other trees, so you can't really get the shape, but it's extraordinary.  The day I was there it was dropping its leaves...it's a "Sea Almond or Indian Almond."

The Gardens attract all types, tourists like myself, but the locals quite like the place too. Many walkers and runners but also the Tai Chi ladies (I saw them both times I went).

The other locals are the brides and grooms-to-be!  It's a mecca for wedding photographs.  I snuck a few pictures, I couldn't resist.  The brides in Singapore are soooooo beautiful!

I was sad to go but glad for the opportunity.  The Gardens always give me peace and a sense of wanderlust!