Dear John: "Cowpuncher" Beef Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

October was a busy month for us. I haven't had much time for blog posting. I did manage to try three new cooking projects for this blog, though; my apologies for not getting them to you until now. First came a new beef stew I hadn't made before, and I think these cool November days are great for a hearty bowl of warm stew! (Check out the beef stew I made around this time last year.)

We've been slowly making our way through Dear John; we've met John and Savannah and witnessed the beginning of their romance. But as is the case with many romances--especially the ones in Nicholas Sparks' novels--there is often a time of separation between the two characters. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it also presents many challenges, too. (Did you know Joe and I lived 200 miles apart when we first started dating? That wasn't easy, but we persevered and now we've been married for sixteen years. Someday I'll share our story with you.) John's furlough from the Army came to an end, and he had to go back to his base in Germany. John and Savannah wrote many letters to each other. They counted down the days until they could see each other again, and shared their dreams of a future together. Their time apart was lengthened, however, in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, John was shipped off to Iraq, and after a while they wrote to each other more rarely.

Fast-forward a few years, and we find Savannah living on her family's ranch in Lenoir, North Carolina. She hasn't seen John since that blissful month in Wrightsville Beach. Okay now for the spoiler--Savannah has fallen in love with someone else. I'll try not to give anything else away, but when John shows up to Savannah's ranch, he finds her alone, and learns that her life with this new love is more complicated than anyone ever imagined it would be. As the two catch up on old times and talk about Savannah's new life, Savannah warms up some leftover stew from her fridge.

I wanted to make something that was different from the stew I usually make. I decided to pull out a cookbook that I haven't used yet:

When I saw the recipe for Cowpuncher Stew, in the section called "Chuck Wagon Chow," I just had to try it. It's something that, according to my cookbook, cowboys often would eat out on the trail. Maybe a woman living on a horse farm might appreciate it, right?

COWPUNCHER STEW

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut in 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour*

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons shortening

1 1/2 cups strong coffee

2 tablespoons molasses

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 cups water

4 carrots, cut in 1/2-inch slices

4 small onions, quartered

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut up

1/4 cup cold water

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour*

Coat beef cubes with a mixture of 2 tablespoons flour* and 1 teaspoon salt. In Dutch oven brown meat on all sides in hot shortening. Stir in the coffee, molasses, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, Worcestershire, oregano, and cayenne. Cover, simmer over low heat till meat is almost tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the 1 1/2 cups water, carrot slices, onion quarters, and potato pieces. Simmer, covered, till vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Blend 1/4 cup cold water into the 3 tablespoons flour*; add to stew mixture. Cook and stir till mixture is thickened and bubbly. Serve in bowls. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

(*I used cornstarch)

From the Better Homes and Gardens Heritage Cookbook, p. 204

I started with a local free-range London Broil steak. I remember hearing Julia Child say once that you should ALWAYS use good steak for your beef stew, and NEVER use stew meat because it tastes like dog food. I don't know whether that's true or not, but I've always followed Julia's advice.

Browning the meat

Before the vegetables go in. I love the chocolate-brown color.

MMMMmmm, looks delicious!

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There was also a recipe in the same cookbook for cornmeal dumplings; they are meant to be cooked with a different recipe, but I thought they would go great with the stew:

CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

In saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to boiling. Cook and stir till thickened. Remove from heat. Stir moderate amount hot mixture into 1 beaten egg (or, 1 1/2 heaping tablespoon Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons water). Return to hot mixture. Stir together 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and dash pepper (I replaced the flour and baking powder with gluten-free Bisquick.). Add to cornmeal mixture; beat well. Stir in one 7-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained. (Instead, I used one ear of fresh corn right off the cob.)

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto boiling stew mixture. Cover, simmer till dumplings are done 10 to 12 minutes.

(Heritage Cookbook, p. 204)

This was some of the last locally grown corn-on-the cob.

Step One--the cornmeal, water, and salt

Ready to make the dumplings

I honestly didn't know how they would taste, and almost expected the kids to wrinkle their noses at them. The dumplings were a huge hit, and they asked me if I would please make more next time.

A lovely fall dinner!

There may be one--possibly two--more projects from Dear John that I might come back to later, (and they're similar to one's I've already done), but for now we'll move on to The Choice with some delicious jalapeno burgers. Stay tuned!

Dear John: Teriyaki Grilled Chicken with Carrot Raisin Salad and Homemade Potato Chips

For more than a year now I've been juggling two blogs, a part time job, family time, and just trying to keep my house from sinking into the pit of cluttered chaos. Often I've wondered if I should put my blogs on hold and focus on my more pressing tasks, but I'm always coming back to them because, well, it's what I do. Some people knit, some scrapbook, some run marathons; I blog. (Click here to see what I've been up to lately on my other blog, Musings of a Catholic Mom.)

I realized that last Labor Day Weekend marked one year since I started this little project. I've covered ten books (Dear John is the eleventh), and I only have five more books to go, including The Best of Me, which comes out on October 11. Six if I count Three Weeks With My Brother, and I still haven't decided what to do with that one. That's only about six more months of Cooking Nick's Books. I've been thinking lately about what to do when I run out of books; and I'm considering posting more non-Sparks related projects in the near future, just so I won't have to end this journey quite so soon. We'll see!

In the meantime, I'm past due for another stop in our trip through Nick's books; this one involves Dear John and a cookout on the beach. John has just spent his first day on furlough from the Army surfing at Wrightsville Beach. (Read a little bit more about John here.) Late in the afternoon he spots two attractive young women walking on the pier and says hello to them. One says hello back, one doesn't Just then two buff guys come to fetch the girls and bring them back to the beach house where they are staying with a group of friends, and one of them (accidentally or on purpose, we're not sure which) knocks a beach bag into the ocean. The bag belongs to Savannah, the one who said "hi" to John. The jerk who tossed her bag shrugs and acts like he doesn't care, and John comes to the rescue and swims out to retrieve it. Grateful for his help, Savannah (much to the dismay of the two hotshot guys) invites John to the beach house to join the bonfire and cookout they're planning. It is at said cookout that John and Savannah begin to get to know one another--and where John learns that Savannah and her friends are in Wrightsville Beach to build a Habitat for Humanity home for a needy family--and the romance starts to sprout.

So what's on the menu at this barbecue? Grilled chicken, chips, and potato salad. Since I've made potato salad twice already for this blog, and I was already making homemade potato chips, I decided to prepare a new version of an old favorite of mine--carrot and raisin salad.

Years ago--before kids--we spent a weekend with our good friends Erik and Patty in upstate New York. While we were there they grilled us some delicious teriyaki chicken breasts, and I was so impressed I asked them for the recipe. I have since lost the little recipe card that Patty wrote it down on in her immaculate handwriting (I swear, this woman has the most beautiful handwriting I've ever seen--I wish I hadn't lost the card so I could show it to you), but I've made this so many times I don't need to look at the recipe anyway:

TERIYAKI MARINADE FOR CHICKEN

1 cup Soy sauce (I used Tamari because it's gluten free)

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup salad oil (I've used canola as well as olive oil; both work well)

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup sugar

(To be honest, I don't know if these are the exact measurements Patty gave me; depending on how much chicken you're cooking you can adjust them accordingly. I was cooking nine chicken breasts, so I needed quite a bit of marinade.)

Pour the marinade over the chicken. (By the way, you don't necessarily have to cook boneless chicken breasts; you could use this on drumsticks or thighs or anything you want.) Cover and refrigerate at least two hours. Grill until done.

Joe likes to brush the marinade over the chicken while it's grilling.

One thing I wish I had done differently was split the breasts, because these were pretty thick. I usually do this, but I didn't this time for some reason. These were delicious, nevertheless, and I had lots left over for chicken salad later!

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When we lived in Maryland we had a favorite joint called Grizzly's we used to frequent, and they served homemade potato chips--just potatoes sliced real thin and fried until crunchy. (We took the kids back there over the summer--they don't have those chips anymore, but they still have the best wings ever.) Anyway, I make homemade chips quite often nowadays, because they're super easy.

First, slice the potatoes as thinly as you can. (If you have one of those Mandoline slicers, that's great. I have one, but nine times out of ten I'd just rather use a knife. But that's me.)

Fry in about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of oil on medium to medium-high heat. You'll want to turn them about halfway through cooking.

It's not easy to get the potatoes cooked to the exact crispness you want, so watch them carefully. The one on the left is under cooked, the middle one is too done, and the right one is perfect. I'll usually take one out to test it when they're starting to look done. Depending on how thin they are, some will take longer than others.

Drain on paper towels and salt liberally. I like to eat mine with ketchup!

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When I was growing up, I was usually put in charge of making the salads at mealtime. Of course, I often prepared one that required little or no effort: a blob of cottage cheese and a pear half on a bed of lettuce; a stalk of celery and some peanut butter; or if I felt like working a little bit more, a carrot-and-raisin salad. Even that wasn't hard; just grate some carrots, throw in some raisins, add some mayo and stir. As I got older and more adventurous, I started adding a little lemon juice, honey, or cinnamon for variety. These days I don't make it much because, well, let's just say it isn't one of Joe's favorites. This day, however, I wanted carrot and raisin salad, and by golly, I was going to make some.

I looked online for some recipes, and found a couple that looked good (this one from Food Network and this one from MyRecipes.com), and decided to concoct my own version using some of the ingredients from each. This is what I came up with (measurements are approximate):

SAVORY CARROT AND RAISIN SALAD

1 lb. grated carrots

1/4 cup grated red onion

1 T sugar

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. paprika

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

1 1/2 t. minced garlic

1 cup raisins

2 T lemon juice

1/4 c. orange juice

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. mayonnaise, optional

Mix all ingredients together and chill until ready to serve.

I divided the salad into two separate bowls and put mayonnaise in only one of them since Moe is allergic to eggs, and not everyone in my family likes mayo anyway. Moe and Joe didn't care for the salad (dang it), but Larry, Curly, and I all LOVED it. I'll definitely be making this again!

A great meal for a fall barbecue!

Next, I think I'll be making beef stew again, and the challenge will be to find a recipe that's different from my usual stew that everyone loves, but also a stew that will satisfy all my picky eaters. Wish me luck! And stay tuned for another 7 Quick Takes, and that peppermint ice cream I've been promising to share.

Dear John: Spaghetti with Meatballs and Sausage, and Grandma B's Amazing Sauce

Background: John Tyree has come home to Wilmington, North Carolina on furlough after three years of active duty in the Army. He's been spending his days on Wrightsville Beach surfing. One day he meets Savannah, who has come to Wrightsville for a month with a group of college students, who are building a house with Habitat for Humanity. For the next couple of weeks, until it's time for John to return to Germany where he is stationed, John and Savannah spend most of their time together when Savannah isn't working on the Habitat house. After John returns to active duty, they write to each other almost constantly, and count the days until they will see each other again.

John's father lives alone in the modest house in Wilmington where John grew up. John barely remembers his mother; she had left him and his father when John was very young. The two have never had a close relationship, however; John's father has always been quiet and reserved; often spending hours at a time with his extensive coin collection. John had been quite rebellious as a teenager, and joining the Army was a way for him to get away from his father.

The night John came home on leave, his father brought him to the house and cooked spaghetti, as he had done every Friday night of John's life. It was comforting in a way for John to come home to find things pretty much the same at home as they had always been, right down to the daily eggs, bacon, and toast every morning and the spaghetti every Friday night. John's father looked older and more tired, however, and even though the two hadn't seen each other in three years, they couldn't seem to find much to talk about. That was how it always had been.

Now, if I were cooking spaghetti on a Friday night, I would open up a jar of Ragu', maybe brown up a little meat, and call it done. But since this blog is for the most part a weekend project, I decided that the day after Hurricane Irene (a Sunday) was a great day to make my mother-in-law's special pasta sauce. Or "gravy," as she calls it.

GRANDMA B'S AMAZING PASTA SAUCE

First, make the meatballs.

When Grandma makes them, she soaks some bread in milk, and then mixes it with a couple of pounds ground beef along with some chopped fresh parsley, an egg, some salt and pepper. Since mine need to be gluten, dairy, and egg-free, I put about a cup Organ All-Purpose Rice Crumbs in a bowl with a little rice milk to moisten it; then I mixed it in with the ground beef, along with approx. 2 T each of chopped parsley and thyme, and a heaping half tablespoon (which is just about a whole tablespoon, really) of Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with two tablespoons of water. The meatballs should be about an inch and a half in diameter.

My dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free supplies

For the sauce:

1 to 2 lbs meatballs

1 to 2 lbs Italian sausage links (hot or mild. Grandma uses a mixture of both, and cuts the hot ones in half so folks can tell the difference. Me? I go for all hot.)

1 medium onion, diced

2 to 3 cloves finely chopped garlic (For the record, I almost always double or triple the number of garlic cloves my recipe calls for. But you can do whatever you want.)

1 small (6-oz) can tomato paste

1 large (28-oz) can tomato puree

2 large (28-oz) cans tomato sauce

red wine

basil leaves (if fresh, says Grandma. But a dried bay leaf or two will do in a pinch.)

Brown sausage in a large saucepot; remove and set aside. Brown meatballs and remove; drain off most of the fat. (I don't necessarily cook the meat all the way through, because later it will cook in the sauce for several hours.) In the same saucepot, sautee onions and garlic over medium heat until they begin to soften; add the tomato paste and cook for about a minute, stirring frequently. DO NOT BURN.

I use so much meat, I need to brown it in two pots. Here's my local free-range hot Italian sausage.

Don't worry about the browned bits that stick to the bottom of the pot.

Fill the tomato paste can with wine; add to the pot and cook for another minute, stirring frequently. Ad puree and bring to a simmer; add sauce and bring to a simmer again. Add salt and pepper to taste; add basil (or bay leaves) if available. Bring to a simmer. Add sausage and meatballs to sauce; bring to a simmer. Cover and turn heat to very low. Keep covered on very low heat for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. It is VERY IMPORTANT to stir the sauce every half hour so that it doesn't burn.

I had some red wine from the Finger Lakes that was a little bit too sweet for our taste, but it's perfect in Grandma's sauce.

(Onions, garlic, tomato paste, and wine)

Fortunately I had some fresh basil on my deck. It really does make a difference.

This makes A LOT of sauce. When I make this I'll divide it in two and freeze half of it; the rest we'll have for several nights of dinners. (Spaghetti...lasagna...eggplant parmesan...meatball/sausage subs...even pizza.)

When the sauce is done, I put the sausage and meatballs in a separate dish for serving.

John and his father ate their spaghetti with a glass of milk. We opted for mojitos instead. (This was Joe's plate. My gluten free pasta of choice for this meal: Mrs. Leeper's corn spaghetti.)

During their brief time together, Savannah meets John's father and visits him several times. Savannah sees something in Mr. Tyree that John has never considered before, and this revelation ultimately helps John to better appreciate and accept his father's awkward quirkiness.

There's also a guy named Tim in this story (maybe we have a little bit of a love triangle?), an autistic boy named Alan, a hotshot named Randy, some horses, and the full moon.

I'll tell you more when I share my recipe for teriyaki grilled chicken!