Fashionable Ox - a Beef Stew (Pinedo recipe)

I am continuing to try out some of Encarnación Pinedo's stews.  Today's is a beef stew, one that I would consider a "standard" European (really French, I think) style with an interesting historical direction. It is on page 39, and I love the name.

My Translation

My Redaction

2 1/2 pounds of beef

1/4 cup broth, any flavor

1/4 cup white wine

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce cans)

1/2 pound ham, cubed (about 1/2-inch size)

8 ounces carrots

1/2 cup chives, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon mace

1/4 teaspoon coriander

First cut the beef into cubes, about 1-inch on a side, roughly.  Place in a slow cooker, add the broth and the wine.

Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

Cut the carrots into bite-sized pieces as needed. 

In a skillet, combine the tomatoes, ham, carrots, chives, and spices.  Bring to a slow simmer.  Cook about 30 minute or until carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the drained beef and serve.

Sauce before cooking

Sauce after cooking

Beef after cooking.  Just use the meat and discard the liquid.

My Notes

I had some pork broth in my refrigerator, so I used that with the meat.  

Pinedo specifies "especies finas", "fine spices", and this is the only recipe that calls for that mix.  I interpreted it as a medieval spice blend called "powder fines", which can contain any number of spices, such as pepper, cinnamon, cardamon, coriander, grains of paradise, ginger, nutmeg, and so on.  The basic idea is a savory (vs sweet) mixture even though it uses many spices I consider "sweet", as in "I expect to see them in cookies, cakes, etc."

In making my choices, I knew one of my guest tasters does not like cinnamon, so I avoided that.  Putting in two savory spices (pepper and coriander) and two sweet spices (mace and cardamom) seemed like a good combination without risking making the spice blend too strong and overwhelming the dish.

Notice that she didn't call for salt.  I believe that the ham is a good way to introduce salt into the stew.

I used small carrots, so I didn't cut them.  I wanted the look of the bright orange carrots as part of the stew.  

This was so simple to prepare.  I appreciated that because it was a busy few days and I could easily prepare all in advance.  In fact, after the meat and sauce were done, I cooled and stored them separately in the refrigerator overnight.  The day of the meal I reheated the sauce, added the meat, and let the whole stew slowly warm through on the stove.

There was no need to defat anything before reheating.  Most of that fat had been left behind when I took the meat out of the slow cooker.

The Verdict

I served it with shell macaroni on the side and a tossed green salad.  And wine!

Visually, the stew was appealing with its colors and shapes.

The meat was tender and everyone noticed that.  

The sauce was flavorful and the carrots were tender, too, but not mushy.  I really liked that.

The entire mixture was good with the meats, tomatoes, chives, and carrots all contributing to the taste experience.  I suggested that the spice blend was too strong and was quickly outvoted by the guest tasters.  No one wanted salt on it.

The stew was well-received.  When I had the leftovers the next day, I decided that spice mixture wasn't too strong, but I thought it was close to being so.  If this worries you, I would cut down on the pepper a little.  

Success!

The stew matches the tablecloth...

Another Persimmon Salad from the 1940s

Did I happen to mention that I have a lot of persimmons in my kitchen?  And that I have an interest in exploring what California cuisine meant in the 1940s?

The first recipe I posted using persimmons and relating to California cuisine was a persimmon salad that was so basic:  whole, peeled persimmons embedded in lemon gelatin.  That's it!  It was tasty and light, so it was a success.  You can see the post by clicking here:  Persimmon Salad from the 1940s.

Today's post is from the same book, The California Cook Book for Indoor and Outdoor Eating by Genevieve Callahan.

For Indoor and Outdoor Eating

On pages 42 - 43, she offered another version, this one more elaborate.

Jellied Persimmon Salad

3 large, very ripe persimmons

20 ounce can crushed pineapple

3 ounce box lemon-flavored gelatin

dash salt

"Fluffy fruit dressing"*

Those persimmons are as soft as pudding.

Choose a container to act as a mold for the salad.  It needs to hold at least 4 cups volume.  Lightly spray it with non-stick cooking spray and then wipe out the excess.  

Open can of pineapple, pour into a colander over a bowl so the fruit drains and you save the liquid.

Pull off and discard the tops of the persimmons then use a spoon and your fingers to start peeling.  At a certain point it becomes easier to just scoop the pulp out of the skin.

Put pulp in a bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher.  Remove and discard any seeds.

Mix in 1 cup crushed pineapple.  Cover and put in the refrigerator.

Add enough water to the pineapple juice to make 1 1/2 cups.   

Heat in the microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until boiling.  Alternatively, heat on the stove.

Add the gelatin and stir vigorously until it is clear or mostly so.

Put the gelatin in the refrigerator.  Cool until slightly thickened.

Add a dash of salt and fold in the fruit.

Pour into the mold, shake or tap to level it and remove any air bubbles.

Refrigerate until solid.

Serve as suggested by Ms. Callahan.

*Fluffy fruit dressing recipe will be in the next post.

My Notes

I didn't have three large persimmons, so I used 1 large and four small.  They were very ripe, dark orange and squishy to the touch.

My pineapple came in juice, not syrup, but I didn't worry about have less sugar in the dish.  There was precisely 1 cup liquid.

I chilled the gelatin in a glass measuring cup for 1 hour, 45 minutes, which was too long.  It wasn't "slightly thickened," it was thick but not fully set.  I crossed my fingers and proceeded with the recipe anyway.

My main concern was that the gelatin with all the fruit in it would not set up all the way, or at all.  All I could do was hope.

The mold chilled overnight.  When I took the salad out of the mold, I rubbed the mold all over with a hot, damp cloth to loosen the gelatin.

Persimmon pulp, crushed pineapple, and liquid gelatin.

Chilled!

The Verdict

I took it to a friendly barbeque gathering and presented it as a salad.  People were surprised that it wasn't a dessert, but I emphasized that the cookbook author claimed it was a salad and that it wasn't very sweet.

One person was somewhat skeptical about eating it at all, claiming that having grown up in the midwest, his experience with gelatin-based dishes was not very positive.  But he was willing to try it.

I did not serve it on a bed of lettuce, as Ms. Callahan suggested.  I simply tipped the mold out onto a plate and put a big spoonful of the fluffy fruit dressing in the middle.  The rest of the dressing was served on the table so people could choose to add more as they liked.

My first reaction was that it was pretty.  The gelatin was orange from the persimmons.  The visual texture was nice, too, as the crushed pineapple was lighter in color than the persimmon pulp in contrast and the pieces of fruit gave depth to the presentation.  Also, the dressing was a soft pink color, which looked good with the gelatin.

Out of the mold and with the dressing.  Extra dressing in the upper right corner.

As for the taste, I liked it!  Even better than the previous persimmon salad.  It was more complex in flavor, had an interesting texture while chewing, and, as several guests said, "it was balanced."  It was not too sweet and the lemon-persimmon-pineapple flavors worked well together.  The dressing was tart with the flavors of currant and lemon, which is what everyone thought made the entire combination balanced.  Not sweet but sweet-and-tart.  The fluffy dressing contrasted well with the more solid gelatin.

Several people wanted me to mention that they took a second serving, and that was a compliment.  

As for my midwest skeptic?  He tried it and liked it!  He said that the balance of flavors and the way all the parts came together made him realize what the gelatin dishes of his childhood should have been like.  

My only complaint is that the gelatin was too soft.  That could be because the gathering was outside and it was sunny, but it slumped as time went on and the leftovers never firmed up again, even after being refrigerated.  I also wonder if I waited too long to mix in the fruit and salt.  I think that there was enough liquid between the pineapple juice and water and persimmon pulp that it may have needed more gelatin.  A small boost from a packet of unflavored gelatin would have worked, as well as using a larger box of flavored gelatin.

Ms. Callahan notes elsewhere in the book that the pinch of salt gives two advantages:  it helps to set the gelatin and it brings out the flavors in the dish.  I guess it worked because my guest tasters liked it!

Success!

See the next post for the recipe for the "Fluffy Fruit Dressing", which is a recipe called the "Women's Club Fruit Dressing."