Recently we were talking about how we use our pressure cooker with family (surely a true sign that we are all adults now right?) and someone asked if we had tried Pressure Cooker Spaghett Bolognaise yet. Our answer at the time was no, but we were definitely interested, and since then we have had it for dinner twice!
We have been surprised by how much we enjoy it. It gives a much richer tasting bolognaise, I think becuase the spaghetti is cooking in the sauce instead of the more traditional method of cooking the spaghetti separately and then spooning the bolognaise sauce over the top.
Whilst I have to follow a recipe, my husband is far more of a pantser when it comes to cooking, so this recipe is a combination of a couple of recipes, plus a bit of this and that. It is very simple one pot recipe, which makes it a perfect mid-week dinner, as well as leaving plenty of leftovers for lunch for all three of us.
Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Bolognaise
800g lean beef mince
1 brown onion, diced
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
140g tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1/2 can water
1 tsp sugar
400g spaghetti
1 tsp cooking oil
4 tsp parmesan, grated, to serve
Brown onion in oil in the pressure cooker. Add mince and brown. Drain any excess fat.
Add mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste, tomato paste, diced tomatoes,stock, and can of soup. Stir to combine. Add 1 1/2 cans of water and sugar and stir.
Add spaghetti. Close and lock lid of pressure cooker. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. Release steam and open lid carefully.
Serve with cheese and fancy garlic bread.
Weekly Meals
Saturday - Bacon, Vegetables, Risoni soup with pork meatballs
Sunday - Leftover soup Monday - Sardines on toast Tuesday - Mexican chicken and rice Wednesday - Pork chops with vegie and potato bake Thursday - Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Bolognaise Friday - Dinner at the pub!
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page
We have been on the search for our go to beef casserole for a while now. We have tried lots of recipes but there was either not enough flavour, or a bit watery or just okay, but I think that we have finally found the one! We have already made it a couple of times since the weather started turning cooler and we will be making it again for sure!
The actual recipe title for this is Steak and Pepper Dumpling Pie, but we weren't enamoured by the dumplings when we made it, so since then we have had it with mashed potatoes, with a pastry lid, with soda bread and as an actual pie and all of those options have been delicious! I also think you could quite easily throw some other vegies in to change it up to. It is just a very versatile recipe.
It comes from the slow cooker/pressure cooker that I have posted about before. Nearly everything that we have made from these two cook books has been delicious, with the notable exception of a soup recipe we made early on that was ....not.
Steak and Pepper Casserole
1.2kg (2 1/2 lb) beef chuck steak
12 shallots (300g), unpeeled (we use brown onion)
2 1/2 tbspn olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 rindless bacon rashers, (250g) coarsely chopped
2 tspns cracked black pepper
1 tbsn plain (all-purpose) flour
1 cup (250ml) beef stock
2 tbspns tomato paste
400g (12 and a 1/2 ounces) butto mushrooms, halved
Cut beef into 3cm (1 1/4 inch) pieces. Peel shallots leaving root end intact.
Heat half the oil in a 6 litre (24 cup) pressure cooker. Cook beef, in batches, until browned. Remove from cooker.
Heat remaining oilin cooker. Cook garlic and bacon, stirring, until browned. Add pepper and flour. Cook, stirring, for one minute. Return beef to cooker with stock and paste. Secure lid. Bring cooker to hgh pressure. Reduce heat to stabilise pressure (unless using an electric pressure cook which will stabilise itself. Cook for 25 minutes.
Release pressure and remove lid. Add shallots and mushrooms. Secure lid. Bring cooker to high pressure. Reduce heat to stabilise pressure. Cook for 10 minutes.
If making dumpling you can add these at this point and simmer for a further 10 minutes
Tuesday: Steak egg and chips Wednesday: "Fried" chicken with mash and beans
Thursday: Out for dinner Friday: Steak and Pepper Pie
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.
A couple of years ago, someone recommended a British comedy series to us called Friday Night Dinners. The premise of the series is that a Jewish family consisting of mum Jackie, dad Martin and two sons Adam and Johnny Goodman comes together for dinner every Friday night.
What ensues is a series of disasters, shenanigans and practical jokes. Martin, played by Paul Ritter, has a tendency to mishearing leading to plenty of misunderstandings and social awkwardness. He also seems to constantly be having some kind of hot flash leading to him offering stripping off. Jackie has a lot on her plate with Martin as he constantly gets into all sorts of scrapes and tries to hide his predicament from her. She is also very houseproud, something that is difficult to maintain when you are married to a man like Martin.
The boys are practical jokes, from small pranks like putting salt in each other's water, to more elaborate pranks. They also need to hide any evidence of their love life from their parents, as Jackie is desperate for them to pair up. Martin, on the other hand, talks to them about their females. Martin has a number of catchphrases, including saying "a lovely bit of squirrel" and one that I have started to hear a bit around my house on occasion "shit, shit, shit on it".
During the course of the series, assorted family members and friends appear, but, of course, we can't forget about Jim the next door neighbour. he is desperate to be friends with the family rather than just the neighbour, and to learn their Jewish customs. He also happens to hold special feelings for Jackie. He also owns a dog named Wilson who he is absolutely terrified of.
I was very sad to hear of the death of Paul Ritter who played Martin. Feels like a good place to end the series. They haven't said that it is, but I can't imagine that they will make more without him.
Given that the whole series revolves around Friday night dinners, there are plenty of foody related moments, but today I am focussing on one of the highlights of every week's dinner, being crimble crumble.
I was very sad to hear of the death of Paul Ritter who played Martin recently. Feels like a good place to end the series. They haven't said that it is, but I can't imagine that they will make more without him.
If you like British humour, then maybe give Friday Night Dinner a go
In honour of Friday Night Dinner, I thought I would make crimble crumble. I have shared a recipe for apple and custard crumble before, so I wanted something a little different. I happened to be looking through the slow/pressure cooker cookbook I have shared some recipes from previously when I saw this recipe for Apple Berry and Ginger Crumble. Given that we seem to be eating quite a lot of ginger recipes recently I had to give it a go. In the recipe you pressure cook the fruit for 8 minutes, and I have to admit I couldn't be bothered getting the pressuure cooker out, so I kind of adapted it. I also changed the topping, which was full of nuts because I have to make allowances for allergies in my house. In fact, I also changed the filling because I didn't have all the ingredients, so rather than giving an actual recipe, it is more guidelines. I don't tend to do this with recipes. As a rule, I tend to follow a recipe to the letter!
For the crumble, I used a mixture of flour, melted butter, rolled oats and chopped crystallised ginger which I mixed together until it resembled a crumble topping.
For the fruit portion, I used a combination of 4 apples (cut into 1.5cm slices) and then a couple of cups of frozen berries. I mixed this with caster (superfine) sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla paste and a teaspoon of ground ginger. I did cook the fruit for a few minutes in a saucepoon before topped it with the crumble mix and put it into a preheated oven for 15 minutes or so until the crumble mixture was golden.
So not quite a recipe, more an idea of a recipe
Weekly Menu
Saturday: Out for dinner Sunday: Chicken kiev tray bake Monday: Leftover chicken kiev tray bake
Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas with pickled jalapeno and red onion. Wednesday:
Thursday: Carnitas tacos with charred corn and zucchini salad Friday: Takeaway
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.
Whenever I read a book I always mark passages about food, books, Christmas or Paris which might then make it to be posted one day. Books don't have to be particularly foodie to have passages about food. Or particularly bookie to have passages about books. Or particularly Parissy to have passages about Paris, although generally they at least have to be partially set in Paris for that to happen.
Last week I read Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, which is a romance about what happens if the First Son of the United States happened to fall in love with a prince from Britain. It was a very entertaining read. There were a couple of passages that stood out, both of which related to both food, but also the time before the main character's parents got divorced.
Here's one of those passages:
Oscar may be the cook of the family, but Alex's mom was the one who grilled. It didn't always track in Pemberton Heights - his Mexican dad in the house diligently soaking a tres leches while his blond mom stood out in the yard flipping burgers - but it worked. Alex determinedly picked up the best from both of them, and now he's the only one here who can handle racks of ribs while Oscar does the rest.
The kitchen of the lake house faces from the water, always smelling like citrus and salt and herbs, and his dad keeps it stocked with plum tomatoes and clay-soft avocados when they're visiting. He's standing in fron of the big open windows now, three racks of ribs spread out on pans on the counter in front of him. His dad is at the sink, shucking ears of corn and humming along to an old Chente record.
Brown sugar. Smoked paprika. Onion powder. Chili powder. Garlic powder. Cayenne pepper. Salt. Pepper. More brown sugar. Alex measures each one out with his hands and dumps them into the bowl.
And then a bit later
They eat later that evening, big piles of elotes, pork tamales with salsa verde, a clay pot of frijoles charros, ribs. Henry gamely piles his plate with some of each and eyeballs it as if waiting for it to reveal its secrets to him, and Alex realises Henry has never eaten barbecue with his hands before.
Alex demonstrates and watches with poorly concealed glee as Henry gingerly picks up a rib with his fingertips and considers his approach, cheering as Henry dives in face-first and rips a hunk of meat off with his teeth. He chews proudly, a huge smear of barbecue sauce across his upper lip and the tip of his nose.
That last line is why ribs are something that I generally wouldn't order in a restaurant.
It just so happens that a couple of our kids are coming for dinner tonight and we are going to have barbecue, but not this kind of barbecue.
I have posted before about the differences in language and meaning which occurs between English speaking countries.
If my understanding is correct, then in some parts of the US what is described above is definitely barbecue whereas my definition of barbecue is more along the lines of grilling. To me to grill something is to put it under the grill section in the oven, which I think in the US would be called broiling. Fortunately we don't call anything broiling as far as I know! Of course, in our house, there is also a difference between a barbecue and a braai (the South African version of barbecue). Whilst the tools and equipment are similar, there are some differences between what you cook. Even just thinking about the braai we had when we were there has my mouth watering at the thought of really thick cut bacon being braaied - something I haven't had here. I have, however, had normal thickness bacon cooked on the barbie with eggs for breakfast. Anyway, I digress.
Last year we were given a slow cooker/pressure cooker combo which has been one of most successful gadget acquisitions. We have used it a quite a lot, which is good compared to those gadgets that you have to buy and then they sit in the cupboard unused. One of the recipes that we have cooked quite a lot is one for pork ribs. It comes from a book that we picked up quite randmoly but which we really enjoy cooking from. It gives you the recipes for cooking something either in the slow cooker or in the pressure cooker so you can decide which method suits you onthe day you are going to make it. So handy.
The actual recipe in the book includes a Cheesy Coleslaw, which we haven't yet made from scratch. Last time my son made this recipe we bought a pre-packaged coleslaw mix but he still added in the cheese. What a revelation that was!
Smoky Sticky Pork Ribs
2kg (4lb) American-style pork ribs
1 1/4 cups (310ml) water
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 cup (280g) barbecue sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
1/4 cup (55g) firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Cut pork ribs into pieces that will fit into the pieces that will fit into the pressure cooker.
Combine ribs and the water in a 6 litre (24 - cup) pressure cooker: secure lid. Bring cooker to high pressure. Reduce heat to stabilise pressure; cook for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Preheat grill (broiler)
Release pressure using the quick release method; remove lid. Drain ribs; combine with barbecue mixture. Place ribs, in a single layer, on oiled wire rack over large shallow baking dish filled with 1cm (1/2 inch) water. Grill ribs about 8 minutes or until browned, turning halfway through cooking time, basting with remaining barbecue mixture.
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we recently were given a Crockpot pressure cooker/slow cooker combo thingy, so we have been busy trying new recipes, especially since we bought a very clever Women's Weekly cookbook recently which has both a slow cooker and pressure cooker version of recipes. There are lots of recipes that we want to try in this cookbook as evidenced by all these little bits of paper wedged in the book!
So far we we have tried making a green curry chicken which was in the recipes that came with the gadget. We might keep looking for another recipe. We also tried a roasted carrot and sweet potato soup which wasn't a success either, but the other things we have made were great! They include barbecue pork ribs for 4 July (delicious), pork belly and then this week, in honour of Paris in July, we made cassoulet.
A traditional cassoulet is made in a dish of the same name, and can include confit duck as well as sausages and beans. We didn't have either the traditional dish or confit duck, but instead we used sausages, lamb shoulder,and bacon. Despite not being totally traditional, this was delicious!! It was perfect for a cold winner's night dinner and we will definitely be having it again this winter.
Because the recipe can be done two ways I am going to share images from the book. For every recipe there is a picture of the ingredients required and the finished product and then the two different versions of the recipe. It's very effective as a way to share a recipe.
I am also sharing this post with Paris in July hosted by Thyme for Tea.
Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.
