A family favorite is Guinness Stew. This is perfect for a cold and stormy evening supper.

2-3 ponds of stew meat cut into 2 inch cubes.

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions peeled and chopped

2 tbsp flour

1 pint of Guinness Dark beer

2 cups of beef stock - My favorite is Knorr beef bullion 1 cube to 2 cups of water

4 carrots peeled and cut into chunks

1 sprig of thyme

1 bay leaf

4 cloves of garlic minced.

frozen peas and pearl onions

Put flour in a quart sized ziplock bag. Add meat to flour in batches. In a large stew pot, brown the floured meat in batches and transfer to a plate. Add onions and garlic to pot after the meat is browned. Saute until soft (4 minutes). Reduce the heat and add the meat back to the stew pot. Stir to blend onion and garlic with the meat. Stir in Guinness, beef stock, carrots, thyme, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on a low heat 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until the meat is tender. If the stew needs more flavor, add a beef bullion cube (Knorr beef bullion is excellent) About 15 minutes before serving, I throw in a packet of frozen peas with pearl onion. Serve over egg noodles with a crusty french bread and a salad with ranch dressing for the PERFECT meal!

**Variation - If you cannot find frozen peas and pearl onions, you can throw in 15 -20 fresh (peeled) pearl onions with the carrots and just add fresh or frozen peas at the end.

Enjoy!

An adaption of the Potato Leek Soup is Cauliflower Soup. This is delicious and easy to make!

1 1/2 large onions chopped

2 tbsp butter

1/2 large head of cauliflower (use the florets or flower parts of the head)

3 large potatoes peeled and chopped (yellow gold make a creamier soup)

chicken bullion to taste

nutmeg

Saute chopped onion in butter until soft (not brown) in a large soup pot. Add 8 cups of water, cauliflower florets, and potatoes. Boil until cauliflower and potatoes are soft, add bullion to taste. I prefer Knorr chicken bullion cubes (1 cube to 2 cups of water) and use 3 1/2-4 cubes depending on taste. Then use a hand stick blender to blend the ingredients (or run it through a blender in batches until smooth and creamy). Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve with a crusty french bread, butter, and cheese.

Crab Cakes Two Ways: Southwestern or Asian Inspired with Sauce Ideas

There are a million and one delicious ways to make crab cakes. Even the tried and true recipe on the can of Old Bay seasoning is pretty delicious. It used to be that I didn't make crab cakes all that often because a pound of fresh crab meat can be astronomically expensive. However, these days respectably decent and affordable pasteurized crab meat is available at most supermarkets. Now don't get me wrong, fresh crab is better but, I'm just sayin'...

It is very easy to make a good crab cake, however, I have certainly been served some terrible ones in my time. There are a few simple rules for making good crab cakes, and they are as follows:

1. DO NOT over bread. Crab cakes need bread crumbs as a binder but they should be mostly crab.
2. DO NOT over mix. Be gentle with your crab cake mixture.
3. DO NOT over salt. Seafood is naturally a bit briny so use caution when applying extra salt.
4. DO NOT over cook. I saute crab cakes and I have heard rumors that some people bake them. No matter what cooking method you decide to use, keep an eye on them. Over cooked crab cakes are dry and rubbery.

Southwestern Crab Cakes with Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce

1 lb crab meat
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/2 - 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 chopped Serrano chili (or to taste)
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4-1/3 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the Serrano chili, garlic and onions in olive oil until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool a bit. When vegetables are cooled, gently fold all ingredients together. Gently form into 4- 6 cakes, depending on how large you like them. If you have time, place the raw crab cakes in the fridge for an hour to allow them to set, if not, no big. Heat a large skillet with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a couple of teaspoons of canola or other vegetable oil to medium high. Add the crab cakes being careful not to crowd the pan. Allow the crab cakes to brown thoroughly on one side before turning. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on the heat level. The crab cakes should brown but not burn. If they start getting too dark too soon, turn down the heat. To check for doneness, poke the middle with your finger. The center should give but be firm.

Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce:

1 cup of sour cream (low fat works fine)
2 canned chipotle chilies in adobe sauce, chopped (or to taste)
1-2 tablespoons cilantro
1 lime
1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch of sugar (a powdered sweetener works well, as it dissolves nicely)
salt, to taste.
Grate the zest of the lime. Mix all of the above ingredients adding as much lime zest and lime juice as you like.


Asian Crab Style Crab Cakes with Wasabi Sour Cream Sauce

Just a few substitutions to the recipe for the Southwestern version are necessary give your crab cakes an Asian twist. Instead of using red onions, thinly slice 3 green onions, using all of the white and most of the green. Do not saute the green onions but add them raw to the crab cake mixture. Saute the garlic and Serrano chilies with 2 teaspoons of fresh, chopped ginger. Omit the cayenne pepper and cumin. Add 1/2 teaspoon, or more if you like, wasabi sauce. Otherwise, use all the other ingredients as listed above and proceed accordingly.

Wasabi Crab Cake Sauce
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon wasabi sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped, pickled or fresh ginger
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
lime juice, to taste

Mix all of the ingredients and serve with crab cakes.