This is a super easy dip that is always a huge hit at parties, and it's refreshing and healthy enough for a poolside barbecue. Serve this dip with assorted veggies or pita chips, or use it as a topping for grilled meats or veggies. It's also perfect as a high protein salad dressing.
With a massive winter storm bearing down on the east coast this week, I am in need of warm and comforting dinner ideas. I am used to roughly three days of winter, but apparently it is snowing in Florida this year, and I am just not cut out for the cold. I realize Florida "winter" is not anything like a winter anywhere north of here, but if Florida is this cold, than everyone must need some extra warmth this week. This stew is the perfect warming winter dish to take the edge off of the winter chill. It is best served by a warm fire with a fabulous red wine.
Beef Stew with Pumpkin Butternut Mash
Serves 4
5oz frozen cubed butternut quash
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled
1tbsp butter
1lb beef stew meat
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 14.5oz canned pumpkin
1 tbsp butter
1-2 tsp ground cloves
1-2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tbsp butter
2 tsp fresh thyme for serving
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash and peeled garlic on lightly greased baking sheet. Cover lightly with foil, and roast approximately twenty minutes, or until squash is cooked through and tender. Remove foil and roast another twenty or so minutes until squash and garlic develop a brown and slightly caramelized color. Transfer to a food processor.
While squash is roasting, brown the lightly salted* beef over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Once browned, remove from dutch oven and set aside. Add onions, carrots, and garlic to dutch oven, and sauté, scraping up the browned bits from the beef. Once softened, add beef back to dutch oven along with wine, stock, and thyme sprigs. Lower the heat and cover to slowly braise the beef for roughly one hour.
Meanwhile, combine roasted squash, garlic, pumpkin, 1 tbsp butter, salt, cloves, allspice and pumpkin pie spice in the food processor, and process until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with salt.
Once beef is cooked through and tender, remove the lid of the dutch oven, and increase heat, allowing stew liquid to reduce by at least half. Stir in tomato paste and butter, and continue reducing until a thick, stew-like texture is achieved. Once reduced, season with salt to taste.
To serve, ladle stew over pumpkin mash in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle with fresh thyme.
*Adding too much salt early in the cooking process will leave you with a salty stew once the liquid is reduced, so wait to add your salt (other than a small amount for the beef) until just before serving to ensure that you get the appropriate salt level.
I love an açaà bowl, but many of them are just okay. They aren't anywhere near as good as eating an authentic açaà bowl on a super hot day in Brazil. You can find juice bars with açaà bowls all over Brazil, especially since they have the most amazing fruit there. I chose to top this bowl with another Brazilian staple: passion fruit. I also chose to make this bowl with a little bit of coconut water, rather than the traditional guarana syrup, in an effort to be a little less sweet. The result is just as refreshing, just without the buzz.
I came up with this dish while trying to come up with main course for Valentine's Day. I wanted something that felt special and elegant, but wasn't too heavy for a three course meal. Let's face it, ending up in a food coma on Valentine's Day is no good. This dish was perfect for that. I served a steak tartare for the first course, and vanilla ice cream with a cherry port topping for dessert. The butternut mash is warm and comforting, and the lemony vinaigrette was added the right amount of brightness to the dish. I paired this course with a white Bordeaux which worked beautifully with the bright citrusy vinaigrette. And while this dish certainly felt special enough for a Valentine, it is easy enough to make on a buys weeknight.
On most weeknights in our house, we eat some combination of chicken and vegetables. Given how often we do this, we have to get creative with the types of vegetable accompaniment we serve. Here we served chicken thighs over roasted garlic mashed cauliflower, and topped it with a mixture of peppers and onions sautéed in vinegar for a super comforting weeknight meal full of flavor. The brightness of the peperonata works perfectly with the mellow roasted garlic flavor of the mashed cauliflower, and will leave you asking for seconds. This recipe may sound like a lot of steps, but it's quicker and easier than you might think.
Super healthy and super delicious, this soup is the perfect make-ahead dinner. It's also super easy to make. It clocks in around 125 calories for a one cup serving, is loaded with protein, and is perfect topped with a little avocado and cilantro. Adjust the number of peppers to your liking to spice it up or tone it down. If you're like me, and want the extra heat, add the seeds to the pot with peppers.
