Pressure Cooker Boeuf Bourguignon

Oh. my. goodness. I am so happy about this recipe! I used two recipes and my own intuition to come up with this version and it's perfection (if I do say so myself :D ) I absolutely plan to make a video of the preparation for this at some point soon-ish. We ate this without any side, just some crusty French bread--excellent! 

Ingredients:

~5 slices (125g) thick bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2" pieces

1 small/medium yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lb. beef stew meat (around 1" cubes)

salt and pepper, to taste

2 T. all-purpose flour

1 c. (plus an extra splash) Shiraz wine (I used 19 Crimes Shiraz, will use again)

1 c. beef broth (plus an extra splash)

1/2 c. tomato sauce

16 baby carrots

8 oz. button mushrooms, thickly sliced

bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, and a bay leaf)

chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon pieces until they just start to crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

2. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until starts to turn translucent (around 2-3 min). Add the garlic and cook for around 30 more sec. Transfer to plate with bacon.

3. Increase heat slightly. Add beef to skillet--do NOT crowd! (I did mine in 2 batches). Brown well on all sides. Transfer to the pressure cooker pot.

4. Deglaze the pan with the Shiraz, stirring and scraping up the browned bits. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 2-3 minutes.

5. While the Shiraz is cooking/reducing, add the bacon and onion to the pressure cooker pot. Sprinkle the flour over everything in the pot and stir to combine/coat.

6. Pour in the Shiraz, followed by the beef broth and tomato sauce. Add the carrots and mushrooms, then stir to combine/coat. If needed, add a splash more of beef broth and/or tomato sauce so that most of the veggies and meat are mostly (but not entirely) covered.

7. Submerge the bouquet garni in the mixture, then cover the pot and make sure it is locked, with valve in "sealing" position.

8. Press the meat/stew button and set for 40 min of pressure cooking. When the time is up, unplug and leave for 10 minutes of natural release time, then open valve to release remaining pressure.

9. Dish up, garnish with chopped parsley, and enjoy! 

Pressure Cooker Chicken Breast & Potatoes

Really loved this dish, personally, but hubby just liked it okay. 

Original recipe credit: https://therecipewell.com/instant-pot-chicken-and-potatoes/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil

1.8 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

1.5 lbs. mini gold potatoes (or larger ones cut to similar size)

3 T. salted butter

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. chicken broth

3 T. lemon juice

1 T. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. sea salt, plus more for seasoning the chicken

black pepper, to taste

1 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. water

Directions:

1. Season the chicken breasts all over with sea salt and pepper.

2. Set pressure cooker to sauté function and add the olive oil. Once heated, add the chicken and sear on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side). Transfer to plate and set aside.

3. Melt the butter in the pot and add the minced garlic. Turn off the sauté function and let the garlic cook in the residual heat for around a minute.

4. Add the chicken broth, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

5. Add the potatoes to the pot, then place the trivet in the pot and arrange the chicken atop it in an even layer.

6. Close/lock the lid on the pot and set the vent to "sealing". Set the cooker to poultry (high) for 5 minutes of pressure cooking.

7. Once the pressure cooking has finished, do a natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release rest of pressure afterwards.

8. Transfer potatoes and chicken to a plate. Remove the trivet from the pot.

9. Set to 'sauté' function. Once the sauce reaches simmer, whisk in the cornstarch/water mixture. Continue simmering for 2-3 minutes, until thickened.

10. Serve the chicken and potatoes drizzled with the sauce. Enjoy!

Creamy Gruyère Pasta

So easy, quick, and delicious! We will be making this again for sure! next time, might add some chicken.

Original recipe credit: https://www.girlgonegourmet.com/creamy-gruyere-spaghetti/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

2 T. grated Parmesan (used shelf stable kind)

1/2 T. olive oil

coarse ground pepper, to taste

5 oz. linguine (also think it would be good with farfalle)

2 T. butter

1 T. flour

1 c. 2% milk

1 tsp. herbes de Provence

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 c. grated Gruyère

~ 2 c. fresh spinach (didn't measure, just added the amount I thought looked right)

Directions:

1. Cook linguine according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, combine the Parmesan, olive oil, and a couple of pinches of pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Once frothy, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for around a minute.

4. Slowly stream in the milk, whisking constantly while doing so. Do NOT let the milk boil (reduce heat if needed).

5. Stir in the herbes de Provence and Kosher salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Stir in the cheese until it has fully integrated in the sauce. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat.

7. Turn on the broiler. Once the pasta is ready (and drained), stir the sauce in with it. Transfer to a broiler-safe pan/dish. Top with the reserved Parmesan mixture and transfer to oven.

8. Broil for around 2 minutes, or until topping starts to brown a bit. Remove from oven, serve, and enjoy!

3 Cheese Stuffed Portobellos

Oh seriously mmmm! Made these to accompany the chicken drumsticks, yet after tasting the portobellos, declared I'd happily have a plate of just those for dinner! I'm hoping I can duplicate my results/recipe, as I didn't really measure anything (I started with measuring, but the mushrooms were not as big as expected after initial baking, so had to adapt). Below are my best guesses for the amounts.

Ingredients:

4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed and gills scraped out

olive oil (no idea how much of this total), divided

salt and pepper, to taste

~1 oz. each: mozzarella, Parmesan, and Asiago cheeses, shredded

2 small garlic cloves, minced, divided

zest from 1/2 of a lemon

chopped basil and curly parsley (~2 T. total), divided

~1/3 c. panko

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Brush portobellos all over with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms on a baking tray, stemmed side down. Bake for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: in a small bowl, combine the cheeses, 3/4 of the minced garlic, lemon zest, around 2/3 of the basil and parsley, ~1/2 T. of olive oil, and salt & pepper (to taste).

3. For the topping: in another small bowl, combine the panko with remaining garlic, remaining basil & parsley, and ~1 T. olive oil.

4. Once the mushrooms have baked for 20 minutes, remove from oven and turn over. "Fill" each with a fourth of the filling (cheese) mixture. Return to oven and bake for 5 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and switch oven to broiler setting (high). Top each mushroom with a fourth of the topping (panko) mixture. Broil for 1-2 minutes, until panko begins to brown. Remove from oven, serve, and enjoy!

Pressure Cooker Chicken Drumsticks

YUM. These drumsticks are easy and fantastic, 10+/10 all the way! We will be having these on the regular for sure!

Original recipe credit: https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-chicken-drumsticks/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 T. salt

3/4 tsp. pepper

10-12 chicken drumsticks (I did not measure weight; most were average to large)

~1 T. olive oil (I did not measure, had to actually add a little during second batch)

~1 T. butter (same note as olive oil)

1 c. chicken broth

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. water

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

2. Sprinkle this mixture to coat the chicken drumsticks as evenly as possible.

3. In the pot of the pressure cooker, heat the olive oil and butter together using the sauté function. Once it is heated, brown the chicken (about half of it fits, so you will need 2 batches). Transfer to a plate.

4. Turn off the sauté function. Place the trivet in the cooker, then add the chicken broth. Arrange the chicken atop the trivet (I let the bone/handle end hang down through the trivet for some pieces to let them fit better).

5. Close/lock the cooker and set the valve to "sealing". Set for "poultry" (high) for 10 minutes of pressure. Once it has finished, let the pressure naturally release.

6. Once the pressure releases, transfer cooked chicken to a plate and remove the trivet. Turn on the sauté function.

7. In a small cup, stir together the cornstarch and water. Add this mixture to the sauce in the pot and stir to combine. Let simmer for around 5 minutes, or until desired thickness is achieved.

8. Serve sauce with chicken and enjoy!

Amazingly Awesome Chocolate Cake From Scratch!

Entry in progress...hang tight!

I rarely make cakes from scratch, as I like boxed cakes just fine and don't always have a lot of time to make from scratch...or so I thought. This cake has changed my mind. It really did not take all the much longer to put the ingredients together, and honestly--it is the best chocolate cake I have ever had! Not just the cake itself, but also the frosting! This will also be my go-to for chocolate frosting going forward. It's so perfectly balanced and not too heavy on the buttery-ness (I say this because MANY frosting recipes are too greasy/buttery for my taste). I hope you will give it a try!

And yes, you have to use self-rising flour for this. If you don't have self-rising flour, don't try this recipe.

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/Nz8X0You6EE

Original recipe credit: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/self-rising-chocolate-cake-recipe

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

for the cake batter--

6 T. salted butter, softened

6 T. canola oil

397g (2 c.) sugar

63g (3/4 c.) dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

312g (2 3/4 c.) self-rising flour

1 1/2 c. water

for the frosting--

149g (1 3/4 c.) dutch-process cocoa powder

397g (3 1/2 c.) powdered sugar, divided

1 c. heavy cream

2 sticks (1 c.) unsalted butter, softened

1/8 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8" round cake pans (original says you can do two 9" instead; will post here if I ever try it that way).

2. For the cake batter-- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, canola oil, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract until they form a smooth paste.

3. Beat in eggs one at a time.

4. Add the flour and water in small additions, alternating between them, beginning and ending with flour. Mix at the end until smooth/combined.

5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing tops gently with the spatula. If desired, tap pans gently on counter a few times to pull out some any bubbles (I did not do this).

6. Bake cakes for 30-35 min, until fork/toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

7. Cool in pan for 5 min, then loosen edges with a spatula and turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

8. Once the cakes have completely cooled, prepare the frosting: start with sifting the cocoa powder plus 170g (1 1/2 c.) of the powdered sugar into a bowl.

9. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer (I did this in a pan on the stove; you may opt for microwave instead).

10. Pour the heavy cream into the sifted cocoa/powdered sugar mixture, whisking as you pour it in. The mixture will look grainy at first, but will gradually get smoother. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

11. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, salt and remaining 227g (2 c.) of the powdered sugar.

12. With the mixer running on low speed, add the cocoa mixture a spoonful at a time (I used a soup spoon) until it is all incorporated. Once all has been added, beat at medium sped for 1 minute.

13. Frost the cake, serve, and enjoy!

Sherry Lemongrass Glazed Duck Breasts

Suuuper yum! If you love duck breast like we do, you have to try this recipe! If you haven't ever had duck breast, this is a great first recipe to try. I served it with simple roasted red potatoes (seasoned only with salt and pepper, tossed in olive oil), and a side salad--perfect! The only issue I have with this recipe is that it takes quite a bit of time to prepare the lemongrass (be sure to plan for this); once you have that, the rest is easy :)

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/gN8v87EMUnQ

Original recipe credit: https://www.harvestyourown.ca/get-cooking/sherry-lemongrass-glazed-duck-breast/

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

1/2 T. canola oil

1/6 c. finely chopped shallots

heaping 1/2 T. chopped fresh ginger

1/2 c. lemongrass (tender inner part), finely chopped

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. sherry vinegar

2 duck breasts

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat canola oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, for around 3 min.

2. Add the ginger and lemongrass. Stir and cook for around 1 min,

3. Stir in the sugar and sherry vinegar. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Keep at boil, stirring occasionally, and boil until reaches syrupy consistency (not sure how long, as I tried just simmering as original recipe said, was not getting there, so I increased heat to boil, which finally worked. Will update when I make next time.)

4. Meanwhile, score the duck breast skin in a cross-hatch pattern (be careful to only cut skin, not meat!) Season with salt and pepper (to taste), then place skin side down in a skillet (I used and recommend cast iron). Use low to medium-low heat to render the fat and slowly cook the duck breasts. Let cook until skin is crisped and browned (at least 8 min; mine took closer to 12 min). Turn breasts over and cook on other side until desired doneness is reached (I went around 5 min, which made mine close to medium).

5. Drizzle breasts with sauce to serve. Enjoy!