Aisle Twelve

It's that time of year again: slow cooker season. There is no better feeling than coming home to a rich, flavorful dinner that you hardly had to lift a finger for. That is why slow cookers should be called life savers, or sanity savers, or good smell factories. They are the best. I've mentioned before though that it can be challenging to find a slow cooker recipe that is not a soup, stew or chili. Here's one that's a little different and just as rib stickingly delicious. Ropa Vieja literally translates to old clothes. I'm not quite sure why. Is it because the shreds of beef look like old tattered clothing? Or because you gobble it up so fast you make a hot mess of your shirt which now becomes old clothes? Either way, this meal is delicious. Think pot roast with a little Spanish flair. Being married to a Cuban, I find that I am frequently requested to make Cuban dishes.  The problem is, I haven't had much experience in authentic Cuban food.  That chang...

I'm not Irish, but if there was one heritage I wish I could be its Irish; and French, and Greek, and Brazilian, and Argentinian...ok, so I admire a lot of heritages.  But Irish seems like a good thing to be, especially this time of year.  So on a particularly rainy and dreary Sunday, after a week of colds and sickness, beef and stout stew sounded like a good idea.  I searched the Internet for a recipe that I could use, but I didn't find one I liked.  Meaning: I wanted one that was simple and didn't take too long (so no slow cooker.)  So, I made up my own recipe.  I've only done this a handful of times with mixed success, so I was a little nervous.  But it turned out great!  I basically went with a beouf bourginon process, only with stout instead of red wine.  It might not be the most authentic Irish stew, but I hope it would make an Irish person proud.  Beef and Stout Stew (Serves 4) 1 lb beef stew meat, cu...

The inspiration for this dish came from a recipe in Everyday Food.  What I love about it is that it is basically a complete meal in one delicious package; you've got your meat, your veggies and its all wrapped in delicious puff pastry.  Puff pastry is one of the best items in the cooking world.  You defrost a sheet and wrap it around some ingredients and voila, you've got a restaurant quality meal.  Beef hand pies remind me of something we have in Northern Michigan called pasties.  I haven't had a pasty in years but this is kind of a stepped up version of that.  Feel free to switch up the veggies or use turkey or chicken instead of beef.  This dish would be a complete meal served with a simple green salad. It's safe enough for kids and could even be nice enough for company.  Beef Hand Pies - makes 8 pies 1 package puff pastry, thawed flour for dusting olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 small onion, diced 1 lb ground beef sirlo...