Thursday 14th Aug '08

Lunch - Spaghetti Bolognaise

Dinner - Beef & Red Wine Casserole

I felt like beef for dinner but something other than a good juicy steak. I decided to make a hearty casserole. I dug around at the back of the bottom cupboard for the large Corningware casserole dish we have. I love cooking with these! They're ovenproof, dishwasherproof, directflameproof - just fantastic! I am so tempted to buy some differently shaped and sized ones in Singapore when I go at the end of the year for holidays. The only problem is that the weight restrictions on the planes for checked-in luggage is down reduced to only 20kg - WAH!

Here's a basic recipe for how I made the casserole. If you don't have a casserole dish that's ok to go on the stove and in the oven, then just cook it all in a pan and then transfer into an ovenproof dish for going into the oven.



Beef & Red Wine Casserole

1. Brown large pieces of diced beef chuck steak in some olive oil in pan. Use a high heat and make sure all sides of the meat pieces are sealed before putting aside


2. Add some chopped garlic and onion to the pan and sautee until they start to brown.


3. Add sliced leek, diced carrots and mushrooms. Fry for a few minutes until softened.


4. Add a generous spoon of tomato paste. Stir


5. Pour in some red wine (or you can use white wine) and deglaze.


6. Add a can of diced tomatoes, break up a cube of beef stock and stir in.


7. Add some water if it starts to get too thick.


8. Return the beef pieces and simmer for a few minutes.


9. Place lid on the dish (or transfer into an ovenproof dish) and bake in a preheated oven at 180degrees Celcius for about half an hour.


10. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Christina had her mashed potatos
with some grated cheese

Delicious hearty meal perfect for a cold winter night

As I'm having some people over for dinner tomorrow night, I came up with the idea of making some fruit and jelly cups for dessert. I used up a large can of fruit salad by putting a big spoonful into each cup. After I'd added the first layer of jelly - Port Wine - it occurred to me that I should have made them yellow and green for the Aussie colours. Just to get into the spirit of the Olympic Games. Dratz! I'd just have to make the other two layers yellow and green.

Bottom layer - fruit salad and Port Wine jelly
Middle layer - Mango jelly

The top layer would have to wait until tomorrow to be added.