A couple Saturdays ago, some old friends (the best kind) came for dinner. I planned the kind of meal that encourages you to sit, and munch, and taste, and chat, and rest, and munch again... the kind that goes very well with bottles of vino and conversation. The first time I had this meal was with my good friend Yani. She made this for me when she was visiting from Vancouver in February. We spent hours eating and drinking and chatting and then went dancing. Since then, I've enjoyed it with a number of good friends. I'm sorry, I don't have a photo for you, but here's the gist:
Calamari & Tomato Stew
(this dish may have a real name, but I'm not sure what it is... perhaps it's something Italian...)
-For four people, you need about 2 pounds of squid, cleaned and chopped
-Garlic - at least 6 cloves
-One medium sized onion, diced
-Four carrots, grated or diced
-Bay leaves
-Fresh thyme
-White wine - about half a bottle
-Capers
-Chili flakes
-Fresh parsley
-Pitted Kalamata olives
-One tin of whole tomatoes
-One tin of tomato puree - not tomato paste. I used puree I made last summer, and it's much more liquid than the puree you buy in the grocery store. If you have a grocery store tin, you should thin it out with some water. You want a soupy/brothy stew
In a large pot, saute the onion, carrot and garlic (about three cloves minced) in olive oil over medium heat with a teaspoon of salt until they start to turn translucent and are aromatic. Don't caramelize the onions. Add a teaspoon (or more if you like it spicy!) of chili flakes and stir until aromatic. Remove the leaves from your fresh thyme and add to the pot (as much as you like). Pour in about 3/4 of the wine to de-glaze. Add your tomatoes; mash the whole tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. Add bay leaves and let simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning (I like to add a dash of balsamic vinegar and/or some brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato).
In a skillet, saute garlic (the other three cloves minced) in olive oil over medium heat until aromatic - do not burn. Add chopped squid and lightly saute. Add the rest of the white wine and let squid cook until lightly firm but not rubbery. Pour the contents of this skillet into the pot with the tomato and wine. Let these flavours meld together for a few minutes. Add the capers and olives to taste (remember they are salty), and some chopped fresh parsley. Serve with fresh bread and a green salad.
Another great meal to share with friends is a traditional Sunday supper. It's one of our favourite meals to cook for friends. Recently, Roland and I served roast beef and Yorkshire pudding to friends for dinner. I'm very in-favour of aging beef before it is roasted. This is very easy to do, and truly improves the flavour of the roast. While I don't have any photos of this fabulous Sunday supper, I would like to share with you how to age a lovely piece of beef in your refridgerator.
We get our meat from a local farmer - we participate in their meatshare. We give them a little sum of money, and they give us Angus beef - pastured raised, Tamworth pork, Shopshire lamb and free-range chicken. The meat is so good, that all it needs is to be roasted with a little salt and pepper. Aging this meat only enhances its deliciousness.
This couldn't be easier: take your thawed piece of beef and place it on a cooling rack set over a rimmed baking tray. Cover the roast lightly with a few pieces of paper towel or a clean tea towel. Find room in your fridge, and set the tray (with beef) in the fridge. Leave it alone for a few days - the longer the better. The day you plan to cook the beef, remove it from the fridge and carefully slice off the dry, leathery bits on the outside of the roast. Let come to room temperature before you roast using your preferred method.
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