Chicken Thighs and Vegetable Stew on Polenta

#113
Classification: Chicken
Prep/Cook Time: 90 minute
Servings: 4-6

This Italian dish is really delicious! I loved the creaminess of the polenta, something I've only learned to make from scratch in the past year. I can totally see doing variations of the stew....like adding olives and artichoke hearts instead of the zucchini and carrots. William loved it so much, he had a huge bowl of seconds!

Substitutions/Additions:

The only substitute I made was to use gluten-free flour instead of regular flour. One thing to note is that you have to fry things coated with GF flour at a lower temperature or risk burning it.

Verdict:

Mmm mmm good!

Spicy Cuban Pork Stew

#72
Classification: Pork
Prep/Cook Time: 3 hours
Servings: 6

This fall, we took delivery of a whole hog from Lopez Island Farm. We've been buying from this farm for four years now, but this is the first we went whole hog! I love the pork from this farm...it has so much more flavor than what you buy in the store. I believe it's because the pigs were happy. They had a huge pasture to run and root in. They got to eat bugs and vegetables....not pig mush or food that was filled with meal. They also weren't shot up with hormones or antibiotics. All the butchering was done at the farm with a mobile unit, so the animals were all stressed out like those at a slaughtering house. 

Since I have a freezer full of pork, I decided that the next stew I made would have to make sue of some of it. We both like spicy food, so the Spicy Cuban Pork Stew sounded quite appealing.

Substitutions/Additions:

I only had about a 1/4 cup of tomato paste, so I added hot pepper tomato paste to make up the difference. I figured that since the stew was supposed to be spicy, it couldn't hurt. Plus, as you have come to know, I like to make a recipe my own. I also didn't have pork steaks, so I use country style ribs that I cut into cubes.

Verdict:

Yum! Did I say, Yum?! I wasn't sure about the olives with pimentos...I like olives in things, but they are usually black olives or kalamata olives, not the cheap olives I grew up eating as a kid.  I'm glad I used the hot pepper tomato paste....I don't think it would have been as spicy without it. The peppers alone don't give it enough body, so it's very meat heavy. When I make this stew again, I plan to also cook some rice and serve the stew over a bowl of rice. I also will start earlier. I didn't realize the meat should be marinated a couple of hours, so by the time I discovered this, it only marinated about 10 minutes before I had to add it to the pan...that, or eat at 9pm.

Irish Stew

#83
Classification: Lamb
Prep/Cook Time: 2 hours
Servings: 6

What's not to love about Irish Stew? It's filled with lamb and potatoes, which spells comfort food in my book! Traditionally served with Irish soda bread, but it's carbs we don't need in our diet. So instead, I served it with a nice arugula salad (need those greens). This recipe is extremely easy, so even a beginner can successfully make the stew.

I plan to travel to Ireland in 2016, so I will have to compare this recipe with some authentic Irish stew while I'm there, and see if they add anything besides lamb, potatoes and onions.

Substitutions/Additions:

Since I always make a recipe my own by changing it up, I added about a tsp. of fenugreek in addition to the thyme, salt and pepper. Fenugreek is an herb that I just discovered this past year and have fallen in love with...it's perfect for soups and stews!

I also only used half the amount of onions....I love how onions flavor food and add texture, but four large onions is a bit too much for me.

Verdict:

I was very surprised that this recipe didn't call for carrots. Every other recipe I found on the internet called for them. While the stew was good, it wasn't very exceptional....and a bit too "oniony" for my taste. I also found the broth to be kind of bland in both color and taste. Other recipes I found used beef stock, not chicken. I think beef would have been better.

Seattle Seafood Chowder

#133
Classification: Seafood
Prep/Cook Time: 1.5 hours
Servings: 6

The first recipe I made is not the first one in the book....I'd rather mix them up than do them in order. Maryana says to serve with tangy coleslaw and three-cheese bread, but the chowder was plenty by itself. My husband is gluten-intolerant, so I substituted gluten-free flour for the regular flour listed in the recipe.

Substitutions and Additions

Since I always like to make a recipe my own, I made a couple of changes, besides the GF flour substitution. Halibut was hard to find and what was available was extremely expensive, so I substituted it with ling cod, which I got on sale. I also added about 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper to give it a slight kick. To make it dairy-free, just use Earth Balance for the butter and almond milk instead of half and half. If I make this again, which I probably will since it's so good, I might add some bacon.

Verdict

I give this a 5 out of 5 stars and my husband agrees!