New Favorite Toy: Dutch Oven

I love my newest kitchen toy. Basic, multi-purpose, last a lifetime good: it's a dutch oven. It takes up a lot of space, that i really don't have in this apartment kitchen, but it's worth it!

Remember that delicious bread i baked the other day? That was all thanks to my dutch oven! Mimicking the environment of a super hot bakery oven, my bread turned out as good or better than that fancy artisanal bread you find at the store for $5.00 or more.

Do you remember my mentioning my inexperience with cooking meat? I no longer have to think and can bust out the MOST DELICIOUS roasts and other meaty/veggie dishes with ease and minimal effort. Just toss meat, veggies, some herbs and wine into my dutch oven and bake low and slow to enjoy with minimal dishes or time spent in the kitchen. I think i about crawled INTO the dutch oven to lick up every last bit of this pork shoulder roast. The fresh hedgehog mushrooms from The Mushroomery didn't hurt either.

I'd like to say that i got my new dutch oven at the thriftstore where i work, but i actually got this oven new from Wayfair.com. I did get a set of two cast iron pans, one with a lid passed down from my step-dad for Christmas that i have been loving equally. So now i'm set! I found a few Revereware pots and pans from work, and have begun removing all the non-stick pans and pots from my drawers. I'm so happy to get away from those chemical lined pieces, and back to good old fashioned (and really functional!) cast iron and copper lined stainless steel. The nonsticks were great when they were new, but one use of a pizza cutter or immersion blender in those pots and pans chipped up that coating and cooking with them fills me with malaise.

How about you? Do you love nonstick cookware, or are you a fan of cast iron/stainless steel?

Goat Stew

Woo hoo, i'm a stew fiend now! After my very first attempt at stew, i've gained confidence and am comfy just throwing things in and letting them 'stew' away all day. With delicious results!

Remember those shoulder steaks i picked up from Winn's Livestock and Hatchery? We thawed em out, chopped em up and tossed them with some flour and seasonings before cooking them slowly in my new dutch oven. By leaving the bones in, we got the benefit of the marrow infused into the stew liquids. Yum.

Goat Stew

• 2 goat shoulder steaks, chopped, fat included
•  Sprig fresh rosemary
• Bay leaf
• 2 carrots
• 3 potatoes
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 onion/ 1 leek
• 2 dried chillis
• 1 bunch radishes
• canned corn
• Splash red wine
• Water to cover meat/veg
• Salt/pepper
• Flour to coat (about a handful)

Cut the meat and toss it with the herbs and flour and toss into a pre-heated dutch oven. Brown meat by stirring about, but don't cook through. Add chopped onions, leeks and garlic and stir. Add potatoes and liquid to cover the meat and veg. Let come to a boil then turn way down, cover and let simmer for hours. Add carrots about halfway through. Adding a splash of apple cider vinigar a few minutes before serving is fun, too. The canned corn goes in right at the end. The vinegar helps to "lift" the flavor.

I topped the stew off with some baby arugula which added brightness, bite and some necessary green veg. Someone asked 'but how did it taste' about the ground goatmeat we had in our chilli recently, and i wasn't sure. This time, though: i can report. GOOD! Meaty, tender, lean, but just enough decadent to make it comfort food. Lunch leftovers never tasted so good.

Is it still stew season in your neck of the woods?