Beef Burgundy

I always knew that someone special was coming for dinner when my mom made this dish.  This isn't your run-of-the-mill Tuesday night dinner!

It's special for another reason too.  This recipe was my Mammaw's.  She taught my mom how to make it, my mom just taught me how to make it, and now I am passing the recipe to you!

Don't be too worried about getting the measurements exactly right; mom doesn't measure and everything is guesstimated! :)

Salt pork or jowl bacon for drippings
About 3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 lbs sirloin, cubed
1 carton beef stock
12 oz. burgundy wine (I found a small bottle next to the vinegar at the grocery)
Half an orange, somewhat hollowed out
Thyme (I used a few fresh sprigs)
Marjoram (I probably used about 1 tsp.)
Tarragon (I probably used about 1 1/2 tsp.)
Black peppercorns (ummm...about 1 1/2 tsp.?)
Kosher Salt (about 1 tsp?)
2 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
Jar of pearl onions
Mushrooms (Ick, I pick these out!)

Fry salt pork in a dutch oven until done.  Dredge sirloin in flour.  Remove salt pork from grease and discard.  Brown sirloin in salt pork drippings.  (Don't cook it through, just enough to brown it!)  Drain meat of remaining grease and add broth and burgundy.

In the hollowed out orange, combine spices and garlic.  (I didn't measure, just filled it with a little of each.) Wrap up the orange in a cheesecloth and tie off with a knot.  Place orange in the center of the meat and broth.  Place in oven and cook at 325 degrees for about three hours.

Remove from oven and add onions and mushrooms.  Cook an additional hour.  Remove orange and serve over noodles.  You can also cook this in the crock pot on low for 4-5 hours.

Caramel Apple Muffins {Applefest Recipe #10!}

This recipe originally called for butterscotch chips; which I thought sounded fantastic!  So off I went to the grocery to gather supplies.  I had the butterscotch chips in my hand and then I spotted these:

If butterscotch chips would be good...can you imagine caramel???  They did not disappoint!  These muffins are really yummy.  Bits of apple...bits of caramel...crunchy brown sugar on the top.  mmmm.  And surprisingly, they aren't too sweet.  They would make a great breakfast treat!

2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¾ cup old-fashioned oats
8 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
½ cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup applesauce (I had this applesauce already made so I used it.)
2 large eggs
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
¾ cup caramel bits
¾ cup chopped apples
1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped (I left these out because I'm allergic.)

For topping:
about 1/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Grease muffin tins.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Mix lightly with a fork to blend.  Stir in the oats.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the applesauce, eggs and vanilla extract until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and beating just until incorporated.  Fold in the caramel bits and apples with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups.  Top each muffin with 1/2 tsp. of brown sugar and press down.  The batter is quite thick so it needs to be pushed down a little.  Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from Sugar Plum

Thanks so much for hanging out with me the last ten days!  It's been fun trying out all of these apple recipes!  There will be more themed postings to come.  In a couple of weeks I will be posting five days of Halloween goodies.  Check back!  

Apple Dumplings {Applefest Recipe #9}

When asking what everyone's favorite apple recipe was, I got a comment about apple dumplings made with...wait for it, wait for it...Mt. Dew.  Mt. Dew?!  Well it sounded crazy enough for me to try.  Oh em gee.  These little babies were fantastic!  My hubby took one to work and shared it with a co-worker.  Because your child might be reading over your shoulder, I won't tell you how she described this delicious dessert.  Let's just say they are good.  Oh. So. Good.

2 baking apples (I used golden delicious)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 oz. Mt. Dew


1 can crescent roll dough (I used the kind that is not cut into rolls, just a sheet that you roll out)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an 8 x 8 casserole dish.  Peel and core apples.  (I used my handy dandy Pampered Chef peeler/slicer/corer so they were sliced too, but they don't have to be).  

Roll out crescent dough (you might need to break out the rolling pin to make the dough a uniformed rectangle).  Cut dough into four rectangles with a pizza wheel.  

Cut apples in half and place a half an apple on each dough rectangle.  

Gather corners of dough and lift up.  Hold it there for a few seconds, letting the weight of the apple stretch the dough a bit.  Twist the four stretched out corners and tuck down over the apple.  

Repeat with the other three.  Place apples in the greased casserole dish.  Melt butter and sugars in small saucepan.  Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in Mt. Dew and cinnamon.  I sprinkled some white sugar sprinkles on the top to give a little sparkle. :)  Pour mixture over apples and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Tomorrow is the last day of Applefest--make sure to check back!