rosemary – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

8-28: Flemish Beef Casserole

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses November 16, 2022November 16, 2022bay leaves, beef, beef bouillon, beef broth, beer, Belgian, black pepper, boiled, bouquet garni, brown sugar, canola oil, casserole, chuck roast, cornstarch, dairy-free, deglazed, dinner, Dutch, Dutch oven, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, Flemish, French, garlic, herbs and spices, Italian parsley, lunch, minced, rosemary, round steak, salt, sautéed, simmered, slurry, strained, thyme, untested, vegetable oil, vinegar, yellow onions

Another day, another Simply Delicious casserole. Today’s version is 8-28: Flemish Beef Casserole, which doesn’t tell you much other than it’s going to involve beef and will be somewhat Flemish in nature. I didn’t grow up with a lot of casseroles (especially not Flemish beef ones), but they were (and still are, for the most part) popular because they are cheap, easy, and feed a lot of people.

Interesting that they claim it’s a family recipe, but it includes beer. Doesn’t bother me personally, but I know that doesn’t fly for some folks (mostly due to religious or other exceptions). I suppose most of the alcohol would cook off and not really have any effect, but even the mere inclusion of it can be a no-go for some.

19-6: Fresh Herbs

Jamie Martin Group 19: Basic Ingredients, Section 4: Cooking School August 3, 2022August 17, 2022basil, bouquet garni, chives, cooking school, fines herbes, garnish, herb salt, herb-roasted, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, lavender, lemon balm, mint, new book, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, summer, tarragon, Thai basil, thyme, watercress

Since it’s summer, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share my summer garden with you, courtesy of 19-6: Fresh Herbs. This one came from the new book, and is the prequel (of sorts) to 19-7: Fresh and Dried Herbs. I had lamented not being able to easily find fresh tarragon back when I wrote that one–well, now I grow it myself in my own backyard.

Growing my own herbs in my own garden for use in cooking was one of the top reasons I wanted to buy my own place, and the garden situation outside was one of my main factors when selecting a house (back when you could have preferences about things like that and didn’t just have to overpay for whatever was available).

I use my homegrown herbs for cooking all year round, and it’s quite the pleasure to be able to use just the amount needed fresh from my own backyard rather than buy overpriced herbs at the grocery store and then watch them wilt and die in my fridge.

19-7: Fresh and Dried Herbs

Jamie Martin Group 19: Basic Ingredients, Section 4: Cooking School April 22, 2018October 18, 2020apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, bouquet garni, celery, cheesecloth, chervil, chives, cloves, cooking school, dried herbs, fines herbes, French, garlic, healthy, herb salt, herb-roasted, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, Italian parsley, Italian seasoning, lavender, lemons, limoncello, liqueur, nutmeg, orange peel, parsley, rosemary, sage, salads, smoked ham, spice blends, steeped, tarragon, tarragon vinegar, thyme, untested, vinegar, white wine vinegar

19-7: Fresh and Dried Herbs has been a recipe-in-the-making for a few months. I mention frequently that I often write these entries months after I complete the actual recipe, but this one actually took me that long TO complete.

Usually, these Cooking School cards don’t have too much in the way of actual recipes–often times it’s more like the card above, more recommendation than actual recipe. I’m not going to restate what they’ve written here–it’s all good advice. Jump behind the cut for some herb blend recipes as well as a DIY vinegar challenge and BONUS limoncello recipe.

7-22: Oven-Grilled Ribs

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses January 21, 2018June 19, 2020baked potatoes, barbecue, black pepper, boneless, brushed, country-style, dairy-free, deglazed, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, ginger, grilled, herbs and spices, lunch, party food, pork, ribs, rosemary, rubbed, salt, soy sauce, tamari, untested

During the recent process of going through and relinking all of the pictures for this site, I came across a set of pictures from a recipe I cooked back in March of 2016, but never wrote about or posted. So almost two years later, I finally bring you 7-22: Oven-Grilled Ribs.

You’ll have to bear with me on this one…I remember it, but it may not end up being as descriptive as if it were more recent. I often write these on a delay (especially these days as I split my time between relinking old posts and writing new ones), but 2 years is a new record.

11-35: Grilled Pacific Halibut

Adam Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses October 23, 2017October 27, 2020black pepper, broiled, California, cast-iron, chili powder, chili sauce, cumin, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly expensive, fish, fish filets, garlic, gluten-free, grill pan, grilled, halibut, healthy, herbs and spices, Hutton house, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, marinated, Mediterranean, minced, piquant, revisited, rosemary, salt, seafood, steak, teriyaki sauce, white wine vinegar

I have never been known for my skills in preparing fish, but this recipe, 11-35: Grilled Pacific Halibut, helped me become a halibut grilling master! ?

Many of the times I failed at cooking fish, I did not marinate the flesh first. Skipping that step definitely makes a difference.

Editor’s note: By the looks of the notations on this card, my mother made this in what looks like July of 1995, although that last digit is difficult to clearly determine–her handwriting has always been a challenge. It might be 1990. She noted that it was “Very Easy” on the back–sounds like Adam may have had a similar experience.

17-47: Italian Fruit Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods December 21, 2016September 21, 2020all-purpose flour, apricots, baguette, baked goods, breads, breakfast, cake yeast, chopped, Christmas, dairy-free, dried fruit, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fruit, fruitcake, gift ideas, herbs and spices, holiday baking, Italian, kneaded, olive oil, party food, pine nuts, proofed, raisins, rosemary, salt, snacks, untested, vegan, vegetarian, walnuts, XMAS 16, yeast

Get ready for another big batch of baked goods–it’s time for this year’s adventure (XMAS 16) into holiday baking (aka everyone’s presents for Christmas this year). Last year I made 6 Simply Delicious recipes as gifts, and this year came out to a total of 7. ? I’m going to attempt to cover them in the order they were made, and the first recipe of the batch was 17-47: Italian Fruit Bread. ??

This recipe seems similar to a panettone, although not as sweet or flaky and shaped differently. Despite the variations, I still thought it made a nice Christmas gift, especially only just including a few slices in each gift bag. ?

5-31: Oven Pizza Pancake

Adam Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters December 1, 2016October 13, 2020anchovies, appetizers, black olives, black pepper, breakfast, butter, celery, cheese, cooking class, dinner, dried herbs, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, grated, ham, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, milk, Mozzarella, mushrooms, omelette, oregano, pancakes, Parmesan, party food, pepperoni, pizza, red onions, revisited, rosemary, salami, salt, seafood, shellfish, shredded, shrimp, sliced, tomatoes, toppings, twice-baked

Cooking a pizza on a pancake dough creates a very kooky, weird pizza experience. 5-31: Oven Pizza Pancake is not your usual pizza–this soft-crusted abomination is another dish created when the Simply Delicious editors decided to have one too many beers at the office.

The beer in the background of this image should have been my first clue that this was a strange dish.

Editor’s note: I used this recipe for when I taught cooking in an after-school program for K-8 kids a few years ago–I didn’t have the time or resources to make a traditional rising dough using yeast on that particular site, so this method provided me a somewhat valid shortcut.

6-20: Rosemary Chicken

Adam Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses October 30, 2016October 15, 2020bone-in, chicken, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, herb-roasted, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lemons, olive oil, roasted, rosemary, salt, untested

6-20: Rosemary Chicken is another “Easy” level recipe, my favorite kind of recipe from Simply Delicious. This isn’t my usual method to prepare chicken, but it is fun to try something new every once in a while. ?

The editors of Simply Delicious are sometimes off on their estimate of cooking time. 45 minutes isn’t nearly long enough to bake a chicken at the temperature they recommend on this card. I found this out the hard way. ?

10-10: Roast Leg of Lamb

Adam Martin Group 10: Lamb & Veal, Section 2: Main Courses October 12, 2016October 27, 2020black pepper, bone-in, boneless, cornstarch, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, gravy, herb-roasted, herbs and spices, lamb, leg of lamb, mint jelly, roasted, rosemary, sage, salt, sliced, slit, thyme, untested

Due to some infestation-related activity long ago, the Lamb and Veal category suffered some minor liquid damage. Some of the cards are virtually unusable, but this card, 10-10: Roast Leg of Lamb is just slightly mangled.

Despite the condition of the card, this preparation of leg of lamb is one of the best I’ve ever had. ?

1-19: Flambéed Mushrooms

Adam Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 31, 2016October 4, 2020appetizers, bay leaves, brandy, cognac, dairy-free, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, flambé, French bread, garlic, gluten-free, Grand Marnier, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, lemon juice, minced, mushrooms, olive oil, party food, rosemary, salt, sautéed, untested, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian

? Flambé! 1-19: Flambéed Mushrooms isn’t something I would normally serve because most people I know are not huge fans of mushrooms. I really enjoy using the lighter to flambé these mushrooms! ?

Mushrooms and garlic are one of my favorite flavor combinations. I really enjoy stuffed mushrooms and these taste similar, just without the breadcrumbs and butter. If you’re looking for something more similar to stuffed mushrooms, check out 1-16: Mushrooms Escargot. ?

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