Pomegranate Spritzer

Give your tastebuds a treat with this light and refreshing pomegranate spritzer which gives you not only a great tasting cocktail, but also the added health benefits of pomegranate, one of the antioxidant-rich super-foods. Pomegranates are a wonderful source of anthocyanins which help to keep the arteries clear and stabilize your blood sugar level.

You can omit the white wine if you wish to have an alcohol-free pomegranate spritzer but the wine does give this recipe a certain added oomph! This recipe calls for pomegranate syrup instead of pomegranate juice, and oranges or lemons for an attractive garnish.

Pomegranate Spritzer

Ingredients
1 cup pomegranate syrup
1 750 ml bottle chilled fruity white wine (a Riesling or Chardonnay is best)
1 cup sparkling water, chilled
Orange or lemon wedges (optional)

Directions
Add 2 tablespoons pomegranate syrup to each of 8 champagne flutes.
In a 2-quart pitcher combine the wine and sparkling water.
Pour wine mixture into each glass to serve.
Garnish each with orange or lemon wedge.
If desired, add ice to the glasses and serve.

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Old Fashioned Beef Stew

At the Amateur Chef, we know that everyone swears they have THE best beef stew recipe, 'passed down for centuries' from their mother's mother's mother (or something like that), but just to toot our own horn, we simply do not believe there is anything out there that will compare with our recipe for Old Fashioned Beef Stew!

With the fall season upon us, and everyone turning to more substantial fare for the long, cold nights ahead, nothing seems to satisfy an empty stomach better than a hearty bowl of old fashioned beef stew.

Our rich and flavorful recipe for Old Fashioned Beef Stew has been tested and tweeked over the years to finally culminate in what we believe is the best beef stew recipe we have ever eaten, and we certainly hope you will agree. Choose tender stewing beef with some marbling for added flavor and be sure to roast the meat with the fat side up to keep it moist and tender.

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Dredge:
2 lbs stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
in mixture of:
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
In a frypan, heat throughly:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Add floured meat and cook until evenly browned.
In a large saucepan, heat thoroughly:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Add:
2 lbs onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Cook until onion is transparent.
Combine browned meat with onions and stir in:
1/2 tsp sage
1 (12-oz) bottle beer
1 tblsp soya sauce
1 tblsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tblsp HP or steak sauce
3 tblsp bovril
1/4 cup ketchup
4 bay leaves
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is almost tender.
Add:
4-6 oz peeled baby carrots
3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks same size as potatoes
Simmer covered for an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are partially cooked.
Stir in:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves.

Serve and enjoy!!

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Olive Garden House Salad Dressing Recipe

We recently met with a group of friends for a birthday dinner at the Olive Garden Restaurant, and were surprisingly impressed by their house Olive Garden Salad Dressing.

Now, we are understandably hard to please - we love to cook, believe in fresh ingredients and find most restaurant fare sub-standard (please forgive our frankness) - but the Olive Garden house salad dressing recipe was one we thoroughly enjoyed, so we really had to get the recipe to pass on to you.

Needless to say the Olive Garden guards their recipes, but were were able to find this copycat Olive Garden Salad dressing recipe that closely approximates the real thing, and are happy to present it to you, courtesy of the RecipeZaar.

Olive Garden House Salad Dressing Recipe

Ingredients
1 (12 ounce) bag iceberg garden salad
1/4 small red onion, sliced paper-thin
6-12 pitted black olived
6 mild pepperoncini peppers
1-2 small roma tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup croutons
Italian dressing
freshly grated parmesan cheese, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1) In a large glass or wooden salad serving bowl, toss together the lettuce mix, onion slices, olives, pepperoncini, tomatoes, and croutons. Add dressing and toss to combine.
2) Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese and black pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

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Au Gratin Potato Recipe

You don't have to be Irish to love your spuds - this delicious au gratin potato recipe is certain to make converts even out of non-potato-lovers. Tender and tasty potatos in a rich and creamy sauce with just the right amount of spicing, - just the thought of this potato gratin dish is enough to make my mouth water!!

The key to making the perfect au gratin potato recipe is in the choice of potato. Pick a good all-purpose potato such as the Yukon Gold, Superior or Kennebec. They are moister than baking potatoes and are particularly well-suited to gratins. Don't skimp on the cream, just use a lighter one if whipping cream is too rich for your tastebuds (or waistline).

Oh, and did we mention how easy our au gratin potato recipe is to make??

Best Au Gratin Potato Recipe

2 lbs potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold)
1 cup whipping cream or table cream
1 cup milk
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese to taste

Grase a casserole with butter or margarine.
Mix whipping cream and milk together and set aside.
Slice potatoes thinly and layer potatoes in casserole, adding garlic, thyme, freshly ground black pepper and parmesan cheese to each layer (usually 3 layers of potatoes).
Pour milk/whipping cream mixtue evenly over entire casserole.
Cover casserole tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes at 350F. Remove foil and bake an additonal 30 minutes or until golden.

Enjoy!!

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Golden Graham Smores Recipe for Kid-Friendly Treats

With school is back in session most parents are finding it difficult to come up with healthy and tasty snacks to tide the kids over until dinner is ready, but that task just became a whole lot easier with this quick and delicious Golden Graham Smores recipe.

S'mores are a North American campfire dessert made popular in the latter part of the 20th century. Although many variations of the original S'mores recipe exist, including this Golden Graham Smores recipe made with cereal, the traditional S'mores recipe consists of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of a graham cracker.

The name s'more means 'some more', or more precisely, 'give me some more', and once your kids try this delicious Golden Graham Smores recipe, you can be sure they will be begging for s'mores.

Golden Graham Smores Recipe

3/4 cup light corn syrup
3 tbsp. butter
1 pkg. (11.5 oz.) milk chocolate morsels
3 c. miniature marshmallows
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. (12 oz.) Golden Graham cereal (9 c.)

Directions
1. Grease rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches.
2. Heat syrup, butter and morsels to boiling, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
3. Pour over cereal; toss until coated. Fold in marshmallows, 1 cup at a time. Press in pan with buttered back of spoon. Let stand 1 hour.
4. Cut into 2 inch squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature up to 2 days. Makes 24 squares.

Enjoy!

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KitchenAid Cook for the Cure 5-Speed Blender

At the Amateur Chef we strongly believe in supporting Breast Cancer research, and what better way to support such a worthwhile cause than by having some of your consumer dollars funnelled back into this research through the purchase of the KitchenAid Cook for the Cure Blender. A win-win situation for all - you purchase a superior kitchenware product and a portion of the proceeds of your purchase go towards supporting Breast Cancer research.

The KitchenAid Cook for the Cure Blender is a high-performance blender perfect for mixing crepe batter, pureeing soups and crushing ice. To make fast work of big jobs, it operates at five speeds (plus it has a pulse function) and is equipped with an oversized stainless-steel mixing blade. Cleanup is a breeze with the easily removable, dishwasher-safe vessel.

Support this worthwhile cause by purchasing your KitchenAid Cook for the Cure Blender today.

Best Beef Stroganoff

In the world of the Amateur Chef there is no such thing as fast beef stroganoff recipes - for the tastiest and best beef stroganoff, you will need to invest some time and effort into the preparation and cooking for fabulous results.

Having said that, once you get started you will actually be pleasantly surprised by how little time and effort actually does go into making our delicious and updated version of the traditional authentic beef stroganoff recipe. Choose lean but well-marbled beef and cut meat into thin slices against the grain for the tenderest and tastiest beef stroganoff.

We hope you enjoy making this recipe for our Best Beef Stroganoff as much as we do, and that you thoroughly enjoy the 'fruits of your (minimal) labor'!!

Best Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:
2 lb sirloin steak or beef tenderloin
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
8-12 fresh white or crimini mushroom, sliced approx 1/8 inch thick
1 can (10 oz) beef broth

12 oz water

1/4 cup ketchup

2-3 garlic cloves, crushed

1/3 cup flour

2 cup (500 ml) sour cream

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Combine water and broth in a bowl and set aside, reserving 2/3 cup.

In skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil and saute onions and mushrooms until golden (about 5 minutes). Remove vegetables from skillet and set aside.

Add meat to skillet and brown. Once browned add ketchup, garlic, salt and water/broth mixture (minus the 2/3 cup reserved) and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Blend reserved 2/3 cup water/broth mixture with the flour until no lumps disappear. Stir into meat. Add reserved onions and mushrooms and sour cream and heat through. Do not boil.

Serve over buttered noodles.

Enjoy!

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