Pimpin for Broders Pasta Bar

I know this is supposed to be a blog for recipes and home cookin' (or drinkin'), I can't help but throw out a little love for one of my favorite Minnesota restaurants, Broders Pasta Bar.

Dara from City Pages just did a nice review of how awesome this place continues to be, and I couldn't agree more!

If you ever have an evening (or three) where cooking for yourself is entirely unappealing, consider heading to Broders for some delicious pasta and a lovely glass of wine. There may be a wait, but I think it's worth it.

Slow Cooker Recipe: Brunswick Stew

Andrew and I just tried this recipe out today. It is not meant to be a slow cooker recipe but I prepared it in the early afternoon and let it simmer on low in my crock pot for about 5 hours and it turned out great! I think it could have continued to simmer for a couple more hours and would have still turned out. You can serve this stew with garlic bread per the recipe, but Andrew and I ladled it over noodles drizzled with garlic infused olive oil which was yummy too. It would be good served over rice, as well! My other substitutions are below.

If you are serving wine with this meal, try it with Peterson Winery's Zero Manipulation Red Table Wine (recommended in a previous post)!

Brunswick Stew

Cooking spray
1 cup chopped red bell pepper

3/4 cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon peanut oil (**I used olive oil here)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (**I used 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts)

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

1 (10-ounce) package frozen baby lima beans, thawed (**I used green peas)

6 (1-ounce) slices Italian bread, toasted

2 garlic cloves, halved

(**Or, serve over noodles or rice)

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray (I just added some olive oil to the pan). Add bell pepper, onion, and celery to pan; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oil to pan. Combine flour and chicken in a medium bowl, tossing to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Gradually stir in broth; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Add tomato paste and next 5 ingredients (through lima beans (or green peas)) to pan.

This is when I put the stew into the crock pot on low for about 5 hours. Or you can continue with directions below for a quick and easy dinner!

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Rub bread slices with cut sides of garlic; discard garlic. Serve bread with stew.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup stew and 1 slice bread)

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007

Any good slow cooker recipes?

Does anyone have a good slow cooker recipe they'd like to share? With the cold, dreary weather that's been with us, I'm feeling the need for warm comfort food.

I pulled out our crock pot the other night and threw together an impromptu beef stew with the following ingredients. I'd like to tweak the recipe a bit (and write down some measurements), but overall, it was pretty tasty!

- beef stew meat from Byerly's, coated with flour, salt and pepper
- carrots
- potatoes
- shitake mushrooms
- beef broth
- montreal steak seasoning
- worchestshire sauce
- red wine
- garlic
- onions

I love being able to just throw things in the crock pot and having something tasty pop out later in the day. Looking forward to seeing/hearing about your slow cooker recipes.

Zero Manipulation

A weekend wine recommendation! I tried a bottle of Peterson Winery's Zero Manipulation a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed! This is a great red table wine (a blend of Carignane 78%, Syrah 14%, Mourvedre 8%) with a lot of complex aromas and a fruit-filled finish. I recommend you try a bottle of Zero Manipulation with pizza, pasta, or any simple meal that you would pair with a red. As one review states, "Peterson Winery’s Zero Manipulation is an annual concoction of Rhone red varietals with the primary grape being the maladroit Carignane. The Zero Manipulation references their philosophy to let the grapes speak for themselves without excessive human or political intervention." At $11.99/bottle during the Surdyk's wine sale (regular retail $14.99), this is what I would call an "in between" wine - definitely complex, but not too fancy - great for entertaining! Your guests who are on the fence about red wine will probably like it too. Pick up a bottle and let me know what you think!

Solo Vino Sale

Just got an email from Solo Vino announcing their 6th birthday sale which runs from
October 25-31. All wines are 15% off! I don't often hear of discounts at Solo Vino so I will definitely be looking to make some purchases. If you haven't yet visited the store, I recommend giving it a try. Great shop, cute neighborhood, St. Paul, what more can you ask for?

Solo Vino
517 Selby Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55102
651-602-9515
info@solovinowines.com
http://www.solovinowines.com

Wine Sale

The Surdyk's fall wine sale is happening right now! I indulged yesterday and picked up a case of wine there - this is how I buy the majority of my wine (at their seasonal sales) and I highly recommend going to any wine shop during a sale and stocking up rather than buying a bottle here and there. You can save a lot of money and time this way! I purchased wine that retails between $10-$15 per bottle and saved $35.00 on 12 bottles! Almost everything in the store is on sale. I bought some of our favorites but I always pick up a couple of bottles that we have not tried before (this time, I picked up two Italian reds and a bottle of Pinot Grigio that was recommended to me) and I try not to duplicate so that we have a great variety to choose from on our wine rack.

I will review some of the new bottles I purchased at a later time!

If you get to the Surdyk's sale, be sure to check out some of the great shops, bars and restaurants in that neighborhood (St. Anthony Main area) - it has definitely grown and changed a lot in the last few years!