Bat Stew and Spiderweb Rolls


Sorry....only one Jack O' Lantern this year. I ran out of time. Plus, I tend to bogart my pumpkins. I'm hanging on to them for Thanksgiving!




I always cut the bottoms out rather than the tops.


A quicky Jack!


And now for bat stew:


I use a heavy pot.


And a pound of bacon.


Freshly ground pepper and good sea salt.


I put a little extra virgin olive oil in the pot.


And I use 5 pounds of chuck.


Over medium heat, I saute' the bacon which I have cut into small pieces.


I cube all the meat into 3/4 inch cubes.


This takes some time but you really have to brown each piece on each side to seal in the flavor.


I keep a bowl next to the pot and add the browned beef as I go along. Sprinkle each batch with the salt and pepper.


Cut a whole bag of carrots into 3/4 inch pieces.


This is looking good.


Soak a bunch of dried mushrooms. Save the mushroom water.


When they are rehydrated, chop them and add them to about a pound of fresh sliced mushrooms.


In advance I boiled and pealed pearl onions and chopped two medium white onions. All of this gets added to the oil left in the pan.


Saute' this until the onions are translucent.


Add 1/4 cup of cognac.


And stand back and light it and let the alcohol burn off.


Then add the beef and the bacon back to the pan.


Add one bottle of Pinot Noir and about 3 cups of beef stock.


And one container of demi glace and 6 tablespoons of tomato paste.


Stir this all together.


Strain the mushroom water through a sieve and add it to the pot.


Then put it in a 250 degree oven for 3 hours.


Mix 3 tablespoons of flour into 3 tablespoons of soft butter and stir this into the pot until the liquid begins to thicken.


There you go...bat stew! Or beef bourguignon.


I bought these totally cool bowls in Carmel, Ca. years ago.


They are a plate and a bowl together and they have a little handle on the side.


They are great for entertaining because you can place your spoon on the plate and hold on to the handle with just one hand. When you are having a party that is not a sit down dinner, you can eat while you are walking around.


For presentation, I take the mashed potatoes I made earlier....


...and the stew with the heat rising from it....


....and ladle the stew over the potatoes.



And now the spiderweb rolls.


Spray a cast iron skillet generously with cooking spray.


I did something I have never done before. Well, two things actually. I totally followed a recipe and I used frozen dinner rolls. I may never do either again.


The author of this recipe insisted on using frozen rolls so I gave it a try.


The frozen rolls are placed in the cast iron skillets, covered with towels and left to rise for at least 3 hours.


Magic.


Then you generously spread melted butter over the tops very gently so you don't deflate the little buggers.



Once they are heavily coated....


....you sprinkle them with chopped fresh rosemary.


Then you sprinkle cracked sea salt all over them. (forgot to photograph that step!)





Bake them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.


Then spread more melted butter on them.


Add ImageHere they are. I would prefer making the dough from scratch and will do that the next time.


They were totally gobbled though and everyone loved them. So, if you aren't a stickler for 'from scratch' things, make these. Very, very easy recipe!


Thought you might want a peak at the cupcakes we had for dessert. Click for a closer look.



They were gobbled too!


I hope you all enjoyed your beast feast as much as we enjoyed ours.

Comments

Blue Moon said…
Oh such yummy recipes! The stew looked a little above my skill level - but I still want to try it out. Thanks!!!!
Oh my! Your Halloween supper looks delicious- along with eveything else you make! (and of course we ALL dream of living in your beautiful house!)

Thank You for the awesome gveaways &
Happy Halloween!
~Danae <(:o) aka 'Crafty'
Lyon said…
Reading your blog should always be done after I have a meal because you *always* make me hungry. Can I seriously hire you to come cook for me? lol
Tori said…
YUM! It all looks really good.
Anonymous said…
That looks so very delicious. I love boeuf Bourguignon !!! It looks so very delicious and the bread wow !!!
The cupcakes are too cute to eat. I can see you had a lovely time !!
Those buns look amazing! (as does everything else, of course). God, people eat well at your place!!
brokenteepee said…
I thought that bat stew recipe was looking familiar.....

The cupcakes are very pretty.

My marshmallows came out great. Next time I am thinking of doing a layer of marshmallow, a layer of goat's milk caramel, another layer of marshmallow and then dipping it all in chocolate. I may die of sugar shock but I think it will be worth it.
Laura said…
the stew looks delicious! i recognize those rolls! Are they from Pioneer Woman? I copied her recipe and am going to try it later today. Yummy

blessings
~*~
Lucie Le Blanc said…
I am openned to adoption, you know ? hihihi
Rue said…
That stew looks to die for!

I really like the idea of carving out the bottom of the pumpkin!

Glad you had a wonderful Halloween night!
I can smell the rolls from here... even if they were frozen.... yummmmmm baked rosemary....
Sharon Day said…
That is really amazing! I can almost smell it. I love when aromatics like carrots/onions/celery are cooking. I feel all autumny when I smell them. Love the pan roll idea. I do a raised wheat herbed roll and I think they'd be great that way! Thanks for the idea.
motheralice said…
Omgod! I am drooling. That looks fabulous!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
What a delicious feast! I can almost taste the stew and rolls from here.

Also, what a fantastic idea - to cook the stew in a decorative pot. I don't know why I never thought of that!! Where did you get yours by the way? I should try to get one before they start putting them away into storage again.
Thanks for the info about the pumpkin pot. I love Zabar's! Yes, you're right, they will probably carry them. Along with just about everything else that is wonderful. Hehehe.

Oh, yes, I KNOW you have the original Practical Magic spellbook and Sally's broom!! (Also an amazing blank replica spellbook). I've been following your blog for a while now and I am always blown away by your entries. Thank you always for sharing your recipes/flea market finds/collectibles/memorabilia/design ideas/travel photos with us!!
Jenna Gayle said…
Man this looks good!!! I'm definately going to try this... the Hubby would be in love!! :)
Raven_Nightwind said…
MMM everything looks delicious. Can I come live with you for a while, lol.
Illustrated Ink said…
That meal looks like it was incredibly tasty! Thanks for the tip about cutting out the bottom of the pumpkin, great idea!