French Braised Oxtails

Remember that recipe contest that I mentioned I entered?

I created a total of five recipes and forced Papa Bear, Drama Queen, Little Lawyer, and our fantastic friends Steven, Kristina and Vinka to taste test them and rate them so I could decide which one out of the five was the one I should submit.  I ended up submitting Butternut Soup Muffins, but you can read about the other recipes that were kicked around like Shrimp Chowder Quesadillas, Old Fashioned Potato Soup Gnocchi or Creamy Tomato Roasted Mushrooms.

I really want to point out again (and again and again...) how much I appreciate Papa Bear and Steven for helping me with this project.  They took some fantastic shots of the food, and provided a ton of insight. I don't know what I'd do without them. Thanks guys....I love you!


I am a firm believer that oxtail is an underrated meat. It is not very expensive (at least not where I shop) and is on sale quite often. It is so rich and flavorful that you don't (or can't) eat a ton of it, so a little does go a long way.  I love the flavor of oxtail in stews and braises so much that I actually have several recipes for oxtail.  I make a country-style oxtail stew (much like a pot roast type of dish) that Drama Queen even requests for special occasion dinners.

If you like red meat, please don't overlook oxtail. You won't be sorry!!

Season oxtail with salt.

Place oxtail in ziploc and pour soup over to coat.

Marinate in fridge overnight.

Measure out cloves and allspice.

Tie them up in a cheesecloth for later.

In a large dutch oven, heat some oil and brown those tails in batches on all sides. Let them rest on a plate while you work the rest of the magic...

Saute springs of thyme, garlic, carrots, leeks and celery until softened.

Pile that meat right on top of the veggies.

Add enough wine and marinade (soup) to cover.

Add your cheesecloth-wrapped spices and bury them in the liquid. Cover & cook for one hour.

Have some diced pepper, diced tomato and shiitake ready to add to the pot. Cover and put back in the oven for 30 minutes or so.

Serve right out of the pot! You could also serve over rice or pasta.

French Braised Oxtails

4-5 pounds oxtails
1 can Wolfgang Puck French Onion Soup
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium leeks (white parts only), chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped

red wine

1 1/2 teaspoon cloves, whole
1 1/2 teaspoon allspice, whole
2 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 cups any color peppers, chopped
10 ounces fresh or dried whole shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, re-hydrated if dried
Salt
Finely chopped scallions for garnish

Combine oxtails and soup. Marinade overnight. Take oxtails out of marinade and reserve onion soup.

In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown both sides of meat in batches in olive oil. Lower heat to med-low and add a little more oil and butter; saute springs of thyme, garlic, carrots, leeks and celery until softened.

Return oxtails to pot and add wine and enough water to cover the oxtails. Bring to a simmer. Put cloves and allspice into a sachet or tie in a cheesecloth; submerge in liquid. Season with salt, cover, and put into a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Then add tomatoes, mushrooms and pepper. Stir and return pot to the oven for half an hour or until oxtails are tender. Check to see if additional water is needed during braising process. Seasoning with more salt if needed.  Garnish with scallions.

Steven made this even better...by adding a pinch more salt, sugar and thickening up the sauce, which tightened up the flavor and intensity quite a bit.
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Old Fashioned Potato Soup Gnocchi

Remember that recipe contest that I mentioned I entered?

I created a total of five recipes and forced Papa Bear, Drama Queen, Little Lawyer, and our fantastic friends Steven, Kristina and Vinka to taste test them and rate them so I could decide which one out of the five was the one I should submit.  I ended up submitting Butternut Soup Muffins, but you can read about the other recipes that were kicked around like Shrimp Chowder Quesadillas or Creamy Tomato Roasted Mushrooms.

I have never in my life attempted to make gnocchi. Yes, I've made Perogi before (maybe twice?), but I've really never had the desire to actually make my own pasta before.  There are so, so many great fresh pastas available at the supermarket now that I don't ever think about it.

This particular recipe was the first one I thought of for creating a recipe for one of Wolfgang Puck's soups. I personally think it would have won in the originality and/or creativity department...I mean, come on! Pasta made with a soup??!!?? That's insane, right?

These came out rather tasty (Little Lawyer picked this one as her favorite) and not too shabby for my first attempt at pasta.  I will mention that rolling the little things against the tines of a fork and making it look pretty should be left to the professional pasta makers. I had difficulty with that. You don't have to do that, so if you think you will get as frustrated as I did, just skip that part! They will taste just as fantastic, trust me!

Puree the soup really well.

Add a beaten egg.

Combine with a wooden spoon.

Add flour (about 1 cup at a time, then by 1/4 cup if more is needed) until dough starts to form.

Dough will be sticky. Coat hands and workspace with flour and knead for 5-6 minutes, adding more flour as needed.

A nice, firm (slightly sticky) will come together. Roll it into a ball.

Cut that ball in half.

Cut each half into thirds.

Roll the thirds into a 1 inch thick rope.

Cut rope into half inch pieces.

Smooth and roll each piece of dough over the tines of a fork.

Hopefully yours will look better! Let rest and dry slightly on waxed paper.  When ready, boil in salted water.

Toss hot gnocchi with melted butter and Parmesan, or top with any type of sauce you prefer your pasta with!

Old Fashioned Potato Soup Gnocchi

1 can WP Old Fashioned Potato Soup
1 egg
2+ cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Heat soup in a saucepan and reduce. Remove from heat; cool.

Add the egg (slightly beaten) to the soup. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the flour a little at a time, mixing well with a wooden spoon. Add just enough flour so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands. When all the flour has been incorporated, bring the dough together with your fingertips. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a slightly floured surface. Knead the dough as you would bread dough. Press down and away with the heel of your hand, fold the dough over, make a quarter turn, and repeat the process. Knead for about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and then divide it into 6 smaller balls.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough using your fingertips. The rope of dough should be about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 1 inch pieces. To create the ridges, press each piece of dough against the tines of a fork. With your finger, gently roll the pressed dough back off the fork. If you find the dough sticking to the fork, dip the fork in flour before you press the dough against it. Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a lightly floured dish.

To cook the gnocchi, place the dough into a pot of boiling salted water. After a few minutes the gnocchi will float to the top. Continue to cook for one minute then remove and set aside.

Serve the hot gnocchi immediately. Toss with butter and a little Parmesan cheese or with the sauce of your choice.

Creamy Tomato Roasted Mushrooms

Remember that recipe contest that I mentioned I entered?

I created a total of five recipes and forced Papa Bear, Drama Queen, Little Lawyer, and our fantastic friends Steven, Kristina and Vinka to taste test them and rate them so I could decide which one out of the five was the one I should submit.  I ended up submitting Butternut Soup Muffins. These Shrimp Chowder Quesadillas were a close second...

This recipe was rated number three out of five. These were so good...good enough to be eaten as a side dish or add some pasta or rice and be made into a full meal.

Which I believe I shall do in the very near future...

Halve or quarter some button and cremini mushrooms.

Toss them with some capers, garlic, olive  oil, salt, pepper and WP's Creamy Tomato soup.

Drop pats of butter randomly on top of mushrooms in a roasting pan.

Roast for about 20 minutes. Add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and parsley.

Serve 'as-is' with a good crusty loaf of bread, or over with pasta or rice.

Creamy Tomato Roasted Mushrooms

1 pound mushrooms such as cremini or white, halved lengthwise if large
1/2 can Wolfgang Puck Creamy Tomato soup
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Toss mushrooms with soup, capers, garlic, oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper in a 1 1/2- to 2-qt shallow baking dish. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve immediately, with crusty bread on the side for swiping up the sauce.

Shimp Chowder Quesadillas

Remember that recipe contest that I mentioned I entered?

I created a total of five recipes and forced Papa Bear, Drama Queen, Little Lawyer, and our fantastic friends Steven, Kristina and Vinka to taste test them and rate them so I could decide which one out of the five was the one I should submit.  I submitted Butternut Soup Muffins (so please go vote for me - the deadline is 11:59 pm tonight!)

This recipe was rated number two out of five. It was a very close race between these quesadillas and the muffins! These were a huge hit...and I will be making these puppies again very soon!

Get yourself some nice plump shrimp.

Chop the shrimp up a little. Put them all in a ziploc.

Open up a can of WP's Tortilla soup.

Pour soup into ziploc with those tasty shrimp and marinate iin the ice box.

Chop up an onion...

A red and green pepper (or any color you happen to have!)...

Toss the onion and peppers in a hot pan with some olive oil.

Saute until they start to brown.

Remove veggies to a plate.

To the same hot pan, add the shrimp and soup and cook until shrimp are just done.

Remove just the shrimp to the veggie plate.

Reduce the soup down to half.

Pour soup over plated shrimp and veggies.

Stir all that beautiful goodness together.

In a clean skillet, heat a flour tortilla.

Top tortilla with shrimp and veggies.

Then add lots of cheese...don't be shy!

Add another tortilla, flip, and cook until oozy and melty! Slice and devour!

Shrimp Chowder Quesadillas

4 flour tortillas
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 can Wolfgang Puck Tortilla Soup
1 whole large onion
1 whole red bell pepper
1 whole green bell pepper
4 cups cheese, grated (Monterey Jack or Mexi-Blend)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt (to taste)
Salsa
Sour cream

Pour soup over shrimp. Set aside; marinate for 1 hour or more.

Chop vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Heat skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Cook vegetables over high heat until they start to get brown/black. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Return skillet to high heat, then dump in the shrimp with the soup. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until shrimp is opaque. Remove shrimp and chop (if large) into bite-sized pieces. Cook soup down until little liquid remains. Remove from skillet.

In a separate (clean) skillet, heat butter. Place a tortilla in the skillet, then layer on ingredients: cheese, vegetables, and shrimp. Top with a little more cheese and a second tortilla. Cook on both sides, adding butter before flipping to the other side so the tortilla won't dry out. Remove from skillet and slice into wedges.

Serve with rice, beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole—whatever you’d like!