Beef caldereta (beef stew) one way

I had a gnawing craving for beef caldereta (beef stew), and for some reason the beef caldereta from this spanish restaurant that I used to frequent at home kept popping up in my mind. And as Im the type of a person who doesn't leave any stone unturned, I vagabondly (for lack of better term) visited one blogsite to the another until I found the one.

And so finally, with tongue-in-cheek, as I have tried many recipes from different blogsites and alas they are not really what they are seemed to be, I dawdled my way through cafenilson blog and surprisingly, found 'the one'. And as far as Im concerned, this is the best recipe closest to the one I usually order in that spanish restaurant. The blog has two recipes - the author's and one from a Filipino chef on parallel review, and as nothing is impossible in this world, and persistence is my name, I tweaked the recipes once again by combining them together and creating a recipe one-way. Hence the name of this recipe: Beef caldereta (beef stew) one way. Lol!

Beef Caldereta is a filipino dish but the spanish influence is all over it. What with Philippines under Spanish rule for 300 years, I am no longer surprised.

The recipe also asks for red wine and sherry, so take it easy on them huh, lest you get so excited and drink yourself silly. :)

The result speaks for itself; the beef just simply melts in your mouth and is ridiculously tender that seemingly having a mind of its own, the meat just separates and breaks on its own term.

Inspired by http://www.cafenilson.com/2009/03/beef-caldereta-two-ways/

Ingredients:
1 kilo beef, cut in bite size pieces
1 1/2 cup red wine
2 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium size onion, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup brine of green olives
1 large tomato, diced
1 tsp paprika
1 carrot, diced
1 tbs grated cheddar cheese
1 small can liver spread
10 green olives (or black olives)
2 pieces roasted bell peppers (any color)
1 carrot, diced
1potato, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs sherry or brandy

Directions:
Marinate beef in red wine overnight (this is really important as I believe this makes the meat extremely tender).
Boil meat in enough water until tender.  Remove and reserve stock.
In olive oil, saute garlic and onion.  Add the meat to brown.  Add tomoto paste, olive brine and tomato.  Simmer until meat is tender.  Season with paprika.  Add stock and wine as needed until meat is tender and cooked. Add potato and carrot.
Thicken sauce with liver spread and cheese.  Add olives and peppers.  Season with salt and pepper.
Add sherry and continue to simmer on low until cooked or reduced.

The one and only Moist Carrot Cake (Dedicated to Ada, Renee, Glenys and all the Leslie Robles' out there)

This is a best seller. Period. It is the one that nobody could resist. (Whether you are a carrot cake lover or not).

Ada (click here to know Ada better) said she never stands in line to buy anything but for this cake she will patiently wait and stand in line. Thank you my dear Ada, but this time you will no longer do that - here is the recipe at your beck and call. Because here I am, divulging the recipe - which is meant to be shared, as it is never mine in the first place; having found this through sleeplessinkl blog. 

Through this cake, I can vicariously live my dream of becoming a baker or patisserie owner. But for now, I am a self-indulgent wannabe. :-)

Ada, and other former colleagues of my little boy's,  Glenys  and Renee would humour me by simply having my creations and providing good feedbacks week in week out. They are part of the group that had pushed me to "rev up" this blog and transcendently inculcated the iota of hope in me that I have in fact the makings of a baker or a chef or a cook. I love these girls to bits and I miss having to cook more for my little boy and for them every week. Renee is extremely conscious of her diet all the time and tries so hard not to have any of my food. I always say, Renee is my benchmark and constant challenge. If she ate a certain creation from my food repertoire, then I did very well. Such is the case of this moist carrot cake. She totally digs it and forgets her diet...

This recipe is also dedicated to Leslie, who is a good friend and school mate from high school. She said, "Ate (big sister) I'm a bit scared to use my oven (and perhaps due to lack of time, she is working girl in UK, mommy and wife rolled into one), I haven't really baked." And so I say to her now, "this is your time to shine, this moist carrot cake recipe is the answer." I have been meaning to send her this recipe. Its so long overdue. Here it is, Les.  And for those baker wannabes like me or those wanting to bake for the first time (like Leslie), this recipe is no fail.  It's high time to shine. Lol!

*Inspired by Moist Carrot Cake from www.sleeplessinkl.com

Ingredients:
•    4 eggs
•    1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
•    1 cup white sugar
•    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•    2 cups all-purpose flour
•    2 teaspoons baking soda
•    2 teaspoons baking powder
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•    3 cups carrots, grated coarsely
•    1 handful walnuts, coarsely chopped
•    1 handful pecans, coarsely chopped
•    1 handful of raisins (I recommend you use golden raisins) and small handful of sultanas


Ingredients for the frosting:

•    1/2 cup butter, softened
•    8 ounces cream cheese, softened (I prefer and use 3/4 of 1 box of philadelphia cheese)
•    2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (conventional oven) or 150 C (fan forced oven). Grease 2 round pans (9 inches) & line sides and bottom of pan with baking paper and grease lightly.
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Stir in carrots (use shredder with bigger hole).
Fold in walnuts, pecans, raisins and sultanas.
Pour into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes (if your oven is small and can only take one pan at a time, then bake your carrot cake one pan at a time. Lol!), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

* If you cant be bothered by two pans, then you can use a 9 inch pan with a baking time of 40-50 minutes. I use two pans as suggested by sleeplessinkl for easy and quick cooking time

To Make Frosting:

In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Frost the cooled cake.

Garnish the top of the cake with almond slivers, if desired. You can play up and design your own frosting. For my carrot cake, I used marzipan then rolled my combined red and yellow concentrated food colouring agents through until the color turns into the color of a carrot then stuck some parsley stems on top of the marzipan rolled carrot.