Buy Meal.com - Guide to Good Food

Slow Cooking Gets a Health Makeover

Email 50 Million Daily - FREE!

Dillon, MT (PRWeb) January 26, 2007 -- Propelled by a desire for back-to-basics foods and the hearty flavor of ingredients gradually intermingled in a lengthy cooking process, slow cooking is booming, especially at this time of year as the bone-chilling temperatures of late winter increase interest in homier, heart-warming fare.

As evidence of the trend, Rival, the nation’s leading manufacturer of crock-pots, reports that sales increased a record-breaking 20% over the past four years, hardly surprising, considering that this cookware has literally come to define what slow cooking is all about.

But while slow cooked foods certainly make one feel good, it’s only recently that home chefs have begun to look to make these dishes healthy for you, too. With beef stews a mainstay of slow cooking, consumers are starting to marry the technique with another important food trend – grass-fed Angus beef.

The result is easy to prepare dishes that have the enhanced real beef flavor of 100% grass-fed beef along with the significant nutritional advantages that the product offers compared to grain fed beef.

“Grass-fed beef lends itself exceptionally well to slow cooking,” says Chef Peter Hoffman, owner of Savoy restaurant in New York and Master Chef for La Cense® Beef, the leading brand of grass-fed beef. “The lower temperatures and extended cooking time of this technique are perfect for bringing out the true beef flavor offered by this product and transforms stews not just into a gourmet meal, but also into one that delivers distinct nutritional advantages over grain fed beef.”

Produced in Dillon, Montana, from select Black Angus cattle, La Cense Beef is not only all-natural and hormone-free, but also provides excellent nutritional value. Lower in calories, fat and cholesterol than grain fed beef, La Cense Beef is also higher in beta-carotenes and Omega-3 fatty acids.

And this winter, with consumers increasingly looking to buy grass-fed beef online, La Cense Beef is offering consumers a special opportunity to see what grass-fed beef is all about with the “Football Sunday Party Pack” which includes 24 Black Angus steak burger patties for the exclusive price of $63.60. Also, for a limited time, all customers will receive free shipping on any orders of $125 or more.
(more)

La Cense Beef is delivered directly to your doorstep from the La Cense Montana Ranch by ordering online at www.lacensebeef.com or by calling 1-866-442-BEEF.

To help you get started in the slow cooking trend, and to transform your beef stews into both a gourmet and healthy treat, Chef Hoffman has developed this special slow-cooked stew recipe, created exclusively to highlight the flavor of La Cense Beef:

Spanish Style Braised La Cense Beef
Ingredients
2.25 lbs of La Cense Beef for Kabobs
1 bottle red wine
2 oz pancetta cut into small rectangles

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 large carrot cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 celery rib cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cloves of garlic fine sliced
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon fennel
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1" cinnamon stick
1/8 teaspoon peppercorns
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoon pernod
2 tablespoon port

Preparation

Marinate the beef in red wine overnight. During the marinating process, turn the meat at least once. After marinating, drain the beef and reserve the wine. Dry the meat with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a Dutch oven or any other large heavy bottom pot to medium-high and add olive oil. Add the pancetta to the pot and sauté until golden. Remove pancetta from pan and set-aside.

Turn the heat up to high and add your cubes of beef. Cook the meat until it is brown on all sides. Remove beef and hold with the pancetta.

Add the vegetables and the spices. Brown lightly. Pour off almost all the fat. Add the flour and allow to brown. Deglaze with the vinegar. Add the red wine from the marinade. Add the meat and the pancetta. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower the temperature.

Then allow the meat to cook very slowly for 3-4 hours. Check whether or not the meat is tender by inserting a paring knife into the meat. If the meat still grabs onto the knife it needs more time. But, if the knife pulls away and leaves the meat it should be done. Remove the meat. Strain out the vegetables and hold them.

Skim the sauce of its fat and reduce to a nice sauce consistency. Add the port and the pernod. Reduce again and balance the flavors with a bit of red wine vinegar and salt. Serve with roasted or boiled potatoes.

Contact: Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
(212) 404-6619
(917) 620-3717

###

MORE ARTICLES:

Copycat Restaurant Recipes - Great Recipes At Your Fingertips
When you have had enough of lining your favorite restaurants pockets with your money, you can serve the same food at home using a copycat restaurant recipe. Instead of putting your hard earned cash into their coffers, you can add it to your savings for something special that your whole family can enjoy for longer than a quick meal. You will be amazed at the savings you will accumulate when you use a copycat restaurant recipe instead of dining out.

More Fast Food Restaurants Are Using Security Camera Systems To Protect Their Business
Often, a thief or a robber would like to attack a place, which is easier to be looted easily. Because, even these evils also know that most of the places now are covered with round the clock surveillance through security cameras. Moreover, they would not want to select a location, where they are likely to face difficulties in running when the police alarm goes on. Therefore, these thieves are contemplating new options and ideas to accomplish their evil task.

New Ice Scoop Ensures Safe Handling, Food Safety at Restaurants and Bars
The new San Jamar Saf-T-Scoop? & Guardian System ensures safe ice handling at restaurants and bars. Food safety in the food service industry is a legitimate concern, as a recent study found more than one out of every five samples of ice contains high levels of bacteria.

Organic Food Recipes And Your Eating And Dietary Lifestyles
Although some people would like to go organic and lead a healthier lifestyle, they find themselves stopped by a few things. Among these little stumbling blocks in their paths to going organic, are things like the cost of organic foods, the ready unavailability of organic foods, as well as the little fact that they will also need to find organic food recipes to go with their new lifestyle.

Ambrosia Restaurant Wins Best Chef/Restaurant in 14th Annual Best of OC Guide
The world-class Ambrosia Restaurant and Executive Chef Michael Rossi have been selected as the Best Chef/Restaurant for Santa Ana in the 14th Annual Best of Orange County guide.

Healthy Eating And Super Food - 3 Food Categories That Help Burn Fat
I'm wondering if you're already aware of what I'm about to share with you? There is some good news for people trying to lose fat and slim down to a healthier and more attractive lifestyle: there are actually foods you can eat with will burn fat for you with any effort on your part. Even better, they can easily be assimilated into any diet; in fact, you may already be eating them on a regular basis and not even know it.

Eat Good Immune System Foods To Prevent Sickness
The immune system is probably one of the most important systems of the human body It is what keeps us from getting sick

Restaurants And Food Allergies...a Problem?
Why don?t restaurants know what ingredients are in their food?

Toronto Restaurants Famed for Best Food Styling
Toronto is a place famous for its unique food styles and eminent eating out places. One can take the utmost delight in trying out its popular cuisines namely Italian, Chinese and Greek cuisines. For one thing you would not have to take any pains or put in extra effort looking out for the food you are interested in. Besides this, here you will not have people telling you the must try delicacies, as one can easily plan out and enjoy ones own little food hunt. While on a trip to Toronto there are certain places you should not miss out on. Toronto restaurants are known for their ambience, tranquility and their own different styling of food. To start with, Pangaea restaurant on the famous Bay Street is a must visit place, beautifully struc...

Historical Restaurant Mirrors Change In Los Angeles' Food And Drink Scene
Los Angeles' noted Brown Derby restaurant played host to many stars during Hollywood's 'Golden Age.' The eatery was an example of novelty architecture, as it was built to resemble a brown derby hat. The Brown Derby was the first restaurant to serve chiffon cake, a recipe invented by an insurance salesman and later given wide distribution by Betty Crocker.

Authentic Northern Vietnam Cooking Recipes in Hanoi?s High-end Restaurant
With fluorescent lights bleaching the steel surfaces and plumes of scented smoke rising from shing copper pots, this could be anyone of the bustling kitchens in Hanoi?s high-end restaurants But at KOTO (which stands for Know One, Teach One), creating tantalising dishes is only one of the restaurant?s aims

Food Poisoning in Fast Food Restaurants
With the advent of fast food chains, and the ever-increasing pace of our lifestyle, it has actually been very much convenient to order food to go on any fast food establishments.

BigHoller Inaugurates Online Ordering Restaurant Dining Guide - I Must Eat
With a robust directory of over 600,000 restaurant listings and the ability to contour search results by details -- including geographical area, cuisine and whether the restaurant accepts online orders and online reservations -- I Must Eat (www.IMustEat.com) offers something for everyone looking to discover new meal experiences, while simplifying the search and order process.

Italian Restaurant, Antonino's, Ranked Top In Inland Empire By Major Food Critic
?Antonino's in Rancho Cucamonga is one of those fine dining restaurants that lots of the locals know about but those outside of the area are not familiar with. It is one of the top Italian restaurants in the Inland Empire,? states Allan Borgen,