Oxtail Stew from the new BloggerAid-CFF Cookbook!

"It is no secret that the world is facing a global food crisis... In 2009, BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine (BA-CFF) was born from a vision that ordinary people cn achieve extraordinary results... We understood immediately that food bloggers could best relate to a cookbook." ~excerpts from the Preface to the BA-CFF CookbookThe minute I received notice that our cookbook was ready for sale...I was on it! This gorgeous collaboration by food bloggers from all around the world is such a source of pride to me. Do you remember when I posted a picture of my recipe contribution, Lentil Burgers...what seems like oh so many months ago? Well, my recipe is now on page 133. Big smile!! This book is diverse and colorful and filled with quotes and sayings and introductions to each of the 140 (I believe) food bloggers that contributed to this book! I've mentioned before that I am a big baby, right? I cry at commercials, books, movies, kids recitals, songs, blog posts...you name it...so it probably won't be a big shocker when I tell you that simply reading the preface brought tears to my eyes. Seeing my recipe and some of food blogging friends recipes brought tears to my eyes. Holding this amazing labor of love in my two hands...the feel of the cover and the pages on my fingers...you guessed it...brought tears to my eyes. But most of all, remembering the fact that all that's 100% of the proceeds from the sale of our book, is going to benefit hungry children. The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP)'s School Meals program feeds an average of 22 million hungry children each year. As a mom...as a human being...this tugs at my heart as well as my tear ducts. Won't you please help feed and nourish and educate those less fortunate by clicking HERE and purchasing our new BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine Cookbook? And why not get involved by joining BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine?

Are you ready for one of the many diverse recipes from the book? This one in particular is something I have been wanting...meaning...to make for a long time, but for some reason just hadn't gotten around to it. In all honesty, I'd never even tried this "cut" of meat before. An oxtail is just as it sounds. While going through my book, I came across a recipe from Giz & Psychgrad of Equal Opportunity Kitchen for Oxtail Stew...and thought it looked and sounded so dreamy and comforting...and then I found a couple pounds of oxtail at the store a day or so later...fate. Let me tell you, if you've never tried oxtail...you must! It is rich and silky and absolutely delicious!

Oxtail Stew

from Equal Opportunity Kitchen via the BloggerAid-CFF Cookbook

yield: 2-4 svgs.

3 Tbs. Olive Oil

2-3 lb. Oxtails, fat trimmed

salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 large onion, diced I sliced them thinly

2 large carrots, peeled & thinly sliced

1/4 lb. pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4" strips

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. homemade or reduced sodium beef broth I used chicken broth

1 c. dry white wine

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes I used whole tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried thyme I used a bit more

garnish: fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped I just used curly

In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Pat oxtails dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown in batches on all sides (~5 minutes per batch). Don't over crowd the pan as it will not allow oxtails to brown effectively. Transfer oxtails to a dish and set aside.

Add onion, carrots and bacon to pot and sauté in oxtail drippings until the onions are softened and the bacon begins to turn brown, ~10 minutes. I had a lot of fat from my bacon here, so I actually drained most of it off before moving on to next step.

Return oxtails to the pot. Add broth, wine, tomatoes (w/ their juices), bay leaf, thyme, salt & pepper. Raise heat, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, simmering the oxtails until they are very tender; ~3 hours. Skim any foam that may rise to the surface. Transfer to a serving plate and top with freshly chopped parsley. I also served it over some warm polenta w/ parmesan.There is also a link on my sidebar to purchase the book...at any time! So, as if helping feed hungry children weren't more than a great reason to check out this cookbook...imagine 139-ish more recipes equally as tempting, yet completely diverse to delve into!!

I'm also sending this over to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays this week.