Entries Tagged as 'Meat'

Steak and Guinness Pie

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Steak and Guinness Pie - from agiltnutmeg.com

One of my favorite parts about living abroad in the UK was the food.  Don’t worry, I understand that you may have done a double take at the statement I just made.  It’s true, though, I loved the simple, hearty, food-every meal you ate, you could so easily see it being made a century ago to feed a family in front of a large cottage fireplace.

Given that LA weather has been rather up and down in temperature lately, and in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s holiday, Steak and Guinness Pie seemed like a no-brainer.  I don’t think I’ve come across a more satisfyingly hearty dish in my kitchen.  Each bite is so full of flavor that you don’t need to eat half the pie to feel like you got a full meal out of it.  While I do love the entirely savory pie (the steak, mushrooms and onions), I think the next time I make this I’ll add in some small potatoes and sweet roasted carrots to increase the veggie count and to stretch the pie even further than the 4-5 servings we already got out of it.  I still carry a card I purchased in Ireland with a saying on it very fitting for a food blog: “May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.”  Slainte!

 Steak and Guinness Pie - from agiltnutmeg.com

Steak and Guinness Pie
Adapted from The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook via Never Enough Thyme
Serves 4-5

  • 2 pounds lean chuck steak
  • 3 Tbs all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 5 Tbs oil, divided into 3 Tbs and 2 Tbs
  • 1 1/4 cups beef broth, divided into 1/4 cup and 1 cup
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 8 oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 Tbs tomato paste (Trader Joe’s has this great tomato paste that comes in a tube like toothpaste.  No more wasting whole cans of it for just 1 or 2 tablespoons!)
  • 5 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 cup Guinness beer
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 Tbs of water
  1. Removing as much fat as possible (or as much as you can before you get frustrated and give up), and slice steak into 1″ chunks.
  2. Whisk together the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl, add the steak chunks, and toss until steak pieces are fully coated by the flour mixture.
  3. In a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet, heat the first 3 tablespoons of oil until shimmering.  Make sure the beef sizzles when it touches the oil before adding it to the pan and work in 2 or 3 batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan; try not to push the beef around until fully browned on the bottom so that you get that deep color on the meat and the fond in the bottom of the skillet.  Once the beef is cooked mostly through and browned all over, transfer the beef to a dutch oven, pour the oil out of the skillet and return it to the heat.  Pour in 1/4 of beef broth to the hot pan, scraping up the browned bits from the pan; pour the stock and browned bits into the dutch oven with the beef.
  4. Add the last of the oil to the skillet and saute the onion and mushrooms over medium heat about 15 minutes until browned; transfer to the dutch oven.
  5. In the measuring cup the beef broth is waiting in, whisk in the tomato paste and add mixture to the dutch oven along with the thyme and stout.  Bring the contents of the dutch oven to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, partially covered with the lid, for 90 minutes, then let mixture cool.
  6. Heat your oven to 425 degrees and make sure your puff pastry is completely thawed (it will break apart when you unfold it, otherwise).
  7. Transfer the cooled contents of the dutch oven to the dish you plan on baking your pie in, then drape the puff pastry over the top of the dish.  Trim the edges of the dough around the edge of the dish, leaving at least 1/4″ of hangover.  Wet your fingers and run them around the edge of the dish, under the dough, and press the dough against the wet edge of the dish.
  8. Use a knife to slice one or two slots into the crust for steam, then brush the top with the egg mixture.
  9. Bake for 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
  10. Serve hot and enjoy!

1 comment categories: Comfort Food, Holiday Food, Meat, Pie, Savory

Maple-Cider Glazed Bacon

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

maple cider glazed bacon

So when I said “I have bacon for you this Friday” I bet you didn’t think I meant “1 1/2 weeks later on a Wednesday”, did you?  Stuff got in the way, but here’s the bacon!  It’s outrageously good, so you should probably just quit whatever you’re doing and head to your oven right now.  Seriously, look at the picture below:

Could there be bacon any more glossy and translucent?  Look at that glaze!  It’s practically shellacked on.  Best of all, this bacon is baked in the oven so you don’t have to think twice about it while you’re still cooking eggs or something.  While not as covered in spices and herbs as other glazed bacon I’ve come across here in LA’s trendy restaurants, this bacon has a sweet/savory finish that is still going to leave you fighting over that last piece.  And, of course, if you want to experiment with all those herbs and spices, go for it!  I bet thyme or some Cajun seasoning would be great!

Maple-Cider Glazed Bacon
Makes 1 package of bacon
Was initially my own creation, but then I found The Spontaneous Hausfrau
already thought of it, so I have to give her credit for helping with ratios

  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup (try to find the real thing here, not the corn syrup version)
  • 1 package of your favorite bacon
  • salt & pepper
  1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
  2. In a small saucepan, boil the apple cider and maple syrup until reduced to about half.  Let it cool slightly as you’re laying out the bacon.
  3. Cover a rimmed baking sheet in tin foil and arrange your bacon in rows on the sheet.  You don’t want them overlapping, but if you want to fit a whole package, you’ll likely have to pack those babies in pretty tightly next to each other.  Personally, I know the bacon is going to be sizzling in its own grease in the oven and I love that thought, but if that’s not your thing, you can arrange the bacon on wire cooling racks on your baking sheet so that the grease drips off as it bakes.  Just know that some of your glaze will drip off too!
  4. Using a basting brush, generously brush about half the glaze over the top of the bacon, then grind salt and pepper over the top of the bacon.
  5. Bake for about 10 minutes until the bacon is sizzling and darkening in color.  Flip the bacon slices and baste with the remaining cider.
  6. Continue baking for another 5-10 minutes until the slices are darkened and crispy on the edges.
  7. Let the baking sheet cool for about 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack.  If you want to mop up some of the grease in the pan with paper towels, go for it.
  8. Once the bacon is a little cool and the glaze has had a chance to cool and stick to the bacon, line a plate with a stack of paper towels and move the bacon slices out of the baking pan and onto the paper towels.  Gently blot the slices (if you press too hard the paper towel may stick to the glaze) and then move to a warm plate for serving.  Enjoy!

1 comment categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Comfort Food, Meat, Savory

Bell Pepper-Sausage Kolache & Apricot-Nectarine Kolache

Monday, August 20, 2012

kolache

Being a part of a family that very proudly celebrates our Slovak heritage, I was fascinated to hear about Texas’ love affair with kolache, a Czech pastry.  Even better, kolache is a strongly featured recipe in The Pastry Queen—I’m so glad that I was able to circle back around and make it before Project Pastry Queen was officially over.  My biggest problem, it turns out, was just figuring out how to say the darn thing!  The world wide webiverse told me it was “ko-losh” or “ko-losh-ee”.  Enlisting the help of a Czech coworker, she said it was “ko-lotch-ee”.  I guess, in the end, it doesn’t matter, because—even though I’m still uneasy with all bread-making activities—these were mostly successful.  I’ve never eaten one made by someone else, so I don’t have anything to compare them to, but I can say that the dough is sweet and tastes very close to my favorite Cantonese Dim Sum BBQ Pork Filled Buns, albeit a little bit denser.  I know it’s a strange comparison, but in the end, it’s a small world, after all.

bell pepper sausage kolache

I split the recipe into half and made one half open-faced with nectarines, apricot jam, and brown sugar streusel.  The other half had the dough wrapped around a red bell pepper and sausage filling so that the filling was hidden inside.  I will say that I definitely have to work on my technique—as we all know here, bread dough and I don’t get along, so the nectarine kolache weren’t so much perfect little deep wells of fruit, but instead the fruit kind of hovered on top.  I also would add more of the savory filling next time because you can, obviously, never have enough sausage.  Overall, though, they were great!  The dough didn’t require any kneading, so, even though mine weren’t perfectly beautiful, I still recommend this recipe to anyone wanting to try yeast breads.  You literally just mix the dough, then stick in the fridge till morning and voila!

apricot nectarine kolache

Kolache
Makes 16-18 kolache
Dough adaptation directly from The Foodie Bride
Fillings inspired by The Pastry Queen

Dough (for a full recipe - 16-18 kolache)

  • 1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup water, warmed to 110-115F
  • 1 cup milk, warmed to 110-115F
  • 4 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled to warm
  • 2 large eggs
  • 5/8 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 1/4 cups flour

Red Bell Pepper & Sausage Filling (for a half recipe - 8-9 kolache)

  • 1 cup cooked sausage, chopped (I used a chicken sausage)
  • 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped

Nectarine-Apricot Filling & Streusel (for a half recipe - 8-9 kolache)

  • 1 large nectarine, chopped
  • 1/4 cup apricot jam/jelly, melted
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons chilled butter
  1. Add your warm water to your mixing bowl (or bowl of stand mixer) and stir in 1 teaspoon sugar..  Sprinkle yeast over the sugar water mixture and let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
  2. Add milk, butter, eggs, sugar and salt to bowl and mix on low until ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
  3. Also on low, mix in half of the flour, wait until its incorporated, then mix in the second half of the flour, mixing just until incorporated.  My dough was pretty lumpy looking and, truthfully, I’m not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to look or not.
  4. Let the dough rest 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.  Punch the dough down (deflate it) and then cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge overnight.  If you’re in a rush, 4 hours is enough, but who doesn’t want the ease of just throwing something in the fridge and not worrying about it until morning?
  5. When ready to start, heat the oven to 375, line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use non-stick spray) and divide the dough into balls.  They’ll be a bigger than golf balls, about 2 1/2″ wide.  Shawnda helpfully points out that the balls should weigh about 2.5 oz each.
  6. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling ingredients- make sure the bell pepper and sausage is chopped; combine the warmed apricot jam in a bowl with the chopped nectarine and stir to coat the nectarine.  You could easily make the streusel topping in a food processor, but it’s such a small amount that I just tossed the flour, brown sugar and butter into a mixing bowl and mushed it around with a fork and a butter knife until it was well combined and crumbly.
  7. If making sausage kolache, flatten out the balls of dough, press about a tablespoon of filling into each round of dough and then wrap the dough over the filling, pinching it shut.  Arrange the balls of dough with the seam side down on the baking sheet and arrange so that the balls are just an inch or so apart.
  8. If making open faced nectarine kolache, slightly flatten the balls and then poke a little well into the dough.  Fill the well with a tablespoon or so of fruit filling, then sprinkle the streusel topping over each one.  Arrange on the baking sheet so that the edges are just touching.
  9. Let the prepared kolache rest for 20 minutes or so and then bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top.  I brushed some melted butter over the tops of the kolache warm from the oven, but that’s up to you.
  10. Serve warm and enjoy!

1 comment categories: Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Fruits, Meat, Project Pastry Queen, Savory, Sweets

Bleu Cheese, Sausage & Crimini Mushroom Pizza

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Last month I had the great pleasure and honor of making dinner for a number of friends from college who had come to visit from the East Coast.  I wanted something to serve that would be fun and that would cater to everyone’s different tastes, but that would also be fast and enable me to wander back and forth from the kitchen to chat.  I decided on pizza night, which definitely meant fast, wouldn’t break the bank, and allowed me to get creative.   We ended up with 4 different types of pizza:  Traditional Margarita, Rosemary & Red Potato, Roasted Veggie and Hummus (recipe to come!), and Bleu Cheese, Sausage & Crimini Mushroom.  All four were a hit!

This pizza was definitely the most hearty of the four.  The flavors are all strong, but work together instead of competing on your taste buds.  Pizza is one of those great recipes that you can whip up in no time and get on the table within minutes of starting, and this recipe is definitely going into normal rotation for pizza night.

Bleu Cheese, Sausage & Crimini Mushroom Pizza
Makes 2 small-medium pizzas

  • 1 package of Trader Joe’s refrigerated pizza dough
  • 2 chicken sausages, casings removed (I chose Trader Joe’s Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
  • Garlic infused olive oil (optional)
  • 1/2 cup Crimini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
  • 1 container Bocconcini (small mozzarella balls in water), sliced or 1 large ball of fresh Mozzarella, sliced (just don’t get the shredded bagged kind)
  1. Place an unrimmed cookie sheet in your oven or place a rimmed baking sheet upside down on the rack in your oven.  Heat the oven to 500 degrees with the sheet inside.
  2. While the oven is heating, remove the casings from the sausage and fry it up in a pan, breaking up the sausage into small pieces.  At this point, I added about 1 teaspoon of dried oregano to the sausage in the pan, because I felt it could do with a little more flavor, but this is entirely up to you and the sausage you chose.  When fully cooked through, move the sausage to a plate covered in a thick stack of paper towels so that the grease can drain.
  3. After the oven is good and hot (about 30 minutes), remove the cookie sheet and put it on a heat-safe counter, but leave the oven on.
  4. Break the pizza dough into two even pieces and stretch the first piece out gently with your hands, letting gravity do most of the work.  I always prefer this to rolling it out with a rolling pin, but you will absolutely end up with an oddly shaped pizza this way-I think it gives it character.
  5. Gently lay the stretched pizza dough onto the hot baking sheet (the goal here is to get the bottom of the crust baking first while you top the pizza, so that the dough cooks more evenly.  If you have some of that garlic infused olive oil, brush about a tablespoon or two over the crust.
  6. Sprinkle on about half of your sausage, half of your mushrooms, half of your bleu cheese and half of your mozzarella on top of all of that (adding the mozzarella last will help the toppings stick to your pizza better).  Of course, adjust to your tastes.  I like a little less of the bleu cheese, as it’s a super strong flavor.
  7. Return the baking sheet with the pizza now assembled on top to the oven and let it bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is starting to turn golden brown and the mozzarella is bubbly and also just starting to brown.
  8. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting with a pizza cutter and enjoy!

2 comments categories: Comfort Food, Dinner Fast, Meat, Party Food, Savory

Steak & Arugula Picnic Sandwiches

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

steak picnic sandwiches

Serves me right for thinking I might have a relaxing weekend for once.  Thursday night rolled around and The Boyfriend’s Dad asked how I might feel about filling a basket for a picnic lunch for Mother’s Day.  Of course I can’t say no to that!  I spent the next few days trying to decide what I might make that would be okay at room temperature for a little while and that would pack nicely for travel.  I am proud to say that the lunch was a success and that I was able to make some of my favorite foods to share with them on Sunday and now with you.  First up on the list are these incredibly simple Steak & Arugula Picnic Sandwiches.

Your first step above all is to find a great bread.  I was standing in line at 9am waiting for the doors to open at the world famous Bay Cities Deli on Sunday morning.  I think that walking out of the store 5 minutes later with a loaf of crunchy chewy Italian bread still warm and fragrant from the oven was one of my favorite food moments in recent memory.  After that, the rest is a snap; this steak is one of the very first recipes I ever posted on this blog and beyond that it just involves slathering on some good mustard and piling on the arugula.  Because they’re open faced (no top piece of bread), they’re just the right amount of filling when you pair them with a few sides instead of overstuffing yourself…because who wants that on a picnic?  Wrap it all up in parchment paper, tie it with baker’s twine and these sandwiches are super portable without worry about crushing them.

steak picnic sandwiches 2

Steak & Arugula Picnic Sandwiches
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, July 2009
Serves 4

  • One loaf of high quality sandwich bread or two 6″ rolls
  • Approximately 2 cups of arugula
  • Your preferred mustard (I like a spicy Dijon)
  • One recipe of Marinated Balsamic Skirt Steak (below)

Steak

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 pound skirt steak
  1. Poke the steak all over with a fork, then combine the steak ingredients in an airtight container at least 30 minutes prior to cooking, if you’re in a rush, or put them together the night before and stick them in the fridge so that the flavors can combine.
  2. When ready to cook the steak, set the oven to Broil (or 500 degrees), line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay the steak flat on the prepared pan.
  3. Broil the steak 3 minutes on each side for medium; cook an extra minute or so on each side for more well done.
  4. When the steak is done to your preference, pull it out of the oven, move it to a platter and let it cool for at least 15 minutes.
  5. When cool, slice the steak against the grain (you don’t want chewy meat on a sandwich), removing any excess fat along the way.
  6. Slice the bread roll in half lengthwise and then cut the halves into 6″ portions (cut the rounded ends off, too).
  7. Spread mustard over the bread, pile the meat on top and then the arugula.
  8. Wrap sandwiches in parchment paper, tape or tie them shut and put them in the picnic basket to enjoy!

0 comments categories: Dinner Fast, Meat, Sandwiches, Savory

Racer’s Macho Chili

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

With Super Bowl Sunday coming up, I thought you might want a really really good chili recipe for your party this Sunday…or for a cold winters night…or for basically any time you just want something delicious.  I know there are raging and almost violent debates out there about what makes an authentic chili-beans vs. no beans, ground beef vs. chopped beef, are tomatoes or tomato paste allowed, and so on and so forth; I also know that this chili breaks almost every one of those so-called “chili rules” and that I don’t care.  There is nothing more satisfying than a bowl of this chili-especially  because after simmering it for 3 hours, you’re STARVING unless you started way ahead of time (and when have you ever known me to do that?)

The recipe comes from Jack Westbrook from Texas.  I’m not sure where the name came from, but the recipe was given to my dad from a friend, Ed Jednacz, and as my family moved across the country from Oklahoma to Missouri to Pennsylvania to Georgia and now me in California and my sister in Washington DC, the chili recipe has maintained its revered status and traveled with us, which is certainly a testament to great chili.

My only rule with this chili: we don’t eat it with spoons.  Tortilla chips are all that you need to get this chili from bowl to mouth-and be sure to put lots of extra cheese on top.

 

Racer’s Macho Chili
Serves 6-10 approximately
Adapted to family tastes from Jack Westbrook’s original recipe

  • 2 1/2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1 jalapeno, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 can (15 oz or as close as you can get) of diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (6 oz) of tomato paste
  • 4 tablespoons of chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cans pinto beans, drained
  • 1/2 lb Colby Jack longhorn cheese, grated, plus plenty of extra for sprinkling on top

 

  1. In a large pot, brown the beef and fry the onions until clear.
  2. If you’re using a crockpot, transfer the beef and onions to the pot and add the rest of the ingredients except for the water, flour, beans and cheese (I added helpful breaks in the ingredient list so you don’t accidentally just throw everything in).  If you don’t have a crockpot, just add the ingredients to the pot you were browning the beef in.
  3. Bring contents of pot to a simmer, then add the flour and water.  With the pot lid ON, simmer on very low heat for at least one hour. (If you don’t keep the pot lid on, all the liquid boils away and you’ll be very sad.  I know, I’ve done this.)
  4. Add the beans, then continue simmering on low heat (with the lid on) for another two hours at least.
  5. Add the grated cheese to the pot and stir into the chili 1-2 hours before serving.
  6. Serve with tortilla chips and extra grated cheese thrown on top.  Enjoy!!

1 comment categories: Comfort Food, Meat, Munchies, Party Food, Savory, Soup

King Ranch Casserole

Monday, September 12, 2011

Out of all of the recipes I’ve made for Project Pastry Queen, this is by far the most “Texan”.  Full of southwestern flavors, this is an extremely hearty casserole!  I admit I don’t love corn tortillas, so already this recipe was at a disadvantage in terms of going into my permanent recipe box, but the flavors all even out quite nicely and, while not my favorite PPQ recipe, it’s certainly one to pull out when your Texas relatives come to visit.

In typical Emily-fashion, I had a few forehead slapping moments.  I try to do my food shopping economically but also locally & organic when I can which means that I ended up going to three different grocery stores (which was not my intention).  Most of my basic ingredients came from Trader Joe’s, because they have the best prices, the local food co-op (appropriately called “The Co-op”) for my veggies, but then I still had to go to Von’s to get the poblano peppers because the co-op strangely enough had no chile peppers whatsoever.  So I’m happily cooking away and I’m to the part of the recipe where I start assembling the casserole when I realize with a jump-this is a chicken casserole…I didn’t buy any chicken today!  I blame it on the way the recipe is worded and arranged, since I didn’t make my own chicken stock, but in the end I can’t believe I didn’t put 2 and 2 together and remember to actually buy chicken.  All’s well that ends well.  I’m just glad I live only 2 blocks from the supermarket.

The whole roasting poblano peppers routine may seem really tedious, but I promise, learn now because one of my favorite recipes ever (and I mean EVER) uses roasted poblano peppers and you’ll be glad you have the technique down when I finally post it.

Also, I’ve been very slowly working towards liking mushrooms.  It’s an uphill battle, for sure, but I think that smelling the mushrooms simmering in butter was a turning point for me.  They smelled truly delicious.

Interesting Fact: this recipe is named for one of the biggest ranches in Texas but….it’s a ranch, which means beef, not chicken.  The ranch is just as confused you probably are about why the casserole got named after them.

Update: I have to say that while I wasn’t the biggest fan of this recipe at first, I’m loving the leftovers!  I think the flavors just needed time to meld in the fridge overnight.  This Home Plate‘s version for PPQ looks delicious with sides of salad and black beans-I know what I’m adding to my plate tomorrow night with the last bit of casserole!

King Ranch Casserole
The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather
10-12 servings

  • 1 roasted chicken, meat shredded
  • 3 poblano chiles, roasted and diced (Rebecca suggests New Mexican green chiles, but they’re pretty difficult to find)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 18 corn tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (or do what I did and buy a bag of pre-shredded Mexican mix cheese which includes both Monterey Jack and Cheddar and is half the price of buying two blocks of the cheeses and shredding yourself)
  1. Roasting the Peppers: Turn the oven to broil and while that’s heating up, slice the poblano peppers in half, clean them of stems, seeds, and ribbing, then lay the pieces on a cookie sheet, skin side up.  They should lay as flat as possible-just squish them.  Slide the cookie sheet under the broiler element as close as it can go.  In my oven, there’s a little drawer in the bottom so I can slide them right up underneath the flame.  You want the skin to turn black and bubbly, which in this case doesn’t mean it’s burned, but instead means less work for you.  You really do want every inch of that skin bubbly because if it’s not, it just means you’ll have to put the peppers back in the oven (so leave it on after you take the peppers out, just in case).  Leave the peppers under the broiler for about 5 minutes.  When you pull them out, put them in a paper bag so they can sweat for 5 minutes.  Pull them out (they’ll be cool) and peel the skin off the peppers.  If you leave the skin on, it’s kind of like finding pieces of plastic wrap in your food.  The skin will come off pretty easily.  If there is still skin that won’t come off, just slice that part of the pepper off and put it back under the broiler for another 5 minutes.
  2. Making the Filling: Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and garlic.  Saute on medium-low heat about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute.  Sprinkle the flour in the pan, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir until the white of the flour is no longer visible (I doubted it but it happens, I promise).  Whisk in 3 cups of chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition.  Whisk in the cream and stir in the diced roasted chiles.  Add the tomatoes (juice and all).  The cream sauce will be nice and thick.
  3. Assembling the Casserole: Place 1/2 cup of chicken stock in a wide bowl so that you can lay 6 tortillas in the bowl flat and covered with the chicken stock.  Wait a few minutes while you get everything else ready.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13″ baking dish with butter.  Line the bottom of the baking dish with tortillas.  Rebecca suggests 6 per layer, saying that a thick layer of tortillas means it will be easier to cook, but I used fewer since I don’t like corn tortillas.  (Put the next 6 tortillas in the bowl of chicken stock.)  Cover the tortillas with half of the cream sauce.  Add half the chicken and sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese.  Add a second layer of soaked tortillas (and put the last tortillas in the bowl to soak), the remaining cream sauce and chicken and another layer of cheese.  Top with the last layer of tortillas and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
  4. Bake the casserole for 45 minutes until hot, bubbling, and lightly browned on top.  Remove the casserole from the oven and let sit about 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serve.

2 comments categories: Meat, Project Pastry Queen, Savory

Caprese Burgers

Friday, September 2, 2011

So the boyfriend and I desperately needed a night out.  The solution?  The Counter, a fantastic build-your-own-burger joint, has the best Tuesday night dinner around.  For the price of one of their normal burgers, you get 4 mini burgers designed specially by the chef and 4 mini beer pairings.  The fact that you don’t have to choose just one meal and get 4 very different burgers AND 4 different beers is just phenomenal.  This week the chef created a bacon cheeseburger with potato chips (as a burger topping) and stone ground mustard, a burger with blue cheese, celery slices and buffalo sauce, a southwest burger with corn & black bean salsa, chipotle aioli and fried jalapeno slices and….a caprese burger.

I carefully took only one bite of burger and one sip of the matching beer before moving on to the next, moving in a slow circle around the plate.  And even though I enjoyed all of the burgers immensely, this caprese burger was something special.  It was one of those things where you hit yourself over the head and say “why didn’t I think of this?!“  It was so good, in fact, that after only one bite, I borrowed the boyfriend’s fancy phone to email myself the list of ingredients.  It was so good that the very next day I found myself hungrily craving a full size caprese burger and, let me tell you, when I get a craving like this, it HAUNTS me.  So there was nothing else to do but recreate the burger at home and have caprese burgers two nights in a row.  These are so easy to throw together yet look so impressive that I can’t wait to make them for friends-great for this weekend’s last ditch effort at holding on to summer, Labor Day!  So with out further ado…

Caprese Burgers
Serves 4
Inspired by a Mix-It-Up special from The Counter

  • 4 burger patties
  • 4 hamburger buns
  • arugula
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped (I used heirloom tomatoes, since it’s just barely still summertime)
  • fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices (will come in a single ball the size of a baseball)
  • 1 recipe balsamic reduction (see below)
  • 1 recipe pesto spread (see below)

Balsamic Reduction

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Pesto Spread

  • 2-3 packed cups fresh basil leaves (1 large box of basil from Trader Joes is only $1.99 and is the perfect amount!)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • 7 tablespoons olive oil
  • pinch of salt
  1. Bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan.  Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium and let it continue to simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved.  Turn heat off to let it cool until your burgers are ready.  The vinegar will turn very thick and should coat the back of a spoon.
  2. In a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, salt and olive oil and pulse until you have a fine paste.  Set aside until ready to use.
  3. Turn your oven on to 500 degrees and place the hamburger bun halves face-down in the oven to toast while preparing your burgers.
  4. Grill or fry the burgers in your preferred method.  I found I didn’t even have to season them due to the strong flavors in the balsamic reduction and the pesto.
  5. Stack your burger: Bottom half of bun, burger patty, arugula, mozzarella slice, chopped tomatoes.  Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the tomatoes.  Spread a thick layer of the pesto on the top bun and drop it on top of the burger.  Voila!

It seems that everyone’s tastes are different when it comes to this burger-the boyfriend literally brought the pot of balsamic reduction to the table so he could keep slathering it on his burger while I couldn’t get enough pesto and would spread a little extra on each bite of burger.  The roommate happily ate hers without any extra additions at all.  So that means the solution is just to bring all the sauces to the table to let everyone choose for themselves!

3 comments categories: Meat, Sandwiches, Savory

Poulet en Cocotte

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Poulet en Cocotte is French for “Chicken in a Pot”, which is hardly a very appetizing name-but at least the chicken is delicious!  The first half of the recipe is pretty hands-off and the sauce in the second half is simple as well.  I actually made this chicken and the sauce last for a whole week of leftovers…and now that I’m writing about it, I’m craving it again.  Would it be bad to have chicken for 2 full weeks in a row?

A word of warning: part of what makes this recipe so easy is that you don’t brown the chicken first and the chicken isn’t going to brown very much in the pot, so you’re going to end up with a relatively light colored bird.  Cooks Illustrated is always on this obsessive quest for browned crispy skin on chicken and turkey but, truthfully, I don’t particularly care one way or the other so this recipe suits me just fine.

Poulet en Cocotte
recipe slightly modified from The Best International Recipe cookbook
Serves 4, or a week of leftovers for 1

  • 1 roasting chicken (approx 5 lbs), giblets discarded
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 large shallots, sliced thin
  • 6 garlic cloves peeled and trimmed
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme
  • 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
  1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Make sure the chicken doesn’t have giblets hiding inside, and if there are, pull them out and discard.  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Add the oil, shallots and garlic cloves to a large Dutch oven and lay the chicken on top, breast side up.
  2. Cover and bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees in the center of the breast, about 1 hour. If you don’t have a meat thermometer of any kind, use your best chicken-judgement skills: make sure the meat is not pink and the juices run clear.
  3. Tip the chicken to drain the juices from the cavity back into the pot you roasted it in. Transfer the chicken to a carving board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest while finishing the sauce-I promise it will stay piping hot for a loooooong time.
  4. Pour all the cooking juices into a fat separator and set aside to settle, about 3 minutes.  I don’t have a fat separator right now, so I just put it into a measuring cup, let it settle, and then spooned the fat off the top as best I could. Pour the defatted juices back into the pot and stir in the wine, broth, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the liquid has reduced to about 1 cup, 5-10 minutes.
  5. Off heat, remove the bay leaves, whisk in the butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Full disclosure: I don’t actually love onions and shallots, so I spooned the shallots out of the sauce at this point. But I don’t suggest this unless you’re just picky like me.

If you’re serving this for dinner for more than just yourself, carve the chicken up and serve the sauce in a gravy boat. If it’s for a less formal occasion (i.e: me standing over the kitchen counter at 11pm on a Sunday night), let the chicken cool (so you don’t burn your fingers…learn from my example) and tear it down into pieces directly into the tupperware. Dip pieces of chicken into the pan of gravy as you are breaking down the chicken, pop directly into your mouth and voila: dinner!  Don’t forget to save the sauce, too-it’s what really makes the chicken worth eating all week.

0 comments categories: Chicken, Meat, Savory

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak

Monday, May 30, 2011

I’ve been making this marinated skirt steak since I was in high school and, truthfully, I have never found a marinade that even comes close to this.  That said, I have to give credit to my little sister, who was more ambitious in the kitchen before I was, for finding this recipe from Martha Stewart.

The recipe is so easy that after making it once, you won’t even need to look at the recipe again or even measure ingredients for that matter-just adjust to your own tastes (for example, I’m a huge garlic lover.  Martha only calls for 2 cloves).  I’m sure this would be great to throw on the grill, but I’ve always just put it under the broiler in my oven and loved it. When you think about it, 5 minutes throwing together the marinade, plus 3 minutes per side in the oven, there’s never really a bad time to make this…so what are you waiting for?

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak
Recipe modified from Martha Stewart
Serves 4

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 pound skirt steak
  1. Trim skirt steak of excess fat.  My supermarket is very inconsistent-sometimes very fatty pieces (hidden from view, of course) and sometimes very lean.
  2. Place steak in a shallow Tupperware container, stab it all over with a fork, and add all of the ingredients.  Shake!
  3. According to Martha, you can let it marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes, but I usually throw this all together in 5 minutes or less the night before and then throw it in the fridge overnight.
  4. Set the oven to “Broil” and line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil.  Place the steak on the sheet (I make sure to grab all those garlic slices and roast them too!).  This steak, because it’s so thin, cooks FAST so don’t walk away!  3 minutes per side is all you need for the thickest parts to be medium rare.
  5. Pull the steak out and cover with tinfoil (I promise, it will stay blazing hot) and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.  If you get anxious and don’t let this time pass, you will have a MESS all over your cutting board and your meat won’t be as juicy as it could have been, which is a shame.

Enjoy!  (Also awesome as cold leftovers…some people have to grab an Oreo every time they pass the cupboard…I have to grab a slice of this steak whenever I pass the fridge)

1 comment categories: Meat