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Tag Archives: Beef
Grass-fed flap steak filled with a mixture of ramps and morels which were gently sauteed with butter, sea salt and cracked black pepper. Finished with a sauce that was made by deglazing the roasting pan with red wine and additional morels.
A couple weeks ago, after a few twitter sessions, I had the pleasure of meeting David of Earthy Delights over the phone. He was a “delight” to talk to as we both share the same philosophy about food – it should be simple, using the best ingredients and it should be GOOD! He asked if we would be interested in trying some of his products, why, HELLO … But, of course we would! I mean have you seen what he sells; everything from honeys to fresh wild morels. I was pretty excited after we ended our conversation and I hung up the phone.
Wednesday it was Christmas at Chez Us. I came home to find the best package that only a “foodie” could love. It was bursting at the seams with fresh morels, ramps, the famed Black Garlic that everyone is a twitter about, an assortment of dried mushrooms, olive oil from Italy, an avocado oil, balsamic cream, a lime juice and two Earthy Delight t-shirts. I was grinning ear to ear and my mind was racing with ideas of how we would be consuming all of this joy! This was definitely the best package we have received in a very long time!!
The first dish we created was using some of the very fresh and fragrant morels as well as the ramps. Neither of us have never eaten ramps, so I was pretty excited to cook with them – I loved their slightly green and garlicky scent. As well I have eaten morels a few times, mostly in Europe, this was the first time I worked with them. Morels are NOT your ordinary mushrooms – they are meaty and earthy and very flavorful. I found their texture interesting as they were rather woody when I started out. I did enjoy their mossy and earthy scent. I did not want this dish to be overwhelming with other ingredients – I wanted these *stars* to shine. This particular dish was just perfect. The combination of the ramps and the earthy morels went very well with the beef and red wine. To continue with keeping the meal simple as to not take away from the star ingredients, I served a lightly sauteed zucchini which I sprinkled some truffle sea salt on. The entire meal was elegant but not stuffy …. just good home cooking!
I bet you cannot wait to see what else we have planned for the rest of the bounty!
Recipe: Flap Steak with Morels & Ramps and a red wine demi glaze
*serves 4
1 lb flap steak
1 lb morels, quartered
1 bunch ramps, minced - I used all the whites & 1/4 of the greens
2 tablespoons butter
sea salt, pinch
fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup good red wine
Cover morels with cold, slightly salted water, to clean out any pests and let sit for about 15 minutes. Drain well. Melt butter and add ramps. Cook until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in morels, sprinkle with some salt and cook for about 20 minutes. Strain and reserve buttery liquid. Set aside.
Lay steak out on cutting board, put 3/4 of the morel mixture towards an end and roll into a tight log. Reserve the 1/4 cup of morels for the sauce. Heat an oven proof pan with a 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sear the meat on both sides. Transfer to oven and let cook for about 10 – 15 minutes depending on how you like your beef cooked. Remove from oven and transfer meat to a plate. Heat the juices with the left over morel liquid. Add the red wine and cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat, until reduced and slightly thick, add the morels. To serve, cut portions of the meat and drizzle the red wine and morel sauce over the top.
A grass fed beef cube steak seasoned with sea salt, cracked pepper and crushed garlic and simply sauteed until caramelized served along side a lightly poached lobster tail with creamy melted butter.
As a regular reader you know Maggie. If not, here is a bit on Maggie. She is my god-daughter and I have been helping take care of her since she was born. She is the apple of my eye, so to say, as are her brother and sister. But, Maggie, is different, she is a bit of the “wild child” after all, how many 3 year old do you know, have claimed they are “foodies”. The funny thing is, she really does like food, from espresso to the stinkiest blue cheese out there. I promised her two things before her recent 3 birthday. One, she could have her first sleep-over with me and two, we would eat lobster together, we see them swimming in their little tank at the Ferry Plaza all the time. Laudalino was in Las Vegas or as Maggie calls it Lost Vegas, for business this week, so it was time to have Magalicious over!
We decided on the dinner menu during an outing to Half Moon Bay (we picked up the best strawberries and sweet peas) – she wanted steak, lobster and sweet English peas as well as something Chocolate! When I ran to the market to pick up dinner, I saw some great looking cube steaks and suddenly remembered a way my grandmother use to cook them for us – simple with butter, crispy browned garlic pieces and salt and pepper – I loved how they were slightly browned (love the drippings in the pan even more) but still cooked to perfection. I have not had them in years, so I picked a couple up along with one Lobster Tail (Larry Lobster as Maggie named him) and headed home.
We started the evening with a fine Passion fruit juice that I have been meaning to mix with something to make it more adult friendly, but once we busted it open, it was gone – we were loving it! Then we proceeded to cook dinner together. While I cooked the cube steaks, Maggie, had conversations with her new friend Larry, mind you, she kept telling him how good he was going to taste – I wish I had a video camera handy! Right before the punch into a boiling bath of salted water and lemon, Maggie, gave him a hug and a kiss and said she would see him soon – got to love that!
I was no intentions of documenting this dinner but as I was putting our meal onto the plates, Maggie grabbed a couple napkins and started setting the table and proceeded to tell me we had to get ready to take pictures like on “Chez Us”; I was touched, she really wanted to do this and to be a part of it! So, I handed her the little camera and we both shot away. What a fun evening we had dining on a fine steak and lobster dinner finished by bowls of bittersweet chocolate ice cream.
Homemade spinach pasta rolled and cut into thin noodles, then tossed with a country style ragu and sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesan cheese, a wonderful and simple dinner.
I normally do not have “food” in the freezer, except for the token ice cream container or a few containers of stock as well as different citrus juices. We just aren’t big leftover, frozen food people; but, a couple weeks ago we (I) made a fantastic home made Lasagne. We were lucky enough to have left over pasta, which is very easy to make if you don’t have leftovers. I decided to cut the pasta into noodles and freeze them for another time. As well we had some of the ragu left over, this is the best Italian ragu I have ever had. Not only is it fantastic tasting but it is simple to make.
Tonight I cooked the noodles, warmed up the ragu, tossed together a frisee salad and we had dinner – thank you freezer for feeding us so well!
Recipe
spinach egg pasta (pasta verde)
Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.
2 jumbo eggs (2 oz./60g or more)
10 oz. (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 oz. (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 1/2 cups (14 oz./400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)
Working by hand you will need: A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired. A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough. A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta. Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly. A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets. Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.
Mixing the dough: Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.
Kneading: With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.
Stretching and thinning: If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more. Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time. Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagna, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm).
Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.
Fragrant beef based soup served over soba noodles and edamame.
This dish came about from not having a whole heck of a lot in the house. When I first started making this it was going to be French Onion soup as all I thought I had was onions and some left over beef stock. While the onions were doing their thing on the stove, I started rooting around and I found some fresh ginger, lemon grass, a lime, some beef flank, soba noodles and edamame. All of a sudden this dish was about to become something more interesting.
While the onions were sweating, I added some ginger, lime zest, and minced lemon grass. After the flavors were well blended I added the beef and cooked it until the beef was golden. Then I added the stock and let it simmer for a good hour. It broth was so flavorful. Right before serving I added the edamame. I only keep them on the heat long enough to warm through and still keep their beautiful color. To give the dish more substance (we were hungry) I served over Soba Noodles and finished with a squeeze of lime and a splash of Sriracha.
Not bad for being a dish made from the remnants of an empty cupboard – would make “old mother Hubbard” proud!
Recipe: Beef and Noodles
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
knob fresh ginger, minced
1/2 stick of lemon grass, minced
zest from 1 lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound beef flank, thinly sliced
3 cups of beef stock, preferabley homemade
2 cups edamame
lime to garnish
sriacha to taste
Heat olive oil, add onions and sweat for about 10 minutes. Add ginger, lemon grass and lime zest, cook over very low heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook until the beef is slightly golden, but not crisp and not over cooked, about 5 minutes. Add stock and cook for an hour.
15 minutes before serving cook, soba noodles according to package directions. 3 minutes before noodles are done cooking, I set a mesh colander on top of the simmering water, be sure the colander is immersed in the water, then add the edamame, let heat through for the last couple of minutes left on the noodles. Drain noodles and edamame. To serve, lay a bed of noodles, topped off with the edamame, in a deep or shallow serving bowl and ladle the beef broth mixture over the top. Squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top and a splash of the sriacha. Serve. Eat.
The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.
I thought I had until the end of the month to finish my Daring Bakers challenge. Planned out the meal for the weekend. Then I got a Tweet that the date had been moved up to the 27th … oh well, better late then never! I was kind of nervous when I started making this recipe at 2pm. I had seen a few tweets that it was an all day project. I thought for sure we would be eating at 10pm, just as we would be in Italy!
I have always wanted to make a traditional ragu but have always thought it would be too much work. Thanks to this challenge I finally did it. I the ragu first. The recipe calls for veal, pork, beef, pancetta and prosciutto. I cheated a bit (hey I had a crazy week, give me a break), the butcher had just ground all three of the meats so I used these. When I got home I food processed all the meats together with the prosciutto. As well I wanted my minced veggies to be very fine so I processed them with the pancetta, the texture was perfect for ragu. I had just enough left over beef stock that I made a while back, so i used that. As well I did not use plum tomatoes as I have a container of frozen dry farmed ones, so I used those. The sauce smelled so good while it was cooking and it was very flavorful and the meat was really tender, thanks to adding milk during the simmering process. I would serve this sauce alone as well.
While the sauce was cooking, I made my pasta. I was kind of concerned with making it without a pasta machine, but I did not have time to go out and get the much desired KitchenAid attachment. I did have a bit of a problem getting it to come together, but after adding two more eggs, it was perfect. I don’t think my eggs were “jumbo” enough. I had visions of struggling with the rolling as I did when I made ravioli. Luckily, Jeff and Andy got us a new French rolling pin and it worked perfect. It was so much easier to get the dough very thin. In fact after cutting my sheets for the lasagna pan, I had plenty leftover to make noodles.
The process was coming together really well. It was 5pm and I was finally relaxed, time to pour a glass of Italian wine, we would be eating at a normal time.
I made the Bechamel sauce right before putting it together. I love making bechamel sauces. They are so easy and you can use them in pasta dishes, gratins, etc.. Sometimes I add cheese or sometimes I keep it simple as this recipe calls for. I was going to skip the nutmeg but was glad I didn’t as it went really well with this dish.
About two hours before we wanted to eat, I put the dish together. It came out really well. The pasta could have been a little thinner but overall it was fine and held up during baking. The ragu is fantastic, we really loved the flavors of the smoky prosciutto coming through, the silkiness of the veal and the richness of the other meats. The nutmeg of the bechamel came together nicely with the ragu. A lovely rustic lasagna, that we will be eating again!
Thank you to our lovely hosts for picking a fantastic challenge. Be sure to save your appetite and check out these other Daring Baker’s lasagnes.
Recipe: Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
from The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)
10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce
1 recipe Country Style Ragu
1 cup (4 oz./125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Working ahead: The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagna can wait at room temperature (20°C/68°F) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.
Assembling the ingredients: Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.
Cooking the pasta: Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.
Assembling the lasagne: Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.
Baking and serving the lasagne: Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.
Recipe: spinach egg pasta (pasta verde)
Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.
2 jumbo eggs (2 oz./60g or more)
10 oz. (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 oz. (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 1/2 cups (14 oz./400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)
Working by hand you will need: A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired. A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough. A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta. Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly. A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets. Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.
Mixing the dough: Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.
Kneading: With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.
Stretching and thinning: If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more. Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time. Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colours. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm).
Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.
Recipe: Béchamel
4 tbsps (2 oz./60g) unsalted butter
4 tbsps (2 oz./60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2 2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
nutmeg to taste, freshly grated
Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.
Recipe: Country style ragu’ (ragu alla contadina)
makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)
3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil (45 mL)
2 oz./60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 oz./125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 oz./125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 oz./30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 oz./160ml) dry red wine
1 1/2 cups (12 oz./375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 oz./500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Working ahead: The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.
Browning the ragu base: Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull grey but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.
Reducing and simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside. Stir 1/2 cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking. Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.
Want to learn how to make Irish Stew? Here is a simple and fool proof recipe for a traditional Irish Stew made with lots of beef, carrots, potatoes and an Irish Stout. Very easy to make and delicious on your taste-buds.
I woke up Saturday morning around 3 am and I had Irish Stew on my mind. Not sure why I had anything Irish on my mind, as we don’t even do the traditional St. Paddy’s Day celebrations any longer (we are too old), but the idea was there and it lingered for rest of the night. I have not made Irish Stew in years. I vaguely remember one of my first cookbooks, when I was about 16, it had a recipe for Irish Stew and I use to make it. Positive it did not include the can of beer, though. I searched around quickly before hitting the market on Saturday and never came up with a recipe that really interested me so I decided I would wing it ….
I did a little market research, so to say, and found out that Irish Stew is usually made with the cheapest, most readily available ingredients. The Irish mostly used sheep and root vegetables. Irish stew, also known as Ballymaloe or Stobhach gaelach is normally made with lamb or mutton, potatoes, onion and parsley. Other root vegetables have also been added such as turnips, parsnips or carrots. As well barley is sometimes added.
Since we had lamb recently I decided to go with beef. I purchased some beautiful grass fed beef and cubed it into bite size pieces. I then browned the beef and seasoned it with garlic, sea salt and pepper. After a good browning I added a can of Murphys Stout (it was on sale and I got 4 BIG cans), some of the beef stock that I had left over, some other good seasonings and then I let it do it’s thing on a very low heat for about 6 hours. After it cooled off, I put it in the fridge and forgot about it until tonight.
After skimming off the fat (there was very little), I gently warmed the beef stock mixture. While it was heating up I sauteed some onion, carrots and yukon potatoes. We do not like mushy veggies so this is the reasoning behind not adding them sooner in the process. The stew came out incredible. The beef was so moist and really retained all of the flavorings during the long gentle cooking process. The veggies were perfect, not to hard and not to soft. I served this stew with cheddar biscuits, a Mark Bittman recipe, which were fantastic and more icy cold Murphy’s Stout.
Recipe: Irish Beef Stew
* serves 4
1 lb beef stew meat, grass fed preferably
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves of garlic minced
sea salt
cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 bay leave
1 can of Murphy’s Stout or Guinness
5 cups of beef stock – homemade preferably
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 yellow onion large dice
3 carrots, roughly cut
5 yukon potatoes, quartered
parsley, handful, minced
Melt butter in the olive oil. Brown the beef. Add the garlic, sea salt and cracked pepper and cook a couple more minutes just to blend the ingredients. Add the tomato paste, stout and stock, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a very low simmer and cook for 5 – 6 hours. Remove from heat, let cool and refrigerate over night.
Skim the fat off the top and gently reheat. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes, add the carrots and potatoes and cook until the onion is soft. Add the veggies to the broth/meat mixture and cook on a very low heat for about one and a half hours. I did thicken the stew with a little cornstarch before serving, only do this if you want a thicker consistency. Before serving stir in parsley. Serve. Eat.
Making homemade beef stock is easier than you think with this fool proof recipe. After wards, it can be used to make a hearty beef barley soup or put in the freezer for later use.
I feel like February was a big fat blur. It flew by. We were busy trying to get busy and we are still trying to get busy. I never really got a chance to spend the quality time I usually do either on Saturday or Sunday at the market and then cooking something at home. As well we have been low on all the basics for instance stock in the freezer. So, when I woke up to pouring rain on Sunday, I decided today would be the day to try to find that home comfort. It was nice as we stayed in (worked a little bit) and I baked my Daring Baker’s challenge and I made a big pot of beef stock.
I have made chicken stock often and have been dying to roast up some beef bones and make some rich stock to use in soups, risottos, bourguigns, etc.. I was going to just wing it as I do when I make my chicken stock but then I stumbled upon a soup that Jen over at Use Real Butter made, which in turn stumbled me over to Susan at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy & Chewy. So I used both of their recipes to create the stock and the soup we had for dinner tonight. Recipe will follow.
Making beef stock was easy. A bit time consuming as you need to be home, but worth it. It was rich with flavor and the meat was incredibly moist. I cooked the veggies only long enough to soak in some of the flavor of the stock but still be crunchy. As well I toasted the barley a bit before adding it to the soup with gave it a slightly nutty taste. It was delicious served along side a big hot basket of mile high biscuits.
Recipe: Beef Stock & Barley Soup
adapted from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy & Use Real Butter
2.5 lbs. beef bones (I used beef shanks per the recommendation of my butcher)
salt
black pepper
2 carrots, cut in quarters
1 onion, cut in half
drizzle of olive oil
4 quarts water
2 medium cloves garlic, smashed
1 small onion, diced
handful of fresh Thyme, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, cut in half
2 medium carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 cup pearl barley
Stock
Heat the oven to 425°F. Rinse the beef and pat dry. Season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. I put them in my oven proof stock pan and roast for 90 minutes. When the beef is done, remove the beef to a stock pot or keep it in the one you used if it is large enough, add the halved onion and quartered carrots, cover with 4 quarts of water. Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 5 hours. Strain the beef from the broth and tear the meat into bite size chunks. It made 12 cups of stock. I used 6 for the soup and froze the rest without meat.
Soup
In a stock pot saute the onions in the olive oil, add the garlic, celery and carrots. Lightly toast the barley until a little golden and fragrant. When the veggie mixture is slightly soft add the 6 cups of the broth, the meat, thyme, barley and mushrooms. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook until the barley is tender about 20 minutes. Serve very hot. Eat.
A traditional steak dinner served with creamed spinach and duck fat fried potatoes.
We were contacted a couple weeks ago by Ingrid who happens to be working with the Travel Channels online team, particularly the No Reservations sector. She asked us if we would be interested in spreading a little Anthony love. We jumped at it for a few reasons 1)we love the show & are faithful spectators 2)well, I am just going to say it, Anthony is HOT and 3)the obvious we should use a little self promotion as well.
Over emails the last week we were given the skinny on where Anthony will be taking us tomorrow night. Yes, it is his hometown & one of our favorite cities, Manhattan. While there he visited one of New York’s beef eating institutions, Keens. Keens has been around since 1885 and has become known as Manhattan’s only USDA Prime only restaurant. As well they have an outstanding Scotch collection. In honor of this memorable meal we thought it was only fitting that Anthony swing by for a little pre-Keen’s meal. Tonight we had one of his favorite meals …. steaks, creamed spinach and a glass of Scotch. Click the photo to see the video WE made of our dinner with Anthony.
 CLICK TONY – TO SEE THE VIDEO WE MADE
Avedano’s Meat Market has been in the back of my mind ever since I read an article about this woman owned butcher shop. Something mildly intriguing about women being butchers as well I heard that they have some of the best beef in San Francisco. Since we were having Tony over for a traditional steak dinner we wanted to get the biggest and juicest cuts they had and we found it with their New York cuts from the Five Dot Ranch. We wanted to keep it simple just as we imagine Keens does so we lightly seasoned them with sea salt, cracked black pepper and olive oil. Pan seared and then cooked to perfection.
Creamed spinach ….. I love the stuff and this was the first time Laudalino has ever had it. I remember the first time I had it at the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco. Nothing like creamy goodness next to a hunk of meat. I found an easy and traditional recipe in the Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything cookbook (my honey got it for my birthday). I did add my own touch to the recipe by adding a small amount of caramelized shallots along with the zest of fresh nutmeg. Otherwise, I kept it simple. I loved how creamy and buttery the dish turned out, very flavorful.
 
One cannot have a perfectly cooked steak without some potatoes. Not your ordinary fried potatoes either. It had to be duck fried potatoes. My first trip to Paris many moons ago I was introduced to this incredibly tasty morsel. Then I kind of forgot about it until I took a French cooking course a couple years ago. Now I keep duck fat in the fridge and when we are aching for some fried potatoes or celery root, out comes the fat. There is some intoxicating while the fat is heating up, the aroma is mouthwatering. I loved slaving over batches of potatoes taking it all in ….
The meal was simple honest food. Good all the way to your core. And if you are wondering, strangely enough, the scotch went nicely with the steak and the creamed spinach, I guess you could say it really cut through the fat!
Recipe: Duck Fat Fried Potatoes
2 potatoes, cut into thin strips
1 cup rendered duck fat
sea salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper
Heat duck fat in a shallow frying pan, over medium heat. Add potatoes in batches and cook until golden. Set aside on a paper towel, in a warm oven (125 or lower). Continue cooking with remainder of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve. Eat.
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