Category Archives: Beefy McBeefy

Bacon is always awesome, Beefy McBeefy, Cheesy Cheese, Global Flavor, Includes Alcohol, Italian, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears, Pasta

Me with a Chance of Meatballs…or Bolognese?

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So poodles, I tried one of my all-time favorites last night again, the Spaghetti and Meatballs All’Amerticiana (you should hear me say this out loud, it sounds like I’m having a seizure) from Bon Appetit . Now, I followed this recipe exactly as instructed again except we made the meatballs (as the recipe says you can do) the night before.

That’s it.

Spaghetti and Meatbals All'Amertriciana (Photo by Craig Cutler)

However our delicious meatballs as I cooked them fell apart and became a ground beef mixture with bacon paste…bacon paste, yes I’m still in awe thank you very much.

While this was good, it wasn’t as good as I recalled. I mean don’t get me wrong, it has delicious layers of flavor and the sauce rocked. I also noticed the marjoram this time around which gave it nice little floral notes if I do say so myself but it just wasn’t the same.

I’m getting all Sherlock Holmes about this because I can’t figure out why this failed this time. Could it be because I made them the night before? One would think that would hold them up even better due to the fridge/tightening up time. Could it be that I’m still practicing on the gas range and messed it up that way…most likely poppets. Either way it was delicious but in a less meatballish kind of way.

Oh well, onward and upward lambs, tonight it’s braised chicken with dates…fingers crossed!

Beefy McBeefy, David Favorite, Global Flavor, Includes Alcohol, Soup

Beef and Guinness Stew

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Beef and Guinness Stew (Photo by Jonny Valiant)

Every month Cooking Light does their staff favorites of recipes from each issue, and while reviewing their choices I came across this Beef and Guinness Stew recipe. How I managed to miss this in the March 2010 issue is beyond me since I love a traditional Irish stew and come on, it’s a staff favorite. Shame on me and three whacks with a shillelagh.

It’s been a little chilly here so I thought a stew would be a nice belly warmer and since I was just coming back from one of the most Irish cities in the U.S. – Boston – I thought my timing was perfect.

You know a recipe is good when your signficant other mentions that this is one of their favorite stews they’ve had in a while – thank you Cooking Light, thank you! David liked this better than I did but I have to say it was a deliciously-perfect Irish stew that was uber savory and the layers of flavors were marvelous. Plus, I was just informed by David that leftovers of this were awesome and even better the next day. 

I followed this exactly except I didn’t include parsnips because our local HEB hates me and didn’t have any. There were also a little less onions than called for – oh not because I didn’t chop enough. I did in fact chop the right amount and then tripped, almost fell and knocked the bowl over with some of my precious chopped onions falling to the floor. Yeah, clumsytastic I know. Anyhoodles, give this a try on a cold wintry night, it is soooo super gentle!

Asian, Beefy McBeefy, David Favorite, Fruit, Global Flavor, Quick and Delicious, Salad, This may contain fish sauce or anchovies, Uber Healthy

Thai Beef Salad

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A flavorful salad that’s done in about 20 minutes max? Sold to the Thai Beef Salad from Cooking Light! In a section all about shortcuts and fast recipes this one stood out to me. One, I heart fish sauce. Lambs, I know that’s a crazy thing to swoon over but I love the salty bite and unique flavor it lends to dishes. Maybe I should produce an “I Heart Fish Sauce” t-shirt? Anyone with me?

Thai Beef Salad (Photo by John Autry)

Two, the flavor combinations looked to die for with cilantro, cabbage, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, orange zest, serrano chile and mandarin oranges. Three, it’s a simple, hardly no-cook recipe that worked around our current kitchen status. We simply broiled the steaks in our Wolf microwave/convection oven to medium rare and made the rest of the salad while it cooked. The one thing that really stood out to me was the dressing. After making it in the food processor I gave it a taste and then did a little jig in our kitchen. Emily jig = really, really good.

Give this one a try for a super fast, delicious and healthy salad, and don’t skimp on the fish sauce.

Beefy McBeefy, Pork-a-licious, Sandwich

Midnight Tortas – Updated

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As one reader pointed out in my previous post this recipe was missing a few key items such as rolls, cilantro, cotija and tomatoes in its ingredient line-up – always read the instructions before heading to the store poodles. Regardless, I had pork belly sliders last weekend at the always-fantastic Odd Duck food trailer here in Austin and was dying to try and make pork belly on my own. Plus, this Midnight Tortas recipe featuring delicous pork belly had been calling my name for sometime anyway.  I mean how can you beat a recipe from the food truck in Los Angeles, Kogi, from Best New Chef Roy Choi? He just looks like a muy badass doesn’t he? The only hitch was I would need to make the gentle belly in the convection oven/microwave that I already have a huge crush on, but was a little hesitant since we are only a few dates into our culinary relationship.

Chef Roy Choi

We stopped by our local HEB off of Oltorf and Congress and I assumed they would have pork belly given they have trotters, feet and cow tongue, but they had just run out of pork belly…sigh. I grabbed short ribs instead as I thought it would make a nice stand-in. Who am I kidding, I love short ribs but nothing replaces pork belly. David then recommended we go to Whole Foods Market to see if they might have the delicious pork product. I was loving David’s commitment to the mission at hand. Whole Foods did have some and then I suggested why not do the sandwich with pork belly and the short ribs – we both started drooling at the same time. Once again, you’ve got to love dating a fellow food lover.

I seasoned the pork belly and short ribs with smoked paprika, pepper and Herbes de Provence to follow along the lines of  this recipe. I placed in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour and then cooked for another two or so at 200 degrees all on the high mix roast setting.

Pork Belly and Short Ribs Prior to Their Trip to the Convection Oven

After letting the short ribs and pork belly rest, I went on to split the bolillo rolls (love the local HEB so, so much for having these) and decided that since I had put my pinky toe outside the cooking lines why not just go all out lambs? I broiled the jalapenos and a hatch chile (’tis the season and nice call by David to add in!), let them cool, peeled and cut into thin strips. I decided instead of just mayonaisse to blend the juice of one lime, a pinch of cumin and mashed one avocado into the mayonnaise and then sprinkled in the cotija cheese – that way the bits of the crumbly cheese would stay on your sandwich and not on your plate. I also decided to keep the spinach fresh to provide a bit more texture to the sandwich and sliced the tomatoes. For the eggs, we don’t have a an application to cook the eggs stove top so I oiled a few ramekins, cracked an egg in each and placed one tablespoon of heavy cream to bake instead.  I baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, which was a bit longer than we wanted but due to the cream in the eggs the whites looked not cooked through yet…they were and the eggs turned out creamy and delicious but the yolks were a little overdone. Key learnings with the new oven!

I shredded the pork belly and short ribs together and placed the jalapeno/hatch chile strips in with the meat. I smeared one half of the roll with the avocado mayonnaise then topped with the meat mixture. Next came the sliced tomato, fresh spinach, creamy eggs, a dollop of my cilantro salsa and then topped with the other half of the roll. Needless to say this sandwich was EPIC folks.

Midnight Tortas - Courtesy of Food & Wine (Anna Williams)

Another key learning from the convection oven, the pork belly turned out a little too crispy because I think I did it for too long, but the short ribs were perfect. Overall, I really liked this sandwich and would like to troubleshoot my mistakes for next time since the flavor combinations were delicious together and I could see this being a perfect tortas recipe to enjoy…well, maybe once in a blue moon given the decadence of it all.

If you have any tips or recommendations let me know and I’ll give this tortas recipe a try again. Oh, I almost forgot! I served this sandwich with this very simple but quite tasty Orange and Red Onion Salad and Red Pepper from Cooking Light. Great little side dish if I so say so myself.

Orange and Red Onion Salad with Red Pepper - Courtesy of Cooking Light (Randy Mayor)
Bacon is always awesome, Beefy McBeefy, Emily Favorite, Fruit, Potato

Bacon-Tomato Butter. The End.

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By now it’s no secret that I’ve got a crush on Cooking Light. Their recipes are innovative, full of flavor and best of all they are healthy or at least attempt to reduce not-so-good for you items like calories, fat and sodium. Now, Bacon-Tomato Butter does not seem like it would be the healthiest option in the history of Cooking Light but goodness I’m a glad that someone put these ingredients together.

Originally, this bacon-licious recipe goes with Mahi Mahi but I wanted it on top of a medium rare, coffee and spice rubbed steak, like the Chile-Espresso Rubbed Steaks they have featured here. To make this a total steak and potatoes night, I made the Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Dijon recipe, except I used baby reds instead of fingerlings because HEB hates me and didn’t have any.

The Bacon-Tomato Butter was simply delicious and super, super easy to put together. Bacon, garlic, smoked paprika and butter? Who knew?! I’m also a sucker for coffee-rubbed anything and the spice blend they use on the steaks with coffee or espresso, oregano, cumin, garlic salt and chile powder was spicy and delicious. Combine the steaks with the bacon-tomato butter and yep, you’ve got to give me a minute to pull myself together.

The ingredient list for the potatoes is short and simple but these turned out fantastic. One thing we decided to do was add in a smidge of honey to bring out a sweet note in the sauce before coating entirely. Sounds odd, tasted delicious – trust us. If you’ve got a meat-and-potatoes person in your home this is definitely the dish to try tonight. We now have a crush on you too Bacon-Tomato Butter Coffee Rubbed Steak goodness.
Beefy McBeefy, Cheesy Cheese, Emily Favorite, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears

The Ultimate Grilled Cheese…No, Like Really

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 So this week I came down with what we will call “the death” or an upper respiratory infection that hit my like a ton of bricks Monday morning and kept me down until Thursday morning. But dear readers, what deliciousness did we have planned for Tuesday and staying true to my menu plan we still made? That’s right this tasty looking beaut from Bon Appétit. Behold the ultimate grilled cheese lambs…

 
Yes, this Grilled Cheese and Short Rib Sandwiches with Pickled Caramelized Onions recipe from Joan’s on Third in Los Angeles (side note – if you are in LA stop what you are doing right now and go to Joan’s – well unless you are reading this blog!) was THAT good even with a lack o’tastebuds, a 102 fever and a slew of medications keeping me quite light-headed.
 
I was still semi-functional on Monday and managed to make the short ribs which were really, really easy. We let them cool and chilled in the fridge until Tuesday. Poor Alex not only had to deal with a sickly Emily but then completed the rest of the meal including the caramelized onions and assembly of sandwiches which she said was easy, peasy. To go with the sandwiches Alex also made an Orange, Fennel, Avocado and Arugula Salad with Orange Vinaigrette which was her own creation and was amazing (maybe she will give me the recipe -wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
 
Since I didn’t do this recipe from stem to stern I can’t attest to its ease of assembly or that everything flowed perfectly, but I can tell you that it was a glorious, cheesy, beefy, awesome sandwich that shined down from the heavens during my bout of sickly ugliness. I’m going to have to test these one more time just to make sure I was not hallucinating – something tells me I wasn’t.
Beefy McBeefy, Burger, Cheesy Cheese, Dose of Veggies, Emily Favorite, Spicy

Chili-Guacamole Burgers

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One of the hardest parts of my job is having to thumb through endless recipes in magazines…poor, poor me. I received the America’s Test Kitchen 30-minute Suppers winter 2010 edition and the March/February 2010 issue of Cook’s Country sometime ago and after review, decided to make these Chili-Guacamole Cheeseburgers from America’s Test Kitchen and Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges from Cook’s Country.

I’ve never tested recipes from either of these so you can imagine my delight when Alex and I took a bite of the burger, looked at each other and then took another BIG bite. Yummy! What I loved most was that it was so easy, breezy to put together and the roasted sweet potatoes were done before I got home…man it’s good to have a Chef in the house!
These were SPICY but fortunately we both love heat so we didn’t mind at all and the guacamole, cheese and onions were the perfect additions. Two things we would have added to the burger, that honestly wouldn’t have added much time in prep, are some fresh diced tomatoes and a dollop (ugh I hate that word, don’t judge me) to the guacamole to cut through the spice a little bit and add a bit more freshness with the tomatoes.Overall though we really liked these. Here are both of the recipes for you to try yourself – who loves you?

Chili-Guacamole Burgers
1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef, broken into pieces
2 teaspoons of chili powder
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
4 slices deli pepper Jack Cheese
1 ripe avocado, pitted, skinned, and chopped
2 teaspoons of lime juice
4 hamburger buns
1 small red onion, sliced into thin rings

1. Place beef, chili powder, chipotle, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in bowl and gently mix until combined. Pat meat mixture into four 3/4-inch patties.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add patties and cook until well-browned, 3 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer burgers to plate, top with cheese, and tent with foil.

3. Using fork, mash avocado in small bowl. Stir in lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Arrange burgers on buns. Top with guacamole and onion slices. Serve.

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Bake Potatoes: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat over to 325 degrees. Cut each potato in half crosswise, then cut each half into 6 to 8 wedges. Arrange wedges on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and bake until just tender, about 30 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven and increase heat to 475 degrees. Wipe off baking sheet and return to oven. Cool potatoes on wire rack 10 minutes.

2. Brown Potatoes: Gently toss potatoes with oil, sugar, salt and pepper in large bowl. Remove baking sheet from oven. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on hot sheet and roast, flipping once, until deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Bonus! We did this and loved it!
Caribbean-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges
Prepare Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges adding 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice, 3/4 dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper to potatoes as they are tossed in Step 2.

Beefy McBeefy, Dose of Veggies

Beef and Pinto Bean Chili

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The next recipe I tested for the cover recipe smackdown was Cooking Light’s Beef and Pinto Bean Chili. I literally just ate this for lunch and since there is an empty bowl sitting beside me I can confirm that it’s quite good. It has layers of great flavor and I loved the toppings of radishes, avocado, cilantro and sour cream. I removed the seeds from the jalapeños and now I wish I didn’t since I’m such a lover of heat. Regardless, this was a nice, slow-cooking dish for a holiday Monday and very easy to put together.

Now, does this beat the Spaghetti and Meatballs dish from Bon Appétit? I have to say the meatballs are still in the number one spot! To be fair, it does have bacon paste in it. Yum, bacon paste. Stay tuned though as I’ve got my dough rising for the sticky buns from Food and Wine which is the final cover recipe to test!

Bacon is always awesome, Beefy McBeefy, Emily Favorite, Italian, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears

Me With a Chance of Meatballs

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Being given the honor of The Best Dish of the Year 2010 by Bon Appétit is not something to be taken lightly friends. But yes, the humble yet comforting and delicious meatball has been given this honor and if you think about, with its versatility, many uses in many cultures and plain awesomeness it’s no surprise. Let’s hear what the magazine has to say for itself.

“With a return to homey, comforting cooking this year, meatballs made it big, appearing on restaurant menus and kitchen tables everywhere. They’re affordable, easy to make and absolutely delicious – and have inspired cooks from all over the world. Discover just how good (and versatile) meatballs can be with these five wonderful recipes.”


As mentioned, I’m testing and tasting three cover recipes for an all-out recipe smackdown and this Spaghetti and Meatballs Alla’Amatriciana might have already won without me trying the other two (although the other two look lovely thank you very much). THIS WAS THE BOMB. First, take a look at step one to make the meatballs…you make a bacon paste. Bacon paste. I think I said “this is so awesome, I’m making BACON PASTE” about three times as the delicious applewood smoked bacon spun around in the food processor. Bacon paste.
One would think that with so much bacon, about 12 slices in all, you would just taste bacon. No, no people. This sucker was layers of lovely delicious flavor upon delicious flavor upon delicious flavor. I tested this recipe to its full potential and will have leftovers for days, lucky me huh? I would also like to point out the Pork Meatball Bahn Mi (I love Bahn Mis!) looks awesome and I’m going to have to try that next.
This recipe flowed nicely but note it is a lot of steps and lengthy in its process (hence why I was eating dinner at 8:00 p.m.) so I would recommend making this on a Sunday so you can eat the leftovers all week. The bit o’labor is worth it so seriously give this dish a try.
This might be my last post for a week and half or so since I’ve got an intense period of time coming up and won’t have the opportunity to cook. With that I leave you with two things. One: TEXAS FIGHT! Can you believe the game is tomorrow night? Let’s all focus our energy on super happy, positive burnt orange thoughts towards a Texas win in Pasadena. Ready….do it now! Second, if you got this far, you must love meatballs so what is your favorite meatball dish? Let’s vote (up to your right on this page 😉

Beefy McBeefy, Emily Favorite, Uncategorized

You Say Root Beer, I Say Short Ribs?

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Yes my little lambies….Root Beer Short Ribs. You can pinch yourself as hard as I did when I came across this recipe and then maybe smack yourself for not thinking of this combo sooner. I mean really right?

This is from Everyday Food reader Shawn Darling (congrats!) and I have to say I wish she would have shared this much sooner because this will be a staple for the fall months for many, many years to come. I actually made this last night up until step three and then completed it tonight. I served the short ribs with their perfect sweet, but not too much, glaze/sauce on top of mashed sweet potatoes as the magazine suggests. For once, and this is rare, I am speechless. I have one last question, “do you have any good sarsaparilla?” Well give me some short ribs their stranger and I’ll show you in about four hours.

Everyday Food, December 2009
Root Beer Short Ribs
Serves 6
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 4 hours4-inch pieces
coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed
2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1-inch wedges
3 large celery stalks, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 small carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 head garlic, sliced half crosswise
10 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 whole star anise
3 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 cups good-quality root beer

4 1/2 pounds short ribs, cut into

1. Preheat over to 275 degrees. Season ribs generously with salt and pepper. In an 8-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil on high. In batches, brown ribs on all sides, about 20 minutes total. If oil gets too dark during browning, pour off and add more oil (do not wipe pot clean). Transfer ribs to a plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.

2. Add onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, rosemary, cumin, and star anise. Cook , scraping up any browned bits, until onions soften, 5 minutes. Return ribs to a rapid simmer, cover, and place pot in oven.

3. Cook until meat can be easily pierced with the tip of a pairing knife, about 3 hours. (To store, refrigerate, up to 4 days.) With a slotted spoon, transfer ribs to a large straight-sided skillet. Skim off and discard any fat from cooking liquid. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into skillet; discard solids. Boil over medium-high until liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Continue to cook, spooning liquid over meat occasionally, until ribs are glazed and sauce is thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.