CTBF: Marinated Steak

I have been AWOL from Cook The Book Fridays. I just haven’t done a lot of cooking, or baking, lately. But Kayte pushed me back in. It wasn’t hard. I have missed cooking and baking with Dorie Greenspan. Especially since I love a good steak and love Asian flavors. This particular beef dish had Thai red curry paste, ginger, and soy sauce.

And at this point I’d like to say I liked it, but…. there was just something about the whole dish that just didn’t appeal to me. Sorry, Dorie.

I used a Flank steak and marinated it as directed. The only change I made was Parsley rather than cilantro. NOT a fan of soap!! I maybe could have marinated it longer than I did. And I used the extra sauce over some vermicelli. (A little salty)

The recipe is on page 142 of Dorie’s Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook.

For more Steak visit the rest of the Cooks with Cook the Book Fridays.

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Eating with Ellie: Stew

The coldest days we have had are coming up this week. Lows will be in the upper 20s this week and that is chilly for Central Louisiana. And it is perfect weather for comfort foods – like Ellie’s Hearty Beef Stew.

It is chock full of beef, potatoes, carrots, peas and flavor. I did make a few changes. I used venison instead of beef and left out the rutabaga. Not a fan.

¼ c all-purpose flour
¼ tsp paprika
1 lb lean stew beef (round or chuck shoulder) venison, cut into cubes
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
1 sm rutabaga or turnip (10 oz), peeled and cubed
1 lg carrot, chopped
1 lg russet potato (12 oz), cubed
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 c dry red wine
21/2 c reduced-sodium beef broth
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen green peas

Mix flour, paprika, and ¼ tsp each salt and pepper. Coat meat well.

In a large pot (or Instapot) heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in large over medium-high heat. Brown meat.

Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add carrot, and potato and cook until vegetables begin to soften.

Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute longer. Add wine, and boil for 3 minutes. Add broth and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered until meat is tender, about 90 minutes. Add peas and cook 5 minutes longer

The original recipe can be found in Ellie’s Comfort Food Fix (pg 136) or here.

Ellie’s stew is filling, flavorful, and comforting on a cold night. You should try it!

See what Kayte, Peggy, and Gaye had in their kitchens this Thursday.

 

{EwE} Cinco de Mayo!

Tomorrow is May 5th.  To most of us that doesn’t mean anything but in Mexico it commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over the French forces of Napoleon III on May 5, 1862, at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). Mexico had trouble paying back war debts to European countries, and France had come to Mexico to collect that debt.

For us in the US it is a time to enjoy Mexican food and drink.  And if you are a fan of Ellie Krieger then celebrating in a healthy way is easy.

I made these in 2015 and they were good so I decided to make them again. Also making them again because we have been cooking with Ellie for so long that some themes are getting low on recipes.

Lots of flavor, lots of veggies, lots of meats and totally Whole30 compliant.  Yes, I’m still eating that way as much as possible which meant no tortillas and no cheese, and no sour cream.  I can live with that.  But if you want them with all that….

The recipe is on page 98 of Ellie’s Weeknight Wonders.

More Cinco de Mayo -> Eating with Ellie.

 

 

{EwE} Meatballs for Dinner

This week’s theme for Eating with Ellie was  Italian Night – Gaye’s choice for the first Thursday in March.

For some reason when I hear Italian food I think of meatballs.  I don’t know why because Italian food is so so much more than simple meatballs.  But since I can’t have pasta in any form or rice {on the Whole30 program} I decided meatballs was my safest route.  

Tapas-style Meatballs

Everything in the recipe – lean ground beef, onions, garlic, eggs, parsley and various other spices – are all Whole 30 compliant. Except for the bread crumbs.  THOSE I left out.  That made the meatballs a little harder to work with but it didn’t change the taste.

I also didn’t use Ellie’s sauce for the meatballs. I just wasn’t sure if the tomato sauce would be compliant so I made a Whole30 sauce instead.  Either way the meal was just right.  Meatballs in sauce.  How can you go wrong with that?

The recipe is from Ellie’s You Have it Made (page 144) but you can also find the recipe on line HERE.

For more Italian food visit Italian Night on Eating with Ellie.

Want to join the fun.  Just cook any recipe from Ellie Krieger that fits the themes, blog and leave your link under comments.  We prefer not to include the recipe.  Buy Ellie’s books instead.  You will be glad you did!

 

{WWDH} Beef Pot Pie

This week’s theme for Wednesdays with Donna Hay is BEEF!  It’s what’s for Dinner. And that is a good thing for a houseful of carnivores.  We don’t eat beef nearly as often as we used to so we tend to enjoy it more and it want it tasty.  Donna’s beef and peppercorn pies was perfect.  A whole lot of flavor in a small package.

Well, in our case, not so small a package.  Instead of making 4 small pies I made one medium {about 1/3 of the recipe} for the two of us.

 

Using a regular pie shell for the bottom she topped the beef cooked with peppercorns, wine, and stock with puff pastry which gave us a wonderfully crispy, flaky crust.  Simple ingredients.    It was delicious.  Just the right amount of wine to bring out the flavor.  Definitely a keeper.  And if you didn’t want to make a pie it would be great over rice or potatoes.

The recipe is from Donna’s Flavours, page 140.  We don’t publish the recipes.  Instead we would like to encourage you to buy her books.  You will not be sorry.  And if you want to join us here, please do. We’d love to have you.  Just make a dish from the theme, post it and add your link.  Easy Peasy!

Need more beef -> WWDH.

 

 

 

{CC#9} AB’s Turnovers!

If you have ever watched Good Eats you know that Alton is all about technique and science rather than the actual recipe.  Thank goodness!  Because while I followed the technique for this turnover I wasn’t exactly thrilled with his filling.  Also, thank goodness, he said we could fill these turnovers with anything we wanted.

The recipe is labeled Salmon Turnovers and I love salmon but mixed with sour pickle relish – not so much.  {I did later try one with sweet pickle relish and it was pretty tasty!}

These made a great lunch.  I also made a couple with steak, cheese, and peppers and eggs and ham and cheese.  It’s all about the puff!

The recipe is from Alton’s Good: Eats The Early Years  on page 247.

The recipe is also on FoodTV – HERE!

This was the last recipe for CookBook Countdown with Alton Brown.  I still have plenty left and four more of his books.  And it’s all GOOD EATS!!

I’m linking this post with Cookbook Countdown hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily’s Cooking (Makan2).

 

{WWDH} Stir Fried Beef

This week we are enjoying Marvelous Meat for Wednesdays with Donna Hay.  Meat can be anything that doesn’t swim  so lamb, beef, pork, and chicken  were all possibilities.

We don’t eat a lot of beef so fixing a small amount for a lunch with a friend was the  perfect way to go.  With an Asian Flair.

Stir-fried beef, ginger, and greens

A short list of simple ingredients:  beef, sesame oil, ginger, garlic,  Asian Greens, oyster sauce and Chinese cooking wine was all we needed.  But I have one question – WHAT are Asian Greens?  Chinese Cabbage?  Bok Choy?  Lemon Grass?  We settled on the cabbage because the Bok Choy didn’t look so hot.

It was really easy to put together but we didn’t care for it very much.  It seemed rather bland even with the Oyster sauce and Sesame oil.  I served it with Rice Noodles.  Not a repeat.

The recipe is on page 60 of Donna’s   new food fast.

More Marvelous Meat on Wednesdays with Donna Hay.

 

{EwE} Where’s the Beef? Shepherd’s Pie

I don’t know about you but Shepherd’s Pie is a common occurrence in our kitchen. Whenever I need something easy and filling I usually turn to Shepherd’s pie. And there is not much difference between one recipe and another.  Except years ago I stopped using any kind of canned soup and started making my own filling.  SOOOOO much better.  But I was still unhappy because of all the potato topping the pie.

I don’t have to worry about that any more because of Ellie.  This topping is made with potatoes and cauliflower.  A new twist on your every day Shepherd’s Pie.  And a good one.  Even The Man liked it and he is NOT a cauliflower fan.  The steamed cauliflower mixes in very well with the potatoes so that the taste is more potato.  And although Ellie doesn’t add the cheese on top it just wouldn’t be Shepherd’s Pie with out a little cheese.

The filling is lean ground beef mixed with onions, carrots, mushrooms (which I left out), peas, and seasonings.  Very tasty.

The recipe is from Ellie’s Comfort Food Fix (page 131) but it is also HERE!

More Beef recipes are on Eating with Ellie.

While you are there check out the schedule of Themes for Eating with Ellie.  Won’t you join us?

 

{CC#6} One Big Table – Chicken Fried Steak

Actually the full name of this recipe is Hoover’s Night Hawk Chicken-Fried steak and Cream Gravy.  In Austin, TX. there is a Hoover’s Cooking where this particular CFS recipe is cooked in a cast iron skillet and is probably the end result of hundreds of family recipes.  Hoover Alexander shared his recipe with Molly for One Big Table.

4 cups all-purpose flour4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups milk
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Four 6-ounce beef cube steaks, pounded to 1/4 inch thick

Preheat oven to 200F.  Place a wire rack over a cookie sheet.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne together.

Whisk the egg and milk together in another container.

In a large cast-iron skillet heat the oil over medium heat to 350F.

Dredge one steak in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and then back in the flour mixture.  Make sure to shake the excess flour off after the first dredge.

Cook on one side for about 4 – 6 minutes.  Flip the steaks over and fry for an additional 4 – 6 minutes until golden brown.

Place the steaks on the wire rack and place in the oven to keep warm.  Repeat process with the additional steaks..  Make sure the oil returns to 350F before starting the next batch.

GRAVY:

2 cups milk
2 cups homemade chicken broth or low-sodium
store-bought chicken broth
2 tablespoons bacon grease or vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bring the milk and broth to a simmer and keep warm.   Pour off  all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the skillet.  Add the bacon grease and flour to the oil in the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes.

Slowly add in the milk/broth mixture whisking all the time.  Add in the garlic and onion powder and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the steak with the gravy on the top.  And for the best meal serve with mashed potatoes. And some good fresh corn on the cob.

I know this is a basic recipe but there were two ingredients here I had not used before when I have made CFS.  Bacon Grease.  Baking powder.  The bacon flavor just raises the bar on the flavor and the baking powder in the steak dredge adds fluffiness and crunch.  I will definitely continue to do this when I make CFS.

I did make a couple of changes.  I would suggest just reserving a little more than 1/2 cup  of the flour/seasoning dredge for the gravy.  I found that I wasted a lot of dredging flour.  Also, I only used about 1/2 of the milk/broth/egg mix when I dipped the steaks.

The recipe is on page 442 of One Big Table.

I’m linking this post with

I’m linking this post with Cookbook Countdown hosted by Kitchen Flavours and Emily’s Cooking (Makan2).

 

{EwE} Indy 500: What’s in your Lunchbox?

I figured if I’m going to the Indy I am going in style.  Maybe a box seat!  Maybe the camper in the pits.  I’m going to need that because my lunchbox had a rather messy meal in it.

Ellie’s Open-Face PHILLY Cheese Steak Sandwich

When ever I try out a new place for lunch, if they have the Philly, I will try it.  I’ve had one from about 20 different places.  Most are good.  Some not so much.  The one from The Huddle House isn’t bad.  Neither is the one at IHOP.  I haven’t found one that blows me away yet.  Guess I will just have to keep trying.

Meanwhile Ellie’s will do nicely for a make-at-home Philly.  A toasted whole whet Italian roll (I used a WW English muffin instead) covered with nicely browned beef, sauteed onions and bells (Ellie said red and green but I am not a fan of green so I used orange instead.  Great Color!), and a lovely cheese sauce made with REAL cheese – extra sharp cheddar.  It was quite tasty, but quite messy as well.  Which is just fine with me.  Definitely a repeat, maybe NOT for the INDY, but any other lunch.

The recipe is from Ellie’s Comfort Food Fix (page 112) .  I also found it on my friend Tracy’s blog.

Check out what else is our Lunchboxes.