Beef | onedadskitchen

Grilled New York Strip Steaks and Sweet Pea Risotto

As promised, I did try a couple of new recipes last night for dinner. The first was from Williams – Sonoma and covered the main entrée for the evening, which was grilled steaks with cherry tomatoes and basil. It was pretty easy to make, although using the indoor grill pan always causes a problem around here with the smoke detector. After a few minutes of wrangling with this smoke detector, everything else was just fine.

Grilled Steaks with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more, to taste
2 New York strip steaks, each about 1 1/4 pound and 1 1/2 inches thick
8 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Brush a cast-iron grill pan with the oil and heat over medium high heat until hot. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, the 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the 2 teaspoons of salt. Rub the spice mixture evenly onto both sides of the steaks. In another bowl, combine that tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the steaks on the grill pan and cook, turning once, until nicely grill marked, approximately 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium rare, or a grill in till they are done to your specific liking. Add the tomato mixture to the pan during the last two minutes of cooking. Transfer the steaks to a carving board and let rest for five minutes. Transfer of the tomatoes to what warmed platter. Cut the steak crosswise into 1/4 inch strips and arrange on the platter with that tomatoes.

This would be a good meal for you to cook on your outdoor grill as well. If you have the proper tools to cook that tomatoes right on the grill you can do them outside as well. I cooked the steaks to him about medium, which is the way we prefer to have it. These spice rub that is applied to the steaks adds great flavor and seems to go very well with the tomatoes and basil.

As a side dish, I decided I wanted to make some risotto. I looked around for a few different recipes, and I wanted to try to find one that would make good use of some of the spring vegetables that are around right now. The best one I found came from Marcus Samuelsson on his website at Food Republic. It was for a spring peak risotto and sounded really good.

Spring Pea Risotto

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
5 to 6 cups chicken stock
1 large shallot, minced
1/2 bunch asparagus stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup fresh peas, shelled
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a small sauce pan, heat the chicken stock to a warmed simmer. In a large stock pot, or any heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter and olive oil over medium low heat. Add the minced shallots and a pinch of salt, and sauté until the shallots are translucent. Add the rice, stir for about one minute until the grains begin to become translucent around the edges.

Pour in the wine and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Add one ladle of stock at a time, stirring frequently until all the liquid is absorbed. Add another ladle of stock, and stir frequently until liquid is absorbed again. Repeat this process until almost all the stock has been used in the rice is cooked but still al–dente. The entire process should take about twenty minutes.

About five minutes before the rice is done cooking, stir in the asparagus and the peas. Add more chicken stock as necessary to continue cooking the rice. Once the rice has achieved the desired texture, stir in the Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and fresh mint. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Admittedly, making risotto is a lot of work. It requires constant attention and stirring on the stove. While it can be taxing, it is certainly worth the work that you put into it. I especially liked this recipe because of the fresh peas and asparagus that are used. It is the perfect time of year to try to incorporate some of the your spring vegetables into a dish like this and they tasted great. I would certainly make this dish again.

Those of the recipes for today. Tonight, I do plan to make some type of chicken and I have a couple of different recipes to choose from. Check back tomorrow and see which one I have decided to go with and see if you like the recipe yourself. I do have a couple of recipes for later on in the week that I plan to make. One is for another chicken dish, the other is for a strawberry rhubarb pie. I think both will be pretty good. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 16, 2013 in Beef, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dinner, Grilling, Rice, Vegetables

Tags: Food Republic, Marcus Samuelsson, risotto

Cooking a Valentine’s Day Meal at Home – NYTimes.com

08 Feb

Cooking a Valentine’s Day Meal at Home – NYTimes.com.

With Valentine’s Day coming next week, many people are looking to make a nice romantic meal at home. The New York Times put out this quick and easy menu as a suggestion of a nice steak, potatoes, salad and a one ingredient chocolate mousse. Check it out and see if it is something you might like to try!

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Posted by MikeG on February 8, 2013 in Beef, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner, Holidays, Potatoes, Salad

Tags: new york times, one ingredient chocolate mousse, Valentine's Day meal, Valentine's Day menu

Classic Christmas Recipes from Bon Appetit Editors: BA Daily: bonappetit.com

06 Dec

Classic Christmas Recipes from Bon Appetit Editors: BA Daily: bonappetit.com.

It’s not too early to start planning your Christmas meal out. I like to have a good idea of what I am going to make well in advance when I am hosting Christmas. This blog post from Bon Appetit features 6 great recipes of some dishes you would love to have on your holiday table. Check it out and see if there is anything you like.

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Posted by MikeG on December 6, 2012 in Beef, Beverages, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Holidays, Side Dishes, Soups & Stews

Tags: 6 classic Christmas recipes from Bon Appetit editors, bon appetit, classic Christmas recipes, fried oysters, lobster stew, old fashioned, roasted chestnuts

Good Eats Meatloaf and Roasted Green Beans

24 Oct

I love meatloaf. I know I have said that on here many times, but it’s always worth repeating. When we got out somewhere, if it’s on the menu I want to try it. Of course, some times I am disappointed by the results, but hey, you still have to try, right? So tonight when I decided to make meatloaf, I turned to a recipe from Alton Brown and his “Good Eats” program. I like a lot of the things he makes (and he’s great to follow on Twitter if you are on there) so I figured this recipe was a no-brainer. It got a lot of good reviews from people on Food Network’s website also, so I had to give it a try.

Good Eats Meatloaf

6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and broken
3 whole cloves garlic
1/2 red bell pepper
18 ounces ground chuck
18 ounces ground sirloin
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg

For the glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon honey

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a food processor bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chuck with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Set the probe for 155 degrees.

Combine the ketchup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes, covered, after removing from the oven. Slice and serve.

This recipe is great. The meatloaf and the glaze have a nice combination of bite from the hot sauce, cayenne and chili pepper and a sweetness from the honey. We all loved it and I’ll definitely be making this one again.

I decided to serve this with some boiled potatoes and green beans. I love green beans too, and I am always looking for a new way to make them. I came across this recipe from Williams-Sonoma that is simple and tastes great from the roasting.

Roasted Green Beans and Carrots with Red Onion

3/4 pound green beans, trimmed
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut diagonally about 1/4 inch thick
1 red onion, sliced
2 large garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Place an 8-by-11-inch heavy roasting pan or a very large, ovenproof fry pan on the rack.

Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and the green beans. Cook the beans until they turn bright green and are just tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the beans and plunge them into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking and drain again.

In a large bowl, toss together the beans, carrots, onion, garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle with the cumin, season with salt and pepper, and toss again to thoroughly combine. Transfer the vegetables to the preheated pan and spread them evenly. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 45 to 55 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

It was a something different to do and I like roasting vegetables. The flavor seems a little more intense when you roast them. You could easily add other vegetables to this if you wanted to, choosing some other fall root vegetables like parsnips, turnips, or sweet potatoes.

We also made some of the all-purpose gravy I have made before, because you must have gravy with meatloaf. Overall, it was quite a good meal.

Well, I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow night, so I am not sure I’ll get a meal in, but we’ll see what happens. Until next time, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on October 24, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy, Vegetables

Tags: Alton Brown, boiled potatoes, food network, good eats meatloaf, meatloaf, roasted green beans, roasted green beans and carrots with red onion

Time to Strip (Steak) in the Kitchen (and Some Mushroom Gravy too)

18 Oct

Michelle had picked up a couple of nice looking New York strip steaks the other day and today seemed like a good day to make them.There’s nothing really fancy about them or cooking them either. You can easily pan fry them or just put them under the broiler, which is what I usually do. The other thing about steak is you want to make sure you let it rest before you slice it so all the juices stay in the steak and not run out all over the plate, leaving you with dry meat. I had bought the mushrooms a few days ago and I have been looking for an excuse to make some mushroom gravy, and this was it. Mushroom gravy is great with meat loaf or Salisbury steak, but I think it can work well with other steak or just to have with some mashed potatoes.

New York Strip Steaks with Mushroom Gravy

2 New York strip steaks, about 10 ounces each

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon butter

10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1 shallot, minced

3/4 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 cups beef broth

Take the steaks out of the refrigerator and sit, covered, on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow them to come to room temperature. Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 4-5 inches from the element. Season the steaks liberally with salt and pepper. Place the steaks on an aluminum foil-covered broiler pan and place the steaks under the broiler. Heat for four minutes and then flip and heat for another four minutes. Remove the steaks from the oven to a serving dish and loosely tent with aluminum foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a medium skillet and add the mushrooms and shallot. Saute until the mushrooms and shallot are soft and the mushrooms are a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the broth and the Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking until thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on the side with the steaks.

If you want a creamier sauce, you could add a 1/2 cup of heavy cream in the last-minute of the cooking of the gravy to give you the creaminess you want. Of course I served it with mashed potatoes and some broccoli, but creamed spinach would be great with this as well to make it a classic steak dinner.

That’s it for tonight. We won’t be home for dinners the next few nights but I’ll be back on Monday with a new recipe and I have some plans for a few things next week, so check back and see what I come up with. Until then, enjoy the rest of your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on October 18, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Gravy

Tags: broiling steak, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, new york strip steak, steak

A Taste of Dublin, Part 5

11 Oct

So this is all I have left from our trip to Dublin as far as the food goes. We ate a small breakfast on our last down, took one last walk around the city and we actually had hamburgers for lunch at the Jasmine Bar at the hotel before we headed for Dublin airport to come home. I did get some recipes from Guinness while we were there at the Storehouse. They do have a whole display of how Guinness has been incorporated into many food dishes in Ireland and the world. I picked up three separate recipes while we were there that all looked good. The first one is Irish mussels in a Guinness cream sauce. Keep in mind that all these recipe measurements are in metric so you may have to convert them when you give them a try.

Irish Mussels in Guinness Cream Sauce

1 kg fresh Irish Mussels

300 ml cream

200 ml fish stock

330 ml Guinness extra stout

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

Juice of half a lemon

In a saucepan over medium heat, place the butter, onion, carrot and celery and fry for 2-3 minutes until tender but not browned. Add the Guinness, fish stock and bay leaf and simmer until reduced by half. Add the cream and reduce by half again. Add the mussels and cook for 2-3 minutes until all the shells of the mussels have opened. Add the dill and sprinkle with lemon juice.

I think this one will make a great appetizer for a group of 4 or 6 people. I’m not sure you can find Irish mussels easily, but I would try substituting mussels you can get at your local fish market and see how it goes.

For an entrée, I picked this recipe, one we actually saw on a number of menus in places we were at in Dublin. Beef & Guinness stew seems to be a favorite, and it just plain looks like it would taste awesome.

Beef & Guinness Stew

200 ml of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout

400 g stew beef, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 large stalk of celery, diced

1 large parsnip, diced

1 liter beef stock

Sprigs of fresh thyme & rosemary

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the stew beef and brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes. Add the vegetables and cook until tender then pour the Guinness and reduce by half. Add the beef stock and the herbs and simmer very slowly for between an hours and an hour and a half.

They serve the stew with mashed potatoes served on the side of the bowl of the stew. It looks like it has a great dark color to it. It sounds very simple to make and does not have a lot of ingredients, so you can easily make it on a weeknight.

Of course, there needs to be a dessert using Guinness as well. They had a few different ones to choose from, including some cakes, but I chose this recipe for Guinness chocolate truffles instead. It looks simple and should taste great.

Guinness Chocolate Truffles

1 kg dark chocolate, cut into small chunks

400 ml cream

100 ml Guinness

Zest of 1 orange

Cocoa powder

Add the cream and Guinness to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the chocolate and grated orange zest. Mix together until the chocolate is fully melted. Leave the chocolate mix until it is cool to the touch, but not set. Take a generous teaspoon of the mixture and roll it in your hands to form small round truffles. Dust each with the cocoa powder. Set in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

A simple fast, chocolatey dessert to finish off a Guinness meal.

So that covers all of the Dublin meals. It was a wonderful trip and we hope to get back to Ireland again and see more of the country than just Dublin. it was a great experience and I would recommend to anyone that they go and enjoy it.

Back to real world cooking for me now though. I do have a backlog of some recipes we have tried recently that I plan to post, including one I just tried from Cook’s Illustrated the other night. Check back and see which one I display first. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on October 11, 2012 in Appetizers, Beef, Cooking, Dessert, One Pot Meals, Seafood, Soups & Stews

Tags: Beef and Guinness stew, Dublin, Guinness chocolate truffles, Irish mussels in Guinness cream sauce

A Taste of Dublin, Part 1

07 Oct

Now that I finally have some time to sit down and do some writing, I can talk a little bit about our trip to Dublin and our food and beverage experiences. We weren’t quite sure what to expect in terms of food when we arrived in Dublin. I am sure I am not the only one who has heard horror stories about cooking from Britain and Ireland. I can tell you that we did not have a bad meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner, while we there. Everything was great. Granted, we did not always have a lot of time to do meals because we wanted to do a lot of things and only had 4 days to do it all. We also knew that we were going to spend an entire day with Guinness while we there, as they had requested since they sponsored the contest I won.

When we arrived in Dublin the first day, it was about 11 AM. We went over to the hotel and couldn’t check in until 2, so they graciously held or luggage for us and we went exploring around the immediate area. The rain was torrential that day, which we really limited where we could go and do things. We walked aimlessly in the rain for a while trying to figure out where we could go. We eventually ended up at the Dublin Wax Museum, which was a nice treat. It is housed in an old bank so all the rooms are in old bank vaults, making it seem a little creepier. We had a great time walking around there and took some great pictures (you can check my other blog soon or my Facebook page now to see them). By the time we were done there, it was still only about 12:30, so we decided to get some lunch.

We walked around trying to find some places to go. There are pubs everywhere (we would later find out that Dublin has 750 pubs, and that doesn’t include the pubs in the hotels, which pushes it over 1,000). We found a place near the hotel called Peter’s Pub. It was a small, quiet location that was perfect for us. We sat down and were met by a very friendly barkeeper who sat us at a table right in the window. They have a very simple lunch menu, which included the lunch special, which is soup, a sandwich and a pot of tea for 10 Euros. Michelle and I each decided to have that. We both ordered the same thing, a tuna sandwich a pot of tea and the spiced beef soup. I was not familiar with the Irish spiced beef before, so I wanted to give it a try. It was worth it, for sure. The spiced beef was certainly a different flavor to the soup. It took a little investigating on my part, but I was able to find that spiced beef is very close to what American’s would call corned beef. The difference is while we use a brisket, they use a rump roast. It is something they use for holiday meals and is traditionally served cold. I was able to find a recipe for the spiced beef if you want to give it a try.

Irish Spiced Beef

6 lbs sirloin tip roast or 6 lbs beef eye round
3 bay leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground mace
6 ground cloves
1 clove garlic, crushed and made into a paste with
salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
2 teaspoons molasses
2 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 cup salt
1 bottle Guinness stout

Mix all the flavorings and spices together. Place the beef in a large bowl and rub all over with the spice and flavoring mixture. Cover and refrigerate the beef. Rub in the mixture once or twice a day for a week; turn the beef as you repeat the rubbing in process. The spices and flavorings will now be mixed with the juices drawn from the beef.

Tie up the meat firmly and place in a large pot or Dutch oven. Rub in a final teaspoon of ground cloves. Cover the beef with cold water and the bottle of Guinness. Simmer gently for 5-6 hours until the beef is tender. Allow the beef to cool in the cooking liquid. When it is cool, remove it from the liquid, place it on a serving dish and cover it with a weighted plate. Refrigerate until serving time and serve thinly sliced and cold.

Peter’s Pub had diced the beef and served it in a beef broth with some vegetables like potato, carrots and celery. It tasted wonderful with the bread they had served. The tuna sandwich was a simple sandwich but was a large serving with some chips on the side. The whole meal was incredibly filling for both of us and we each had a pot of tea, which really hit the spot after being in and out of the rain for a few hours.

The great thing we noticed about the different pubs and places we went to in Dublin is that no one ever rushed you out. They would let you sir for hours if that is what you wanted to relax and enjoy yourself.. Being from New York, I think we expected to get rushed around and we sat around for about an hour relaxing before we finally asked for the check. He gave it to use with a big smile and wished us a good day.

Tomorrow I will continue posting some recipes of things we came across in Dublin, including the late night snack we had the first night of a lemon tart with raspberry sorbet and Irish coffees and the traditional full Irish breakfast we had the next morning. Check back to see how it was and what was in it. You can also check my other blog where I am going to write more about our trip to lead into getting back into my blogging and what our experiences were like.

I plan to get back to posting regular recipes we made at home at the end of this week so you can check back for them at the end of the week as well. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on October 7, 2012 in Beef, Eating Out, Soups & Stews

Tags: Brooks Hotel in Dublin, Dublin trip, Dublin Wax Museun, Irish spiced beef, Peter's Pub

How to Make the Best Burgers | Cook’s Country – Recipes That Work

30 Aug

How to Make the Best Burgers | Cook’s Country – Recipes That Work.

I could pretty much live on burgers and sandwiches if Michelle would let me. All these tips here from Cook’s Country can help you make a better burger not just for the grill but for inside as well. Check it out!

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Posted by MikeG on August 30, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Cooking Websites

Tags: burgers, Cook's Country, hamburgers, How to Make the Best Burgers

There’ Nothing Better Than a Burger…Except a Steak Burger!

20 Aug

I love burgers. I’m pretty sure I could eat one every day if it wouldn’t eventually kill me. There’s just something about a nice, juicy burger with all the accompaniments you like – bacon, tomato, lettuce, avocado, really anything you want – and it’s just plain good. I didn’t think there was too much else you could do to a burger until I came across this recipe for a Steak Burger from Cook’s Country. This burger is made from ground sirloin, which is why they call it a steak burger. Now the thing about ground sirloin is that there is hardly any fat in it at all, so you need to add a little fat to this to make it perfect. it’s nothing a little melted butter can’t take care of, and while you’re at it you can add a little spice to it as well. They also use a steak sauce on the burger to really give it some intense flavor. This recipe calls for the burgers to be grilled, but of course it was raining today when I started cooking so everything got moved inside.

Grilled Steak Burgers

For the Burgers:

8 tablespoons butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 1/2 pounds 90 percent lean ground sirloin

4 hamburger buns

For the Steak Sauce:

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2/3 cup beef broth

1/3 cup raisins

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

For the burgers, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, onion powder, pepper and salt and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour all but 1 tablespoon of the butter mixture into a bowl and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

For the steak sauce, add the tomato paste to the skillet and cook over medium heat until the paste begins to darken, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, raisins, soy sauce, mustard, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce and simmer until the raisins plump, about 5 minutes. Process the sauce in a blender until smooth, about 30 seconds; transfer to a bowl.

Add 5 tablespoons of the cooled butter mixture and the soy sauce to the ground beef and gently knead until well combined. Shape into 4 3/4-inch-thick patties and press a shallow divot in the center of each. Brush each patty all over with 1 tablespoon of the steak sauce. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of the cooled butter mixture with 2 tablespoons of the steak sauce; set aside.

For a gas grill, turn all the burners to high, cover, and heat the grill until it is hot, about 15 minutes. Leave the burners on high. Clean and oil the cooking grate. Grill the burgers, covered, until the meat registers 120 to 125 degrees, 3 to 4 minutes per side, or 130 to 135 degrees (for medium), 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the burgers to a plate, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Brush the cut side of the buns with the butter-steak sauce mixture. Grill the buns, cut side down, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Place the burgers on the buns and serve with the remaining steak sauce.

The steak sauce has just the right bite to it and tastes very good on the burgers. Of course, you can top the burgers with whatever you like to top them with. I prefer some sliced pickle, red onion and tomato myself, maybe a piece of bacon or avocado. You could just eat them with the steak sauce. I still had some of the remoulade I made a few days ago and used that. It was delicious.

There’s no meal tomorrow since we are going to the Mets game at Citi Field tomorrow night, but I do have a dinner planned for Wednesday involving, chicken, Italian sausage and potatoes. Check back on Wednesday to see what it is. until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on August 20, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Picnic Fare, Sauce

Tags: Cook's Country, grilled steak burgers, ground sirloin, remoulade, steak sauce

Making Good Use of Those Extra Meatballs

13 Aug

Yesterday I made a big try of meatballs so Michelle could use some in her Italian Wedding Soup. Since we still had a lot left to use, we decided to put some in sauce and simmer them and then make some meatball sub sandwiches. Sean opted to have just spaghetti and meatballs, but I made a sub for myself on some garlic bread.

Meatball Sub Sandwiches

For the meatballs:

2 slices of white bread (use good white bread for this)

1/3 cup buttermilk

3/4 pound ground beef

1/4 pound ground pork

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 large egg yolk

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons minced fresh basil (if you’re using dried basil, cut this in at least half)

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Salt

For the garlic bread:

1 loaf Italian bread or French bread

4 tablespoons butter, softened (use less if you like, I often do)

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or other cheese of your liking, or no cheese at all, it’s optional)

Fresh mozzarella, sliced for the sandwiches

For the meatballs, remove and discard the crusts from the bread, then tear the bread into small pieces. Mash the bread pieces and buttermilk to a smooth paste in a large bowl, using a fork.

Add the beef, pork, Parmesan, parsley, yolk, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper to the mashed bread. Stir the mixture gently until combined and uniform. Gently form the mixture into 1-inch round meatballs ( I made them smaller this time for the soup we made).

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the meatballs on a wire rack in a cookie sheet or roasting pan. Cook for approximately 20 to 30 minutes or until well browned.

For the sauce, cook the oil and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes (don’t scorch the garlic, it tastes pretty bad when you do. As soon as you can smell it, you’re ready for the next step). Stir in the crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the basil and sugar. Season with salt to taste. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until the meatballs are heated through, about 10 minutes.

For the garlic bread, preheat the broiler. Cut the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. In a small bowl, mix the butter, oil, garlic and oregano. Spread the mixture evenly on the bread. On a baking sheet, place the bread under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until slightly browned. Check frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from the broiler and serve, or, if using the cheese, sprinkle cheese over the bread and place under the broiler for another 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly brown.

To assemble the sandwich, place as many meatballs as you desire on the bread. Cover the meatballs with some extra sauce and add some slices of fresh mozzarella. Place the sandwich back under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Of course, there are always variations on this. I don’t eat cheese, so my sandwich went without. Michelle only wanted a small sandwich so she could have some pasta too, so she only had a half sandwich. You could also add some Italian sausage to the mix and have them on the sandwich as well.

It’s a great use of some leftovers. Everyone loves a good sub sandwich, and having this one on the toasted garlic bread makes it even better.

I think I am going to make some shrimp tomorrow, although I am not sure how I am going to do it just yet. Check back and see what I come up with. until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!