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Finally, a Roast Beef Dinner to Write About!

Well I have finally gotten around to making the roast beef dinner I have been threatening to make for days. I had seen an episode of America’s Test Kitchen entitled “Resurrecting the Roast Beef Dinner” and decided to try their method of slow roasting the beef. It’s a little more time-consuming, but the results will be worth it. The idea is to take traditionally tougher cuts of beef that the supermarkets sell for oven roasts and make them as tender as possible. I can tell you just from the salting alone, the meat was more tender than when I first bought it. They recommend using an eye round for this recipe, since most eye rounds have a uniform shape to them that lets you have nice slices of beef.

Slow-Roasted Beef

1 boneless eye round roast (3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds)

4 teaspoons kosher salt or 2 tablespoons table salt

2 teaspoons vegetable oil plus 1 tablespoon

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Sprinkle all sides of the roast evenly with the salt. Wrap the roast in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 225 degrees. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and rub with teaspoons of the oil and sprinkle all sides evenly with pepper. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until starting to smoke. Sear the roast until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the roast to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the meat until an instant read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 115 degrees for medium rare, 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours, or 125 degrees for medium, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours.

Turn the oven off; leave the roast in the oven, without opening the door, until an instant read thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degrees for medium, 30 to 50 minutes longer. Transfer the roast to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Slice the meat crosswise as thinly as possible and serve.

It’s worth the time you have to wait for this roast. Along side the roast beef, of course, you should have mashed potatoes. We eat a lot of mashed potatoes in this house (probably more than we should) so I was hoping for a variation on them for tonight since we just had them last night. Luckily for me, this episode of America’s Test Kitchen provided that as well.

Mashed Potatoes and Root Vegetables

4 tablespoons butter

8 ounces carrots, parsnips, turnips, or celery root, peeled; carrots or parsnips cut into 1/4-inch thick half-moons; turnips or celery root cut into 1/2-inch dice (I only had carrots and parsnips on hand)

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices; rinsed well in 3 or 4 changes of cold water and drained well

1/3 cup chicken broth

Salt

3/4 cup half-and-half, warmed

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add the root vegetables and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is browned and the vegetables are dark brown and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the potatoes, broth and 3/4 teaspoon of salt and stir to combine. Cook, covered, on low heat (the broth should simmer gently; do not boil), stirring occasionally, until the potatoes fall apart easily when poked with a fork and all liquid has been absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat; remove the lid and allow the steam to escape for 2 minutes.

Gently mash the potatoes and root vegetables in the saucepan with a potato masher (do not mash too vigorously). Gently fold in the warm half-and-half and the chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve immediately.

Rinsing the peeled and sliced potatoes several times will help you remove the excess starch and keep them from getting gummy once the potatoes have been cooked and mashed. try to keep all the vegetables a uniform size also, so everything cooks at the same speed.

Finally tonight, my sister had asked me that when I do the recipe for roast beef if I could put a recipe for au jus along with it. One thing I have noticed is that I don’t really use a recipe for au jus, it’s more of something I just make based on how much juice I have in the pan from the meat, plus any juice from slicing. and then it really depends on how many people I am serving as to how much beef broth and wine I add to it. Remember au jus isn’t like gravy; it shouldn’t be thick, it’s really just a juice. So here’s what I do. if anyone has a better method or recipe, please post here so we can all share.

Roast Beef Au Jus

Beef juices accumulated in the pan from the roast beef

Beef broth

Red wine

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat (leaving the beef juices in the pan) from the roasting pan and discard the remaining fat. Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the beef stock and stir to release any browned bits in the pan. Add the red wine of your choice. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the stock is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve alongside the roast beef.

As I said, I have no set amounts of broth and wine to use; you really just have to eyeball it based on how much you want to make. Also, the au jus will only be as good as the beef broth and red wine that you use. If you use homemade broth and a good red wine, it will be great. I personally use beef broth in the rectangular “foil” containers because I rarely have homemade beef broth around. I would stay away from bouillon cubes myself; I find them way too salty and not very flavorful.

So that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow night is Chicken Fajitas for dinner around here, a recipe I have posted here before, so I am not sure if I’ll having anything to post tomorrow or not. Wednesday’s tend to be a little hectic anyway, so we’ll see how it goes. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 17, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Sauce, Vegetables

Tags: au jus, eye round roast, mashed potatoes and root vegetables, oven roast beef, roast beef, roast beef dinner, slow-roasted beef

A Nice Hot Day Seems Like a Good One For… Turkey??

16 Apr

I had actually planned to make a roast beef dinner tonight, but decided I wanted to slow roast it so it is covered in salt right now in the fridge for tomorrow’s dinner. So that left me to change things around again, which is kind of business as usual in this house anyway. I had bought a bone-in turkey breast at the store this weekend and hasn’t decided whether to freeze it or not, but it seemed like a good night to make it. It was a really good deal for a 3 pound turkey breast for under $3.00, and we’ll get several meals out of it. So tonight was Roasted Turkey Breast with Sage and Cayenne, Pan Roasted Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes.

Roasted Turkey Breast with Sage and Cayenne

1 6 pound bone-in turkey breast (I only had a 3 pound, so I cut the recipe in half)

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika

Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan. Combine the salt, sage, cayenne, cumin, and paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix all over the turkey skin and let the turkey stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees. Roast the turkey for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 155-160 degrees, about 50 minutes longer. transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

A 90 degree day may not have been the best day to do this, but it came out really well and the crispy skin tasted great. I had also bought some asparagus this weekend (also on sale) so I decided to make that tonight as well, using a pan roasting method that I had seen in Cook’s Illustrated. Use thicker asparagus for this recipe as I think thinner spears may tend to burn or overcook.

Pan Roasted Asparagus with Toasted Garlic and Parmesan

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound thick asparagus spears, ends trimmed

Salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 lemon (optional)

Heat the olive oil and sliced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is crisp and golden but not dark brown, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the butter to the oil in the skillet. When the butter has melted, add half the asparagus to the skillet with the tips pointed in one direction; add the remaining spears with the tips pointed in the opposite direction. Using tongs, distribute the spears in an even layer (the spears will not quite fit into a single layer); cover and cook until the asparagus is bright green and still crisp, about 5 minutes.

Uncover the pan and increase the heat to high; season the asparagus with salt and pepper. Cook until the spears are tender and well browned along one side, about 5 to 7 minutes, using tongs occasionally to move the spears from the center of the pan to the edge of the pan to ensure all the spears are browned. Transfer the asparagus to a serving dish, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and toasted garlic slices, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, and, if desired, squeeze the lemon over the spears. Serve immediately.

I think they turned out great. I added some mashed potatoes to the meal, which I have made many times before and posted the recipe on here, and Michelle loves stuffing and I didn’t have time to make my own, so bless the fine people at Stove Top for their contribution to the meal.

Tomorrow I am really making the roast beef (I am committed now since it is in the salt), so I will be posting that recipe tomorrow. Until then, enjoy your evening (hopefully it’s not as warm where you are) and enjoy your meal!

6 Comments

Posted by MikeG on April 16, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: mashed potatoes, pan roasted asparagus, roast turkey, roast turkey with sage and cayenne

Pork With Apple and Prune Stuffing (Yes, I Said Prunes. Trust Me, It’s Good!)

13 Apr

People have a strong reaction when they hear a recipe that has prunes in it. A lot of people won’t even try it, being that the prune reputation has lent itself to be ignored. However, I came across this recipe on the Food Network a while back and Michelle, Sean and I have had it several times and we all really like it, even the prunes. Just be willing to give it a try and you won’t be disappointed. A word about this recipe: you need to prepare the stuffing hours in advance, so make sure you remember to do that the day you decide to make it.

Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin

Extra virgin olive oil

4 slices of bacon, diced

1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Salt

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into a 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup prunes, quartered

2 springs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped, divided

1/2 cup brandy

1 (3 to 4 pound) boneless pork loin

1 cup chicken stock

Coat a large saute pan lightly with olive oil. Add the bacon and bring the pan to medium heat. When the bacon is crispy and has released a lot of fat, add the onions and season with salt. Cook the onions until they are soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the apples, prunes, and half of the chopped rosemary. Cook the apples, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Pull the pan off the heat and add the brandy. Return to the fire and flambe, or let the alcohol burn off (I didn’t flambe, and don’t recommend doing it unless you’ve done it before and have a big enough kitchen to do it). Remove from the heat and let cool thoroughly.

Lay out a length of plastic wrap about 2 feet in length. Spoon the apple mixture onto the plastic and make a log down the center that is about the same length as the pork loin. Roll the plastic tightly around the apple mixture and twist at the ends to secure. The log should be about 1 inch in diameter. Place the log in the freezer and let it freeze solid. This should be done ahead of time. (Ideally, do it overnight if you can. I did it for 6 hours today and it was frozen, but not solid).

To stuff the pork, insert a long, thin knife into the center of one end of the pork loin; repeat the process at the other end. Wiggle the knife back and forth to create a place big enough to accommodate the frozen stuffing. After cutting with the knife, you can use the handle of a long, wooden spoon to make sure the incision goes all the way through the pork loin. (I actually butterflied the pork loin,placed the log in the center, and then tied the pork loin with twine. To me this was easier and more efficient, especially since the log wasn’t frozen solid).

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Season the outside of the pork loin generously with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary. Coat a roasting pan with olive oil and bring the pan to a high heat. Add the pork to the pan and sear it on all sides until it is brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the pork from the roasting pan and pour off the fat in the pan. Add the pork back into the pan and pour in the chicken stock. Place the pork in the oven and roast for 40 to 50 minutes, depending on how you like your pork.

I served the pork with the leftover rice from last night, some steamed green beans, and a little bit of the extra stuffing I had left from the stuffing log. It was all very delicious! Since tomorrow night is Saturday, we are going to have a Snack Night for dinner. This is one of Sean’s favorite meals (well it’s not really a meal I guess, but we’ll call it that), so check back tomorrow to see what we’re making. It promises to be some interesting choices! Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on April 13, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Pork, Rice

Tags: apple and prune stuffed pork loin, apple prune stuffing, pork loin, stuffed pork loin

Flip Flopping Days & Making Roast Chicken

12 Apr

I had intended to make a pork loin for dinner tonight until I realized this morning that I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients for the stuffing, so I have flipped the pork loin until tomorrow and am making a roast chicken recipe instead. I have made roast chicken before, but this recipe is a little different. I got this one from Bon Appetit. They are running on article called 5 Dinners For Under $100 and this is the first dinner they mentioned. It’s a very inexpensive meal of roast chicken with a warm parsley sauce, oven glazed carrots and I am making some rice to go with it. The chicken itself only cost me $4.50 ($9.00 actually, since they were packaged as 2 whole chickens, about 3 pounds each), and everything else in the recipes I already had in the house, so it’s easy and cheap!

Roasted Chicken with Warm Parsley Sauce and Oven Glazed Carrots

1 whole 3-3 1/2 pounds chicken, giblets reserved for another use (think stock)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 garlic cloves, 1 halved, 1 minced

1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 teaspoon honey

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Generously season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large cast iron or other ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, breast side up, and cook until the skin is brown, about 6-8 minutes. Tip the pan to one side to gather the accumulated fat and juices and baste the top of the chicken. Return the pan to the oven and cook the chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees, about 50-55 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a carving board, rib with the garlic halves, and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. Pour off the fat and juices from the skillet, leaving the browned bits in the pan; set the skillet aside.

Meanwhile, combine the carrots, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, honey,and cayenne in a small bowl; toss to coat. Place the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until the bottoms of the carrots are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir and cook until the carrots are tender and brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest in a small bowl. Heat the reserved skillet over medium heat. Pour in the parsley oil and cook, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until heated through. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and swirl the pan to mix. Season the sauce to taste with salt and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve warm parsley sauce alongside of the chicken and carrots.

I added some rice to the dish to complete the meal, but it was very easy to make overall. Tomorrow night, I promise, is the Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin. It’s a little more labor intensive than tonight’s meal, but we have had it before and we loved it. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 12, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: oven glazed carrots, parsley sauce, roast chicken, roast chicken recipe

Down Home Cooking: Sloppy Joes and Cornbread

11 Apr

Michelle has been asking me to make Sloppy Joes since before we got back to Charlotte, so tonight is the night. I was trying to come up with a good side dish to go along with the meal, and I tweeted America’s Test Kitchen to see if they had a recommendation. They suggested I make some cornbread to go along with the meal, so that’s what I am going to do. I’ve never made cornbread before, but the recipe looks as easy as the sloppy joes, so we’ll give it a try.

Sloppy Joes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 pound ground beef

1 teaspoon brown sugar

Salt and pepper

1 cup tomato puree

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup water

Tabasco

Hamburger buns

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the beef, brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomato puree, ketchup and water. Cook until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with Tabasco and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon 1/2 cup of the meat mixture into each hamburger bun.

Trust me, making your own sloppy joe sauce is so much better than using anything out of a can or a spice package. Homemade doesn’t require a lot of ingredients (the only thing I didn’t have in the house is the tomato puree) and it will taste far better than anything you can buy.

Now for the cornbread. As I said, I’ve never made it before, but the recipe from America’s Test Kitchen seems pretty basic and I had all the ingredients on hand, so let’s give it a shot.

Skillet Cornbread

4 teaspoons bacon drippings or vegetable oil

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup rapidly boiling water

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Set a cast-iron skillet with the bacon drippings or oil in the oven while it heats. Measure 1/3 cup of the cornmeal into a medium bowl. Whisk the remaining 2/3 cup of cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a small bowl and set aside.

Add the boiling water to the 1/3 cup of cornmeal and stir to make a stiff mush. Gradually whisk in the buttermilk until smooth, then whisk in the egg. When the oven is pre-heated and the skillet is very hot, gently fold the dry ingredients into the mush mixture until just combined.

Carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Pour the bacon fat or hot oil from the skillet into the batter and stir to combine. Quickly pour the batter into the skillet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Flip the cornbread out of the skillet and onto a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

According to the recipe, baking the cornbread in a greased and pre-heated cast-iron skillet will give the cornbread a brown, crunchy crust, which is what I like. If you don’t have a cast-iron pan, you could use a cake pan (round or square) or a regular skillet, but it may not be as crunchy. Just a quick note on this recipe. I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, but it’s very easy to make your own buttermilk at home. For 1 cup of buttermilk, stir 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice into the milk and let it stand for 5 minutes until thickened.

That’s all there is to it. I do have a menu for the rest of this abbreviated week. It is:

Thursday: Apple and Prune Stuffed Pork Loin

Friday: Roast Chicken with Oven-Glazed Carrots and Warm Parsley Sauce

Saturday: Snacks for Dinner (This is a Sean favorite, so you’ll see what it is Saturday)

Sunday: Roast Beef with Au Jus

Some good meals to look forward to this week. The apple and prune stuffed pork is a Michelle favorite, and I need the chicken to make some stock this week, so it works out pretty well. Check back tomorrow to see about the pork loin recipe. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

5 Comments

Posted by MikeG on April 11, 2012 in Beef, Breads, Cooking, Dinner

Tags: cornbread, skillet cornbread, sloppy joes

Back From Vacation and Back to Blogging (and Cooking)

10 Apr

It was a nice week spent away with the family and visiting in Charlotte. The weather was great and we had a fun time hanging out with everyone and seeing all the nieces and nephews and how big they have become. I didn’t get a chance to any blogging at all while I was gone since I left my computer at home, but I did help with some cooking, making my spaghetti and meatballs, my corned beef in the oven, and my corned beef hash for breakfast on Easter morning. So now it’s back home and back to the real world of cooking every day. I didn’t have a meal plan for this week already, so I am working on one today and hope to have that tomorrow to post.

I thought for today I would go over some things I am planning to do for the house and the kitchen to make things a little easier for us around here, and maybe give you some ideas too. I have been receiving some requests for ideas and recipes to post, and I really do pay attention to them and hope to post them on here soon. I did have a request for some easy party appetizers and dips, a request on how to make some roast beef with au jus (which I hope to do this weekend) and a few other odds and ends that I’ll be writing about it.

I am planning a few things in the house to hopefully make cooking a little better and also save us some money in the process. I started growing my own herbs at home in the hopes of using more fresh herbs in my cooking. WE don’t have a lot of space since we live in a condo, but we do live on the bottom floor and have a small patch of earth in the back that we can plant in, so I am going to put some herbs there. For now, I have growing in the house some basil, oregano, parsley, mint and thyme. I have used some of the mint and thyme already since I bought them when they were further along as plants and it was great. I have looked into getting a couple of other herb boxes so I can start some things out and move them outside. I just want to get herbs that I use a lot on cooking (although Sean wants me to grow some watermelon :)).

Another thing I am looking into is getting a bread maker. We seem to go through a lot of bread in this house and I think if I had the bread maker I would get good use out of it. I just don’t have the space to work with dough like I would like to since we only have one small counter to use in our kitchen, but I do have the space for a bread maker. I have been doing some research online to see what might be best and so far the one that seems to look good is the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker. It seems to be the size I like and would do everything I want it to do and more.

We are also looking into getting a kitchen island cart. We have some room in our dining room for something like this and it would give us some needed storage space and provide us with some extra butcher block cutting room for counter space. We have done a lot of research on this one but haven’t really found one to fit nicely in the space we have.

Lastly, we are looking into making some dietary changes in our lives that will change our menus a little. Everyone is always trying to lose some weight and having foot problems caused by my illness has made exercise difficult, if not impossible, so it has become more important to watch what I eat. I think we need to introduce more fruits and vegetables in our diet, eliminate some carbs and cut back more on the red meat, so you’ll probably see more dinner recipes here that try to do that, along with recipes that I really want to try or really like (I can’t just give up everything!).

Tomorrow I hope to have our menu plan for the rest of the week laid out. I do know that I’ll be making Sloppy Joes for dinner tomorrow as a request of Michelle’s, so look for that in tomorrow’s blog. If anyone has any suggestions for herbs to grow, bread makers to look at, kitchen carts they like or menu suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment and pass them along. Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on April 10, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Equipment, Spices

Tags: bread maker, herbs, home grown herbs, kitchen cart

A Sunday Marinated London Broil

01 Apr

It’s Sunday, when I usually make a more complex meal for the week because I have the time to do it. This week’s been a little crazy between illnesses, Michelle’s work schedule, planning and packing for our trip down to Charlotte, and such, so I am trying to keep things simple for dinner today. I saw a nice London broil in the store yesterday so I decided to make a simple London broil for dinner tonight. I am also going to make some pierogies to go along with it. Michelle and Sean love pierogies and I saw in a blog that I follow, The Ranting Chef, that he was making them in a meal and they were also on sale at the store yesterday, so I bought some to make as well.

London broil is one of those cuts of beef that cries out to be marinated in some way. It takes on the flavors you add nicely, so just about any combination you want of an oil and an acid will work well. I am using a marinade that I often use for London broil. It’s quick, easy, and tastes great.

Marinated London Broil

1/3 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh thyme
Big dash hot sauce
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 pounds London broil

Mix the shallots, soy sauce, olive oil, thyme, hot sauce and lemon juice together in a glass pie plate, glass bowl or broiling pan. Score the steak, place it in the pan and turn in the marinade. Marinate for at least 2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours refrigerated. If refrigerated, turn the steak in the marinade occasionally.

Drain off marinade and put it into a saucepan. Place the steak under the broiler at 1 inch from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side for rare or for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium. Leave the broiler door slightly ajar, so the heat stays on and air circulates. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil. Remove the marinade from heat. Carve the meat in thin diagonal slices across the grain. Arrange the slices on a warm platter. Pour the carving juices and the marinade over the meat.

It’s fast and easy and tastes wonderful. The pierogies are just as easy. I bought frozen pierogies, so you can simply follow the directions on the box. I typically boil the pierogies until they float, about 4 or 5 minutes, then remove them from the water and drain them. I then saute them in a skillet with some melted butter and sliced onions until the pierogies are browned and the onions begin to caramelize, about 5 or 6 minutes. You can then add sour cream to them when you serve them if you wish.

The last part of our meal tonight is a staple in our diet, broccoli. I get a little tired of steamed broccoli so tonight I am going to try pan roasting it. Broccoli doesn’t take to well to pan roasting if you don’t watch it carefully, it can easily burn and get too dry. Trying to keep it tender and bright green can be tricky, but if you trim the broccoli to uniform size and cook the stems and the florets at separate times, it seems to work out pretty well. I’ve tried using this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and it has worked pretty well for me.

Pan-Roasted Broccoli

3 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound broccoli , florets cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, stems trimmed, peeled, and cut on bias into 1/4-inch-thick slices about 1 1/2 inches long (about 5 cups florets and 3/4 cup stems)

Stir the water, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves; set aside. In a large, nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Add broccoli stems in an even layer and cook, without stirring, until browned on the bottoms, about 2 minutes. Add the florets to the skillet and toss to combine; cook, without stirring, until the bottoms of the florets just begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Add the water mixture and cover the skillet; cook until the broccoli is bright green but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until the water has evaporated, the broccoli stems are tender, and the florets are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes more.

A simple meal in very little time with not a lot of effort – just what you need on a busy day. I am just cooking a simple meal of burgers tomorrow night since I didn’t do any food shopping since we are leaving for vacation, but I do plan to do some posting once we get to Charlotte of some ideas and recipes that I like to make. Maybe I’ll do some Easter ideas and some simple party recipes. We’ll see how it goes. Until then, have a great day and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on April 1, 2012 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Vegetables

Tags: broccoli, london broil, marinated london broil, pan roasted broccoli, pierogies

A Hectic Week Ends with Shrimp & Grits

30 Mar

It’s been a pretty crazy week here so I haven’t had much of a chance to post any recipes lately. Sean has been sick all week, we’re trying to prepare for a trip to Charlotte next week and to top it all off, I won a trip from Guinness for a trip to Dublin! (I still haven’t gotten over the shock of that one). In between all that, I did manage to cook the meat loaf dinner this week. If you would like the recipe I use, you can check a previous post I did on it right here. For tonight, I am going to make a recipe I saw on the Food Network website for an easy Shrimp and Grits. I am not a big grits fan, but Michelle loves them so we thought we would give this one a try. This recipe cheats a little by using instant grits, but feel free to use whatever works best for you.

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Grits

3/4 cup instant grits

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Juice of 1/2 a lemon, plus wedges for serving

2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, covered. Uncover and slowly whisk in the grits, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon of the butter. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic and cayenne pepper, if using, and cook, tossing, until the shrimp are pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the heat and add 2 tablespoons of water, the lemon juice and parsley; stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Divide the grits among shallow bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.

It’s a very simple meal. The prep time and the cooking time should only take you about 30 minutes in total and it will make a nice dinner.

Well it’s back to the crazy week for me. More medicine to pick up for Sean, start packing for Charlotte and we have a party to attend tomorrow, so I won’t be cooking anything tomorrow. There won’t be a meal plan for next week since we are leaving to travel on Tuesday, but I do plan to blog while we are gone and post some recipes and ideas that a few readers have asked about. If you have anything you would like to see or read about, feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll see if I can fit it in for next week’s writing. Thanks again to everyone for following along. Have a wonderful Friday, enjoy your day, and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 30, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Seafood

Tags: grits, instant grits, meat loaf, shrimp and grits

A Kid’s Delight – Chicken Fingers & Tater Tots, Homemade

27 Mar

Tonight’s recipes are a kid’s delight (well, my kid’s anyway). Sean likes to get chicken fingers when we got out, and adding tater tots to the meal is just icing on the cake for him. Chicken fingers themselves are pretty easy to make. Some recipes call for frying them, but I have decided to go with one that bakes the chicken to make it a little healthier. It’;s a very simple recipe with not many ingredients.

Chicken Fingers

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt

2 cups breadcrumbs

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch-wide strips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set a rack on a baking sheet and mist with cooking spray. Whisk the eggs, mustard and 1 teaspoon of salt in a shallow bowl. Place the breadcrumbs in a second shallow bowl. Dip the chicken strips in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off, then coat with the breadcrumbs. Place the chicken on the rack and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes.

A few notes about the chicken fingers. Placing them on a rack over the baking sheet is key, since it lets air circulate around the whole piece of chicken, allowing it to crisp up all over. You can buy chicken tenders pre-cut already, but they seem to be more expensive than just buying boneless chicken and cutting it yourself. Lastly, you could use any breadcrumbs you choose for this recipe; I am using homemade breadcrumbs, but if I went for store-bought, I would use panko to give you a little extra crunch.

Now on to the tater tots. As I have said, I’ve never made these before. I looked at a bunch of recipes and each one seemed to have both good and bad results, so I wasn’t really sure which one to go for until I found this one from Cook’s Country. It seems simple, basic and looks like it will taste good, so let’s go for it!

Tater Tots

1 cup water

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

4 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil

In a small bowl, whisk the water and salt together until the salt dissolves. Transfer the salt water and potatoes to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until coarsely ground, 10 to 12 pulses, stirring occasionally.

Drain the potato mixture in a fine-mesh strainer, pressing the potatoes with a spoon until dry (the liquid should measure about 1½ cups); discard liquid. Transfer the potatoes to a microwave safe bowl and microwave, uncovered, until dry and sticky, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.

Stir the flour, black pepper and cayenne pepper into the potatoes. Spread the potato mixture into a thin layer over a large sheet of aluminum foil and let it cool for 10 minutes. Push the potatoes to the center of the foil and place the foil and potatoes in an 8-inch square baking pan. Push the foil into the corners and up the sides of the pan, smoothing it flush to the pan. Press the potato mixture tightly and evenly into the pan. Freeze, uncovered, until firm, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat until 375 degrees. Using the foil overhang, lift potatoes from pan and cut into 1¼ by 1-inch pieces (6 cuts in 1 direction and 8 in other). Fry half of the potato tots, until golden brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally once they begin to brown. Drain the prepared baking sheet, season to taste and place in oven. Bring the oil back to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining potato tots. Serve warm.

You could take the easy way out and just make a frozen bag of tater tots, but showing off to your kids that you can make them at home is pretty cool on its own :). I am just making some simple steamed broccoli as a vegetable, since it is Sean’s favorite vegetable and this is his meal.

That’s it for tonight. Follow the recipes and you’ll be the hero of the day for the kids. Tomorrow I’ll be making Meatloaf for dinner, which is one of my all time favorites. I have made it before, but it’s a family favorite and turns up on here once in a while. I may vary the recipe a little tomorrow, so check back and see how what’s up. Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on March 27, 2012 in Cooking, Dinner, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables

Tags: broccoli, chicken fingers, homemade chicken fingers, homemade tater tots, tater tots

Nice and Slow (Cooked) Barbecued Ribs

26 Mar

Tonight’s dinner is very easy and makes good use of your slow cooker. Since it’s not quite grill season yet here in New York, I decided to try a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen that uses the slow cooker for Barbecued Ribs. This recipe uses baby back ribs, my personal favorite, and has very few ingredients. It doesn’t get much easier than this one and from the looks of the ribs (they are almost done as I write this) they are going to taste great.

Barbecued Ribs in the Slow Cooker

3 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

6 pounds pork baby back ribs

3 cups barbecue sauce

Vegetable oil spray

Mix the paprika, sugar, cayenne, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of pepper together, then rub the mixture evenly over the ribs. Arrange the ribs upright in the slow cooker, with the meaty sides facing outward toward the slow cooker insert wall. Pour the barbecue sauce over the ribs, cover and cook until the ribs are tender, 6 to 8 hours on low.

Position an oven rack 10 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler. Place a wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and coat with vegetable spray. Carefully transfer the ribs, meaty side down, to the prepared baking sheet and tent with foil. Let the braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, then remove the fat from the surface using a large spoon.

Strain the braising liquid into a medium saucepan and simmer until thickened and measures 2 cups, about 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Brush the ribs with some sauce and broil until the ribs begin to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip the ribs over, brush with more sauce, and continue to broil until the ribs are well browned and sticky, 9 to 12 minutes longer, brushing with additional sauce every few minutes. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining sauce.

This recipe serves 6 to 8, so I cut the recipe in half since there is only the three of us for dinner tonight. You can replace the dry rub ingredients with any type of dry rub you prefer. Everyone seems to have their own rub they like to use for ribs (I know I have one I use, and as we get into the summer I’ll post it). The same can be said for the barbecue sauce. You can use any bottled sauce that you’re family prefers, make your own sauce that you like, or make a simple one, like this:

Quick and Easy Barbecue Sauce

2 1/4 cups ketchup

3/4 cup molasses

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons hot sauce

3/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

Whisk all the ingredients together in bowl until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For this rib recipe, the baby backs work really well since they are smaller and fit in the slow cooker better than larger spare ribs. Depending on the size of your slow cooker, you may not be able to fit a rack of ribs larger than 2 pounds anyway ( I know I can’t).

To go with the ribs, I decided to make some potato salad today. Like barbecue sauce or a dry rub, everyone has their own version or recipe of potato salad. I keep mine pretty simple and don’t really add anything to it. Occasionally I’ll put some diced red onion in, but that’s a rare occasion. I really prefer just the potatoes myself, but add whatever your family likes best or use whatever recipe you have been using.

Potato Salad

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 pounds potatoes, cooked, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)

In large bowl combine mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper. Add the potatoes and gently mix until blended. Chill for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Sean is not a big fan of potato salad, so he’ll be having a sweet potato tonight with his ribs. I am serving some corn with this meal, off the cob since it’s not in season yet, so we’ll settle for frozen this time.

That’s all there is to this dinner. I just took the ribs out of the slow cooker to get ready to transfer to the broiler to crisp up, and they are fall off the bone tender already; they look great. Here’s a picture:

Tomorrow’s dinner is a Sean’s choice and we’re going to try it completely homemade. I am making Chicken Fingers, Tater Tots and Broccoli. I’ve never tried making tater tots at home before, so we’ll see how it goes. The recipe seems pretty straightforward, so it shouldn’t be too bad. Tune in tomorrow to find out how it goes! Until then, enjoy your evening and enjoy your meal!