Beef Enchiladas - Test Kitchen Style

Everyone loves enchiladas.  And for good reason as they taste incredible, use relatively inexpensive ingredients and make great leftovers.  However there are many receipes out there that use canned sauce, or worse the canned "cheese" goop.  In all fairness we are guilty of making them using those shortcut/processed ingredients, but we were young and didn't know better or think anything of it.

A few years ago we were given "The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2008" which included a recipe for Authentic Beef Enchiladas, that's right authentic...no processed cheese-like ingredients.  They take time, about 2 hours total for all of the steps, so they are ideally suited for a weekend dinner.  They are definitely worth the time.

Beef Enchiladas

From The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2008

Serves 4 to 6

• 3 garlic cloves, minced - saute unpeeled 10min
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sugar
• kosher salt to taste
• 1.5 lbs top blade steak
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions chopped - saute 5min
• 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese shredded (about 2 cups)
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
• 8 (6-in) corn tortillas

Combine the garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, sugar, and 1 tsp salt in small bowl.  Pat the meat dry with paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Heat the oil in the dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Sear the meat on all sides for about 6 min total.  Transfer the meat to a plate.  Add the onions to the pot and cook over medium heat for about 5 min.  Stir in the garlic mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 min.  Add the tomato sauce and water, bring to a boil.  Return the meat and juices to the pot, cover, reduce the heat to low, and gently simmer until the meat is tender and can be broken apart with a wooden spoon, about 1.5 hours. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees, place rack in middle position.  Strain the beef mixture over a medium bowl, breaking the meat into small pieces, reserve the sauce.  Transfer the meat to a bowl and mix with 1 cup of the cheese, cilantro and jalapeno.

Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 13x9in baking dish.  Microwave 6 tortillas on a plate on high until soft, about 45 seconds.  Spread 1/3 cup of the beef mixture down the center of each tortilla, roll the tortilla tightly, and set in the baking dish, seam side down.  Repeat with the remaining tortillas or however much of the mixture you have.  Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas and spread as evenly as you can.  Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheese evenly over the enchiladas and maybe sprinkle on a few jalapeno slices if you like. 

Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 min.  Remove the foil and continue baking for another 5-10 min or until the cheese has browned. 

Let it stand for about 10 min and serve.

Enjoy!
-Dan

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Often times when one thinks of French cooking we have two images that pop in our minds, one is a surly old french chef that smacks people if they don't braise the beef properly and the other is Julia Child saying "Bon Appetit!"

Since our trip this past fall to France I have been intrigued with trying more classic French recipes, I decided to jump straight into Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking with Boeuf Burguignon.  This gorgeous and unbelieveably aromatic dish filled our late November apartment with a smell that made your mouth water. 

I highly recommend getting her book as it is a great read; in the mean time I've included the full recipe which might seem like a lot of work at first glance but proper prep work and patience will pay off.  I found that using my cast iron pan worked perfectly and I only had to wash one dish....bonus.  This dish is amazing to prepare and to serve.  Bon Appetit!

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces bacon
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
• 3 pounds lean stewing beef , cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 sliced carrot
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups full-bodied, young red wine , such as a Chianti
• 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• Crumbled bay leaf
• Blanched bacon rind
• 18 to 24 small white onions , brown-braised in stock
• 1 pound quartered fresh mushrooms , sautéed in butter
• Parsley sprigs

• 9- to 10-inch, fireproof casserole dish , 3 inches deep
• Slotted spoon

Directions

Remove rind from bacon, and cut bacon into lardons (sticks, 1/4 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and bacon for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts of water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.

Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers
very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms. Set them aside until needed.

When the melt is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.

Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

For immediate serving: Cover the casserole and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times. Serve in its casserole, or arrange the stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles, or rice, and decorated with parsley.

If reheating to serve: After it has cooled to room temperature, cover and refrigerate. About 15 to 20 minutes before serving, bring to the simmer, cover, and simmer very slowly for 10 minutes, occasionally basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce. (This dish is excellent reheated.)

~ Dan

Comfort Food: Guinness Beef Stew

What do you do with Guinness after you've had two and don't want anymore?  Have friends over?  Make Beef Stew?!? Beer and Meat! How can a guy pass the marrying of these true "guy" flavors into a hearty dish?  

A stew is a great winter dinner; it will warm you up and with a few simple ingredients really fill you up as well. I found this recipe through some random web searching and that gave me a good starting point.  I decided to add a can of Stewed Tomatoes, this adds a little bit more substance to the meal without turning the stew into a gumbo of sorts.

Guinness Beef Stew

Adapted from: Food Network

• 2 pounds lean stewing beef
• 3 Tablespoons oil
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large onions, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons tomato puree, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
• 1-1/4 cups Guinness stout beer (a little more than one bottle, have two and keep the remaining for a beverage)
• 2 cups carrots, cut into chunks
• 14oz can of stewed tomatoes, drained
• Sprig of thyme

Preparation:

Trim the beef of any fat or gristle, cut into cubes of 1-2 inches and toss them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon oil. Season the flour with salt, ground pepper.  Toss the meat into the mixture, trying to fully coat, it helps to do two batches in two bags ziplock bags. 

Heat some oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat. Brown the meat on all sides. Add the onions, crushed garlic, and tomato puree to the pan, cover and cook gently for about 5 minutes.  Being carful not to burn the garlic.

Transfer the contents of the pan to a casserole, and pour some of the Guinness beer into the frying pan. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the caramelized meat juices on the pan.

Pour onto the meat with the remaining Guinness; add the carrots and the thyme.  Stir, taste, and add a little more salt if necessary.

Cover with the lid of the casserole and simmer very gently until the meat is tender -- 2 to 3 hours. The stew may be cooked on top of the stove or in a low oven at 300 degrees F. Taste and correct the seasoning. Scatter with lots of chopped parsley.

I found that using a cast iron dutch oven worked really well as you can do everything in one pan, which guys like.  You could add some celery or red pepper if you wanted, just to give the dish some more nutrients.  Enjoy.

-Dan

Comfort Food :: Meatloaf

Meatloaf must be the least sexy sounding entree.  But ya know what, it can be sooo satisfying on a cold winter night!

Recently we "rediscovered" meatloaf after an initial, "hmm I don't know, it sounds so old-fashioned."  To make it a bit more healthy we modified the recipe a tad.  We use oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs which gives it a much better texture and flavor in addition to the health advantage that oatmeal has over breadcrumbs.  Then we use a combo of crushed tomatoes and milk (however you can use just milk if you don't have crushed tomatoes on hand).  And finally, we add minced red bell peppers as they add a nice bit of flavor and are a good source of Vitamin C and A.

If you haven't tried meatloaf lately, give it a try!  It really is comforting for a January Sunday evening.

Meatloaf

Serves 6 to 8

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or pork
3/4 cup oatmeal
2 eggs
1/4 c finely chopped onions
1/4 c finely chopped red bell pepper (optional)
1/2 c milk
1/2 c crushed tomato
pinch of salt
a couple of twist of freshly ground pepper

Mix all the ingredients together. Pour into an 8x8 baking pan. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Stir the ingredients for the topping together in a small bowl:
1/2 c ketchup
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard

Poke the top of the meatloaf lightly with a fork.  Then spread the topping across the top of the meatloaf.

Bake for another 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Steak au Poivre

Now that everyone knows how to properly cook a steak on the stove by searing it then baking it we can add the next step to create Steak au Poivre.  Steak au Poivre is a traditional French dinner, which is very similar to the Chinese recipe of Pepper Steak....just a different sauce.  If you don't like pepper, and a fair amount of it,  you might not like this recipe since you coat the steak in it prior to cooking.  The peppercorns provide a nice contrast in taste and smell to the meatiness of the steak.  They also protect the steak and help keep the inside nice and moist even if the outside is well done.  The steak is perfectly cooked to medium-rare (130 degrees F in the center) in this recipe.

Steak au Poivre

Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 4 tenderloin steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each and no more than 1 1/2 inches thick
• 2 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup Cognac, plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Remove the steaks from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour prior to cooking.  Sprinkle all sides liberly with salt.

Coarsely crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle, the bottom of a cast iron skillet, or using a mallet and pie pan.  Spread the peppercorns evenly onto a plate.  Press the fillets, on both sides, into the pepper until it coats the surface.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil begin to turn golden and smoke, gently place the steaks in the pan.  Don't move them once they touch the pan.  For medium-rare steaks cook them for 4 minutes on each side.  Once done, remove the steaks to a plate, tent with foil and set aside.  Pour off the excess fat but do not wipe or scrape the pan clean.

Off of the heat, add 1/3 cup Cognac to the pan and carefully ignite the alcohol with a long match or firestick (Warn your wife first).  Gently shake pan until the flames die.  Return the pan to medium heat and add the cream.  Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk constantly until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 6 minutes.  Add the teaspoon of Cognac and a little more Kosher Salt. Add the steaks back to the pan, spoon the sauce over, and serve.

This is a great recipe that is easy and adds a little flair to the typical steak dinner with the addition of the cream sauce.  Traditional sides include mashed potatoes and asparagus but it being fall and almost winter a squash side dish works nicely.  When I made this for dinner Tara roasted a Delicata squash as the side, this was the first squash that I have really liked ever!  Maybe my taste buds are evolving lately or maybe it was because the Delicata squash has the knickname of Sweet Potato Squash.  Either way it went nicely with the steak for a fall dinner.

Enjoy

-Dan

Steak & Egg Burritos

My Dad is a great cook, but one thing stands out from the rest...his breakfasts.  When was a kid he would make great big breakfasts on the weekends.  Everything was game, from a thousand ways to prepare eggs, to French toast, to waffles, to pancakes, to burritos, to Dutch Apple Pancakes (a different show).  He was great at teaching and giving tips on how to improve all the time.  One thing I picked up right away was coming up with ways to empty the leftovers which also makes room for the big grocery trip that weekend. 

We recently found ourselves on a Saturday ready for breakfast but at first glance it appeared as though we didn't have any ingredients for a breakfast recipe.  Then I spotted leftover grilled steak and saw that we had both eggs and tortillas - breakfast burritos was the winner!  And really pretty much everything in this recipe was a leftover in our fridge so I am sure there could be many variations depending upon what leftovers you have on hand. 

I believe a way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, because in her eyes nothing is sexier than a man that can cook.  Well ok, cooking together is pretty good too.  This recipe is set for 4 burritos but can easily be altered to make as many as you want.

Steak & Egg Breakfast Burritos

4 Large Eggs, room temperature and beaten
1/2 Red Pepper
1/2 Green Pepper
1/2 Small Onion
6 oz Cooked Steak, cut into bite sized pieces
4 Flour Medium Tortillas
1/2 can Diced Tomatoes
Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Dice the peppers and onion, sauteing them stirring ever minute or so until they begin to soften but will still have a little crunch to them.  Set the peppars and onions aside in a bowl. 

Add the steak to the pan, let that cook for 2-3 min or until the steak is tender.

In a bowl, beat the eggs together. In another skillet add 1 Tsp butter and melt it, add the beaten eggs stirring frequently.  Don't over cook them! Now add the steak in with the eggs, stirring and cook long enough just to finish the eggs. Season with crushed black pepper

Place the tortillas in the oven to warm them. 

Add the peppers and onions back to their pan at a medium heat.  Stir in the tomatoes to the pepper mixture and let them heat up, then kill the heat. 

Sprinkle a little of the cheddar cheese on each tortilla then add the eggs and steak mixture evenly, and finish by adding on top the pepper and tomato mixture.  Top her coffee off and enjoy.

-Dan

A Versatile Spice Rub

Since the purpose of this blog is to share our recipes and cooking discovers, I suppose I should share the best ever spice rub for meat.  I love meat!  I love to grill it, bake it, saute it, fry it and occasionally eat it raw (well seared really).  However for some reason this country has this need to coat every piece of meat with A1 Barbeque sauce, which is gross.  Not to mention some guys also seem to think that because they spend $500 bucks on a grill they are experts, but that's a different show.  How you cook the meat is almost as important as what you add to the meat, if anything.  Adding spices to a cut of meat can set your dish apart from the others. 

We came across a recipe for a spice rub in The Complete Meat Cookbook and have since tweaked it to our taste.  This spice rub is sweet, spicy and tangy all rolled into one.  We like to liberally coat the meat with it a few hours (or overnight) before either grilling or otherwise cooking it.  Adding a homemade barbeque sauce to give it a wet marinade or during cooking can round out the flavors, but the rub by itself is fine too.  The recipe makes quite a bit so we use an old spice container with a label.  Keeping this rub on hand ensures that you always have a way to add a little flavor without reaching to the steak sauce.  It works great on beef, pork, chicken, and even lamb if my wife would let me buy it (lamb is on Tara's not allowed in the house list).   We use it for grilling, roasting, and ribs.

Spice Rub

Adapted from The Complete Meat Cookbook

2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Chile Powder
1 Tsp Cayenne Powder
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Ground Cumin Seeds
1 Tbsp Dry Mustard
1 Tsp Ground Sage
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 cup Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Ground Pepper

Enjoy!

-Dan

Blue Cheese Stuffed Tenderloin

After watching a Discover channel feature on butcher shops, I decided that I'm sick of paying a lot of money for meat that isn't up to my snobby standards.  Jewel, Dominicks, Strack & VanTill, wherever you shop all have the same meat.  So, I decided to check out a butcher shop here in the city, but the Beef Tenderloin I wanted was $19.00 a pound, untrimmed.  I felt that was really high, especially since you cut off about a pound of fat off a 6-7 pound slab of meat.  Since we used to live in the West Loop, I remembered that Peoria Packing on Lake Street carries a ton of cuts, from pork, chicken to beef and even some fish.  I went over there and got a 7 lb Beef Tenderloin, untrimmed for $9.99 a pound.  An incredible price for a very nice piece of meat.  This recipe uses about 1 to 1.5 lbs of the center cut of the loin...the filet mignon area.  Mmmmm

Blue Cheese Stuffed Tenderloin

Adapted from Alton Brown

• Head roast of tenderloin, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 3 ounces blue cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice roast open lengthwise in middle to create a pocket, being careful to not slice all the way through.

Salt and pepper the meat on all sides.

Heat a grill pan over high heat and brush roast with olive oil. Sear the roast on all sides. Remove from the heat, tent with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

After the meat has rested, stuff pocket with the blue cheese. Tie the whole thing together with kitchen string. Return the tied meat to the grill pan, place into the oven and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees F, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap in aluminum foil and allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

If you like your meat more on the medium side, let it hit 130 degrees. 

This incredible meal in a restaurant would easily run 25-30 bucks a person...but you can have this tasty delicious filet if you know where to shop and how to trim it yourself, all necessary skills in order to be a good home cook.

Enjoy!

-Dan

Mid-Week Meals: Taco Night!

For everyday kind of life, an arsenal of tasty and quick (emphasis on quick) recipes are a necessity.  And the recipe get bonus points if the ingredients are those that you likely already have in your cupboard.  About a year ago we found ourselves stuck in a rut with the mid-week meals and so I have been making an effort to seek out recipes that fit the super-quick requirement but either add a little extra in the taste factor quotient or are using new-to-us ingredients.

Taco's are certainly not the newest mid-week dish on the block.  But for us a couple of little changes really freshed up this meal.  The biggest difference was realized through making the meat by a combination of spices (those already in our cupboards) rather than one of those "taco packets" that you get at the supermarket.  They are so much more fragrant and tasty this way.  We also vary things by the fillings; sometimes we go with classic cheese and lettuce and other times we will add a corn salsa, black beans, or whatever sounds good (ie is in our cupboards that week). You could even go tortilla-less and use lettuce as the wrap or crumbled tortilla shells for a taco salad.  My favorite combo is the most simple: soft shell tortilla, cheese, a dollop of sour cream and salsa, and a heaping of iceburg lettuce (which gives such a satisfying crunch).

Taco's are one of those dishes that everyone likes... and lend themselves to an easy family style dinner where everyone can use the combo of toppings that they prefer.  If you haven't had them in a while, I recommend putting them in the mix for next week as I bet your family will love them.

Taco Meat Filling

Adapted from Joy of Cooking

1/2 minced red onion
1 lb ground beef, pork, or turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup tomato sauce
Minced fresh chili peppers or chili powder or hot red pepper sauce to taste

In a medium heat pan, start browning the meat.  Add the onion.  Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are softening.  Add the spices (through to the tomato sauce) and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring to get the flavors mixed through the crumbled meat. 

Add the tomato and the peppers (we use chili powder instead and it works great).  Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.  While meat is simmering, start setting out the toppings and warmed tortillas.  Add the meat to a serving dish and it is ready for a family style, create your own taco night. 

Enjoy!

~ Tara

Spicy Beef Kebobs

Kebobs are a great and fast way to cook your meat and vegetables at once.  Not to mention you grill them, and we all know things that are grilled taste better.  The original recipe is from Good Eats, but I reduced the amount of Red Wine Vinegar since I felt the meat held onto too much of the vinegar aftertaste and hid the other flavors.  I might even remove it completely and replace it with a Merlot. 

Spicy Beef Kabobs

Adapted from Good Eats by Alton Brown

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless beef sirloin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 (12-inch) metal skewers

Cut the beef into 1 1/2 to 1 3/4-inch cubes and place into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor combine the garlic, paprika, turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. With the processor running drizzle in the olive oil.

Pour the marinade over the meat and toss to coat. Place in the refrigerator in an airtight container or a sealable plastic bag and allow to marinate for 2 to 4 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Thread the meat onto the skewers leaving about 1/2-inch in between the pieces of meat. Place on the grill and cook, with lid lowered, 2 to 3 minutes per side, 8 to 12 minutes in all (8 minutes for rare and 12 for medium). Remove from the heat to aluminum foil, wrap and allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes prior to serving.

A great addition to this recipe is to add vegetables.  I like to add mushrooms, yellow onion, yellow squash, red pepper and zucchini.  Just chop them about the same size, toss with olive oil and some herbs of your choosing.  Then spear each on type onto its own skewer since each one cooks a little different. 

Enjoy

-Dan