Braised Beef Short Ribs

Beef short ribs are not in my regular rotation, this was my first time making them ever but the results were delicious. I used Anne Burrell's recipe (link below) which I adapted to fit my preferences (I loathe celery) and what I like more (leeks) as well as ingredients I had on hand. 

This recipe is fairly simple with the work front loaded and the rest of the time spent just smelling the delicious smell.

Ingredients: 

4 bone in beef short ribs (~2.5 pounds)
2 tablespoons of oil ( I used grape seed)
2 leeks, roughly chopped
3 shallots, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 cup of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 cups of water
1 1/2 cup of red wine
Salt to taste

Directions:

Season each rib with salt. In a dutch oven/heavy cast iron pot, preheat oil on medium heat. Add salted beef short ribs. Do not crowd. If you have more then 4, you may need to do this in batches.
Brown about 3 minutes per side. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating and the short ribs are browning, puree all vegetables and garlic until they form a coarse paste. Do not overblend. Season with salt (and pepper if using-- I omit pepper, just not a fan).

Remove short ribs once browned. Drain the oil, add fresh oil and pureed veggie mixture. Cook till brown, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and tomatoes and cook  another 5 minutes. Add wine, cook about 5-8 minutes till mixture is reduced by half. 

Return short ribs to pan, placing on top of sauce. Add enough water to cover. Add thyme and bay leaves. Cover and cook for about 1 1/2 hours. Flip ribs to the other side. Cook another hour while covered. If the sauce is getting too thick, feel free to add more water. Remove cover and cook uncovered another 20-30 minutes to allow meat to brown. Meat should be very tender.

Serve over mashed potatoes or polenta with the sauce.

P.S--next time I will be making more of these to allow for left overs. 

adapted from Anne Burrell's Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Rainbow Bell Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa and Ground Beef

These stuffed peppers are a delicious dinner option that I don't make nearly enough. You can pretty much vary the filling here to meet your dietary preferences or the leftovers grain you have on hand.

You can make them vegetarian by omitting the ground meat, and you can add grain of choice, I have tried these with rice or quinoa and both were great. Both pictures below, proportion are similar and you can eat the leftover stuffing without the pepper for lunch the next day.

Ingredients

2 cups of quinoa OR  rice cooked per package direction

1 pound of ground beef (I use lean grass fed beef), you can use another ground meat of choice or keep vegetarian

2 finely shopped shallots

1 bulb of leek, washed and finely chopped

salt to taste

seasoning to taste (I like to use Everything Rub from Fresh Direct which contains garlic, onion, chili powder and paprika)

1 can of diced tomatoes drained (if using)--i used these with rice but not with quinoa

1 tablespoon of oil ( I use grape seed)

4 bell peppers ( for the quinoa recipe I only had 3) with seeds removed and top cut off neatly to keep intact

Directions 

In a large skillet, heat oil. Add shallots and leeks and cook for about 5-7 minutes on medium flame until they begin to soften.

Add ground meat of choice. Cook breaking up with spatula until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Add rice or quinoa, salt and seasoning. Add tomatoes if using. Allow to come to warm temperature.

In a small or medium pot, add a few inches of water. Bring to boil.

Fill peppers with filling. Top with pepper top. Add very carefully to pot with boiling water. Cover and cook on a small flame about 15-20 minutes until peppers are soft. 

Remove carefully and serve in bowls

Enjoy! 

Stuffed peppers with quinoa, ground beef, shallots and leeks

Stuffed peppers with rice, ground beef and diced tomatoes

Tarragon Veal Loin Chops with Roasted Brocolette and Roasted Yellow Squash

We don't often eat veal but this was was surprisingly fast and delicious.


VEAL CHOPS:

You will need:

Veal loin chops, 2 inches thick, about 7 ounces each
1 Tbsp dry tarragon
Whole wheat flour (for dredging)
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth (I use Imagine Organic and Low Sodium)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp unsalted butter.

DIRECTIONS:

Wash and dry veal. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2 the tarragon on both sides. Dredge in flour.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add veal and cook about 4 minutes per side till lightly brown.

Transfer veal to plate. Add wine, lemon juice, broth and the remaining tarragon to skillet. Scrape up any brown bits. Simmer till sauce begins to thicken. About 5 minutes. Return veal to the skillet and cook another minute or so, until cooks through.

VEGGIE SIDES:

1 bunch broccolette

1 tsp oil (I use grape)

Preheat oven to 400F. Remove large stems. Toss in oil. Roast about 20 minutes. Flip over 1/2 through. Add salt to taste.

For squash:

1-2 squashes

1 tsp oil (I use grape)

Slice into circles about 1/3 inch thick. Toss in oil. Roast about 15-20 minutes. Flip over 1/2 through. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Adapted from Epicurious/Bon Appetit

Skirt Steak Mango Salad Over Arugula

I won't lie, this one is a collaboration with hubby as he is the steak master, posting this with his permission. And the salad is by me.

We make many variations of this salad but the steak stays constant.

Just when I though stew and soup weather was upon us, nope warm again, so the salad dinners are back.

You will need: 

Skirt steak (about 4 ounces per person)

For Steak Marinade:

2 tbsp of soy sauce (we use low sodium)

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp brown sugar

Squeeze of fresh lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine above ingredients in a bowl, mix well.

Wash and dry steak. Marinade for a few hours, or even better, overnight.

Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray. Broil on high but FAR from flame  4 minutes per side. More up closer to flame and broil another 1-2 minutes per side, depending on thickness of steak and how you like your steak. This cooking time results in medium steak.

For salad (you can be creative here)

Arugula (or substitute another green), washed and spun dry

1/2 red onion thinly sliced

1/4 fennel thinly sliced

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

1-2 cups cubed mango

1 avocado, sliced (did not use this time)

Fresh cilantro (love it but ok to omit)--washed and spun dry

For dressing

2 tbsp ponzu sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil 

Squeeze of fresh lemon

Mix all the ingredients well.

Toss to coat salad. Top salad with thinly sliced steak.

Seared Scallops w Roasted Farm Fresh Zucchini and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound of Large Wild Scallops
• Grape Oil 
• 1-2 Zucchinis sliced into circles
• 2-3 Sweet Potatoes
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Nutmeg (optional)
• Aged Balsamic (optional)

Zucchini: Preheat oven to 400. Wash and dry zucchini. Slice into circles. Toss with oil in a bowl. Roast for about half hour, turn every 15 minutes. I like for the zucchini to be nice and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can add a bit of aged balsamic if you wish ( I did not).

Mashed Sweet Potatoes: Wash sweet potatoes, peel with peeler. Cover in water, cook till can easily pierce with knife. Reserve some of the water the potatoes cooked in. Mash with potato masher. Add butter, can also add a bit of milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Can also add nutmeg if you wish.

Scallops: Wash scallops. Dry them REALLY well. Heat oil on a skillet for about 2 minutes till nice and hot. Add your scallops, cook about 2 minutes till the side is nice and brown, turn over and cook about another 2 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size of the scallops. Do not overcook or they will get rubbery.

Plate and serve. This is so yummy!

Beef Shank Stew with Shallots and White Beans Served with a Side of Mashed Potatoes w Roasted Garlic and Kale

Beef Stew is a great dinner for colder days and makes for excellent leftovers. 


INGREDIENTS for STEW:

4 Beef Shanks
1 cup of broth (I use organic chicken broth which is low sodium)
1 cup of red wine
4 shallots
1-2 Carrots if you like
1-2 cans of white beans
A few tablespoons of flour for dredging (I use whole wheat)
2-3 tbsp of oil (I use grape)
Herbs to taste (I use Herbs De Provence)
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Wash and pat dry your beef. Depending on the size of the beef shanks, you may want to cut them up.
2. Dredge beef in flour on both sides. I like to do this on a large plate.
3. Heat up about half your oil in a pot, I use a cast iron by Le Creuset which I love.  Brown the shanks on both sides till brownish, you may have to do this 2 times if your beef does not fit. DO NOT CROWD or it may not brown properly.
4. While the beef is browning, peel and chop shallots. Peel and cut carrots. I like to cut the carrots in relatively large pieces so that my daughter who hates carrots can easily pick them up. Keep carrots and shallots separate in bowls.
5. Remove beef, wipe the oil residue from your pot. 
6. Add about half the broth and half the wine.
7. Saute shallots about 5 minutes, add the carrots and saute a few more minutes. Add the beef, remaining wine and broth. 
8. Season with herbs of your choice, I use Herb the Provence (a mix of dry thyme, rosemary, lavender). Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Cover and cook on a low flame for about 2 hours. If you see there is still too much broth, uncover and increase flame a bit.
10. NOTE if you are using white beans, you will add them towards the end, when the beef needs to cook for another 30 minutes or so. You will need to drain them and rinse them, add and stir in. They get nice and soft and taste awesome ( I personally prefer them to the beef).

MASHED POTATOES w ROASTED GARLIC

 6 potatoes (small ones that are clean are best so you can leave the skin on)
4-6 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup milk (I use 1%)
Butter to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking spray (I use Spectrum Canola Oil)

Wash and clean potatoes well. If they are relatively unblemished, leave the skin on otherwise peel

Place in pot, cover in water. Cook till soft, about 20 minutes to half hour. Reserve a bit of the water.

In the meantime, roast your garlic cloves, you can leave skin on in over or toaster over for about 15 mins. Coat w PAM or another spray.

Peel and reserve soft roasted garlic.

Once potatoes are soft, mash, add garlic, butter and reserved water. Turn on small flame, slowly add warm milk ( I heat milk up a few seconds in the microwave). Stir well. 

KALE
I am loving kale lately--I think it tastes great and is the latest SUPER food!

Note that kale shrinks a lot when you are cooking w it.

1 batch of kale
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Remove large stems from kale, disgard. Wash and spin dry kale.
In a large deep skillet, heat oil for about 2 minutes till it's nice and hot. 
Add kale, cook about 3 minutes per side. I leave in on each side long enough where it's a little brown. Salt to taste.

Assemble your stew, mashed potatoes and kale. Serve with a glass of Pinot Noir (optional)

NOTES: In my opinion, stew tastes even better as leftovers and my family (luckily) is happy to eat it for a few days. I usually mix it up by serving a different side dish or a different veggie. If there is not a lot of meat left, I add another protein in like frozen edamame which gives me enough dinner for another night. You can also add a can of diced tomatoes. Be creative and it will make your life easier. 

Finished product

Beef stew recipe is adapted from Real Simple Magazine as well as Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything with lots of improve by me.

Orange Ginger Cod w Brown Rice, Chanterelles and Roasted Brussel Spouts

This is what I made for our wedding anniversary!




COD:

1. 3 Cod (same as sable fish) fillets 
2. The above recipe says to remove the skin but I did not bother.
3. 2 tbsp honey
4. 1 tsp of good balsamic vinegar
5. 1 tablespoon soy sauce, I used low sodium
6. 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice ( I used fresh squeezed)
7. 1 tablespoon orange zest (used same orange that I used for juice above)
8. 2 tablespoons ginger (fresh if you have, that's what I used)
9. 2 tsp oil (I used grape)
10. Salt and pepper to taste
11. Pam or another cooking spray ( I used canola oil by Spectrum)

1) Preheat broiler. Cover pan w foil, makes clean up much easier.

2)  Spray foil/pan with a bit of cooking spray. 

3) Wash and pat dry fish. Season w salt and pepper to taste.

4) Combine ingredients #3 through #9 in a small bowl. Lighly coat the fish--don't put too much or the fish will burn under the broiler.

5) Broil fish about 4 inches from flame till browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour remaining sauce on top of the fish and bake the fish at 425F till fish is flakes in the thickest part.  Don't flip the fish over, this allows the glaze to caramelize on top. 

CHANTERELLES:

Chanterelles are such delicious little mushrooms, if you can get your hands on them, I highly recommend them. They are tasty over rice or potatoes --you really need another side w them since they shrink so much.

1 to 2 pack of chanterelles
2 shallots
1 tablespoon grape oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Remove the dirty part from the stem of the chanterelles. Wash and dry them.

Peel and chop shallots. 

Preheat pan, cook shallots in oil till they begin to brown a bit, add mushrooms, cook till they shrink a lot. Salt and pepper to taste. Ground ginger (if you wish).

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

Brussel sprouts (as much as you think you will eat), I always make extra and reheat the leftovers the next day.
Grape oil--1 to 2 tablespoons depending on how many brussel sprouts you plan to roast.

Preheat oven to 425 F. In the meantime, peel outer layer from sprouts. Half or quarter them depending on size. In a bowl, toss w oil of choice.
Stick in the oven and turn every 15 minutes or so. Once they are brown, you can turn the oven off and I sometimes leave the sprouts there another ten minutes, this gets them even more brown and crispy which I like.

BROWN RICE

Cook to package direction, I won't bore you with this. 

I was sneaky and used microwavable rice from Fresh Direct (my savior as a busy working mom). If you are lucky and they deliver to you, check them out... 

http://www.freshdirect.com/cg_meal_item_detail.jsp?recipeId=rec_wk_wldrice_lentil_sp&variantId=rec_wk_wldrice_lentil_sp_default&productId=clig_rice_brown_ckd_12oz&skuCode=HMR0073623

Assemble all your ingredients. Enjoy with lovely company and a nice glass of rose wine.


RECIPE FOR COD IS ADAPTED FROM:

http://www.culinate.com/recipes/collections/Contributors/Helen+Rennie/Sablefish+with+Balsamic+Orange+Ginger+Glaze