SECRET RECIPE CLUB: TACO SALAD

Posted in Beef, Salads, Secret Recipe Club by sallybr

This is the last Monday of August. We are about to say goodbye to Summer, and I cannot stand the thought of it. Only Reveal Day of The Secret Recipe Club can bring me some joy under the circumstances. My assignment this month was Flying on Jess Fuel, and I had a blast stalking it and making a list of possibilities to blog about today. Jess met her husband Nick at a Mexican restaurant, and apparently he went nuts over her jalapeno-eating skills. What a great way to fall in love! They lived in many different places while Nick went to flying school for the Navy, including Enid, a location quite close to Norman, our former home in Oklahoma.

For some reason, I usually pick sweets for my Secret Recipe assignments, but this time I took the road less traveled and went with her Taco Salad, considering that Mexican food would be a fun way to celebrate the way they met. I find it amusing that some recipes that I order in restaurants on a regular basis are never part of my own cooking at home. Taco Salad is one of those. For the most part, Tex-Mex restaurants offer dishes over-loaded with cheese, and served with a humongous portion of rice, beans, plus a few flour tortillas for good measure. Taco Salad is my default request to avoid feeling like a bloated whale as I leave the restaurant. I made just a few changes in her recipe, and decided to pump up the presentation by making my own tortilla bowls. Now, that was a ton of fun, but some unexpected problems were encountered. As I was frantically trying to figure out which cups would be appropriate to shape the tortillas, one of my custard cups fell from the cabinet and crashed on the granite (yes, glass flew everywhere), but not without first hitting my head. OUCH! And, going on with my usual modus operandi in the kitchen, I burned myself not once, but twice baking those tortilla bowls. Sometimes I even amaze myself… However, I can tell you it was all worth it! This recipe rocks, my friends….

JESS’ TACO SALAD
(slightly modified from Flying on Jess Fuel)

1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup salsa
1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 lb ground beef
2 tablespoons bulk taco seasoning mix (or 1 packet)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large head romaine, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
Black kalamata olives, chopped (to taste)
Shredded Mexican blend cheese (to taste

To make the dressing, combine sour cream, yogurt and salsa in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat the oil on a skillet and cook the meat for a few minutes. Season with salt (in case your taco seasoning doesn’t have salt already), then add either a packet of store-bought taco seasoning or 2 Tbs of a bulk product such as Penzey’s. Cook for a couple of minutes, add the amount of water recommended by the mix, and cook further just to thicken it slightly. Add the beans to the pan in the last 2 minutes of cooking.

If serving cold, let the meat and bean mixture cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, place half the lettuce, half the tomatoes, half the scallions and half the olives. Top with half the dressing. Top with the meat and bean mixture (you can reserve a little bit for decorating the top, if you want to be fancy). Sprinkle half the cheese on top. Add the rest of the veggies, dressing, and cheese (and meat mix if you reserved some). You can also serve it warm, adding the cold ingredients to the hot meat/beans mixture.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Here you can see some photos of my burning adventure with tortilla cups. You can do this in several ways, but I recommend the muffin tin + custard cup combo. Using the two custard cups nested together requires that they both fit just right not to tear the tortilla, and also makes it a lot harder to remove the top cup to brown the tortilla in the final moments of baking.

MAKING TACO BOWLS: Warm a corn tortilla very quickly over an open flame on your stove (I heard you can also use the microwave, but I haven’t tried it). Spray both sides of the warm tortilla very lightly with canola or olive oil spray. Immediately place in the muffin tin (or over a custard cup), and place another container on top to keep the shape. Bake in a 375 F for about 15 minutes, removing the custard cup in the final 5 minutes. Let cool over a rack.

We loved this recipe! Actually, Phil was raving about it non-stop, and begging me to make it again, and do it soon. The tortilla cups make it very festive, but the taco stands on its own without any problem, it is fresh, bright, the dressing mixing sour cream and salsa was incredibly tasty! I used a home-made salsa given to us by Mr. and Mrs. K (thank you, guys!), and it had just the right amount of heat. Use any store-bought salsa you are fond of, or make your own if you have a chance.

Jess, I loved being assigned to your blog! This has been one super busy month for us, but I made sure to compose this post within one week of getting the email notification. I fell in love with this recipe right away, and you can bet this will be in a regular rotation in our Bewitching Kitchen!

To my readers: if you want to see what the other members of my group cooked up this month, poke the blue frog at the end of the post.

ONE YEAR AGO: Semolina Sourdough Boule

TWO YEARS AGO: Forgive me, for I have sinned

THREE YEARS AGO: Cracked Wheat Sandwich Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Au Revoir, my Bewitching Kitchen

FIVE YEARS AGO: French Bread

27Mar2014

PRIME RIB ROAST, MEXICAN STYLE

Posted in Beef by sallybr

A prime rib is not cheap. Actually, I should be glad that we live in Kansas, where meat is of excellent quality and, compared to other places in the country, quite affordable. Still, it would be terrible to mess it up, something easy to do if you over-cook it. I normally keep seasoning to a minimum, but for our dinner last Christmas we went with a recipe from Marcela Valladolid, that gave the roast her unique Mexican twist. Yes, it is March. Yes, it took me three months to blog about it. Better late…. than never! 😉

PRIME RIB ROAST, MEXICAN STYLE
(from Marcela Valladolid)

1 (4 rib) prime rib roast with ribs (9-10 pounds)
Salt as needed
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup assortment of ground peppercorns
1 tablespoon ground chile de arbol
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tablespoon ground rosemary
Beef broth as needed

Heat oven to 400°F. Let roast stand for 1 hour at room temperature. Season the roast heavily with salt.

In a separate bowl, mix the rest of ingredients (up to rosemary) to form a paste. Rub all over prime rib roast.

Place prime rib roast on a roasting rack, add 2 cups beef broth to the roasting pan. Roast for about 30 minutes, until it is browned. Remove from oven, and reduce heat to 350°F. With aluminum foil, form a tent over the prime rib roast to cover it. Make sure the aluminum foil does not touch the prime rib, since it can damage it crust that it is forming. Return to oven and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until thermometer registers 110°F. Add broth to the pan while roasting if liquid begins to evaporate.

Remove from oven and let rest, uncovered, for a least 20 minutes before carving and pour pan drippings into a separate bowl, reserve and set aside for gravy. Internal temperature of meat should rise to 130°F for medium rare.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

What to serve with it? You can go simple with a humble veggie like green beans decorated with toasted almonds, or you can tell yourself what I did: there’s only one month of December in the year, and December means festive… Therefore, green beans were out, cheese souffle was in. However, there is also a single month of April in the year. May? Another only child. Those are important things to consider when planning a side dish. In case I convinced you to indulge, follow this link for my default cheese souffle recipe. 😉

This was a wonderful meal, the prime rib was perfectly cooked, with a delicious spicy coating, not so strong as to mask the flavor of the meat. I strongly advise using a meat thermometer because just like Beef Wellington, a prime rib must be cooked medium rare and a few minutes longer in the oven can pretty much ruin it. Marcela Valladolid did it again, another winner recipe at our table!

Dinner is served!

ONE YEAR AGO: Sourdough Bread with Walnuts and Dates

TWO YEARS AGO: Braised Brisket with Bourbon-Apricot Glaze

THREE YEARS AGO: The Real Vodka Sauce

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pork Tenderloin and Blue Cheese

28Feb2013

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON ON A SNOWY EVENING

Posted in Beef by sallybr

Phil rarely requests a specific recipe for dinner, with the exception of my chicken parmigiana, that he craves on a regular basis. Last weekend, though, he did not even blink when I asked for ideas. Boeuf Bourguignon. Clearly, a man of fine tastes! It was my turn to cook on Sunday, so that was a perfect suggestion. With all our grocery shopping done the day before, I indulged in the preparation of this French classic all afternoon. The snow falling outside was a perfect setting for our dinner…

BOEUF BOURGUIGNON
(adapted from Julia Child)

6 oz bacon
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup sliced onions
2 cups sliced carrots
1 bottle of red wine
2 cups beef broth
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 bouquet garni (tie 8 parsley sprigs, 1 large bay leaf, a few sprigs of dried thyme and wrap in cheese cloth)
24 pearl onions
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 teaspoon sugar
Chicken stock
1 pound cremini mushrooms, cut in large pieces

Blanch the bacon to remove its smoky taste by dropping the slices into 2 quarts of cold water, bringing to a boil, and simmering for 6 to 8 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, and dry on paper towels.

In a large frying pan, sauté the blanched bacon to brown slightly in a little oil; set them aside. Brown the chunks of beef on all sides in the bacon fat and some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and put them into a heavy casserole pan with a lid. Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and add to the browned beef.

Remove all but a little fat from the frying pan, add the sliced vegetables and brown them. Add the veggies to the casserole containing the beef and bacon. Deglaze the frying pan with the wine, mixing it well to dissolve all the browned bits left from browning the meat and veggies. Once it’s all deglazed, add the wine into the casserole along with enough stock to almost cover the meat. Stir in the tomatoes and add the herb bouquet. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in a 325°F oven, until the meat is tender, about 3 hours.

While the stew is cooking, prepare the onions. Blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Peel the onions and score the root end with 1/4 inch cuts. Sauté onions in a single layer in a tablespoon of butter until lightly browned. Add chicken stock or water half way up the sides of the onions. Add a teaspoon of sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 minutes or until tender. The onions should absorb most of the water. If there is water remaining after cooking, drain the excess. Set aside.

A few minutes before serving the stew saute’ the mushrooms in butter until browned and cooked through.

When the meat is tender, remove the bouquet garni from the cooking liquid, if necessary cook longer without the lid to reduce it further. Add the onions, mushrooms, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This is comfort food at its best! The big batch I made lasted us for three meals, and it was better and better each day. My only modification of the classic was omitting a beurre manie’ step at the end. Julia thickens her sauce with a mixture of butter and flour, but instead I cooked the meat longer in the oven, reducing the sauce without any need for thickening agents. It was luscious and plenty thick for our taste. In fact, on the last evening I had to add some water to the leftovers to thin it slightly.

When you make this dish, I’d say the most important step is browning the meat. You’ll need all that caramelization on the outside to give maximum flavor and a perfect texture at the end of the cooking time. It makes me think of a Zen proverb, full of the wise simplicity often associated with them: “When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” Not to make light of the Chinese wisdom, I’d like to add: “When browning the meat, brown the meat.” 😉 Do it slowly, do it mindfully, do it well. No crowding the pieces in the oil, no moving them around until they are properly seared. Enjoy the process!

ONE YEAR AGO: Chickpea Salad

TWO YEARS AGO: Soft Spot for Chevre

THREE YEARS AGO: Roasted Onion and Asiago Cheese Miche (this bread is simply outstanding!)

13Oct2012

MARCELA’S SALPICON

Posted in Beef by sallybr

This is another recipe from Mexican Made Easy, a current favorite show on FoodTV. Marcela used it as part of hearty “Beef Tostadas“. Salpicon brought childhood memories because my Mom used to make a similar dish called “roupa velha”, (ropa vieja in Spanish, old clothes or rags in English). The name describes the nature of the beef, shredded into pieces that are melt-in-your-mouth tender from a long, slow cooking. My Mom used to make “roupa velha” with leftovers from pot roast, and served it as a braised dish piping hot over mashed potatoes or rice. Confession from my young days: I loved to have “roupa velha” as a sandwich. All that tasty, saucy meat, served between slices of crusty baguette. Maybe not appropriate to serve for company, but totally awesome! Napkins were mandatory, though… 😉

SALPICON
(adapted from Marcela Valladolid)

One 2-pound boneless beef brisket
1 large white onion, quartered
Kosher salt
3/4 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons dried crumbled Mexican oregano
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup seeded chopped cucumber
1 cup seeded chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup capers, drained (or to taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Put the brisket in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the meat by an inch. Add the onion quarters and 1/4 cup of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer partially covered until the brisket is very tender, 2 and a half hours. Add more water if needed to keep the meat covered. Turn off the heat and let the brisket cool in the cooking liquid to room temperature. Drain the brisket, discard the water and cool completely.

Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking the olive oil and vinegar in a medium bowl until well combined. Add the lime juice, red onion and oregano and whisk again. Season with salt and pepper.

Shred the brisket into a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, capers, and cilantro and toss to combine. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I was not sure if Phil would like this recipe, as beef salad is not something he would normally go for. To my delight, he absolutely loved it, and kept telling me to include salpicon in our regular rotation. I suppose that every food blogger’s partner lives in fear of never tasting a dish again once it is published in the blog… 😉 No risk with this one, because I already made it twice! The second time I used top round, a cut that is not that popular for its fibrous nature, but perfect for this dish. I used my pressure cooker, and advise you to do the same if you have one and would like speeding up the process. The recipe makes a pretty big batch, so leftovers were my lunch for several days. But, as Marcela mentioned in the show, it’s great to have a batch of salpicon in the fridge for little snacks throughout the day.

I served salpicon with rice, refried beans, and slices of avocado, but I suggest you to stop by the FoodTV site and take a look at Marcela’s Tostadas.

ONE YEAR AGO: Pork Kebabs

TWO YEARS AGO: Fondant au Chocolat

THREE YEARS AGO: Got Spinach? Have a salad!

21Sep2012

BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR-FRY

Posted in Beef by sallybr

This classic Chinese dish is often abused beyond belief. It is easy to overcook the broccoli, turning the florets into a mushy version of their beautiful self, and at the same time producing beef that has the wrong texture. The real thing is like velvet in your mouth, with a crisp, bright green broccoli giving the perfect counterpoint to the beef. No excessive, cloyingly sweet sauce. When properly prepared, this is a fantastic recipe that will please everyone – except the broccoli haters out there – but they might make an exception in this case. 😉

BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR-FRY
(adapted from Jaden Hair’s guest post at Simply Recipes)

1 pound flank steak or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
1 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, cut in slices
1 clove garlic, very finely minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
freshly ground black pepper

for the sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth (or water)

Start by marinating the beef: mix all ingredients in a bowl, add the pieces of beef and stir to coat the slices. Let it stand for 10 minutes, while you prepare the sauce and blanch the broccoli.

Make the sauce by mixing the oyster sauce, rice wine (or sherry), soy sauce, and chicken stock (or water) in a small bowl. Reserve. Place the broccoli in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain very well and reserve.

Now, the fun begins: heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the yellow bell pepper and cook it for a couple of minutes until it begins to soften. Remove and reserve. Make sure the pan is again very hot, and add the slices of beef, spreading them out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic and reserved bell pepper to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until the beef is cooked through.

Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

This dish highlights well how a couple of extra-steps that might seem like a waste of time and energy make a world of difference in the final product. If you skip the beef marinade and blanching the broccoli, it simply won’t be the same. The original recipe does not call for yellow bell pepper, but I wanted to add a bit more color. You can certainly omit it. This is a great dish for weeknights, all you’ll need is some steamed white rice. Meat, veggies, carbs, all there in perfect harmony: the omnivore’s dream!

If you are fond of Asian recipes, make sure to stop by Jaden’s blog, The Steamy Kitchen, and consider getting her cookbook, I have it and love it!

ONE YEAR AGO: Wheat Germ and Sage Sourdough Bread

TWO YEARS AGO: Popeye-Pleasing Salad

THREE YEARS AGO: Summer’s Finale (Watermelon Granita)