• 11Mar

    Braised Roast Beef

    I must sigh. WordPress was doing funky things, and in an attempt to fix it, I lost a bunch of posts. That said, I have lost the pithy things and comments I had written, snd thus present you with the recipe. It’s a Rachel Ray one, the first part of a two part meal. Eat half the roast and cooked vegetables this meal, along with mashed potatoes and a salad, and use the other half of the roast and cooked veggies in a soup.

    Braised Roast Beef

     
    Serves 4

    2-3 pound beef chuck roast
    1 bottle dry red wine (I used Gato Negro Chardonnay Merlot, on sale at Meijer for $4 when I bought it)
    5 bay leaves
    1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
    Salt and ground black pepper
    1/2 cup all-purpose flour, as needed for coating meat
    1/4 pound bacon, chopped
    3 onions, chopped
    6 carrots, peeled and chopped
    4 stalks celery, chopped
    1/4 cup tomato paste
    1 quart beef stock

    In a large pot, submerge the chuck roast in the red wine with the bay leaves. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight (or soak it in the morning and let it go for 7-8 hours during the day).

    Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.

    Place a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat with 1/4 cup of EVOO.

    Remove the marinated meat from the wine, reserving the wine and bay leaves. Pat the meat dry, then season it with salt and pepper and coat it evenly in flour. Sear the meat in the hot pan, turning it to get all sides deep golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the meat from the pan.

    Reduce the heat to medium, add the bacon to the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, 5-6 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cover the pan. Cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, until tender, 8-10 minutes. (It actually took me about 20 minutes to get the veggies tender, though I suspect my stovetop isn’t nearly as strong as a modern one.)

    Remove half of the veggies from the pan and reserve for the next meal.

    Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook until deep golden brown and aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the reserved wine and bay leaves, and reduce the liquid by half. Return the meat to the pan along with the stock and cover the pot. Transfer to the oven and roast until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

    When the meat has finished cooking, remove it from the pan and reserve. Return the pot to the heat and reduce the liquids by about half. Thinly slice the meat and serve it topped with the pan sauce and mashed potatoes or polenta alongside.

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  • 05Mar

    Stuffed Peppers with Beef, Rice, Spinach and Cheese

    Another Rachael Ray recipe (http://www.rachaelray.com). It’s part of a rollover meal set, using the leftovers from Spanish-style Beef & Rice. The recipe as I made it is below, followed by my comments.

    Stuffed Peppers with Beef, Rice, Spinach and Cheese

     
    Serves 4

    3 green bell peppers
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
    1 clove garlic, minced
    10 ounces triple-washed baby spinach, coarsely chopped
    Salt and pepper
    1/2 cup beef broth or chicken broth
    3 cups leftover Spanish-Style Beef and Rice
    1 cup tomato sauce
    2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, smoked cheddar or pepper Jack cheese

    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

    Cut the green peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem and seeds. Pierce the skin of each pepper half a couple of times. Place in a 9″x13″ pan (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) with the cut side up (so they’re like little cups).

    Heat a medium to large skillet over medium heat and add oil and garlic. Add spinach, a handful at a time, until it is all wilted and is giving off liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Remove spinach and drain. Set aside.

    Defrost beef and rice in microwave oven. Combine broth and defrosted rice in the skillet you cooked the spinach in and reheat over medium flame. Add tomato sauce and heat through.

    Pile spinach, hot beef and tomato rice into peppers, mounding them up in the center of each pepper. Top liberally with grated cheese and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

    When I made the filling, it turned out really soupy. After reading the recipe through again, I wonder if I made a mistake and added too much broth. We’ll see next time I make it. And I will make it again, as it turned out pretty good.

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  • 16Feb

    Spanish Style Beef & Rice

    Sometimes I think I should just call this the “We use Rachael Ray Recipes” blog. :) This time we tried the Spanish-Style Beef and Rice. It turned out very good, and we have enough left over to do two more meals – provided that it’s not just the beef and rice.

    Below you’ll find the version that I made. The next time I make it, I will add in a red bell pepper, and use more cumin.

    Spanish-Style Beef and Rice

     
    Serves 4, plus extras for future meals

    42 cups beef stock
    1 tablespoon butter
    2 cups enriched white  rice
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
    2 lbs pounds ground chuck
    Salt and pepper
    1 large red onion, finely chopped
    4 cloves garlic, chopped
    1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
    1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    2 cups tomato sauce
    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    1 tablespoon ground cumin
    1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (a couple of handfuls)

    Heat combine beef stock, rice and butter in a pot and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit until you’re ready to combine everything.

    Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add EVOO, one turn of the pan, and beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown the meat for 2-3 minutes. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Cook together 5-7 minutes, until veggies are just tender. Add tomato sauce, cloves, cumin and parsley. Bring mixture up to a bubble and reduce heat to low.

    Combine cooked rice with meat mixture and serve.

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  • 02Feb

    Christmas Pasta

    Yes, I know it’s not Christmas, but this is what I made for Christmas Eve dinner. The sauce makes enough for two pounds of pasta, way more than we can eat at a single sitting – especially when we’re trying to cut back. It’s a Rachael Ray recipe. What else is new, eh? :) The kids liked it enough that I’ll probably make it again next Christmas.

    Christmas Pasta

     
    Serves 4

    2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
    4 cloves garlic, crushed
    1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
    1/4 pound pancetta, thick-cut, chopped into small bits
    1/2 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
    1 pound combined ground beef, pork and veal
    1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
    1 rib celery, chopped
    1 medium onion, chopped
    1 cup good quality dry red wine
    1 cup prepared beef stock, packaged in a box container or canned
    2 cans chunky style crushed tomatoes (32 ounces each)
    A handful of flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
    1/4 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon (a couple of pinches)
    Coarse salt and black pepper
    2 pounds penne rigate, cooked to al dente
    Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, as an accompaniment
    Fresh, crusty bread, for mopping

    Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay leaf and pancetta bits and brown for one minute. Add meats and brown and crumble them for five minutes.

    Chop carrot, celery and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat for five minutes and add wine. Cook for one minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.

    Stir in parsley, allspice or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 10-15 minutes minimum before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.

    Toss pasta (cook only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every three people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.

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  • 06Oct

    Death Chili

    I’ve been making this chili for several years, and its our family’s favorite chili. It’s based on a recipe from Serve It Forth. I’ve made several changes from the original to suit our tastes. The most important thing about this recipe is that you need to put the ingredients in the pot in the order they’re listed in the directions. If you don’t, it won’t taste right. I have no idea why, but that’s just the way it is.

    This chili takes a long time to make – about an hour to get everything prepped, cooked and into the pot for simmering, so it’s a good thing to make ahead or on a day where you’ve got lots of time. Death Chili is usually a Sunday meal in our house.

    I’m also going to apologize now. A couple of the ingredients don’t have a measurement listed for them. That’s because I use the “that looks about right” measurement. If you like the taste of chili powder, put a bunch in. You’ll also see that there’s curry powder and ground cloves listed. Not things you’d usually see, but it gives the chili a taste no other I’ve had does.

    Death Chili

     

    2 tbsp vegetable oil
    2 lbs chuck or round roast/steak, cut into 1/4″ cubes
    garlic powder
    1 lb ground beef (chuck is preferred)
    1 large onion, diced
    1/2 tsp salt
    1 green bell pepper, chopped
    1 red bell pepper, chopped
    1 can chili beans
    1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
    1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
    1 – 28 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
    1 jar spaghetti sauce with peppers (we use Newman’s Own Sockarooni)
    red wine, about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup
    2 – 3 tbsp chili powder
    1/4 tsp ground cloves
    1/2 tsp curry powder
    dark chocolate syrup

    In a medium to large frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of vegetable or canola oil over medium-high heat.

    As you’re cutting up the steak, or just before you put it in the frying pan, give it a generous sprinkling of garlic powder. Brown the steak in small batches (about a handful at a time), then transfer to a large (5 quart or larger dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot). Add a little bit of oil if needed as you go.

    Brown the ground beef in the same pan you did the steak in. Cook until there’s no pink left in the meat. Transfer to the pot with a slotted spoon and discard all but about a tablespoon of fat in the pan.

    Put the onions in the frying pan, sprinkle with the salt and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to the pot.

    Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, in the order they are listed. For the chocolate syrup, I usually do a zig-zag pattern across the pot in a single direction (i.e. left to right). At a guess, I use about a quarter cup or less.

    Once the chocolate syrup is in, give the pot a careful stir to combine everything. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for at least half an hour, but an hour (or more) is best.

    Serve with whatever you like – sour cream, cheese, sliced scallions, whatever floats your boat.

    Note: the total amount of meat needed for the chili is 3 lbs, but it can be any combination of steak/roast and ground beef.

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