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Beef Bourguignon

When Borders was closing, I stalked the cookbook section, hoping that the cookbooks for my favorite chefs would end up dirt cheap. No such luck – they sold out long before that point, but I did score one major find. Borders had William Sonoma Cooking at Home marked for to $7, and then an extra 30% on top of that. The book didn’t have any photos, which I normally want in a cookbook, but I had heard such great things about WS recipes that I knew this was a good investment. No, a fabulous investment.

So far, I’ve only made a couple recipes from it – country fried chicken, buttermilk dinner rolls (recipe coming up) and this beef bourguignon recipe. I think I have a new favorite cookbook. This beef bourguignon blew me away. I’ve made it twice over the past month, a pretty big statement when it takes a good 4 hours from start to finish. The flavors were outstanding. I felt so warm and cozy while eating it, I kept expecting to see snow on the ground!

Recipe Notes: I skipped the salt pork called for in the recipe. I used it the first time, because everything was supposed to be fried in the fat rendered from it. However, the brand I got (Hornell) yielded no fat. In the below, I replaced the pork fat with Crisco and liberally salted the dish with kosher salt before baking it. (If you want to use it, fry pork fat until fat is rendered. Remove fat from pan and set aside. Fry veggies and beef in fat. Sprinkle fried salt pork on top of dish upon completion.) I also skipped the 1/4 cognac (to deglaze pan) and simply used some of the red wine, as we don’t usually keep cognac in the house. Finally, I skipped out on the pearl onions (saute 18-24 peeled pearl onions in an extra 2 Tbs. of butter, and add to dish at the same time as the mushrooms if you’d like to include them).

Beef Bourguignon

Adapted from Williams Sonoma Cooking at Home p. 274

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

Crisco
8 shallots, minced
2 yellow onions, diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
2 clove garlic, minced
2 c. all-purpose flour
nutmeg
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
3 lb. beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 c. beef broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme or rosemary
3 c. dry red wine
1 bay leaf
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. sugar
1 lb. white or cremini mushrooms
chopped fresh flat-leafed parsley, for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

Heat 2-3 Tbs. Crisco in a large cast iron sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots, onions, carrots, and garlic. Sprinkle with a generous teaspoon of kosher salt and saute until soft.
While veggies are cooking, combine flour, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a bowl. Coat beef with flour mixture, shaking off the excess.
When veggies are soft, move to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the grease as possible. In batches as not to overcrowd meat, brown the beef on all sides. Add more Crisco if needed. When browned, use a slotted spoon to transfer to a waiting Dutch oven.
Add 1/2 c. of the wine to the pan and deglaze, stirring with a wooden spoon to get up the bits at the bottom of the pan. Add deglazing liquid, the remaining 2 1/2 c. wine, the beef broth, and thyme/rosemary to the Dutch oven with beef.
Move Dutch oven to stove burner still set to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Simmer on the stove or in an oven preheated to 324F for 2 1/2 hours.
At the 2 hour mark, start preparing the mushrooms. Clean and trim stems, if you haven’t done so already. Melt 3 Tbs. butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
At the 2 1/2 hour mark, add mushrooms to beef. Cook for another 30 minutes.
Remove from oven. Discard thyme/rosemary springs and bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot with crusty bread.

Preparation time: 4 hours

Cooking time: 3 hours

Shepherd’s Pie

Lately, my work schedule has been crazy and it has been hard to fit chores, working out, and friends into my after work hours. And when I can fit it in, I just don’t want to. I usually want to veg out on the couch with some mindless tv or a quick mystery novel. Since I’m pretty much useless after work these days, I’ve gotten into the habit of making a nice big meal on Sundays, so that the hubby and I have leftovers for lunch or even dinner during the week. In summer months, we usually grill, but it’s harder during the winter. We end up with a lot of pasta, meatloaf, and other warm cozy meals. Shepherd’s pie recently earned itself a spot in our winter dinner rotation.

I came up with this recipe after some trial and error. I’ve never found a recipe out there that I loved completely. Some recipes called for ingredients that I didn’t normally have on hand. Others just didn’t appeal to me for one reason or another. The one I came up with uses ingredients I almost always have on hand. The filling is just a little bit thick, with most of the flavor coming from the Worcestershire sauce.

I like this recipe because it’s pretty forgiving. I use ground beef or turkey, depending on what I have on hand or what’s on sale. I might use more veggies to bulk up the mixture or simply change up the veggies I include (such as the extra carrots and no peas pictured above) depending on what’s in the fridge or in season. Even the mashed potatoes – sometimes I use leftovers, sometimes I make them from scratch with a little cheddar cheese thrown in for some extra flavor. Have fun with it – it’s hard to mess up!

Shepherd’s Pie

By Books n’ Cooks

Yields 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. canola oil
2 lbs. lean ground beef or turkey
2-3 carrots, peeled & diced
1 onion, diced
1 Tbs. minced garlic
3/4 c. water or beef broth (1 c. for a slightly more liquidy consistency)
3 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. tomato paste
4 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
Black pepper
Kosher salt
1 c. frozen peas
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
1/3 c. sour cream
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. cheddar (optional, for cheddar mashed potatoes)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large skillet or oven-proof skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add ground beef/turkey, carrots, onion, and garlic. Cook, breaking up chunks of ground beef with a wooden spoon, until meat is browned and vegetables are softened.
Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until soft. Drain and put back into pot with sour cream and milk. Mash to desired consistency, adding more sour cream/milk if desired. Season with salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese. Set aside.
When the beef is browned and the veggies are soft, add water, flour, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with a little salt and pepper. Stir in peas. Allow to simmer another 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Pour into a 9×13 oven-safe dish and top with mashed potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes until heated throughout.

Grilled Steak with Chimichurri

Earlier this year, a friend and her husband hosted our regular book club meeting. They grilled a fabulous skirt steak with a Brazilian “vinaigrette,” what I would consider to be a chimichurri. After jokes about our “hunk of Brazilian meat” (referring both to our dinner as well as our chef) we dove in, leaving little leftover.

While I’ve yet to acquire the recipe for the Brazilian vinaigrette, this chimichurri will suffice for a substitute. The hubby and I loved the flavor it added to the grilled steak and enjoyed the leftovers with our beer bread. The best part? It took only a few minutes to throw together, making this a wonderful quick and easy weeknight meal.

Grilled Steak

By Books n’ Cooks

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 lb. flank steak or skirt steak
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Generously sprinkle both sides of steak with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before grilling.

Preheat gas or charcoal grill.

Place steak on hot grill. Cook for about 5 minutes before flipping and cooking for another 3-5 minutes, until steak reaches 135°F for medium-rare, or 140-145°F for medium.

Let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving with below chimichurri.

Cilantro Chimichurri

Adapted from Foodandwine.com

Makes 1/2 cup

Pulse the below ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

3/4 c. finely chopped cilantro
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

May also add 1 jalapeño, with or without seeds, minced if you’d like a little spice.

Serve at room temperature.

According to Food and Wine, chimichurri may be made up to 4 hours ahead of time and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Weeknight Bolognese

The Barefoot Contessa is one of my go-to recipe sources when I’m looking for something new to try. Like Fine Cooking, Ina has never failed me. That’s why I was so very excited to receive five of Ina’s cookbooks for Christmas (I now own her whole collection).

This recipe was from Ina’s newest cookbook, How Easy Is That? This weeknight bolognese was certainly quick and easy, and a nice change from my hubby’s favorite meat sauce. The bolognese sauce was a little sweeter than we’re used to (perhaps because I used shiraz I had on hand, instead of a drier red wine) but still really good.

Weeknight Bolognese

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s How Easy Is That? (p. 154)

Serves 5

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. lean ground sirloin
4 tsp. minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
kosher salt
ground black pepper
1 1/4 c. dry red wine, divided
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1/4 chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
3/4 lb. dried whole grain pasta, such as small shells

Make the Bolognese Sauce: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add ground sirloin, breaking up with a spoon and cooking until browned. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes – stirring and heating for just a minute. Add 1 c. of the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 Tbs. kosher salt, and 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Start the Pasta: At this point, start boiling water with a bit of kosher salt for pasta. Cook per directions on the box.

Finish the Bolognese: At the same time, add remaining 1/4 c. red wine, nutmeg, and basil to sauce. Stir and continue simmering until pasta is finished, about 10 minutes. (Sauce should thicken slightly).

Drain pasta. Toss pasta, bolognese, and Parmesan together.

Serve hot, with extra Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Nutrition: I eliminated the 1/4 c. heavy cream called for in the recipe (if you want to use it, add it with the nutmeg and basil) and whole grain pasta to make this dish a bit healthier. The above recipe, with 5 servings, was 560 calories per serving.

Individual Meatloaves

When I told my hubby meatloaf was on the menu for the week, he wouldn’t leave me along until I made it. I’ve made meatloaf for him a couple times now – with my mom’s “recipe” (the list of ingredients with “to taste” after each one – love you Mom!), and most recently, I tried Ellie Kreiger’s turkey meatloaf.

Both my hubby and I agreed that while the meatloaves were great, we wished there had been a little more glaze or sauce on top. In the future, I’ll probably play with the glazed topping – either more ketchup as Ina recommends for a sweeter glaze, a can of tomato sauce like Ellie Kreiger recommends, or I’ll go back to my mom’s style: a can of tomato soup with a bit of water over top and around the meatloaves, for a more savory sauce.

So, without further ado, I give you the Barefoot Contessa’s Individual Meatloaves.

PS. I clearly need to work on my photos here. Any suggestions for photo-taking or styling would be much appreciated!

Barefoot Contessa’s Individual Meatloaves

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa

Serves 3 (half the original recipe)

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 1/4 lb. ground beef (90% lean)
1/4 c. plain bread crumbs
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 c. ketchup

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small pan over medium heat, heat olive oil. When hot, add onions, thyme, salt and pepper, cooking until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Cool slightly.

Combine all ingredients, including the onion mixture, in a medium mixing bowl, mixing lightly with a fork. Don’t mash otherwise the meatloaf will be dense.

Divide mixture into 3 portions, shaping each into a small loaf on a baking sheet.

Spread 1 Tbs. ketchup on the top of each meatloaf. Feel free to add a little more if you’d prefer more glaze.

Make 40-45 minutes, until internal temperature is 155-160F.

Serve hot with mashed potatoes or your favorite side.