Short Ribs with Wine and Cream

Sometimes I see a recipe and know immediately that my hubby will love it. This was the case when I came across Pioneer Woman's Short Ribs with Wine and Cream. I took one look at the ribs simmered in wine and cream sauce, served over a bed of mushrooms and knew hubby would be a very happy man if I made them for him. Of course, I was right. He loved the tender short ribs with the earthy flavor from the mushrooms. This way to prepare short ribs is definitely a winner.

Short Ribs with Wine and Cream
From Pioneer Woman (Modified for 4 servings instead of 6)
**This recipe takes 3 hours so plan accordingly!!** 
Printable Version
Ingredients 
8 whole Short Ribs
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup red wine 
24 ounces Beef Broth or Beef Stock
2 tablespoons minced fresh Rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons grainy mustard
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons capers
14 ounces assorted mushrooms: Cremini, Oyster, Baby Bellas
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil for drizzling


Directions

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Sprinkle short ribs on both sides with salt and pepper. Quickly sear the short ribs, about 1 1/2 minutes per side, and flip them halfway through. Remove to a plate. Pour wine and beef stock into the pot. Add rosemary and stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze. Return the short ribs to the pot and reduce heat to low. 

Cover the pot and simmer for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. After they have cooked carefully remove the short ribs from the pot again. Stir in mustard, cream, and capers, then raise the heat and allow it gently boil or a couple a minutes or until sauce has thickened. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Return the short ribs to the sauce, put on the lid, and turn off the heat. 

To roast the mushrooms preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt an pepper, then add in garlic and toss with your hands to gently coat. Roast mushrooms until golden brown, about 15 - 20 minutes. Serve the short ribs on top of the mushrooms then an extra scoop of cream and wine sauce. 

Easy Beef Burgundy

I've been missing my Gram a lot lately. She passed away a little over a year ago and I still miss her every day. I feel closer to her when my kitchen is filled with the familiar smells of her food. As I was looking through my copy of her hand written recipes I saw this one for Beef Burgundy. 

I'd never tried it before so set about making it last week for dinner. I modified it a little bit but I don't think Gram would mind. :)  As it was cooking the aromas of the meat, onion, mushrooms, and wine reminded me of when I made Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. The taste is actually very similar too but it doesn't take half the time or energy to make! It's rich, earthy, and comforting and my favorite part about it is that it's a one pot meal. Grandma's directions said to serve it over rice and that's what I did, but it'd be great over potatoes too. Thanks for another great recipe, Gram!

Easy Beef Burgundy 
From My Gram
Printable Version
Ingredients
2 pounds round cut steak, cut into 1 inch strips
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon ground mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can onion soup (I forgot this so used a can of golden mushroom instead and then chopped one small onion)
1 large can of sliced mushrooms or 1 cup of fresh sliced mushrooms
1 soup can of burgundy or red wine
Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place mean into dutch oven or large oven safe pot. Season with salt and pepper. Combine all ingredients and cover. 

Cook for 3 hours. Serve over rice or potatoes. 

Beef with Peppers

In my almost three years of marriage I think I have finally determined that my husband will be one happy man if I make him anything that involves cilantro OR beef. Put the two together and he will be in heaven. So when I saw Pioneer Woman's Beef with Peppers I knew it would be an instant winner with hubby. I was right. This dish is definitely Asian inspired, with Chinese style noodles, dressed with soy sauce, sherry, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. It's a flavor profile both hubby and I really enjoy. If you don't like beef, you could substitute chicken or even tofu in this dish. It's a vibrant stir fry with lots of layers of flavors. Once again, Pioneer Woman comes through. 

Beef with Peppers
From Pioneer Woman
Serves 4 
Printable Version


Ingredients
1 pound flank steak, sliced very thin against the grain 
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced 
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (use more or less depending on your liking)
2 packages chinese noodles, boiled, drained, and cooled

Directions
Whisk together the soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes. Take about 1/4 of the sauce and pour into a small bowl to reserve for cooking. Pour the rest of the sauce over the sliced beef and toss to coat. Set aside and allow to marinate. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high to high heat. When it is very hot, throw in the onions and cook for less than a minute. Remove to a separate plate. Return skillet to flame, allow to reheat and add bell peppers. Cook peppers for several minutes. Remove to a plate. 

Return skillet to heat and one more tablespoon of oil. Evenly distribute the meat in the skillet and cook until brown. Reduce the heat to low. Add the onions and peppers to the skillet and toss to combine. Pour in the reserved sauce and stir. Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes. Turn off the heat. 

In a large bowl, place the cooked, cooled noodles. Distribute the meat, peppers, and onions over the noodles and toss together. 

Add very hot water if needed to thin. Top entire dish with cilantro leaves and serve immediately. 

Spaghetti with Beef, Smoked Almonds, and Basil

This summer I bought a really expensive package of spaghetti imported from Italy on suggestion of my friend, fellow foodie, and super Mom, Anne. I kept waiting to use it because Anne said that the pasta was the best she'd ever had.

I decided to go with Giada De Laurentiis' Spaghetti with Beef, Smoked Almonds, and Basil. The combination of beef, almonds, and fresh basil was intriguing to me and I knew my hubby would be happy that this recipe calls for two fresh steaks. I had never bought Herbes de Provence before and although it's expensive, it's lovely! It brings in flavors of Southern France - rosemary, lavender, marjoram, thyme. If you use Herbes de Provence, please share with me your favorite recipe!


My hubby raved about this pasta. He liked the sauce and of course the steak.  I wasn't so in love with it. Although I really like fresh basil, I felt like that overpowered the other ingredients. I could barely taste the smoked almonds. This was not my most favorite Giada recipe - I'd take her Mushroom Ragu, Balsamic Brown Butter Ravioli, or Pasta with Basil Pesto over this one any day of the week. 

Spaghetti with Beef, Smoked Almonds, and Basil
From Giada De Laurentiis


Printable Version


Ingredients
1 pound (1 inch thick) beef tenderloin steaks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling, plus 1/4 cup
1 pound spaghetti pasta
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3/4 cup chopped smoked almonds
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves


Directions
Place an oven rack in the upper 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450. Place the steaks on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Herbes de Provence on both sides of the steak and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes for medium-well. Let the steaks rest for 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a food processor, combine the diced tomatoes, basil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Process until the mixture is coarsely chopped.

Place the cooked pasta, tomato mixture and smoked almonds in a large serving bowl. Toss well and thin out the sauce with a little pasta water if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and chopped basil. Slice the steaks into 1/4 inch slices and serve alongside the pasta. 

**Note: The steaks can also be grilled over medium-high heat on a preheated grill pan or gas or charcoal grill for about 5 minutes on each side.

Perfect Pot Roast

When I made my 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30 I asked my hubby if had any requests. "BEEF!" He responded, particularly pot roast.  The poor guy doesn't get to eat much red meat. Both he and I ate Pot Roast as kids and I had never tried making my own Pot Roast, so put it on the 30 Before 30 List. I remember coming home from church and  smelling my Mom's Pot Roast cooking in the oven and enjoying it several hours later. 

One of my favorite cooking bloggers, The Pioneer Woman, posted her Pot Roast recipe recently because she made it for her recent appearance on The Today Show. I was excited that this recipe is very simple and that you just let it cook for several hours. I guess that is the magic of a Pot Roast! The meat just fell apart, that's how "perfect" this Pot Roast is. Very moist, flavorful, and colorful with the mushrooms, onions, and carrots! I served  Paula Deen's Turnip Mashed Potatoes alongside this dish because potatoes are a MUST with Pot Roast. Hubby was very happy and (I'm hoping) felt like a manly man eating all that meat and potatoes. :)

Perfect Pot Roast

From The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 4 to 5 pound Chuck Roast

2 whole onions

6 whole carrots, peeled and sliced into 2 inch pieces

1 container button mushrooms

4 cloves garlic, sliced

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 cup red wine

2 to 3 cups Beef Stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 sprigs fresh rosemary (dried is also fine!)

Directions:

Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cut the onions in half and the carrots in slices. When the oil in the pan is very hot, but not smoking, add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so. Remove them to a plate.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate. With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef  broth, about 1 cup, to deglaze the pan. Scrape the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan. Add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onions and carrots, as well as 3 or 4 fresh sprigs of rosemary and 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275 oven for 4 hours. 

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

My mother and I both received Julia Childs' Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a Christmas gift. Of course, these gifts were inspired from the movie "Julie & Julia". My mom asked me if I wanted to cook one of Julia's recipes every month. I said yes, as we decided it would be a fun way to challenge ourselves as cooks and cook "together", even though we live several states apart. Looking back, neither one of us really knows why we chose Boef Bourguignon as our first venture. It is definitely one of the most complicated and time consuming recipes in the entire book! It looked so good on the movie, and it's essentially a beef stew, so we (wrongly) assumed it couldn't be that difficult! We had no idea we would be devoting an entire day attending to this elaborate dish.

I do feel an immense sense of accomplishment and pride that I not only "mastered" this recipe, but that it was a success. I served it on top of boiled potatoes, and also used real pearl onions - both of which were totally separate recipes in Julia's cookbook.

My diners all said the meal was delicious and the smell permeated our entire floor in our condo building.

Mom and I agreed that our next recipe of Julia's needs to be on the simpler side, but it is pretty satisfying to be able to say, "I made Julia Child's Boef Bourguignon!"

Kitchen Supplies:

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

Boeuf Bourguignon:

• 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

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: Covet 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.

Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce

To....die....for! That is what my husband said about these Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Onion-Blue Cheese Sauce. I borrowed this recipe from one of the best cooking blogs out there, The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/). I feel like I gain weight just browsing Ree Drummond's delicious recipes. She is so down to earth and so funny. Her food blog is light hearted and entertaining. Best of all she shows you what the recipe looks like step by step.

Once I saw how this recipe combined sauteed onions with melted blue cheese I knew it was the perfect choice for Christmas Dinner. My husband loves steak, but I rarely use beef at home, so I knew this would make him a very happy man. I added a blend of sauteed mushrooms to the top of the steak and served it with oven baked dill potatoes. Yum! Be sure to try this amazing sauce. It would be great on pretty much anything...chicken, potatoes, eggs, or Ree even says it can be served as a side. Sooooo good, yet so bad.

Ingredients

• 2 whole Ribeye Steaks
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Very Large Yellow Onion, Sliced
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• ½ cups Crumbled Blue Cheese

Instructions

Salt and pepper both sides of the steaks. Grill until

medium rare.

Saute the onions in 4 tablespoons of butter over high

heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until dark and

caramelized. Reduce heat to summer and pour in cream.

Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.

Stir in blue cheese until melted.

Serve steaks on generous portion of sauce.

Faint.

Must Try BBQ Short Ribs

Margaret and Chuck, our amazing sister and brother-in-law came to visit us this weekend. I wanted to make something that I have tried before, so the first thing that I thought of was this Short Rib recipe. Eric and I made it this summer and it was surprising easy and very delicious. Actually, it's one of our favorite meals we've created together.

Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for this recipe, because it is Bobby Flay's. Those of you who are Food Network fans, like myself, know that Bobby Flay does not mess around with meat. This recipe is no exception. The flavors are fresh and exciting. Even as you put together the marinade you will be delighted with the flavors. The sesame oil adds such a rich dimension to the marinade and the fresh ginger makes such a difference. The green onions and sesame seeds add a yummy crunch.

I highly recommend this recipe, especially for a special night. I say special because the ingredients are on the expensive side. It's completely worth it though and I promise your guests will rave about this recipe.

Bobby Flay's BBQ Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, plus more for sprinkling
• 4 large cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sherry
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions (green and white parts, mixed), plus more green tips for sprinkling
• 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
• 6 pounds short ribs, cut into thin pieces, about 2 1/2 inches long

Directions

Grind the sesame seeds in a coffee grinder until fine. Place the ground sesame seeds in a medium bowl and add the garlic, soy, sherry, honey, sesame oil, water, ginger, scallions, and red chili flakes; stir until thoroughly combined. Place the ribs in a large baking dish, pour the marinade over, and turn to coat. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium-high. Remove the ribs from the marinade and grill on both sides until golden brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat of the grill, close the cover, and grill until tender, about 15 minutes longer. Remove to a platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

**Note: The first time we made this recipe I used the full tablespoon of chili flakes and it was way too HOT for me. So this time I only used half a tablespoon. It still had a nice kick, but didn't cause me to down a gallon of water after a couple bites.