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Entries in Beef (16)

Sunday
31Jan2010

Ropa Vieja with Mango Salsa

DateSunday, January 31, 2010 at 11:54AM

A Cuban dish of Flank Steak and Peppers, topped with a fruity mango salsa, by contributor, Robin Daumit.

Ropa Vieja with Mango Salsa. Photo: R. DaumitThis recipe is a great example of why I like having company in the kitchen.  After a while, all home cooks could use a boost in the creativity department.  Food ruts abound, and that’s when you need a trusted friend, neighbor or sister to pull you out of your food funk.  A bit of Cuban steak is just what the doctor ordered for this home cook who’s stuck in the snow.  Thanks, Robin!

From Robin:  “A classic Cuban dish that transports you to palm trees swaying in the sun, spicy smells coming from a Latin kitchen, and a good glass of rum on the side.

“Ropa Vieja translates as ‘old clothes’ and is so named because of the way it looks cooking in the pot. But the flavors in this dish will create lasting memories that have nothing to do with old clothes.

“This dish is traditionally served with black beans and white rice. A mango salsa on the side is a wonderfully fresh complement to the warm flavors in the meal.”

Ropa Vieja Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb cut of Flank Steak, cut with the grain into strips
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic pressed
  • 2 large onions chopped into small pieces
  • 4 green peppers, cored/seeded and chopped into small pieces
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, cored/seeded and chopped into small pieces
  • 1 pint of grape tomatoes sliced into quarters
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 teaspoons crushed cumin
  • 1 tablespoon crushed oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 jar of tomato sauce
  • 3/4 cup of dry Vermouth

Directions:

  1. Have these ingredients chopped and ready to cook at once. Place oil in a heated pot on high, add all ingredients but tomato sauce and vermouth and stir to give everything time at the bottom of the pot until the meat has been seared.
  2. Add tomato sauce and vermouth.
  3. Stir, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for at least 1 hour, though 2 hours is best. Remove the lid the last 30 minutes of cooking.
  4. Serve with Mango Salsa


Mango Salsa RecipeMango Salsa. Photo: R. Daumit

Ingredients:

  • 3 mangos, diced
  • 1 large red onion, diced
  • 1 cucumber, peeled seeded and diced
  • 1 jalapeno, cored seeded and diced
  • 1 red pepper, cored seeded and diced
  • handful of cilantro, washed and chopped fine
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Chop all ingredients into small pieces about the same size.
  2. Squeeze in the lime, salt and pepper and toss well to blend.
  3. Best if prepared an hour before eating to marinate the flavors.
AuthorTrevy Thomas | Comment1 Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Tuesday
06Oct2009

Beef Stew Recipe

DateTuesday, October 6, 2009 at 11:38AM

A quick and delicious recipe for stew made with steak, from Trevy Thomas.

Beef Stew. Photo: T. ThomasI had a pound of steak in the refrigerator, and needed to make something that could hang out overnight, quickly reheat the next day, and still be really delicious.  This steak recipe exceeded my expectations.  It has been proclaimed “The Best Stew Ever.”  It would also be a perfect thing to keep simmering on the stove while passing out Halloween treats to visiting trick-or-treaters.  The way your kitchen will smell, they might want something more than candy.

Steak Stew Recipe

  • 1 pound steak (or stew beef), cubed into 1” pieces
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • Salt, pepper & cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 cup water (or wine)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 green or red pepper, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped & salted, with juice
  • 1” piece ginger, grated
  • 3/4 cup baby Portobello mushrooms, chopped
  • 4-5 small fingerling potatoes, cubed
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 bouillon cubes (vegan are good)
  • 1 splash each: Worcestershire, soy & balsamic vinegar
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1/2 cup broccoli florets

 Directions:

  1. Toss steak cubes in flour that has been seasoned with a generous dose of salt, pepper and cayenne.  
  2. Heat oil in a stockpot until shimmering, then add beef.  Brown well on both sides.  Remove beef from pot and let drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  
  3. Add 1 cup water (or wine, or a mixture of both) to hot stockpot and scrape up browned bits from bottom.
  4. Add onion, garlic and peppers and cook for a few minutes.
  5. Add tomato with its juice, ginger, mushrooms and potatoes.  Stir to combine.
  6. Add water and bouillon cubes.  Stir.  Bring to boil.
  7. Add Worcestershire, soy & balsamic vinegar.  Reduce heat to low.  
  8. Return beef to pot and simmer one-half hour.
  9. Stir in broccoli and thyme during last ten minutes.  Serve with good bread.
Beef Stew on Foodista
AuthorTrevy Thomas | CommentPost a Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Wednesday
02Sep2009

Homemade Burgers on the Grill

DateWednesday, September 2, 2009 at 11:14AM

An Italian meatball-inspired hamburger recipe by Trevy Thomas.

Burger on the grill. Photo:Robbie Owen-WahlLabor Day is upon us.  As I don’t have any children running around to remind me that school has begun and fall is almost here, I tend to get surprised by the change of seasons.  But it is the end of summer here in the U.S., and we like to wave farewell with a big juicy burger in our hands.  I have been to lots of cookouts where hamburgers are made by forming a lump of ground beef into a burger shape, then tossing it directly on the grill.  No seasoning involved.  I think we can do a little better than that.  Actually, I tried to get away with that once until my mother saw what I was doing.  She took the burgers, put them in a bowl and mixed in some delicious flavor, reshaped them and handed them back to me.  Sometimes my laziness gets the best of me.  This recipe is still quite easy and leaves plenty of room for personalization.  It is also way better than plain old beef, or heaven forbid, those pre-made patties seen at the grocer.  Happy Labor Day.

Homemade Burger Recipe
Serves 2 to 4 depending on how hungry

  • 1 pound ground beef (preferably organic)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare grill. Mix together all ingredients (works best with hands), shape into the desired number of burgers (2 big, 3 medium, 4 small) and grill on both sides to the desired doneness, about 10 minutes per side for medium. Serve on bakery quality rolls with condiments, lettuce, tomato and sliced onion.

For a delicious change of pace, try Dave’s Lamb Burgers with Feta and Spinach.

I also really like to use salsa as a condiment for my burger.
Potato salad with green olives makes a nice accompaniment.

Barbecue Burger on Foodista

AuthorTrevy Thomas | CommentPost a Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Friday
27Mar2009

Pasta with Lima Beans

DateFriday, March 27, 2009 at 1:53PM

A man's take on pasta from contributing author, Dave UtraLima beans and pastata.

I often find myself reaching for pasta for those quick meal creations: easy to do, not much time involved, and go well with wine.  The added twist recently was to use up some items lingering in my refrigerator and cabinets, while still delivering a meaty, perhaps smoky flavor.  While you can expect that the flavoring balance on this should probably be tweaked to personal preference, I was fairly pleased with how this attempt turned out.

Ingredients


  • 5 "baby bella" (small portobella) mushrooms, sliced

  • 6 garlic cloves, sliced

  • 1-2 slices of rare roast beef, as in deli style cut - intended for sandwiches, chopped fine

  • 1 can Lima beans (with bacon added), drained

  • 1 cup pasta/tomato sauce - I used Bertolli's garlic & Vidalia onion sauce

  • 1 chipotle pepper from can in adobo sauce, chopped

  • some small green olives, sliced

  • dash white wine vinegar

  • olive oil as needed

  • rotini (or your favorite) pasta


    Start the pasta by getting enough well salted water to boil; follow the typical timing to prepare.  In a pan, begin sauteing the garlic and mushrooms in some olive oil.  When the mushrooms have absorbed oil and the garlic is just browning, add the roast beef bits and the chopped pepper.  Stir well, and then add the pasta sauce.   Stir in the green olives and the Lima beans. 
    At this point, you want to keep an eye on the mixture.  The beans can thicken the sauce too much if you're not careful.  Keep stirring and don't let the heat get too high.  The vinegar was used to thin the sauce, but it also seemed to accent some of the sweeter or more pungent notes in the taste, the sharpness of the olives, for example, while not overwhelming the smokiness of the bacon flavor of the beans and the chipotle.  Also, a bit of the pasta water may be used to think the sauce to the desired consistency.
    Drain the pasta, pour on the desired amount of sauce (this recipe provided me with enough sauce for two good sized pasta helpings) and add grated Parmesan as desired.  Serve with red wine, duh.
    As Heather pointed out in her last pasta offering, refrigerating some of this for tomorrow's dinner really does enhance the taste.  I don't know if this is because the pasta more fully takes on the taste of the sauce or if some cosmic melding of the flavors creates some new nuance of flavor.  But if I was happy with this the first night, you can be sure I smiled big the second night when I tasted it the next day!

AuthorDave Utrata | Comment2 Comments | Print ArticlePrint Article
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Friday
27Feb2009

Beefy Dogs in Blankets

DateFriday, February 27, 2009 at 4:26AM

Beef in blankies 011 A fun, cheater's-style dinner recipe from guest author, Heather Forsyth.



This is one of the most unsophisticated "dishes" in the world.  You can only pretend it's the slightest bit good for you if you get organic, hormone-free, uncured (etc.) all beef hot dogs.  But my craving for childhood food coincided with the need for a quick dinner lately, and this was the result. Quick enough even to make for lunch.  Fun to eat, you can dress them up with a fancy sauce (smoky bbq, dijon and honey, or the like) or just dunk 'em in plain old ketchup.  If you want to go all out with convenience food, you could make the blankies from Bisquick, but I think it's just as easy, and tastier, to make up a home-made biscuit dough. They freeze beautifully, so if you make more than you can eat in one sitting, freeze them (before baking) and then just pop them in the oven when you need a quick fix for a hungry kid or spouse, or your own inner child.


Beefy Dogs in Blankets



  • 8 "good" all-beef hot dogs
  • biscuit dough (see below)
  • 1 egg, beaten with a spash of milk, for egg wash


Preheat oven to 425.  Cut the hot dogs in half horizontally, so you have 16 shorter dogs.  Prepare biscuit dough then divide the dough in half.  Roll or pat out the first half into a round about 1/2" thick.  Cut the round into 8 wedges like a pie, then take each triangle, place a 1/2 dog on the base and roll it up toward the point.  Pinch the point a bit to make it stick, then place on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Repeat until you've used up all your triangles, and then repeat with the remaining biscuit dough and dogs.  You'll probably need 2 baking sheets.  (At this point, set aside any you plan to freeze.)  Before baking, brush a little egg wash on the dough, then bake about 12 minutes (a little longer if frozen) until they look nice and brown and slightly shiny.  The dogs are hotter than the blankies, so let them a cool a bit before giving to small children.


Quick homemade biscuit dough:  2 1/4 c. flour, 2 t. baking powder, 1 t. salt, scant 1 c. milk, 1 egg, 4 T. oil, 1/4 c. grated cheddar (optional).  Mix dry, mix wet, combine, add cheese.  Add more milk or flour until you have a dough that is soft but not sticky. 

AuthorHeather Forsyth | Comment1 Comment | Print ArticlePrint Article
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