Why Everyone Should Have a Slow Cooker!

I finally got a chance to use my crock pot that my sister got me for my birthday in August. I usually use Dutch ovens, but today I couldn’t be home to watch it. So it was the perfect reason to break in the slow cooker! There’s something SO comforting about anything slow cooked.. Brisket, short ribs, pork shoulder, arroz con pollo..

I’m loving brisket these days as we’ve just started our winter menu at work and brisket has been very popular. I usually buy brisket from Costco as it’s pretty affordable and good quality. But this time I was at trader joes so I bought a piece that was about 3lbs. It had some fat for flavor but didn’t require any trimming. As it was my first time using the crock pot, I had to play with times a bit. We had it with some creamy polenta, but you could have it with crispy bread, rice or potato purée. Here’s my recipe, hope you enjoy!

Serves 5 to 6

Ingredients

-3lbs brisket
-1 large yellow onion
-5-6 large fresh shiitake mushrooms
-2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
-3-4 sprigs thyme
-1 sprig rosemary
-1/2 cup whole garlic cloves
-3 bay leaves
-3-5 cups beef stock
-salt and pepper

Directions

Roughly chop the onions and layer on the bottom of the crockpot. Remove and discard the stems of the shiitake mushrooms and roughly chop. Chop the cremini mushrooms as well. Add the shiitake to the onions. Cut several slits into the brisket and put whole peeled garlic cloves in. Add to the crockpot fat side up. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Arrange the cremini mushrooms, bay leaves and extra whole garlic cloves around the meat. If possible, bundle the thyme and rosemary with butchers twine. Otherwise tuck around the meat. I didn’t bother and it was just fine. It’ll be easy to pull out the stems. Finish with enough beef stock to just cover the meat. Cook on low for 7.5 hours.

The meat is done when it will shred easily with two forks. Once done, remove the meat to a baking dish. Shred with two forks and cover with a ladle of liquid to keep it moist. Lightly cover with foil.

Remove the thyme and rosemary sprigs from the broth. Also remove any bay leaves you can find. Skim as much fat as you can. You can use the sauce just as it is, but we quite like thicker gravy. Using an immersion blender, purée the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. If you’d like it thicker, mix a couple tablespoons of corn starch and water in a small bowl. Add some of the puréed sauce to a pot and add a couple teaspoons of the corn starch mixture. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Plate your polenta or rice, top with shredded brisket and finish with the gravy. Top with some chopped parsley of you have it and enjoy!

Notes:

You don’t necessarily have to cover the meat with stock. You will have quite a bit of sauce/liquid left. The main reason I did was because I wouldn’t have time to turn the meat over. This way it was fully emerged and couldn’t dry out.

Leftover sauce would be a great soup. Add a bit of cream and more stock.

Leftover meat could be used over pasta or with a sandwich or quesadilla.

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Sunday Special: Steak for Two

Today was a rare Sunday for me as I didn’t have any class to teach. So my hubby and I got to sleep in and have a nice relaxing day. He was craving steak, so we decided to buy a grill finally. We ended up with a portable Weber (200 series) from Home Depot and boneless rib eye steaks from Costco.

Now if you’ve read my blog you’ll know I come from a family of meat lovers, particularly steak. Consequently I’ve grown up with some pretty high standards set out by my dad and his ridiculously hot grill. Chris and I didn’t do too shabby tonight but somehow there’s nothing quite like Dad’s steak.

I feel there are some basics to making a great steak.

* Good quality fresh meat
* Time to marinate and time to bring the meat to room temperature
* A really hot grill

Of course, having some really nice side dishes always helps. But if the steak is good it’ll speak for itself! I season steaks really simply. My steps to preparing the meat are:

1. If you cant’t find good quality meat then I recommend using a fork and poking the meat all over on both sides. This helps to tenderize tougher cuts of meat. Some people believe you should never do this as it can let the juices out while others argue it lets the marinade in. Try it and see what you think!
2. Do a dusting (single layer) of garlic salt. It’s all in the wrist. And add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle all over with olive oil. You could do this a day in advance.
3. Bring the meat to room temperature about 20-30 minutes before cooking.

The key to a really good steak is a very hot grill. We put ours (gas grill) on high and let it heat for about 15 minutes. For a 1-inch thick steak, Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side for medium rare, 4-5 for medium. If you have to cook inside, use a cast iron stovetop grill for the marks. Pre-heat the oven to broil for at least 15 minutes. Get the grill screaming hot and grill for 30 seconds per side. Then pop it in the oven (preferably on the cast iron grill) for 2 minutes. Take it out and flip the steak. Put it back in the oven for 2 more minutes. It will be medium rare. Be sure to let it rest for about 5 minutes.

Now for the sides! My favorite vegetable side with steak is asparagus, but we chose to use up some leftover spinach, mushrooms and baguette today.

First up Creamy Garlic Mushrooms:

* Finely chop onion and garlic. Heat a large spoonful of butter and drizzle of olive oil (~tsp) in a medium pot on medium heat. Add the onion first.
* Meanwhile chop the mushrooms into quarters (smaller if your mushrooms are really big). Once the onions start to soften, add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the mushrooms and drizzle more olive oil. Stir for a few minutes. When they’ve softened and started to change color, add a half cup of dry white wine. Simmer for a couple of minutes. Add heavy cream to your liking. Simmer for another couple minutes. Season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper.
* If you’d like the sauce to be a little thicker, mix a teaspoon of corn starch with a teaspoon of water in a small bowl. Then add to the pot and let simmer a minute. This is a great appetizer with toasted bread any day!

For the Parmesan croutons you see in the photo, I used up some leftover baguette. Chop into bite size pieces. Coat with extra virgin olive oil. Dust with garlic salt and black pepper. Arrange onto a baking sheet and sprinkle Parmesan all over. Bake at 400F until toasted (~15 min).

The spinach is super quick as well. It’s optional to add some chopped onion. But basically heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Cut a large clove of peeled garlic in half. Stab it with a fork but be sure you haven’t poked all the way through. Add the spinach to the pan and stir with the garlic fork. The heat will release the garlic oil to add a subtle flavor and avoid any burnt garlic pieces!

Enjoy all of this with a nice Malbec or Zinfandel! Happy eating everyone!

PS Leftover steak is great with a fried egg on top!

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You’ll Never Guess the Trick to Crispy Bacon

So my husband has always tried to convince me that his trick to crispy bacon is the best. Part of me still can’t get my head around it, but I’ve had to accept it does do a darn good job. The surprise is … The microwave!

So his not-so-secret-anymore method is..

1) Pan fry strips of streaky bacon until it’s starting to turn pink and curling up.
2) Put a couple layers of paper towel on a large microwaveable plate and place the bacon in a single layer. Place another couple paper towels on top. Microwave for 2 minutes.
3) Take it out and replace the paper towels. Wipe off any excess juices. Microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes until crispy.

You’ll be so surprised – I tell you! I was super spoiled today with my hubby making me a breakfast of super crispy bacon, caramelized onions, leftover steak, toast and fried sunny side up eggs. Yum! Hope you all had a lovely Sunday!

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A Rainy Weekend Needs a Good Brunch

So it’s storming here in Northern California. It’s windy and we’ve got flood warnings. Although I managed to do a “speed walk” with my sister during a break in the rain, it is definitely a perfect day to stay in.

Earlier this week we had Turkey Enchiladas to use up the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers. Since it was just the two of us, I didn’t end up using all of the corn tortillas, salsa or cheese. And what better to make with all of these ingredients on a rainy Saturday morning?? Huevos Rancheros!

This is such a comforting brunch meal and will surely send you into a food coma afterwards! Steps for this:

* Heat refried pinto beans in a small pot with some chopped onion.
* Fry some bacon and / or sausages.
* Toast the tortillas straight on a gas stove or in a frying pan.
* Fry eggs on high heat with a lid just until the top of the yolks turn white.
* While the eggs cook, plate the tortilla, beans, shredded cheese and meat.
* Place eggs on top and finish with fresh salsa, sour cream and cilantro/coriander leaves. Extra hot sauce is optional!

Highly recommend you pair this meal with a glass of orange juice and a nap! Enjoy 🙂

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Happy Labor Day!

When I went outside this morning, I felt a breeze and realized that summer may very well have ended. But I took full advantage of the long weekend and grilled loads with my family. When it comes to visiting my parents, there are a couple staples we ‘kids’ always request. This weekend included my Dad’s gigantic steaks, grilled corn, my Mom’s Vietnamese egg rolls and my Dad’s grilled Vietnamese pork (Bún Thịt Nướng, previous post). My hubby and I are moving into a new place soon, and I canNOT wait to get us a grill for the new patio. You really can’t beat the flavor that comes from grilling. It just transforms the simplest ingredients.

Prime example is sweetcorn on the cob. Boil or grill? I’ll always choose the grill. It’s such a simple food, yet there are SO many variations on how to eat it. We went simple this time and just topped it with some salted butter. Some of my other favorite ways to eat it:

• Vietnamese Style : on low/medium heat, sauté several bunches of thinly sliced green onions (scallions) with plain oil and fish sauce. Don’t brown the onions but get them nice and soft. Slather onto freshly grilled corn.
• Mexican Style : there are a few variations on this one, but the basic ingredients are mayonnaise, Parmesan or Cotija cheese, lime juice and butter.
• Cajun Style : this is pretty straightforward by simply adding some Cajun spice on top of the melted butter or you can make your own rub (try this one)

 

My Dad’s Perfectly Charred Rare Steak!

 

Taking my British husband on an All-American ‘vacation’!!

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End of Summer Barbecues

If you’re looking to change things up over the Labor Day weekend or the UK Bank Holiday, why not try homemade caramelized onions and blue cheese burgers? It’s a lot easier than it sounds I promise! I was inspired by watching Sandra Lee on the Food Network. While she isn’t exactly a gourmet chef and doesn’t always use fresh ingredients, she does come up with some great quick recipes. Check out her Ale House Burgers with Red Onion Compote.

 The onions are really easy to make and can be done ahead of time and reheated when ready. Sandra put the cheese inside the burger patties which results in a gooey burger, but I like to see my melted cheese. You can see I went with pepper jack in the picture below, but the red onion compote would go really well with some crumbled blue cheese. You could even go a step further and mix some blue cheese with mayonnaise for a spread. OR! in a small food processor combine some Gorgonzola, mayonnaise, splash buttermilk and freshly cracked black pepper. Then you’d have a nice spread that could also be a dip. You could even use leftovers to make a white pizza. If you’re going the blue cheese route, I’d suggest some arugula/rocket as the greens. Either way, this burger is sure to be a big hit!

PS. I apologize for the dirty plate. I was in charge of grilling and by the time I got to sit down I was starving.. barely managed to get a photo in before I inhaled this burger!

To go with that burger, I highly recommend my Corn Casserole. I won’t take all the credit on this one as I’ve simply added to Paula Deen’s recipe. But this is a classic and goes with any barbecue or roast dinner. You can either make it Paula’s way or add a bit of kick with two chopped (de-seeded) jalapeños and topping it with shredded pepper jack cheese. The most difficult thing about this recipe is being patient enough to wait for it to finish cooking! It’s slightly sweet but savory. If you can’t get your hands on ready made corn muffin mix, here’s a recipe to make it from scratch (US recipe or UK recipe). Simply use all the dry ingredients in these recipes and add to the corn casserole.

To finish it off, how can you go wrong with some fresh guacamole?? The key to really good guacamole is ripe avocados and good seasoning. You have to take into account that people will be dipping salty tortilla chips in too!

• The Avocados – slice in half lengthways, twist apart, squish the seed out or spoon it out, using sharp knife, gently cut slices lengthways and then across (to make squares), then scoop it all out into a mixing bowl, this makes it easier to mix.
• The Limes – it makes the biggest difference to have fresh lime juice. I usually use a whole lime for about two avocados, but add a half at a time until it’s flavored to your liking. Also if you have slightly firm avocados squeeze the lime juice over it immediately and smash together a bit. Then go onto other ingredients and let the juice soften the avocado.
• The Other Good Stuff – for me, guacamole must have these ingredients but some may disagree. I like very finely chopped red onion, de-seeded jalapeño, cherry tomatoes (must be cherry or grape) and cilantro/coriander.
• The Seasoning – if you can use kosher or good quality sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. This can easily elevate the quality of any guacamole.

Hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend or Bank Holiday for you Brits out there!

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American Style Potato Salad

In my last few weeks in the UK, there were quite a few things to celebrate – my nephews’ birthdays, jubilee barbecues and farewell lunches. Aside from my standard Corn & Bean Salsa, potato salad has become one of my regular contributions. This is such a classic favorite of mine as my mom always made a huge bowl of it for family barbecues – specifically around the 4th of July. I’m going to make a huge assumption and say that for Americans it’s a given that potato salad will have eggs in it. It adds flavor and color and just wouldn’t be potato salad without it. But this is a novelty for my British family and friends. It went down very well though and I kept telling everyone it’s so easy to make. So I thought I’d share a couple of recipes.

• For the Brits – here’s a recipe from Food Network UK
• A simple recipe from MyRecipes.com
• A fancier recipe from Martha Stewart

The great thing about potato salad though is that it’s not a dish you need to measure. There’s no right combination really as I think it’s really down to preference. Some like it creamier, some like it spicier with more mustard, etc. My basic ingredients are:

• Potatoes (I prefer baby new potatoes, skin on)
• Hard boiled eggs
• Red/white onion or celery
• Chives or spring/green onion
• Mayonnaise and/or (British) salad cream and/or sour cream
• Dijon mustard (or English mustard if need be)
• Lots of salt & pepper

Boil the potatoes until they fall off a knife when you poke into one. There are a couple of ways to boil the eggs. One way is to put them in cold water, bring it to a boil, switch off the heat, cover and let sit for 10-12 minutes. Drain and fill with cold water to cool before peeling. Finely dice the onion or celery and chives. Go light on the mustard at first as it’s quite strong. For all the ingredients, just add to your taste preference and enjoy! To present this at a buffet or at a party, transfer it to a clean bowl and sprinkle with chives. My mom always covered the top with thin slices of hard boiled egg. This is best chilled before serving.

Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans!

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Quick Dinner : Crispy Spicy Chicken Melt

While shopping for dinner on Friday I was a little shocked at how expensive chicken breasts are. A packet of four breasts was the same price as 2 whole medium chickens (which were 1/3 off). Not only was I getting way more meat but also the breast pieces I carved off were bigger than what I would have bought separately. So next time you want chicken for dinner don’t be afraid to do a little butchery. It will be worth your money.

After using the chicken breasts for Parmesan crumbed cutlets with spaghetti and marinara I had the chicken tenders (or goujons) and legs left. So for a quick dinner I made Spicy Breaded Chicken Tender Melts.

Seeing as I didn’t have any breadcrumbs I improvised. I toasted a slice of plain sandwich bread and blended it until it looked like breadcrumbs. Do let the toast cool a bit or there will be too much moisture when you blend it. I lightly seasoned them with garlic salt and pepper and spread them onto a large plate. On two other plates I put plain flour and hot sauce (buffalo sauce to be exact). Heat up a large frying pan with enough oil to coat the bottom on a medium heat. Also heat up your oven or grill. When the oil is shiny but not smoking (a couple minutes), take your chicken tenders (using one hand) and lightly coat in flour, then hot sauce, then breadcrumbs. Do all of them before putting in the pan. Very gently add them to the oil and clear your counter. Using a spatula check the first piece which should be nicely browning after about 2-3 minutes. (I used heat #4 out of 6) gently turn them over to cook for a further 3-4 minutes. If they’re starting to brown too quickly turn the heat down. Touch with your finger and it should be pretty firm. If you’re not sure cut into a piece.

If you’re having these with bread, lightly toast in the oven. Add a little bit of mayonnaise and top with the chicken pieces. Add slices of a good melting cheese like Swiss, mozzarella or Jarlsberg and melt in the oven. Serve with extra hot sauce on the side if you’d like!

Overall it was a pretty quick meal to make – probably about 15 minutes. I’ve seen this method before in other recipes where you “replace” the egg coating with a different liquid, so I wanted to try it. For the coating it worked perfectly. From a flavor perspective it didn’t ave AS much punch as I would have liked. Next time I might add spices to the flour or maybe double coat in flour, hot sauce, flour and sauce again. Either way though the chicken was very moist and the homemade breadcrumbs were a success. You could easily serve this with a salad or some sweet potato fries. Enjoy!

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Mini Meat Loaves

So this week I wanted to make something new with ground beef (mince). Growing up, we would often have meatloaf which I learned this week is not a well-known dish in the UK. Or rather – it is thought of as a very American dish. Delia Smith even calls her recipe “American Meatloaf“. In my family it was always a favorite though and leftovers were used for sandwiches.

But there are so many recipes out there for meatloaf. Traditionally, it’s cooked in a loaf tin (hence the name). But doing this usually means you’re looking at at least an hour and half or 2 hours of cooking time. And with our work schedules, I knew my husband and I wouldn’t want to wait that long on a week night. So I went for a recipe for Ina Garten’s Individual Meat Loaves. My sister has made this recipe before and she’s always raved about it. But of course me being me, I wanted to put my own spin on it. I’ve been reading a lot recently about lentils being used as a meat supplement or to “beef” up a meat dish. A lot of recipes out there have half meat, half lentils. This way you get your meat flavor and you not only decrease cost but also increase the healthiness of your dish.

So instead of using the full 2.5 pounds of ground beef (mince), I used 500g (~1.1 lbs) of ground beef and about a cup of red lentils that had been soaked overnight. I only used one egg and 1 large yellow onion and chose beef stock instead of chicken. But once you combine everything, you’ll see it’s a pretty soft texture. So you may or may not need an extra egg depending on how much meat you’d like to use. Remember to season the meat directly before adding the onion mixture with a good pinch of salt and pepper. I made fairly small portions laid out on a baking tray and I baked them at about 190C/375F. As it was a week night and I was getting hungry, I actually took them out after 35 minutes and they were perfectly cooked. They were so moist and full of flavor! To make our meal a tab bit healthier, we chose to make a sweet potato mash instead of regular potato mash. I also made a beef gravy on the side.

Overall, I highly recommend this recipe! Both my husband and I ended up having leftovers for lunch, and it was just as delicious the next day. I bet this would be a big hit with kids too!

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Quick and Easy Steak Sandwich

Sometimes Chris and I just crave red meat. And these days I’m always looking for a quick meal that’s not too sinful.. So as requested by the husband we had steak sandwiches two weeks in a row. It’s not exactly THE healthiest meal but it’s definitely fast. This can easily be changed from a steak sandwich to a warm steak salad though!

A couple of pointers that can make this sandwich that much better..

* Bread – Ciabatta makes for a great crispy and light sandwich. It also has more surface space and thus can fit more meat. Lightly toast the bread before filling it also.
* Meat – Of course the better the quality the better the taste. But don’t worry too much as meat can get very expensive. I used casserole steaks. Just be sure to slice it as thin as possible.

RECIPE FOR TWO

~300g steaks
~1 tsp Garlic salt
Black pepper
Drizzle plain oil to coat
~0.5 tsp thyme
Few dashes Worcestershire sauce
Pinch cayenne pepper or chilli powder

1 large pepper
1 medium red onion
Large handful mushrooms
Garlic salt
Black pepper
Thyme
Ciabatta or baguette
Large handful grated cheese (cheddar is fine)
~2-3 tbsp mayonnaise
~1 tsp horseradish sauce
~1 tsp English mustard

1. Slice the steaks as thin as possible. Trim off any chewy sinew pieces. Put in a mixing bowl and add the following seasoning. Set aside to let the flavors mingle.
2. Shred the cheese. Then in a small bowl combine the mayo, horseradish and mustard. Adjust the quantities as desired. A punch of salt would be great too.
3. Slice your peppers, onions and mushrooms into about 1/2 cm thick slices. While heating a frying pan, slice the bread in half lengthways and then in half. Lightly toast at ~200C and leave the oven on. Add plain oil to your hot pan and add the peppers first. When they start to soften after a couple min, add the onions. Sprinkle some garlic salt (use plain if you need to) and black pepper. Cook until soft for another couple min. Set aside. Add a bit more oil and add the mushrooms. Sprinkle salt, pepper and pinch of thyme and cook until soft. Set aside with peppers.
4. Ensure there are no juices left in the pan and add a splash of oil. When the oil moves easily in the pan you know it’s warm. Add the steak and cook until it’s colored on each side. It’s okay if there are some red bits left because you’ll be putting it in the oven. Set aside with the veg as soon as its done.
5. Spread the mayo on the bread. Start piling on the steak with a fork as there will be a lot of juice. Then pile mushrooms, then onions and peppers. Sprinkle the cheese on and place the sandwiches (open face) onto a baking tray. Cook in the oven until the cheese is melted and eat!

It you’re going the healthy route, you could still melt the cheese by layering the meat directly onto a baking tray. Or you can skip that and layer the meat and veg onto spinach leaves and top with the a spicy horseradish dressing. Just use the above mayo mixture and add a splash of water and/or vinegar to thin it out. Hope you enjoy!

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