Entries tagged with “Beef”.
Did you find what you wanted?
Thu 15 Jul 2010
Pickling Cukes - Photo:Chad
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been watching a lot of Good Eats. A recent episode on traditional dill pickles really piqued my interest, as I fondly remember my grandma’s pickles, which were always the high heat, jarred with vinegar kind. Well in his method, Brown uses fermentation and an open air ceramic vessel to make some garlicky, kosher dills. Looking at the cucumbers starting to take shape in our garden gives me hope, but in that far off way (at least a few months).
That’s why when I saw pickles by the bucket next to oversized bunches of dill at the Nesity Garden stand at the Wednesday Dane Co. Farmer’s Market, I started getting excited. I picked up the ingredients and a few other goodies to make it through the week including some grillable meats from Pecatonica Valley and rushed home. In the end my list was short this week:
- Basil – Deerfield Family Farm
- Cukes and Dill – Nesity Garden
- Sweet Corn – Heck’s Market
- Shallots. Onions. Carrots. – Va Family Garden
- Beef, Chicken, and Pork – Pecatonica Valley Farm
When I got home, I immediately checked out Amazon.com and after searching extensively for a ceramic crock, settled on a nice glass one. It’ll be here Friday, and pickling should start Sat., after the Farmer’s Market. I’ll keep you posted.
Thu 15 Jul 2010
Buffalo Wings - Photo:Lindsay
The busy summer days have, unfortunately, resulted in some very simple dishes this past week. With all the great seasonal ingredients, you really want to make something unique and different but between boating, baseball games, and making any excuse possible to enjoy the few non-rainy days, simplicity has been high on my list.
We started the week out with some baked hot Buffalo wings ala Good Eats with Alton Brown. I’ve been catching up with some old episodes of, what is in my opinion, the best food geek show out there. After watching his tribute to the Buffalo Wing, I thought about the wings I had picked up from Jordandal Farms, at the Westside Community Market, a few weeks back. Although, like most Good Eats recipes, there were a few more steps then I would have expected, the baked wings came out crispy and flavorful. With a side salad of fresh greens topped with a light vinaigrette to balance out the high calorie wings, this made for one heck of a meal.
Beef and Broccoli - Photo:Lindsay
After a Wednesday market teaming with broccoli, I decided to make the most of the sirloin tip chunks that had been in the freezer for a few weeks. A quick search on Epicurious’ iPhone app (will launch iTunes) revealed a recipe for Quick Beef and Broccoli. Sounded like a great meal for after our evening workout. So, with just the most elemental of prep (cleaning the broccoli and trimming it right into a storage container when I got home from the market) we had a meal in as long as it took to boil some rice. While I thought it was OK, Lindsay was less than impressed, and wished it had some more flavor. I guess with convenience you sometimes get the occasional bland dish.
BBQ Onion Burger - Photo:Lindsay
Deciding I wouldn’t let another beef dish go down this grey path, I decided to go all out with a BBQ burger on Friday. With advance apologies to the folks at Fountain Prairie farms, who recommend only using a little salt and pepper on their burgers, I went a bit more extreme.
To start off, I mixed the meat with chopped bacon and roasted garlic chips. Some reserved bacon grease and a Tbsp of butter was used to slow caramelize a coarsely sliced onion. After 30 minutes of cooking on low, when the onions were a translucent light brown, I mixed in what might easily be the quickest and simplest homemade BBQ sauce (recipe @ allrecipes.com). The burger was topped with a slice of everyday cheddar from Bleu Mont Dairy, a heaping helping of the onion mixture and a few pickles. To “healthy” this meal up we served with it Green Beans from Xay Lo Garden and seasoned shredded turnips. Needless to say flavor was not an issue here, but an outside table setting made it a lot easier to clean up the inevitable mess. It was a happy and very satisfying mess.
Sat 12 Jun 2010
Posted by Lindsay under Farmer's Markets
1 Comment
Garlic Scapes Photo:Lindsay
Westside Community Market. Today we went to the west side community market since we were on a bit of a time crunch. Chad and I got up later (since we got home a little late last night) and were out there around 10:30am. A lot of the vendors were starting to pack up, but we were able to snag the following:
We plan on making some pizza this week along with a latin dish with the beef. We’ll also give the chicken wings a try!
Thu 10 Jun 2010
Snap Peas Photo:Chad
The dramatic changes I saw at Wednesday’s Dane County farmer’s market really demonstrated how rapidly the food season changes around here. Where only a few weeks ago spinach, greens, and asparagus were covering most of the tables, this week it was all about the strawberries and snap peas.
Of course, you could still find a vendor selling greens, asparagus, and spinach – you just had to really look. Which was exactly what I did. You see, I was on a mission to find and preserve some asparagus, since the season is coming to an end.
I found the process for raw pack canning this low-acid vegetable in the Bell Blue Book. I’ve learned that because of its low acidity, it needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 240 degrees, which a traditional boil cannot accomplish. This means I get to play with a borrowed pressure cooker.
As for other things market related, I saw my first beets of the season, and seeing as I’ve always disliked them, I forced myself to buy some. By doing this, I have to make something I’ll enjoy, and hopefully in the process can change my opinion about these bright red roots.
Here’s a list of what I ended up with:
As an interesting side note, Summit Credit Union was doing a community service / marketing effort during the market giving people $10 if they promised to “Pay it Forward”. A few friends and I took them up on their offer. Stay tuned to find out what we did.
Mon 7 Jun 2010
Asian Beef Salad Photo:Lindsay
On Thursday night, having just had the beef roast the night before, we wanted to try to use some of it up, so we made an Asian salad with roast beef, cherry tomatoes from Canopy Farm, Australe lettuce from Snug Haven, salad mix from Black Earth Valley, and spicy Asian radishes and sugar snap peas from Roots Down Farm. We made an Asian-style sesame dressing which accompanied it, but since the dressing wasn’t very good, we’re not going to share it with the masses. We’ll have to come up with a better sesame dressing for next time.
Beef and Dill Potato Pasty Photo:Lindsay
Then, on Saturday, we decided to use up the rest of the beef by making and freezing some individually sized Cornish pasties. We wanted to use the dill we had gotten at last week’s farmer’s market since it was going a bit limp in our refrigerator, so we started scouring the internet to find a recipe that would include the beef, potatoes, and our quickly diminishing dill. There really wasn’t a recipe that satisfied him, so we kind-of mashed a bunch of them together to make these Dill Potato and Leftover Beef Roast Pasties.
If you’re not familiar with pasties, they’re traditionally a little dry, so you’ll want to eat them with some sort of sauce. Lindsay prefers ketchup, but Chad likes his with Sriracha sauce. Also, if you’re in the mood for a history lesson, the origins of the Cornish pasty are also quite interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty.
Our pasties came out crispy, but firm enough you could eat with just your hands, like you’re supposed to. The dill was subtle, but present, and the beef stayed tender, even through it’s second cooking. We’ve already reheated a few of these and will look forward to pulling them out of the freezer for a quick meal.
Mon 7 Jun 2010
Posted by Chad under Recipes
1 Comment
Beef and Dill Potato Pasty Photo:Lindsay
Recipe: Dill Potato and Beef Roast Pasties
Summary: This was the solution for what to do with about two pounds of leftover roast beef. Delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. of leftover beef roast, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces.
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 1 1/2 lb. potatoes peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
- 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
- 3 Packages of refrigerated 9″ pastry crust (2 rolls per package)
- Flour for dusting
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven melt butter over low heat.
- Add potatoes, salt, and pepper. Gently mix to coast. Cover.
- After 5 minutes, when potatoes start to steam, add onions and mix to thoroughly incorporate. Cover.
- Cook for additional 15-20 minutes, mixing occasionally, till potatoes are fork tender when tested.
- When they’re ready, remove from heat and spoon potato mixture in a large metal mixing bowl, mix in the chopped dill, and allow to cool while you prepare the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
- Lay a sheet of dough on a cutting board (flour cutting board if necessary) and place a 6″ circular object (upside down bowl, pan lid, etc.) on, so that the edge of the object touches one of the edges of the dough. Using the object as a guide cut a circle using a knife. If you can repeat this process with one sheet, do so. Otherwise, roll the dough into a ball and roll it out to the same thickness as the first piece. Repeat this process, adding any dough from one sheet that cannot be made into a cut piece with the leftover from the next sheet you cut. When all is said and done, you should have approximately 24 six inch rounds.
- Sprinkle flour on a large baking sheet
- Mix the cut-up beef with the, now cooler, dill potato mixture.
- Spoon approximately 1/4 cup portions of meat and potato mixture onto one side of each dough circle. Fold the other half over and using your fingers, seal the edges. (You can follow this seal with a fork-tip crimp for a nicer look)
- Cut three 1/2 slashes on the top of each pasty to serve as a vent.
- Place the pasties on the baking sheet so that no two touch. You will likely have to do at least 2 batches.
- Bake for 55 min or so, till the top of the pasties is lightly browned.
Quick Notes
Once removed from the oven, these can be served immediately or stored in the fridge or freezer. Heating up is a snap: Microwave pasty for approximately 1 min (fridge) or 2 min (freezer) till warmed through, then place in a toaster oven for a few minutes @350 to re-crisp the outside. Remove from heat if they start to darken much more.
Cooking time (duration): 2 Hours 45 Min.
Number of servings (yield): About 20 Pasties
Meal type: lunch
Microformatting by hRecipe.
Mon 7 Jun 2010
Rosemary and Garlic Grilled Beef Roast Photo:Lindsay
Wednesday night, after being inspired yet again by Cooks Illustrated, we decided to try grilling a beef roast. We had picked up a rump roast a few weeks ago from Pecatonica Farms and decided to try it on the grill instead of in the oven as traditional roasts are cooked.
We let the roast sit in a garlic and rosemary salt rub for 24 hours before cooking it, to add to the flavor. Then, after heating up the grill, seared the meat on all sides, cooking it for about 10 minutes. Once seared, we turned the primary burner down to medium and turned the rest of the burners off. The partially cooked meat was moved into an aluminum roasting tray with drainage holes punched in the bottom which was set on the cool side of the grill. We then cooked the meat with the lid down for about 45 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through cooking, until the thickest part of the meat registered at 125 degrees.
The roast was delicious and juicy. We served it with some fresh grilled asparagus from Priske Farm, which was dressed up with a little bit of orange and thyme (again at the recommendation of Cook’s), and some leftover stuffing from last week’s butterflied roasted chicken.
Since the roast was 4 lbs and there were only two of us eating it, we had to come up with some creative ways to use the rest of the meat. Look for those in upcoming articles!
Wed 26 May 2010
Bok Choi Photo:Lindsay
After visiting the Saturday Hilldale Farmer’s Market 2 weeks ago, I got a great recommendation from Nichole over at Madison A to Z. After reading about my disappointment regarding the lack of coffee the week prior, she suggested the nearby Westside Community Market, where there was FREE coffee.
With the new knowledge of another biking distance market, and this one with free coffee, I was sold.
While we had planned on trying to get over there early, Lindsay’s flight didn’t come in until very late Friday night. Letting her sleep in, we didn’t get to the market ’til almost noon, missing the free coffee by almost an hour (it’s available until 11, or whenever it runs out).
The farmers and vendors still had plenty of goods available, and much like the Hilldale market, the reduced crowd made for a very pleasant experience and plenty of time to talk to each seller. We saw some familiar names from both the downtown and Hilldale markets, as well as some new ones. Here’s what we ended up with:
In addition to picking up our week’s goods, I also got to talk with one of the market’s board members about the history of the market.
As Lindsay and I found out, the Westside Community Market, sometimes mistakenly called the Hill Farms Market, was started back in 2005 when a group of longtime Hilldale Vendors decided they wanted to move locations in response to the new location set out for them at Hilldale. The vendors established a board made up of member-vendors, and set guidelines mimicking the rules of the Dane County Farmers Market. This limits the vendors to selling only goods they produce or grow.
The market is car, biker, and pedestrian friendly, with plenty of free parking available.
Overall, we really enjoyed the market and all the great vendors we got to talk to. We’ll definitely go back to the WCM again – but this time I’d make sure to go early enough to score some of that free coffee!
Wed 12 May 2010
Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie Photo:Chad
I now know better, but last night I was ignorant. I though pot pies were something you could tread into in an evening. I look back at my naivety and laugh.
Now, don’t let this come off as discouragement, the Beef and Vegetable Pot Pies were amazing. They have such intense flavor, and if all goes according to plan will keep me in delicious beefy goodness for a week or two.
Let’s start at the beginning though.
Lindsay and I wanted to do pot pies with the beef we had picked up from Fountain Prairie, and after tweaking a recipe from Bon Appétit to make it more seasonal friendly we were ready.
Then came roadblock #1, the puff pastry. Now I’m sure it’s readily available from every single grocery store in Madison, but it seemed to me that there was a certain dishonesty in making a dish featuring so many local ingredients, and then letting just any dough finish it off. The fine folks over at Scott’s Pastry Shoppe in Middleton came to the rescue, selling me some freshly made dough at a very reasonable price.
Roadblock #2 was the baking dishes. You’d think someone so set on making pot pies would have planned out what they would be cooked in. Not this guy. Luckily, mom had a few oblong dishes that worked perfectly.
I got home from work, and started off on this cooking adventure. Everything timed out quite well and came off rather flawlessly. The pies included the beef short ribs and sirloin tip steak from Fountain Prairie, parsnips from Nesity Gardens, carrots from Harmony Valley, spinach from Prairie Farm, baby bellas from Palm’s Mushroom Cellar, tomatoes from Don’s Produce, onions from Black Earth Valley, some of my dried morels, and of course the pastry from Scott’s Pastry Shoppe.
I didn’t get my first bite of the pot pie till almost 11pm. It was worth the wait, the meats and veggies sat perfectly in their gravy with the flaky pastry topping giving it just the right amount of crunch.
I only baked one last night, saving another to make for some friends today, and the third in the freezer for when Lindsay gets home. I’ll let you know how they come out.
Wed 12 May 2010
Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie Photo:Chad
Recipe: Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie (Modified from Bon Appetit, Nov. 1999)
Summary: While it may not be the fastest or easiest recipe, these savory pies are delicious and infinitely adjustable.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 1 pounds beef back ribs or short ribs
- 4 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 Can Beer
- 2 bay leaves
- Optional 1/2 oz dried morels
- 2 cups chopped carrots (about 2 medium)
- 1 1/2 cups parsnips
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 cups chopped spinach
- 2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms (about 6 ounces)
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes (about 2 medium)
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature, divided
- 1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin steaks (or other tender cut), trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
- 1 large egg, beaten (for glaze)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add beef ribs and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
- Add beef stock, beer, tomato paste, bay leaves, and morels if you have them. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until liquid is reduced to 2 to3 cups, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Remove ribs, and trim meat off, chopping it into 1/2 inch pieces. Return the chopped meat to the pot, reserve fat, bones, and gristle for a beef stock if desired.
- Add carrots, parsnips, and onion to pot. Simmer until carrots and parsnips are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes and simmer 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix flour and 2 tablespoons butter in small bowl until paste forms. Stir paste into stock mixture; simmer until gravy thickens, about 3 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Before continuing, rewarm over medium heat, stirring frequently.)
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter six 1 1/4-cup custard cups or souffle dishes.
- Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Sprinkle beef pieces with salt and pepper.
- Add beef to skillet and cook just until outside of beef is brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer beef to prepared custard cups, dividing equally.
- Ladle vegetable gravy over beef in cups, dividing equally.
- Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet on floured surface to 12-inch square. Using small plate as guide, cut out three 5 1/2-inch rounds from sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet.
- Brush edges of pastry rounds with egg glaze. Place 1 round, glazed side down, atop each filled custard cup; press overhang firmly to outside of each cup. Cut 3 vents in each pastry round. Brush pastry with remaining egg glaze.
- Bake beef tenderloin pies until pastry is golden brown and puffed, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Quick Notes
I did not have custard dishes, so I used 3 larger ceramic baking dishes, and it worked flawlessly. I also only cooked one, I refrigerated one with the dough separately, and froze one, again with the dough separated.
Cooking time (duration): 2 hours 30 min.
Number of servings (yield): 8
Meal type: dinner
My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★
Microformatting by hRecipe.
