broccoli beef

here's what happened.

my favorite chinese restaurant is closed!

for over 15 years i have been visiting this same establishment.

 no goodbye, no warning, no referrals, no address to the owners home where i could continue to get my favorite dishes.

nothing.

yes, there are a hundred other chinese food places in town.

but none of them are near my home.

and none of these other places have food as good as ms. kim's. 

so i'm on the hunt to find recipes and recreate dishes that taste as good and that are as fresh as the ones she made.

it's a slow work in progress 

(like most everything else i'm in the middle of these days)

here's the first - and since it's the family favorite it needed to be the first dish i made.

broccoli beef.

YOU WILL NEED:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds sliced beef.

note: to expedite this i usually purchase the package of sliced beef that specifically says 'for stir fry'

it works beautifully

2 or 3 heads broccoli florets (or crowns) cut into bite size pieces.

3 garlic cloves - chopped

1 inch of fresh ginger - chopped fine

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons cooking sherry

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil 

1 teaspoon brown sugar

toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup of water

salt (if you're using low sodium soy)

pepper

peanut oil

note re: peanut oil...

when doing stir fry i prefer peanut oil. it has a higher smoke point and gives a lovely nutty flavor. if you do not have peanut oil, vegetable oil is a perfectly acceptable substitute.

TO DO:

in a bowl large enough to hold all the sliced beef - mix together 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, the sherry, vinegar, a tablespoon or so of sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and some fresh pepper.

mix well.

add the beef making sure all pieces are well coated.

cover and refrigerate for a half hour or so.

make the sauce while waiting for the water to boil.

sauce is:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

the 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon brown sugar

some sesame seeds

the 1/2 cup of water

whisk thoroughly

bring a large pot of water to boil.

carefully add the broccoli to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes - maybe 3. the broccoli should be bright green and still very crispy.

remove from pot and set side.

heat a tablespoon of peanut oil in a wok.

add the chopped garlic and ginger and cook 2  minutes.

should be very fragrant - be careful to not burn the small bits of garlic.

add the beef slices and any juices and cook until all the pieces are browned on all sides.

remove from wok.

the beef may not be completely cooked but it's going back into the wok to finish cooking in a moment so don't worry here.

add another tablespoon of oil and toss in the broccoli.

add half the sauce mixture.

keep stirring until all the pieces are well coated.

add the beef to the broccoli mixture and add the rest of the sauce.

cook another 7 to 10 minutes.

taste for seasoning.

garnish with fresh scallions and another sprinkling of sesame seeds.

serve immediately with hot rice.

another note: the photo above shows green beans. i had them so i threw them in the mix. i wont use these ones again - the very cool but strange looking really long green beans from the market - odd flavor - the family did not approve.

steak au poivre

What is it?
Very simply put - it's a steak, with a crust of salt and peppercorns accompanied by a rich, luscious sauce. That's about it. I guarantee you've seen it on a hundred different menus. Sometimes simply called 'steak with peppercorn sauce' or 'black peppered steak' or several other names, but this traditional French favorite is technically called 'steak au poivre' (yes - pronounce the V) For us, it was the sauce that put this dish into the "favorite dinner requests" list.  
Much simpler than I anticipated with tremendous flavor. I highly recommend you try to make this at home. 


This dish usually calls for filet mignon. Given the price of that cut of beef I needed to find something a little more within my budget. Rib-eye is apparently also acceptable but I went with sirloin. Delicious. Whichever cut you choose I'm sure will be wonderful. Just be sure to not over-cook the meat.


Also, I was only cooking for two people since my daughter - at six years old - has decided she will not eat meat. And my husband loves his au jus so this recipe has a bit more sauce than most recipes call for.
I made four different sauces the other night and an extra the next morning just to make sure I had one we loved. The one I am posting here was definitely the favorite and includes a little brown mustard and then honey for balance (in addition to the brandy - never would I skip adding the booze!) I added the additional ingredients to the sauce because the sauces with only cream added to the pan gave me nothing but cream flavor - was not happy with this. Therefore some experimenting needed to be done. Hope you give this a go.


YOU WILL NEED:


2 steaks 
about a 1/4 cup fresh, whole black peppercorns - crushed using a mortar and pestle or a cast iron skillet - then spread out onto a plate
little olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
salt 


1/2 cup brandy or cognac plus 2 tablespoons for later
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon brown mustard
almost 2 tablespoons honey
salt




TO DO:


oven to 400


prepare a baking/casserole dish so you can finish the steaks in the oven.
set aside.


rinse and pat dry the steaks.
generously salt one side.
place the salted side onto the plate with the crushed peppercorns.

salt the top side then flip the steaks to cover this side in pepper.

press down a little bit to ensure good coverage of pepper.

add butter and couple tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet.
warm on medium heat.
when the butter is just starting to brown, carefully add the steaks.  
cook 4 or 5 minutes each side.
keep an eye on this because you do not want to completely burn the crust - just blacken it a bit.
once both sides are done I used a pair of large tongs to hold the steaks and cook a little around the edges
(sorry - no photo)
place into the prepared baking dish.
cover with foil.

my husband does not like his steaks 'mooing' so I cooked them in the oven about 10 minutes.
most often this dish is served rare
cook how you prefer.


while the steaks are in the oven make your sauce.


drain the excess fat and oil out of the pan but keep as much of the fond and pepper and beef bits as possible.
turn the stove OFF.
add the brandy.
IF you are daring - CAREFULLY light this with the longest fire starter you have.
i do recommend you light it and let all the alcohol burn off - giving the pan a few swishes to make sure the flames reach all sides.
it does make a difference in the flavor.
But if you do not light the pan (and do not nearly burn the house down like I did) skip adding the 2 tablespoons of brandy at the end.


once the flames have subsided and you are breathing normally again - turn the stove back on to a medium high heat.
add cream.  
cook for a couple minutes.
add mustard and honey and salt.
cook five more minutes.
add 2 tablespoons of brandy (or cognac - whichever you have)
cook until sauce thickens - whisking continuously.
salt to taste.
maybe just a few turns of the pepper grinder as well.

keep warm until ready to serve.


steaks should be done by now.

serve each individual or slice each steak.


husband likes the slice method so that there is more surface area for sauce.

I served this with steamed vegetables and mashed red potatoes.


Great dinner.

Beef and Bean Chili

Have you ever googled "Chili Recipes"? There are over a million of them floating around on the internet! And now I'm going to add one more to the mix. Why not right?


This whole thing started because my husband came home the other day saying he had this fantastic fund raising idea for our sons basketball team - "Let's do chili dogs at the next game!" I agree this is a good idea (although more appropriate for Baseball?) so I listen. Then about half way through the "idea"  I realize I am in charge of the chili portion of chili dogs (???) - to be sold by the bowl and thus raising money for the team. Husband is not sure why it took so long for me to come to this realization.


okay.


Tore the kitchen apart looking for an old recipe from my mother. No luck. Therefore put this together from memory - and it turned out pretty tasty. Nothing fancy about this chili. Just delicious and definitely filling.

Keep in mind this recipe was to feed the parents of an entire basketball team. I imagine there would need to be some adjustments made for most families.




YOU WILL NEED:


1/2 package bacon
2 pounds ground beef
1 large sweet onion
5 cloves garlic - chopped fine
4 14.5oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes
1 can diced seasoned tomatoes 
2 cans red kidney beans
2 cans white kidney beans - or Pinto beans
1 6oz. can tomato paste
4 tablespoons garlic powder
6 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
olive oil
salt
pepper


TO DO:


Crisp the bacon in a very large pot. Remove and drain most of the bacon grease. Brown the ground beef in the same pot that still has a little of the bacon grease in it. Then drain and set aside for a minute. In the same pot - saute the onions in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened. Add garlic. Cook about three minutes then add beef and bacon back to pot. Give everything a good stir - add the tomato paste and give everything another good stir to coat. Add all the cans of tomatoes. Stir really well then add all the beans. Finally, add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, brown sugar and salt/pepper. Taste and check for seasoning.  
I could not make this too spicy for this event - you might want to add more of the chili powder and cumin.

Serve with grated cheese and chopped onions for garnish. Enjoy.


(and by the way - it was quite a hit at the basketball game)

Beef Tips

This is one of the family favorites. And one of mine because of how quickly it comes together. Yes - it does require the use of one of those strange packets of gravy powder mix. But sometimes that is necessary. 

The beef I used here was one of those packages of "lean stew meat" - already cubed (I was in a hurry)  It is also excellent with any sort of roast meat (you usually have to cut these up yourself and I didn't feel like it tonight) I did also try it once with a cut up tri-tip. DO NOT do this! The meat became very tough and dinner that night was very, very quiet. Also, I usually use regular soy sauce for this (instead of the low sodium soy sauce) Then wait to salt and pepper until right before I serve. The regular soy is pretty salty so not much salt is needed.

After you saute the onions and brown the meat - add all the liquids and seasonings - cover for 2 hours and done. Try this - the family will love it.



YOU WILL NEED:

vegtable oil
1 red onion - chopped
2 pounds cubed beef
2 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder
salt
pepper

LATER you will need:

1 package dry brown gravy mix
1 cup water


TO DO:

Heat a large skillet (or dutch oven) and add a couple turns of the vegetable oil. Saute the onions about 5 minutes then add the cubed beef.
Cook on high until most all the meat is browned on all sides. Then add the water, soy sauce, worcestershire and garlic powder. Give it all a good stir and bring it to a boil. Then cover - turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 2 hours.

When the 2 hours are up - mix the gravy packet into 1 cup of hot water - turn the heat back up to high and add the gravy mixture to the meat mixture - stir until slightly thickened - taste to see if you need to add more salt or pepper - then serve over rice or mashed potatoes.