Modern Beef Stew

Courtesy of Cook’s Illustrated

Serves 6-8

1(4-lb) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces, scraps reserved

Salt and pepper

6 oz salt pork, cut into ¼-inch pieces

3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed, halved if medium or quartered if large

1½ cups frozen pearl onions, thawed

1 tbsp sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups beef broth

1 (750-ml) bottle red Burgundy or Pinot Noir

5 tsp unflavored gelatin

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp anchovy paste

2 onions, chopped coarse

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths

1 garlic head, cloves separated, unpeeled, and crushed

2 bay leaves

½ tsp black peppercorns

½ oz dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed

10 sprigs fresh parsley, plus 3 tablespoons minced

6 sprigs fresh thyme

Toss beef and 1½ teaspoons salt together in bowl and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest positions and heat oven to 500 degrees. Place salt pork, beef scraps, and 2 tablespoons butter in large roasting pan. Roast on lower-middle rack until well browned and fat has rendered, 15 to 20 minutes.

While salt pork and beef scraps roast, toss cremini mushrooms, pearl onions, remaining 1 tablespoon butter, and sugar together on rimmed baking sheet. Roast on lowest rack, stirring occasionally, until moisture released by mushrooms evaporates and vegetables are lightly glazed, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer vegetables to large bowl, cover, and refrigerate.

Remove roasting pan from oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees. Sprinkle flour over rendered fat and whisk until no dry flour remains. Whisk in broth, 2 cups wine, gelatin, tomato paste, and anchovy paste until combined. Add onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, porcini mushrooms, parsley sprigs, and thyme to pan. Arrange beef in single layer on top of vegetables. Add water as needed to come three-quarters up side of beef (beef should not be submerged). Return roasting pan to oven and cook until meat is tender, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, stirring after 90 minutes and adding water to keep meat at least half-submerged.

By this point, your entire family will be hovering in the kitchen, or in my family’s case, attempting to lick the oven door.

Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to bowl with cremini mushrooms and pearl onions; cover and set aside. Strain braising liquid through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Stir in remaining wine and let cooking liquid settle, 10 minutes. Using wide shallow spoon, skim fat off surface and discard.

Transfer liquid to Dutch oven and bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened to consistency of heavy cream, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in beef and mushroom-onion garnish, cover, and cook until just heated through, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in minced parsley and serve. (Stew can be made up to 3 days in advance.)

Serve over buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes. Dive in!

Lemony Chicken Burgers

Adapted from Suzanne Somers’ Eat, Cheat, and Melt the Fat Away

Serves 4 (6 if you serve them on a roll)        

1 pound ground chicken

½ large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp grated lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp ground caraway seed (optional – you can substitute dill, ground cumin seed or fennel seed)

1¾ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

Peanut oil for frying

Lemon wedges, for garnish

Mix all the ingredients except peanut oil and lemon wedges in a bowl. Form the chicken mixture into 6 patties.

Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the patties for 5-6 minutes on each side, until crispy and golden brown. (Drain on a paper towel if desired.) Serve with lemon wedges.

Stir-Fried Beef with Tangerines, Green Beans, and Chiles

Courtesy of Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen

Serves 6

Marinade

1 egg white

½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

1 tbsp cornstarch

Sea salt and ground white pepper

1 lb boneless beef top round, sliced paper-thin against the grain

3 cups peanut oil

1 tangerine, unpeeled, sliced in paper-thin circles

2 tbsp cornstarch

1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 green onions, minced

4 dried red chiles

¾ lb green beans, halved on the bias

¼ cup Chicken Stock

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar or balsamic

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg white, sesame oil, five spice powder, and cornstarch; season with salt and pepper. Add the beef, toss to coat in the marinade, and stick it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. In the meantime …

Pour the peanut oil into a wok (or large sauté pan) and place over high heat. Heat the oil to 350°; this will take about 15 minutes. Toss the tangerine slices with 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch. When the oil is smoking hot, quickly fry the tangerine slices for about 4 minutes. Frying the tangerine first removes the bitterness from the skin and the slices become crispy so you can eat them whole. Carefully remove the tangerine slices with a strainer to drain on a paper-towel-lined platter; their shape should remain intact.

Bring the oil back up to the smoking point and add half of the beef. (If you fry all the meat at once the oil temperature will drop and the beef will stew instead of crisp.) Fry for 2 minutes and then remove to a paper towel to drain; repeat with the remaining beef. Very carefully drain all but ¼ cup of the hot oil into a heat-proof container. Stir-fry the ginger, garlic, green onions, and chiles in the remaining oil until they perfume. Add the green beans; season with salt and pepper. Mix the chicken stock with the remaining tablespoon of cornstarch and add it to the wok. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Simmer until the sauce is thick and the beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Return the beef and tangerines to the pan and coat. Scatter the sesame seeds on top. Serve with steamed rice.

Chicken and Spinach Casserole

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Serves 6

2 cups torn bread

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and ground pepper

4 lbs packed flat-leaf spinach, washed

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ cup white wine

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1½ cups half-and-half

½ tsp fresh lemon juice

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

Preheat oven to 450˚. In a medium bowl, combine bread with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt. Set aside. In a medium pot, heat 1½ teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add spinach; season with salt. Cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 minutes. Transfer to a colander, let cool, then squeeze out water. Coarsely chop.

Wipe pot clean and heat 1½ teaspoons oil over medium. Add onion, garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes.

Add wine to pot and cook until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in half-and-half. Add lemon juice and bring mixture to a boil over high.

Remove from heat and stir in chopped spinach and chicken; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 2-quart baking dish and top with bread pieces. Bake until bread is golden brown and mixture is bubbling, 8 to 10 minutes.

Editor’s Note: Assemble and refrigerate this, uncooked, a day ahead. Add bread before baking.

Grilled Curried Salmon

Serves 6-8

½ salmon (1 side), cut into 6-8 pieces

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

1 small onion, cut in half and sliced thinly

3-4 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Combine the garlic powder, pepper, curry powder, salt and lemon zest in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Take heavy-duty foil and fold it in half to create a square or rectangle (about 12 x 12 inches). Pat salmon dry on both sides and place in center of foil, skin side down. Sprinkle the seasoning mixture over the flesh and top with onions and tomatoes.

Fold the foil over fish to form a packet and seal tightly.

Have your helpful husband grill the packets, covered, over medium heat for 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of your fillets) until fish flakes easily with a fork. Then allow him to open the packets so if anyone’s fingers get steamed, they’re his. Unless you need a facial.

Serve with sticky rice and vegetables.

Slow-Cooker Bolognese

Courtesy of Cook’s Country

Serves 8 to 12

3 tbsp unsalted butter

½ small onion, chopped fine

1 small carrot, peeled and chopped fine

½ rib celery, chopped fine

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp tomato paste

3 lbs meatloaf mix, or 1½ pounds ground chuck and 1½ pounds ground pork

Salt and pepper

3 cups whole milk

3 cups dry white wine

2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes, ground in blender until smooth

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves

Heat butter in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until foaming. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until softened but not colored, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add meat, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, breaking up meat, until crumbled into tiny pieces and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Add milk, bring to vigorous simmer, and cook until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, 10 to 15 minutes. Add wine, tomatoes, and thyme; cover and bring to boil. Transfer mixture to slow cooker, cover, set temperature to high, and bring to boil.

Once mixture comes to boil, remove lid and simmer until sauce is very thick, 7 to 8 hours. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Make Ahead: This recipe can be partially made the night before so that it’s ready to place in the slow cooker in the morning. Complete steps 1 and 2 and refrigerate the mixture in the Dutch oven. The next morning, bring the mixture back to a boil, transfer it to the slow cooker, and proceed as directed.

Spicy Grilled Jalapeño and Lime Shrimp Skewers

Courtesy of Cook’s Country

Serves 4

Marinade

1 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped (or more if desired)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp grated lime zest, plus 5 tbsp juice from 3 limes

6 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp salt

Shrimp

1½ lbs extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ tsp sugar

1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

For the marinade: Process all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Reserve 2 tablespoons marinade; transfer remaining marinade to medium bowl.

For the shrimp: Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and butterfly. Add to bowl with marinade and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal briquettes (about 100 coals) and burn until coals are covered with fine gray ash. Meanwhile, thread marinated shrimp on skewers and sprinkle one side of shrimp with sugar.

Pour coals into pile on one side of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and let heat for 5 minutes. Grill shrimp sugar side down over the hot part of the grill until lightly charred, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip skewers and move them to cool side of grill. Close lid and let rest until other side of shrimp is no longer translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Using tongs, slide shrimp into medium bowl and toss with reserved marinade. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.