Tag Archives: beef

Corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day!

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Inspired by a rainy weekend and my friend Amara, I decided to make corned beef hash and cabbage for a festive St. Patrick’s Day meal. Although I did not think of it in time to brine a fresh brisket, a store-bought corned beef did the trick.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

3 lbs corned beef brisket or round (or brine your own!)
bay leaf
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 onion, diced
5 large carrots, in thick slices
6 pieces celery, coarsely chopped
(optional) 1 pound of peeled, diced potatoes
1 small head of green cabbage, cored and cut into 8 wedges

Rinse the corned beef thoroughly to remove the brine. Place the meat in a large dutch oven, then add the mustard, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and thyme to the pot. Add enough cold water to the pot to just cover the meat. Bring the water to a simmer and simmer, covered, for 3 hours.

Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot and return to a simmer. (If you are adding diced potatoes, you can add them here as well.) Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Add the cabbage wedges to the pot and allow to cook for an additional 20-30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.

When the meat it tender, remove it from the pot and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the excess fat from the meat and cut into thick slices. Arrange on a platter surrounded by the cooking liquid and vegetables. If you did not include the potatoes, serve with mashed, roasted, or boiled potatoes, and spicy mustard on the side.

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The Pioneer Woman’s steak sandwich

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I have wanted to try one of the variations of the Pioneer Woman’s Marlboro Man Sandwiches, so for Friday’s dinner, I decided on this one. It was quite delicious, and the perfect base for what we suspected might be a long night!

Cube Steak Sandwich
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

3/4 lb of cube steak (tenderized steak)
seasoned salt
black pepper
butter
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into rings
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 lb crimini mushrooms, in thick slices
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T worcestershire sauce
1/3 c sherry
Tabasco
2 rolls
cheese (I used mozzarella)

Slice the cube steak into strips against the grain. Season with seasoned salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet over high heat, melting a tablespoon of butter in the pan. When the pan is hot, add the steak and allow to brown on one side. Flip after a minute or two, and allow to finish cooking. Remove from the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium high. Add a little bit more butter or oil to the pan if necessary, then add the onions, garlic, and bell pepper to the skillet. Cook for a few minutes, until soft but with a little bite left. Remove from the pan.

Add the mushrooms to the pan, then add the sherry, worcestershire, and a bit of Tabasco. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, stirring, until the liquid has reduced by a third. Add the meat and vegetables back to the skillet and combine. Allow the meat to heat through.

Halve and toast the buns (with butter if desired). Spoon some of the sauce over both sides of the bun. Add the meat and vegetables to the bottom bun, then sprinkle with cheese. If desired, melt the cheese in the broiler (I didn’t bother since my cheese was already shredded). Then add more meat and vegetables, and cover with the top of the bun.

Enjoy!

Cooking over the weekend

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Happy Monday! Last week kind of dragged for me, so I’m glad to be starting fresh this week.

We had a pretty busy weekend, but I wanted to share a few delicious recipes that I tried out.

This Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip from Baked Bree is pretty addictive. Perfect for the Superbowl.

Emeril’s veal paremesan was delicious.  My only complaint is that it takes a lot longer than the indicated 50 minutes to prepare.  Unless you have an enormous skillet, just breading and frying 8 veal cutlets takes about 45 minutes.  It’s worth it, though, so plan ahead!  I kept the cutlets warm in the oven at 200 degrees F while making the sauce and hanging out with our guests.

These potato chip cookies from Smitten Kitchen (another Emeril recipe) were a hit. They are salty, crisp, and sweet.

Carne asada tacos

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Our friends came over to watch the Lakers vs. Warriors game, so we thought it would be fun and easy to barbeque and make a taco bar.

I love pretty much all tacos.  I live in Los Angeles now, but I grew up in New Jersey and Arizona, so I have very fond memories of the admittedly unauthentic taco bar at Sizzler (“hard” corn shells, ground beef, iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, and orange cheddar) and of the Yaki tacos at The Islands (chicken teryaki, letuce, pineapple).

However, in L.A. there’s really no excuse for not making a decent Mexican taco (unless that’s what you’re into, of course), so we hustled on over to the Camaguey Meat Market on Venice to pick up supplies.  It’s technically more Cuban/Dominican than Mexican, but I have wanted to visit since I read about it in the L.A. Times. (Sadly, they were not selling prepared food when we went, sob I’m not sure if they still do.)

On the menu:
* Carne asada, marinated by the market
* Pico de gallo
* Pickled carrots/jalapenos
* Black beans
* Queso fresco from the Mexican market

For pico de gallo, I just dice tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and a jalapeno, and toss together with salt, pepper, and lime.  Paco made this one, though!

We usually make guacamole as well, but there weren’t any ripe avocados available.  Next time we’ll think ahead!