Cheddar Topped Cottage Pie

When it comes to cottage pie and shepherd's pie, I'm pretty much a girl who can't say no.  It's not like I don't have multiple recipes for various variations of this recipe.  And during the course of collecting all of these recipes and blogging about them incessantly, I have learned the difference between shepherd's pie (lamb) and cottage pie (beef).  I've made it with and without peas, with sliced potatoes and mashed potatoes.  You'd think I'd be over it by now.

But no.  I ran into this recipe for a cheddar-topped version, and that was all the excuse I needed to put it back on the menu for the one millionth time.  It was a new recipe!  It included cheese!  I had no choice!

So here's what we've got.  The base is a mixture of carrots, celery, onion, thyme, tomato paste and beef.  And since I have learned the correct terminology, I know that this means that what I am making is cottage pie.  The topping is made of mashed potatoes (and I cribbed this recipe from the completely wonderful, always reliable mashed potato recipe from The Pioneer Woman site.  Yukon gold potatoes, cream cheese...you pretty much can't go wrong.)  You spread this glorious mashed potato wonderfulness over the beef mixtures, sprinkle some cheese on top, and you get this:

Delicious, comforting, cheesy cottage pie.  I have no idea why it is called cottage pie, but since it is, and since it includes a good-sized amount of Vermont cheddar cheese, it seems like a good enough reason to show you the closest picture I have to a cottage, which is our beloved Vermont cabin.



So, the next time you want a completely soothing and wonderful comfort food, or want to make something with "cottage" in the title, or (like me) just can't resist recipes that include mashed potatoes...here's your recipe.

Cheddar Topped Cottage Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

• • 4 cups mashed potatoes (either store-bought or homemade.  I like The Pioneer Woman's recipe)
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
  • 6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, and thinly sliced
  • 6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2 pounds ground beef chuck
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)

1. Heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, onion, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beef; cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 cup water; bring to a boil, and simmer 1 minute. Set beef filling aside.
2. Pour beef filling into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Mix one cup of cheese into mashed potatoes.  Drop dollops of mashed potatoes over filling; spread to edges with a spatula. Using a fork, make decorative peaks; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling rapidly, about 20 minutes (if topping and filling were chilled, increase to 35 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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Shredded Short Ribs with Pappardelle

A little while ago, a box arrived in my mailbox that was filled with these.

Yes, bags of pappardelle from the Al Dente pasta company in Michigan.  They had emailed to me ask if I might be interested in trying out some of their pasta, and I am a girl who can't say no to pasta.  So I said yes please, and it happened to coincide with a Jamie Oliver recipe I had been dying to try for slow-cooked meat over, yes, pappardelle,  so the whole thing seemed like fate.

First the recipe.  It called for slow-cooking meat in a mixture of red wine, chopped carrots and celery and red onions and herbs, with some plum tomatoes and barley thrown in for good measure.  The interesting part of this was that the recipe gave you COMPLETELY free rein over whatever kind of meat you chose.   It suggested everything from venison to wild boar to squab to rabbit to beef.  

I can't cook venison.  Venison cavorts through my yard on a regular basis.  On one occasion, we had a baby that couldn't jump the stone wall at the end of our yard and get to its mama, so the Southern husband picked up up, wrapped it in a towel and deposited it on the other side of the fence so it could grow up and come back and eat up all my parsley.  But as a result, I can't cook venison.

Short ribs, on the other hand, I can cook.  (And this makes no sense at all, since I have met so many more cows during my life than deer.  Sorry cows.  It's completely unfair.)   So short ribs it was, cooked until they were tender and falling off the bone.  I then shredded the meat and returned it to the amazing sauce, and then tossed the whole thing with the pappardelle.

(By the way, this recipe calls for making a cartouche, and before you get worried, please click here.  It's super-easy, and then you can work into your next cocktail party conversation that you made a cartouche the other day.  It's the little things in life.)

On to the pappardelle.  It cooked up in no time and let me tell you - it was DELICIOUS - perfect consistency and flavor and just right with the shredded meat.  And while I used the regular flavor for this dish, it also comes in a whole raft of flavors, including garlic parsley, lemon chive and spinach.  Heaven, heaven, heaven.   If you are in need of some rocking great pappardelle (and trust me, you are), click here.  You won't be sorry.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to chasing the venison out of my yard.

Shredded Short Ribs with Pappardelle, from Jamie Oliver's recipe viathe fabulous Leite's Culinaria

• 28-ounces short ribs
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 handful each fresh rosemary and fresh thyme, stems discarded and leaves finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 2 wineglasses Chianti
• Two 14-ounce cans plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons pearl barley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 14 ounces fresh or dried pappardelle
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 handfuls grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

1. Season the meat with salt and pepper.   In a Dutch oven, fry your meat in a little olive oil until golden brown. Add your herbs, onions, garlic, carrot, and celery. Turn the heat down and continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.

2. Add your red wine and continue to simmer until the liquid has almost cooked away but left you with a fantastic color and fragrance.

3. Add the plum tomatoes, the pearl barley, and just enough water to cover the meat by 1/2 inch. Make yourself a cartouche of parchment or wax paper. Wet it with a little water, rub it with a little olive oil, and place it over the pan. Put a lid on the pan as well, as this will retain as much moisture as possible while cooking. Cook over really low heat for about 2 to 3 hours, depending on the tenderness and type of meat. It’s ready when you can literally pull the meat apart in tender strands.

4. At this point, season the braise carefully with salt and pepper to taste and allow to cool slightly before removing the meat from the pan. Using 2 forks, pull apart all the lovely pieces of meat, throwing away any  bones. Skim any fat from the surface of the braising liquid. Put the meat back in the pan and place over low heat.

5. It’s now ready to serve, so cook your pappardelle in a pan of boiling, salted water for 3 minutes if using fresh pasta or according to the package instructions if using dried. Once it’s cooked, drain it in a colander, saving some of the cooking liquid in case the sauce needs a little loosening. Remove the pot of stewed meat from the heat and stir in the butter and Parmesan with a little of the cooking water — this will make it juicy and shiny. Toss together with your pasta and serve immediately. If desired, serve sprinkled with a little finely chopped fresh rosemary and some more grated Parmesan.

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Spiked Cheeseburgers

It was a happy, happy day last week, because for the first time since this long, hard, relentless winter started one billion years ago, it was actually warm enough to crank up the old grill and cook some cheeseburgers.  The Southern husband was happy.  The teenager was happy.  The dog was deliriously happy, because she is convinced that if she waits long enough, one day someone is going to grill her a cheeseburger instead of just dumping another cup of kibble into her dish.  A dog can dream...

Anyway.  This momentous occasion seemed to call for something other than your normal wonderful cheeseburger.  Something adventurous.  Something celebratory.  Something involving a little, well, alcohol.  Take another look at that picture up top...see that scrumptious sauce oozing down the burger?  Let's just say that is special sauce.  Very special.  As in, contains just the right hit of vodka in it.

Still with me?  Here's what happens:  you mix up some ketchup, some mayo, a little mustard, and a little roasted garlic.  And then you add...wait for it...about 4-5 tablespoons of vodka.  (If you are a responsible parent like me, you hold back some of the sauce in a separate dish for your underage teenager.  More spiked-ness for the old folks).

Now grill up those burgers however you like 'em, and don't forget to toast the buns.  (Note: you can definitely add in the cheese the way you usually do, but I like to take the top bun after it is toasted, lay the cheese on it and nuke it for about 20 seconds, so the cheese is adhering to the bun and not the burger.  But you be you, cheese-wise.)

 

  When that's all done, toss a few pickles on the bottom of the bun, lay the burger on them, and put a generous amount of sauce on top.  This is not the time to be stingy with the sauce.  Top bun over the whole thing, and dig in.  Be very happy.  Happier than a cheeseburger usually makes you. 

 

Happy.

Spiked Cheeseburgers, adapted from Marc Murphy's recipe

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tps roasted garlic
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 5 tablespoons vodka

• 2 1/2/ pounds ground beef
• 6 hamburger rolls
• 6 slices cheddar cheese
• sliced pickles

1. Mix mayo, mustard, garlic, ketchup and vodka together and mix well.  Set aside.

2. Form beef into 6 patties and salt and pepper them. Grill to your liking, adding cheese at the last minute to melt.  Toast the rolls during the last minutes of grilling.

3. Place several pickles on the bottom of each roll, top with burger, and spread about 2 tablespoons of sauce on each burger.  Place top of bun over all and serve at once.

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Brisket Slow-Cooked in Coffee and Brown Sugar

I think I may have said this once or twice or one million times before on this blog, but I wish I liked coffee.  I really do.  It is SO much easier to get a cup of coffee than to find a decent cup of hot, strong English breakfast tea unless you happen to be in the middle of London, and I am usually in the middle of New Jersey, so this is a problem for me.  I've tried to like coffee, just for the pure convenience factor, but I just....can't...do it.

However, I DO (for some mysterious reason) like coffee when it is an ingredient.  Usually that means in ice cream, or in muffins, or other sweet stuff.  But in this case, I like it in a brisket recipe.  Whatever the hours and hours of cooking in the slow cooker do to transform the coffee, the sauce comes out not tasting like coffee, but like some rich, tangy, wonderful thing that you can't quite put your finger on.  (Spoiler alert: it's the coffee.)

For all you slow-cooker fans out there, this one is right up your alley.  Toss a brisket and some chopped carrots and baby potatoes and quartered onions into your slow cooker.  Mix up a sauce of tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and (you guessed it) coffee and pour it in there, stirring things up so the sauce is generally all over everything, and about half the veggies are on top and the other half are on the bottom.  Cover the slow cooker, press the "LOW" setting button, and go do something else for about 8 hours.  

Now come back, slice the brisket into thin slices, put it on the plate with some veggies and pour that rocking great sauce all over the whole aromatic, tender, fabulous thing.  Have tea with dessert.  Feel all smug for liking coffee and tea at the same time.

Slow-Cooked Brown Sugar and Coffee Brisket, adapted from Real Simple

• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered, stem end left intact
• 1 pound new potatoes (about 12)
• 1 pound medium carrots, cut into 2 1⁄2-inch lengths
• 2 1/2 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup brewed black coffee
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Season the beef with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and place in the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.  Add the onion, potatoes, and carrots.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, coffee, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar; pour over the beef and vegetables.  Stir things around just a little until some of the sauce reaches the bottom of the pot.  Cover and cook on low until the beef and vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours.
3. Slice the beef across the grain and serve with the vegetables and sauce, sprinkled with the parsley.  

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Cottage Pie

A while back I made a recipe for what I called Shepherd's Pie.  It is a scrumptious mixture of ground beef and vegetables in a light tomato-ish sauce, topped with mashed potatoes and baked.  Perfect, easy comfort food.  I wrote a little story about how I fell in love with shepherd's pie.  I even included a picture of a sheep, because I had one hanging around and it seemed like the perfect time to use it.  I posted it up on the blog, and started reading the comments.  (I love comments, by the way.  Leave me comments!).

Anyway, in addition to all the sweet things everyone says to me about the pictures and the recipe and the story, more than one person gently told me that I had not in fact made Shepherd's Pie.  I had made Cottage Pie.

Huh?

Well, as it turns out, that's exactly what I did.  Apparently Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb, and Cottage Pie is made with beef.  Which now made me feel bad about the whole sheep picture thing, because I was unwittingly including a really cute picture of the, um, ingredients.  Oh dear.

So long story short, I recently ran across this recipe for Cottage Pie, which used a topping of very thin-sliced potatoes instead of the mashed version...and while I am probably the world's biggest fan of mashed potatoes, I actually LOVED this version.  The filling is the usual mixture of ground beef, carrots and peas, and the whole thing was just as delectable as its incorrectly named predecessor.

So at the end of the day, no matter what you call it, MAKE it.  Delicious, delicious, delicous.

Cottage Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 large carrots, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 1 cup dark beer
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 large russet potato, sliced very thin

1. Preheat oven to 400.  In large skillet, heat one tablespoon butter over medium high heat.  Add onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Season with salt and pepper and add tomato paste.  

2. Add meat and cook for 3 minutes, breaking up with wooden spoon.  Add thyme and beer and bring to a boil.  Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over top and stir.  Add 1 cup of water and cook until slightly thickened, another two minutes.  Stir in peas and then season to taste.  

3. Transfer to baking dish and top with overlapping potato slices.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Bake until potatoes are browned at the edges, about 40-45 minutes.  Cool ten minutes before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Coconut Beef Stew

These are a few of my favorite things:

1. Beef Stew
2. Coconut

(Does two count as a few? I can never remember.)

Anyway, imagine this.  You get a hankering for a nice, hot, comforting beef stew with all the wonderful ingredients: chunks of beef, pieces of carrot and potato, etc.  But instead of the usual beef broth or wine that you usually make beef stew with...you use coconut milk.  And you throw in a few spices that are usually not found in beef stew, like coconut and cumin.  And when the stew is done, all tender and with a hint of coconut taste after simmering for hours in the coconut milk, you sprinkle it with a little shredded coconut just for good measure.  Then you ladle it out into bowls and take your first bite, and you are transported into a land that is a confusingly wonderful mixture of tropical comfort food.  I promise you, this is one beef stew that you are going to remember lovingly for a good long time.

Which all goes to show you, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

Sorry.  Any excuse to put a puppy picture up.

Anyway...coconut beef stew.  Try it!

Coconut Beef Stew

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 2 pounds beef chuck steak, cut into cubes
• 4 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
• 2 cups carrots, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

1. Heat oven to 350.  Put oil in Dutch oven or other ovenproof pot over medium heat.  Cook onions for 5 minutes or until soft.  Add garlic and spices  and stir for one minute.  Stir in tomato paste and then coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and add beef.

2. Cover and transfer to oven,  Cook for 1 hour,  then remove from oven and add potatoes and carrots.  Cover and cook for an additional hour and 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle each serving with flaked coconut and parsley and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Crescent Roll Burritos

All you lovers of completely authentic Mexican food, I apologize and please close your eyes and cover your ears.  Because this recipe, which is quick and easy and tasty, involves one of my favorite cooking ingredients, and that is a tube of crescent roll dough.  I'm sorry, but it's true, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  Crescent roll dough in a tube, you ROCK.

Here's the deal.  You make whatever kind of taco filling you like.  Since I was already down the road with the crescent roll dough, I opted to stay with the theme and make good old taco meat with ground beef, chopped onion and a packet of Old El Paso taco seasoning.  You can add in some refried beans as well if you want.  Personally, I am not a refried beans lover, but you should do your own thing.

Next you separate the crescent roll dough into rectangles, pushing on the perforations to seal them.  Ladle s few spoonfuls of beef onto each rectangle, a little salsa and a little shredded cheese.  Roll them up, pinch the edges to seal them, and pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes.  From there on in, you can get as creative as you want.  I made a sort of homemade salsa with chopped tomato, onion, lime juice, parsley and jalapeno and ladled it on the top with some sour cream.  You can drape some cheese over the top and pop it back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts.  Throw some guacamole on the plate...whatever catches your fancy.  The world is your burrito.

That's what you get when we Irish girls start cooking Mexican food -- mass chaos.  But it did taste good!

Crescent Roll Burritos, adapted from a Pillsbury recipe (of course!)

1/2 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons chopped onion

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup refried beans (optional)

2 cans crescent dinner rolls

1/2 cup salsa plus more for garnish

1/2 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese

Sour cream, guacamole or any other garnish you like!

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. Cook ground beef and onion in skillet until thoroughly cooked, drain.  Stir in taco seasoning and water and cook over medium for about 5 minutes.  Stir in beans if using.

3. Separate dough into eight rectangles and press perforations to seal.  Divide beef mixture over rectangles and top with a tablespoon of salsa and a tablespoon or so of cheese.  Starting with the short end of the dough, roll up each rectangle and pinch the edges to seal.  Place seam side down on cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with more salsa, guacamole, sour cream or whatever catches your fancy.

Click here for printable recipe

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie...it might be my all-time favorite comfort food, and I never get tired of making it. I am very particular about the kind of shepherd's pie that I like, though, and that all dates back to my days right out of college, living with my dear friend C in the world's smallest studio apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Ah, that apartment -- it had exposed brick walls that got red-hot in the winter (why? we didn't know and were afraid to ask), the world's dinkiest, oldest refrigerator, and a reclusive next door neighbor named Bruce who was straight out of a Seinfeld episode. We made a combined salary of about $25,000 per year, and probably spent $20,000 of it on rent for this glorious pad, and so our nights out on the town were few and far between, and divided between what is STILL the best pizza place I have ever been to and this Irish joint called Finnegan's Wake.

Finnegan's was loud and dark and the floor was sticky and they served the best, cheapest, most delicious shepherd's pie I've ever had. It was made with beef, not lamb, and featured peas and carrots in a thick tomato-ish sauce, all topped with mashed potatoes. (The picture above is before the addition of the potatoes, in case you are wondering. Because once you put the potatoes on top it would look like a picture of, well, potatoes.)

The Finnegan's version spoiled me forever in terms of shepherd's pie, and ever since I have been in search of a recipe that stood up to Finnegan's. (Of course, it might have tasted so good because the rest of the time we were eating cold cereal, ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese out the box, but whatever.)

So this recipe has all those elements, and whenever I have leftover mashed potatoes I make it. By the way, I'm not sure exactly why it is called shepherd's pie -- maybe shepherds eat it? Maybe because - eek - it is usually made with lamb? At any rate, it's also a good excuse for me to show you the one and only picture I have ever taken of a sheep.



And now that you have all this useful information, here's the best part, which is the actual recipe.

Shepherd's Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

2 pounds freshly ground beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons flour

1 to 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Coarse salt and ground pepper

10 ounces frozen peas, thawed

Potato Topping:

2-½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Heat a large skillet over high heat. In two batches, cook beef until no longer pink, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to a colander set in a bowl; let fat drain off and discard.
2. Add ¼ cup water to the skillet, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium; add onion and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add flour; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
3. Add Worcestershire sauce, 2 cups water, and beef. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in peas; cook 1 minute. Divide among eight 8-ounce ramekins or two 9-inch glass pie dishes.
4. Meanwhile, make potato topping. Spread over pies; use a fork to make peaks. Bake on a baking sheet until tops are browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly; serve.

Potato Topping:

1. In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water by 1 inch; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
2. In pan, bring milk and butter to a simmer; remove from heat. Return potatoes; mash. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Mini Sloppy Joes

Okay, so I love absolutely anything in mini-form. Mini M&Ms. Mini Snickers bars. Actually, mini-bars of any kind. And I also love sloppy joes, except for the fact that they are so, well, sloppy. It's distracting when the bite that you thought was headed for your mouth actually ends up on the plate. Or your lap. Or the floor (although the dog lives for moments like that.)

So I was so happy with these little guys. First of all, you get three of them on your plate. Three sloppy joes instead of one, it just makes my heart sing. Second, there is the whole mini thing. You can finish each one off in 2 or 3 bites, and pretty much the whole thing stays together. And I also loved the little avocado slice on top. It made the sloppy joe almost elegant! I wanted to show you guys a picture that would demonstrate the actual mini size of these babies, and so I scoured the house for a comparable object that would show the approximate size....

The recipe is below, but you can also use your own favorite sloppy joe recipe for this one because honestly, it's all about the mini-ness of it. And don't worry about finding mini-rolls because those shown above are made out of a hot dog roll cut into three pieces. I know, it's just too good to be true, right?

Mini-ness. Happy sigh.

Mini Sloppy Joes, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef chuck
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can tomato puree, (14.5 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 hot dog rolls, cut into mini buns
• 1/2 ripe avocado, thinly sliced

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef, breaking apart pieces with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add pureed tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire, and 1 1/2 cups water. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Divide evenly among the mini buns.

Click here for printable recipe

Corned Beef Burgers

Now, if I was REALLY organized, I would have gotten this out to you last week when you still had all that leftover corned beef from Pt. Patrick's Day still in your fridge (maybe you still have some?). And while we just loved the little salty hit that the corned beef gave to this recipe, if you are fresh out of corned beef using all ground beef will still work just fine.

If you don't count the episode where I sent the Southern husband out into a raging snowstorm to grill tomatoes for me, this was the first time we cranked up the grill for the 2010 grilling season. All of the sudden it is sunny and gorgeous and 70 degrees here in northern New Jersey, and around my house that means Hamburger Season. We found this creative approach in the Costco Connection magazine -- same place that I found the outrageously wonderful Caramel Apple Cake. The recipe comes from a blog that Costco features from time to time called Amazing Sandwiches, and there are quite a few on that blog that are pretty dang amazing for sure. They have something up there right now that calls for blueberry guacamole, which is a little too exotic for me, but if you like to walk on the wild side sandwich-wise, go check them out.

In the meantime, here's their recipe for Corned Beef Burgers, and here's hoping that wherever you are, spring has sprung.

CORNED BEEF BURGERS, from Amazing Sandwiches

• 8 oz corned beef
• 8 oz ground chuck
  
• 1 ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped parsley
• olive oil
• 4 hamburger buns
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 medium sized Haas avocado, thinly sliced
• Horseradish Mayo (recipe follows)

Preheat the grill or cast iron skillet on medium high.
Place corned beef slices in food processor and pulse for 2 seconds to shred. In a medium sized bowl, combine the shredded corned beef, ground chuck, pepper, salt, cayenne peper and parsley. Divide the mix into four equal portions and form four (1/4 – 1/3 inch thick) burgers. Spray or brush each side with olive oil. Grill (or cook in skillet) for 3 – 4 minutes per side to achieve a medium-well done burger. In the final minute of cooking, place two slices of Swiss cheese on each burger. Cover the grill (skillet) and continue to cook for another minute.
To serve, place 1 tablespoon horseradish mayo on the bottom half of each hamburger bun. Add the burger. Top with one teaspoon more of the horseradish mayo, and a few thin slices of avocado.

Horseradish Mayo

• 8 tbs mayonnaise
• 4 tsp freshly grated horseradish root

Mix mayonnaise and horseradish in small bowl.
Note: Grated horseradish root loses it’s potency, so make just enough to use immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Shredded Pot Roast

This is another one of those AWESOME recipes from the Pioneer Woman (go buy her cookbook! Runrunrun!!) that takes something you think you already know how to make pretty well -- in this case, pot roast -- and shakes it up just enough to make it the best version of pot roast you have ever made. All the usual players are here in this recipe -- the beef roast, the carrots, the onions, etc. This version does not cook the usual potatoes in with the roast, but calls for serving the pot roast with mashed potatoes on the side. As far as I am concerned, anything tastes better with mashed potatoes on the side, so I was good with that.

But that's not the game-changer here. The two things that put this pot roast over the top for me were first that you cook it with just enough fresh herbs (fresh thyme and rosemary) to infuse it with a gorgeous, herby flavor. About one hour into this my kitchen smelled like...I don't know how to describe it. I could have bottled and sold that aroma. Eau du Pot Roast With Herbs -- it was crazy.

The second thing was the shredding. The meat comes out of the pot so tender that it almost falls apart anyway, but I took it to the next step and shredded it, and then dunked the shredded meat back into the pot roast juices until it was thoroughly soaked through with the herb-infused liquid. On to the plate with some of the carrots it cooked with on one side, some mashed potatoes on the other. Oh my. You know you have hit a pot roast home run when the dinner table is completely quiet because any talking would interfere with the EATING.

From now on, I think I will shred everything we eat.

SHREDDED POT ROAST, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 5 pound chuck roast
• 2 onions, peeled and halved
• 6 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup red wine
• 2-3 cups beef broth
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1. Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast.

2. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the olive oil. When it is very hot, add the onions and brown them on both sides. Remove to plate. Add the carrots and toss them around for a minute until they are browned, and then remove.

3. Place the meat in the pan, adding more oil if needed, and sear on all sides until brown, about a minute per side. Remove the roast.

4. With the heat still on high, add the red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to get all the browned bits off. Place the roast back in the pan, add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway and add the carrots and the onions. Toss in the fresh herbs, tucking them around the meat.

5. Put the lid on the pot and put in 275 oven for one hour per pound -- so 5 hours for a 5 pound roast, 3 hours for a three pound roast, etc.

6. When the roast is fork-tender, remove it from the pan and shred it with two forks. Dunk the shreds back in the pan juice until they are soaked through, and then put on plate with carrots, onions, and mashed potatoes.

Click here for printable recipe

Barbecue Casserole

This one falls into the same category as my Chili Dog recipe...in other words, it is, um, not the healthiest recipe in the world. But as with the Chili Dogs, it is guiltily delicious, and as long as you only make it once in a blue moon, you are probably safe.

The key to this one is using your very favorite barbecue sauce. In our house we like Stubbs, which comes in all sorts of flavors.

And now that I look at the picture, I see that the correct spelling is Bar-B-Q sauce.

Anyway, here's the deal. Cook up some ground beef and onion and drench it in the Bar-B-Q sauce. Throw in a little Tabasco too, since we are going for broke here. Then take a can of refrigerated biscuits -- you know the ones I mean? The ones in the exploding can that we all secretly could eat 10 of if nobody was looking? Peel them apart and lay them in a casserole dish. Pour the beef mixture over it, then top the whole thing with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake until the biscuits are cooked through, the cheese is melted and the kitchen smells like Bar-B-Q Paradise.

Happy Bar-B-Q, everyone...you only go around once, after all.

BARBECUE CASSEROLE

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• 1 large can refrigerated biscuits
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 and grease 9x13 baking dish.

2. Cook ground beef in a large skillet until it begins to brown, and then add onion. Cook until beef is fully browned. Stir in barbecue sauce and Tabasco.

3. Lay biscuits in single layer in the baking dish. Top with beef mixture. Sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly over all.

4. Bake until biscuits are cooked and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then serve.

Click here for printable recipe.

BBQ Sandwiches!

Lots of you have asked me what was on the menu at my house for the Super Bowl, and I know it is already practically baseball season now, but better late than never.... Like the Saints, I ended up being a big winner on Super Bowl Sunday because my awesome group of family and friends came with just about everything anyone could possibly want in terms of delicious food that could be eaten while shouting at the television screen.

Here's what we had:

BBQ Sandwiches, as seen above. Both the shredded beef brisket bbq and the fantastic sauce was made by my dad, who is a long-time, unswervingly loyal Redskins fan, and my hero. Recipe below -- thanks, Daddy!

Coleslaw, made by yours truly. We like the vinegar-based kind as opposed to the really creamy kind. It's awesome with the BBQ sandwiches. You can even put a spoonful of it ON your bbq sandwich, if you are really wild and crazy.

Monster Cookies, made by my friend L. There almost aren't words to describe the wonder of these. People who don't even like dessert loved these cookies. People who DO like dessert practically rioted over them. I have the recipe in my hot little hands, and these cookies will be getting their own post tomorrow.

Brownies, made by my soul-sister and future in-law A. (We have decided our teenagers will get married one day. The teenagers don't currently see it that way, but they will come to their senses one day). Sadly, you will never ever know how to make these spectacular brownies, because she won't give me her secret recipe, despite all my shameless begging and pleading and weeping. But MAN are they good.

That's some of it...there was more, if you can believe that. But those were the main events, headlined by that awesome barbeque. We kept the meat warm throughout the game in one crockpot set on low, and the sauce in another set on low. My particular method for assembling my sandwich is to grab a big hunk of the shredded pork in tongs, dunk it into the sauce, and nestle the dripping deliciousness right onto my nice soft sandwich roll. But you feel free to be you, in terms of sandwich assembly.

So there you go, Super Bowl course number one. Tune in tomorrow for the Monster Cookies...

SHREDDED BARBECUE BEEF, adapted from the SILVER PALATE NEW BASICS COOKBOOK

1 five pound beef brisket
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
8 sandwich rolls
2 cups BBQ sauce (following recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Put brisket in roasting pan and brush with liquid smoke
3. Combine salt and spices and mix well. Rub into brisket.
4. Cover roasting pan and bake until brisket is fork-tender, about 3 1/2 hours
5. Remove from pan and use 2 forks to pull beef apart in the pan juices, shredding coarsely.
6. Serve on rolls with barbecue sauce.

BBQ Sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

1. Heat oil in saucepan and add onion, garlic, cumin and cayenne. Saute for 5 minutes over medium heat.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened, 10 minutes. Makes 2 cups.

Click here for printable recipe

Spiced Beef in Red Wine Sauce

I love recipes that introduce me to a new ingredient that I have never, ever heard of, and this was one of them. This is from an article published about 6 years ago in the New York Times by Nigella Lawson, and I think I have had the clipping bouncing around in my "need to make this recipe one day" file ever since. (There are recipes in there from the last century. So many recipes, so little time!!) I loved the whole idea of spiced beef cooking in red wine, I loved the idea of serving it on a bed of polenta (which is what we Northerners call it. The southern husband calls it grits.) The thing that kept kicking it to the back of the line was this one ingredient that sounded important, but mysterious and hard to find.

Ever heard of star anise?

Me neither.

Why I decided all of the sudden last weekend to figure this out -- who knows? -- but I called my source of all culinary information and it went like this.

Me: Hi Mom -- do you know what star anise is?
Mom: Of course. It's a spice.
Me: You don't have any, do you?
Mom: Of course. Do you need some?

I guess I am the only one without some star anise hanging around, and I felt the need to have my own jar of it, because you never know when you are going to need some star anise. At least now I knew it was a spice and not some exotic vegetable. A few hours later there I was in the spice aisle at Fairway with my very own jar. It is definitely a handsome little spice.

And smells just like licorice. Yum, yum...this was starting to feel good. The stew itself is a pretty basic recipe with a few excellent wrinkles to it. You start with a base of chopped carrots and onion -- but you also add some chopped bacon with it. Obviously there is the red wine part -- it simmers in the red wine for most of the cooking time. And of course there is the star anise which gives it a delicious sweet and spicy touch. I followed Nigella's directions to the letter and served it on top of a nice little pool of polenta, which was just PERFECT.

So there you have it, a Sunday dinner that is both comforting and just a little exotic. Let me know if you need to borrow any star anise....

SPICED BEEF IN RED WINE SAUCE, from Nigella Lawson

• 2 slices bacon, roughly chopped
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 2 large leeks, white and light-green parts only, roughly chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck steak in 2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or more as needed
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups red wine
• 2 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 star anise
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1.

Working in batches in a food processor, process bacon, onions, leeks, carrots and parsley until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, and set aside. Place flour in a freezer bag or other plastic bag. Season with salt and pepper. Add steak cubes, seal bag, and shake until cubes are well coated.

2.

Place a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat, and add 2 tablespoons oil. When hot, add beef in batches, turning until well seared on all sides. As beef is browned, transfer to a plate, and set aside.

3.

If casserole dish is dry, add 1 tablespoon oil. Place over medium heat, and add bacon and vegetable mixture and ground cloves. Sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine wine, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, star anise and brown sugar. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. When vegetables have softened, pour liquid over vegetables.

4.

Return beef to pan, and stir well. Bring to a boil, partly cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer gently until beef is tender, about 2 hours. Serve hot. If desired, stew may be cooked and then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for a month.

Click here for printable recipe

Cincinnati Chili

So, those of you who follow me on Facebook know that pretty much every morning I post what I am making for dinner as my Facebook status. (This started when I first got my Facebook page and I wasn't posting any status at all. The teenager was aghast, and told me I HAD to post my status and change it every day, and dinner was the only thing I could think of that changed radically every day. That, my friends, is the scintillating life that I lead. Not that I am complaining.)

Anyway. Most days the Dinner Status gets a comment or two, or someone hits the "Like" button, especially if there is bacon involved. Then came the day that I changed my status to "making three-way Cincinnati Chili."

Oh my goodness. I think it is currently up to 19 comments and STILL going on, and that was a week ago. Everyone from my friend H, who is an AMAZING food writer and editor (and if you are looking for one of those, click here), to my friends C and D who are from or who are married to Ohio natives and so have first-hand knowledge of Cincinnati chili, to various folks just want to know what it IS. It was a Facebook/Chili free-for-all, and I loved it. Who knew chili was such a conversation-starter? But obviously this one is, so let me break it down for you.

1. Cincinnati chili is served on spaghetti. Not rice, spaghetti, and very well-cooked spaghetti. This is not the time for al dente.

2. Cincinnati chili does NOT have beans in it, unless you are having Five-Way chili. More on that later. It's complicated.

3. Cincinnati chili includes, among various other flavors and seasonings: CHOCOLATE. (I'm starting to understand the passion now.)

Now that we have covered that, let me explain the various ways you can have this particular chili.

THREE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti.
FOUR WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions
FIVE WAY: Chili, shredded cheese, spaghetti, chopped onions, beans

My Ohio sources tell me that there is a variation on the FOUR WAY where you can swap out the beans for the onions. And that it is often served with oyster crackers. That is the sum total of what I know about this variation of chili, other that the fact that it is flat-out scrumptious, and if you let it mellow in the fridge overnight and have some the next day, it is even better.

So there you have it, Cincinnati chili, and all you Ohioans out there? Let me know if I got anything wrong, okay?

January 29 ADDENDUM!!

In my first-ever correction to a post, thanks to everyone who in various ways told me I was a big old skimper on the CHEESE. Here is a link to a chili advertisement that shows the correct amount of cheese. I promise to never, ever be a cheese miser again...

Skyline Chili

It takes a village...thanks, guys. :--)

CINCINNATI CHILI, from allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 pounds ground beef 1/4 cup chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 bay leaf 1/2 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate 2 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1.	Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 6 minutes.
2.	Add beef, in batches if necessary, and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned.
3.	Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4.	It is the best if you now refrigerate overnight.
5.	Remove the bay leaf. Reheat gently over medium heat. Serve over hot, drained spaghetti. Top with shredded cheddar cheese for three way, add some chopped onions for four way, add some drained heated kidney beans for five way. Click here for printable recipe

Best Beef Stew

So for me, beef stew is like macaroni and cheese -- I never met a recipe I wasn't a little bit tempted to try, JUST in case it might be better than the other million recipes I already have. So when the practically perfect folks at Cooks Illustrated promised that this particular one was the Best Beef Stew...well, all I needed was a snowy Sunday with nothing else on the horizon and I was ready to roll.

Now truth be told, I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to "new" beef stew recipes. I've been around the beef stew block enough times that I need something pretty convincing in the latest recipe to get me on board for real, since beef stew is a major commitment. It involves chopping. It involves both searing and simmering. It involves many, many hours on the stove, and as my Cooks Illustrated friends pointed out, it can often smell better than it ultimately tastes. However, this latest recipe did come through for me in terms of the secret ingredient.

Are you ready?

Can you HANDLE it?

Okay, here goes.

ANCHOVIES.

No, I am not kidding. No, I have not finally lost my mind due to bacon overdose. Anchovies. It has an actual scientific explanation that goes with it, something to do with glutamates. All I know is that Cooks Illustrated is my Holy Grail of recipes, and if they say anchovies, I am down with the anchovies. And sure enough -- the stew tasted richer and more intense...and not a bit like fish. Promise.

So if you, like me, are always on the hunt for the next best beef stew, give this one a try and don't be afraid of the anchovies. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice!

BEST BEEF STEW, from Cooks Illustrated

2	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
4	anchovy fillets , finely minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1	tablespoon tomato paste
1	boneless beef chuck-eye roast (about 4 pounds), trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2	tablespoons vegetable oil
1	large onion , halved and cut from pole to pole into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
4	medium carrots , peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1/4	cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2	cups red wine
2	cups low-sodium chicken broth
2	bay leaves
4	sprigs fresh thyme
4	ounces salt pork , rinsed of excess salt
1	pound Yukon gold potatoes , scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2	cups frozen pearl onions , thawed
2	teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin (about 1 packet)
1/2	cup water
1	cup frozen peas , thawed
	Table salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine garlic and anchovies in small bowl; press with back of fork to form paste. Stir in tomato paste and set mixture aside.

2. Pat meat dry with paper towels. Do not season. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add half of beef and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total, reducing heat if oil begins to smoke or fond begins to burn. Transfer beef to large plate. Repeat with remaining beef and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, leaving second batch of meat in pot after browning.

3. Reduce heat to medium and return first batch of beef to pot. Add onion and carrots to Dutch oven and stir to combine with beef. Cook, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits, until onion is softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until no dry flour remains, about 30 seconds.

4. Slowly add wine, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits. Increase heat to high and allow wine to simmer until thickened and slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, bay leaves, thyme, and salt pork. Bring to simmer, cover, transfer to oven, and cook for 11/2 hours.

5. Remove pot from oven; remove and discard bay leaves and salt pork. Stir in potatoes, cover, return to oven, and cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 45 minutes.

6. Using large spoon, skim any excess fat from surface of stew. Stir in pearl onions; cook over medium heat until potatoes and onions are cooked through and meat offers little resistance when poked with fork (meat should not be falling apart), about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water in small bowl and allow to soften for 5 minutes.

7. Increase heat to high, stir in softened gelatin mixture and peas; simmer until gelatin is fully dissolved and stew is thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve.

>

Click here for printable recipe

Best Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce Ever!

This recipe, along with my beef barley soup and a chocolate pudding cake that I am going to make for you guys one of these days, is the reason I adore my slow cooker. Yes, it is a huge, old-fashioned, clunky appliance that only does one thing. But MAN! it does that one thing really well, and I promise you that if you will just drag yours out of the attic or basement or garage or wherever you have it and make this sauce, you will be a believer! Trust me on this one, will you? I won't let you down.

Now with most things that have to do with my slow cooking, this recipe makes way too much to eat in one sitting, unless you are feeding an entire Boy Scout troop.

But that is why they invented those disposable Gladware containers - just scoop the leftovers into those babies, pop them in the freezer, and so long as you have spaghetti in the house somewhere you will be all set for future dinners when you are faced with a ravenous family and your mind is a blank.

In the meantime, this is a fantastic, rich, meaty sauce that cooks away all day long in the slow cooker and makes your kitchen smell like an Italian paradise. There is just the tiniest bit of prep involved (browning the meat), and then the whole shebang gets dropped in the reliable old slow cooker, and your work is done for the day. Some pasta, a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and you are in dinner heaven.

Go find that slow cooker now. I know you have one somewhere.

BEST SLOW COOKER BOLOGNESE SAUCE EVER

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes, drained
• 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
• 2 6 oz cans tomato paste
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Cook beef in large skillet until browned.

2. Transfer to 5 quart slow cooker. Stir in all remaining ingredients, mix well.

3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

4. Serve over your favorite pasta. Happy sigh.

Click here for printable recipe

Teriyaki Steak and Sesame Noodles

Just in time for the holidays, I have a great recipe and an equally great cookbook to give away! Those of you who read my post on Pork Dumplings with Chili Sauce know that I am a big fan of Jaden Hair and her Steamy Kitchen blog. Jaden is an amazing cook, an incredibly talented photographer, a really nice person, and the author of THE STEAMY KITCHEN COOKBOOK, which is where I got the recipe for the teriyaki steak that you see above. This cookbook is jam-packed with fabulous-looking recipes that I am going to work my way through...just as soon as I get it back from my mom, who took one look at it on my kitchen counter and borrowed it.

But not before I had made this rocking good steak, which is marinated in a balsamic teriyaki sauce that is Out Of This World. Jaden makes it with a skirt steak, but says you can use the steak of your choice, so I took her at her word and used my all-time favorite cut for grilling: the flank steak. The Southern husband and I made the teriyaki sauce the night before and marinated that bad boy overnight until it was good and soaked in that amazing marinade. By the time dinnertime rolled around, there was nothing left to do but grill the steak and heat up some reserved marinade to drizzle over the steak.

Along the way, it occurred to me that the perfect accompaniment to this fantastic steak would be the Pioneer Woman's Sesame Noodles, which I have now made about one million times. And they were indeed perfect! Which brought all of this full circle, because those sesame noodles were the topic of my first cookbook giveaway...that one is over, but now I have a copy of Jaden's beautiful cookbook to give away next!

So here's what I need: leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling me your favorite food blog, and that will enter you into a random drawing for a copy of THE STEAMY KITCHEN COOKBOOK. (For my peeps who subscribe on email -- click on the recipe title up top and it will take you to the web page where you can comment. I love you guys!!) It is a perfect holiday gift...if you can bear to part with it, that is! I will announce the lucky winner at 7pm on Saturday, December 5. And in the meantime, give this scrumptious teriyaki steak a try, and visit one of MY favorite food blogs, Steamy Kitchen!

**THANKS EVERYONE -- Contest is now over, but please look for the next cookbook giveaway, coming your way soon!**

GRILLED STEAK WITH BALSAMIC TERIYAKI, from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

• 1 pound skirt steak, or steak of your choice
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 minced shallot
• 2 minced cloves garlic
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 cup beef, chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)

1. To make the teriyaki sauce, melt the butter in a saucepot over medium low heat. When it starts to bubble, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until soft, watching to make sure they don't burn.

2. Pour in the vinegar and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until reduced by half. It should be thick, glossy and coat the back of a spoon.

3. Add the sugar, stock, soy sauce and mirin, stir well and bring back to a boil. Then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and reserve 1/2 cup sauce for marinating and 1/4 cup for serving.

4. Place the steak and 1/2 cup sauce into a large sealable plastic bag. Marinate 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

5. Thirty minutes before grilling, remove the steak from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature. Discard the marinade and pat the steak very dry with paper towels.

6. Preheat grill to high, or set a large frying pan over high heat on the stove and add oil when very hot.

7. Grill steak for 3-5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Let steak rest for 5 minutes and the slice across the grain. Serve with reserved 1/4 cup marinade to pour over the meat.

Click here for printable recipe

Kate's Taco Salad

Okay, I love love love this taco salad, and here's why. Not because it is ridiculously easy to make (and it is). Not because it tastes ridiculously good (and it does). It's because -- unlike 99.9% of most taco salads -- the crunchy part of the taco salad is actually worth eating. You know what I am talking about. Usually you order a taco salad and it comes in a giant tortilla "bowl." You say to yourself, Self, I'm just going to eat the salad part, and you work through all that good stuff in the bowl. The spicy taco meat, the avocado chunks, the chopped tomatoes, the cheese (ah! the cheese!!) and pretty soon your taco salad is gone and the only thing left standing is the tortilla bowl.

So you break off a piece of the side of it, and honestly? It's not that good. It's okay....but it's kind of bland and not that tasty...but it's there on your plate, and pretty soon you have picked off most of the sides of it. And so your awesome taco salad has ended with a whimper.

But in MY taco salad, my friends, that tortilla bowl is transformed into Fritos, which are added to the salad at the very end and tossed right into the salad along with everything else. So every other bite contains a hit of salty corn chip wonderfulness along with all the other taco salad taste sensations. Now there are those among you out there (my oldest friend? are you listening to me?) who will say Fritos are the work of the devil. And maybe they are...but DANG! they are good. And all I have to say is, if you are going to eat the taco salad bowl -- and you KNOW you are -- let's at least make sure it tastes pretty great going down.



These pictures show the ingredients before the tossing (and the lettuce is underneath all that other good stuff) just because it is more photogenic that way, but let me be clear -- you should be toss, toss, tossing all those great ingredients together so that each bite is a mixture of all those rocking taste sensations. So for all of you who like to walk on the wild side with the Fritos, here is my favorite taco salad recipe.

KATE'S TACO SALAD

• 1 pound ground beef
• Taco seasoning mix
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 3 chopped tomatoes
• 2 chopped avocados
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 2 cups Fritos
• Whatever else you like in your taco salad. Corn, beans, onion, etc etc.

1. Prepare taco meat with ground beef according to taco seasoning mix directions.
2. Combine all ingredients except Fritos in large mixing bowl. The taco flavoring in the meat juices will serve as the "dressing" for the salad.
3. Add Fritos and toss again.
4. Throw caution to the wind and have seconds.

Click here for printable recipe

Beef Barley Soup

This is the recipe the brave Southern husband fears above all others.

It's not that it isn't a fabulous version of beef barley soup...it absolutely is. Thick and filled with chunks of tender, super-slow-cooked beef, pieces of carrot and onion, laced through with fresh parsley and fresh-ground pepper and just a hint of tomato flavor, this is my favorite soup in the entire world. It is the perfect classic beef barley, and even better, it cooks in the slow cooker, so you can toss it together in the morning, go to work, forget it completely, trudge home 10 hours later, walk in the door, smell that gorgeous beef barley soup smell, remember tossing it together early in the morning, and smile a huge smile.

So what is there to be afraid of?

Well, this recipe makes a LOT. I'm sure it's possible to cut it down -- I haven't actually tried, though, because along with bacon and macaroni and cheese and pizza from the Mason Jar, this particular beef barley soup may just be my favorite food on earth. And the first time we have it, the Southern husband is just fine. He even takes on the hardest part of the recipe, which is chopping up the meat into the small bite-sized pieces. Our tummies are full of warm, scrumptious soup and life is good.

Then we have it again. He's still pretty much okay.

Still about 600 servings to go. And he begins to break down. Because I guess there actually are some people in the world who don't like to have wonderful beef barley soup for lunch and dinner for days and days in a row. Yes, I know I could freeze it...but the thing is, I personally DO like to have wonderful beef barley soup for lunch and dinner for days and days in a row. This is why they say opposites attract. So a while back we made a pact. He would not get That Look On His Face when I made it, and I would only make in the colder months, and not too many times in a row. Which led to the following conversation last week:

Me: I'm going to make the beef barley soup this week!!

Him: Already???

Me: It's October! It's cold out! We've already had FROST!

Him (in long-suffering patient voice): Okay....


But trust me, aside from the fact that it makes a swimming pool-sized portion, it is the best beef barley soup you will ever, ever make, taste or have giant vats of leftovers of. It's at its best when eaten on a chilly night out of your favorite Peter Rabbit bowl (see picture below). But it's not bad for breakfast, either....

BEEF BARLEY SOUP

• 2 pounds chuck roast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 5 cups water
• 4 packets beef boullion
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup pearl barley
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 5 carrots, chopped
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine everything but carrots and parsley in slow cooker and stir to mix. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

2. Just before serving, put carrots in microwave-safe dish with about 1/8 cup water. Microwave for 4 minutes. Add carrots to soup with parsley.

3. Taste and adjust seasonings (I usually end up adding a bit more salt and pepper).

4. Serve. And serve. And serve.

Click here for printable recipe