A Simple Braciole and Delicious Too

 

Braciole is a traditional Italian braised beef dish usually stuffed with meat and cheeses. Ours is stuffed with winter greens, but it’s just as satisfying as the original.

 

 

Flank Steak Braciole

3 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced (about 1 c.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. anchovy paste
1 medium bunch kale, ribs removed and coarsely chopped (to yield about 4 c.)
3 c. chicken stock
¼ c. grated Romano or aged Asiago cheese
¼ c. each currants and toasted pine nuts
About ¼ tsp. each salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 flank steak (about 1 ½ lb.)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 c. dry red wine

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes; add garlic and anchovy paste and cook 2 minutes more. Add kale and sauté until beginning to wilt. Stir in 1 cup chicken stock and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the greens are completely wilted, about 10 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese, currants, pine nuts, salt, and pepper.
Lay flank steak on a large piece of plastic wrap and top with a second piece of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet, pound beef to an even thickness of 3/8 inch. Discard top sheet of plastic wrap. Spread filling on beef in a ½ inch thick layer, leaving a ½ inch. border on all sides.
Beginning with a long edge and using plastic wrap as a guide roll beef around filling and place it on the counter, seam side down. Tie beef with butcher’s twine at 1-in. intervals, then tie one string around the roll lengthwise so the ends are tucked in and the filling is contained. Sprinkle beef generously with salt and pepper.
Heat vegetable oil in a large high-sided frying pan over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, turning, until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Pour in wine and remaining 2 cups chicken stock, cover, and lower heat until liquid in pot is gently simmering, and cook 13 minutes.
Transfer beef from pot to a cutting board, cut off butcher’s twine, and cover with foil. Bring braising liquid to a boil over high heat and boil until reduced to ½ cup, about 15 minutes. Slice beef into ½ inch slices and serve with gravy.

 

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Grilling The Other Steaks

 

Every year I come up with one preparation that’s embarrassingly simple but incredibly versatile. This go-to recipe is a glaze made from mustard, soy sauce and Asian sesame oil, which adds a trifecta of sweet, salty and nutty flavors to all sorts of grilled meats and fish.

 

 

Asian Grilled Salmon

1 side fresh salmon, boned but skin on (about 3 pounds)
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. soy sauce
6 tbsp. sesame oil
½ tsp. minced garlic

Light charcoal briquettes in a grill and brush the grilling rack with oil to keep the salmon from sticking.
While the grill is heating, lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don’t worry; it will keep cooking as it sits.
Transfer the fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Salmon is rich enough to go well with red wine—Pinot Noir is often a good choice—and this sweet-salty preparation is no exception. Sonoma’s Russian River Valley produces silky, not overly tannic Pinots that are ideal.

 

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If You’re Not In A Hurry, Then Let’s Cook With Curry

 

 

Burmese Style Pork Curry

¼ c. Ginger (peeled and slivered)
1 – 1 ½ lb. Pork ribs
2 tbsp. Red curry paste
¼ c. Light brown sugar
2 ½ c. Water
2 tsp. Ground turmeric
1 tbsp. Soy sauce
¼ c. Shallots (thinly sliced)
2 tbsp. Garlic (minced)
¼ c. Fresh lime juice

Place the ginger in a small bowl with 1/3 cup of hot water and set aside.
Cook the pork ribs with the curry paste and brown sugar in a large frying pan, stirring for coating the meat all the sides for around 15 minutes or until the pork is nicely browned.
In the meanwhile, mix the turmeric and soy sauce with the remaining water. Add this to the pork.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened around 45 minutes.
Add the ginger with its water, the shallots, garlic and lime juice.
Simmer for 5-7 minutes more allowing the flavors to blend together.
Check the seasoning, adding more sugar, lime juice or even a little of salt if necessary.
Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.

 

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A Pie Like No Other!

 

When it comes to pies, I must say that this pie wins my appetite with every bite.

If you are looking for a really easy pie to make, then this is the one!

 

 

Banoffee Pie

1 ½ c. graham cracker crumbs
10 tbsp. butter, softened
2 (14 oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk
3 large bananas
1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix graham cracker crumbs with softened butter and press mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes. Lower the oven to 300 for the toffee filling.
To create toffee filling, caramelize the sweetened condensed milk. Pour the condensed milk into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cover with foil and place dish inside a larger poaching pan. Add water to poaching pan until half way up sides of baking dish. Bake for 1 ½ hours.
Once both the crust and toffee filling are cooled, spread half of the filling evenly inside crust. Slice the bananas and layer on top of filling. Pour remaining half of filling over bananas, spreading evenly. Whip the cream with the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and spread on top of toffee filling and bananas.

 

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Restaurant Cooked Meals vs. Home Cooked Meals

When comparing Home cooked meals and Restaurant cooked meals, you will notice that they will never be the same in taste or appearance. Which brings me to this blog entry for Vietnamese dish.
I decided to grill pork steaks – pork shoulder steaks to be exact as they’re much more flavorful and fattier than the typical thin, dry loin chop used for Vietnamese grilled pork.
Restaurant food is not the same as home cooking. Restaurant food is generally a lot sweeter and saltier than homemade food. The reason? The bolder flavors get customers to drink and eat more; it’s a Pavlovian thing. People also love to indulge in big flavors when they go out, so it’s a push and pull dynamic with restaurant dining.
With regard to Vietnamese restaurant cooking, there’s usually a smidgen of MSG added to food for good measure. I don’t use MSG (real or fake MSG), but I decided to go heavy on the seasonings in this pork marinade. Also, as mentioned above, I used succulent pork shoulder instead of dryish pork chop – which most Vietnamese restaurants use to my dismay. And, I grilled the pork over an open flame for nice charring and flavor. Lost of Vietnamese restaurants broil and the flavor is rather flat. Soy sauce adds color here, and if you use dark (black/thick) soy sauce (called hac xi dau in Vietnamese), the meat will take on a mahogany cast.

Vietnamese Restaurant-Style Grilled Lemongrass Pork
Thit Heo Nuong Xa

1 pound boneless pork shoulder steak, about 1/2 inch thick
Marinade:
1 ½ to 2 tbsp. granulated or light brown sugar
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tbsp. chopped shallot or yellow onion
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped (3 tbsp.)
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 ½ tsp. dark soy sauce
1 ½ tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. oil
Cut the pork shoulder steak into pieces about 3 to 4 inches big. Set aside.
Put the sugar, garlic, shallot and lemongrass into a processor and process to a fine texture. (Or, mince the garlic, shallot, and lemongrass individually, put them into a bowl, and add the sugar.) Add the pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, and oil and process to combine well. Aim for a relatively smooth texture. The marinade will be chocolate brown. Transfer to a bowl.
Add the pork, and turn to coat well. Cover and set aside at room temperature to marinate for 1 hour. Or, refrigerate up to 24 hours, letting the meat sit out at room temperature for 45 minutes to remove some of the chill before grilling.
Preheat a grill to medium-high. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes, turning frequently, until cooked through. Nick with a knife to test. Transfer to a plate, loosely cover with foil or an inverted bowl for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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30 Minute Sweetheart Dinner

Ever gone out for a romantic dinner only to be disappointed by the noise level of the restaurant, food that didn’t quite measure up, or felt rushed by the wait staff to move along for the their next seating?  We have and more than once.
Are you tempted to try something different, skip the crowded restaurants, though not sure you can pull-off a sweetheart dinner at home?
Scampi-Style Steak and Scallops is an impressive dish, takes only a few minutes to prepare, and the cost will be easier to stomach too. Tenderloin steak is seared in butter then finished with scallops in subtle accents of lemon zest, white wine, garlic, and fresh basil creating surf-n-turf heaven.
The key is quality ingredients, so choose fresh lemon and herbs, large scallops, and tenderloin steaks—beef tenderloin (the wider end of the loin) or filet mignon (the small, forward end of the loin) is the ideal cut for its tenderness and ease of preparation. Of course, this recipe works just as well with colossal shrimp if sea scallops are not available.
Take care to set the table and prep ingredients before you begin cooking since the entire process will only take about 20 minutes.  While the asparagus roasts, you will be busy at the stove with the scallops and steak; both should be done at the same time. Feel free to include a crusty loaf of bread with dinner so you can soak up and savor every lemon-garlic-buttery bite.

Scampi Style Steak & Scallops

2 medium beef tenderloin steaks
3 tbsp. butter
¼ c. green onion — chopped fine
3 large cloves garlic — minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. butter
6 large sea scallops — peeled and deveined
¼ c. dry white wine
2 tbsp. lemon juice — fresh squeezed
1 tbsp. minced parsley
1 tbsp. fresh basil — chiffonade
¼ tsp. lemon zest
Dash hot pepper sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Season steaks with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, preferably cast iron, heat 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until hot and bubbly. Add steaks to skillet and cook 5-7 minutes per side for medium-rare. After steaks are seared on one side and ready to be turned, add scallops to the skillet to sear, 1-2 minutes on each side, right beside the steaks, but not touching.
After starting steaks in the skillet, begin to make the sauce. In a medium skillet or saucepan, sauté onion and garlic over medium heat in 2 tablespoons olive oil until fragrant. Add wine and lemon juice; simmer to reduce slightly, 1-2 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted into the sauce.
When the scallops are seared on each side, stir the fresh parsley, lemon zest, basil, and hot pepper sauce into the scampi sauce.
Reduce heat to low, add seared scallops, spooning the sauce over the scallops. When the steaks are seared, add to the pan with the scallops and spoon sauce over the steaks.
Serve immediately with additional sauce over both the scallops and the steak.

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Cooking With Chocolate and Pork

Whoa! CHOCOLATE AND PORK!!! That sure gets your attention doesn’t it? These are my two favorite foods, and they go together very nicely.

Chocolate Pork Chops

2 tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1 tbsp. dehydrated onion flakes
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. ground red pepper flakes
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground black pepper
4 (1 ½ inch thick) bone in pork chops
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, Italian seasoning, onion flakes, cocoa powder, garlic salt, paprika, red pepper, cumin, and black pepper. Rub the mixture evenly over the pork chops.
Add the oil to a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the pork chops and cook for 3 minutes per side. Put the skillet in oven and bake the pork chops until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven, transfer the chops to a serving platter and serve.

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