Beef, Beef, and More Beef

I'm so far behind recording what I've been cooking it's not even funny. Here's the list of everything I can remember:

• Hamburgers: 4 lb of ground beef to make burgers for a labor day party.
• Fillet Mignon: made like I normally make steak
• Sirloin Steak: Ted cooked this up as his first steak attempt. Very tasty.
• Stew Meat: 1 package cooked in a tomato-paprika sauce.
• Liver: 1 lb given to a friend for her cat. The cat is happy.

We're coming up on the end of the meat. A few roasts, some shanks, beef bones, suet are the main things that are left. We'll see if we make through everything by thanksgiving. Already planning on a pig for next year though.

Ropa Vieja and some old standbys

Some of the stuff I've been cooking hasn't been worth blogging about. I've used 4 pounds of ground beef making chili and spaghetti.

The interesting dish I made lately was a take on Ropa Vieja. I found this recipe when searching for a recipe using annatto seeds, since I wanted to try this spice. While I used the same ingredients, my technique deviated from this recipe. I browned 1 lb stew meat (not the 3 the recipe calls for) and then added the sliced onion and cooked for a bit. Deglazed the pan with chicken stock instead of the water, then added the rice wine vinegar, cinnamon, bay, a dash of ground cloves, and annatto. I let this simmer on very low, covered, for a few hours. Then I added about 14 oz of canned tomatoes, 1/2 c sliced carrots, and 1/2 c frozen pepper slices. Also tossed in a minced clove of garlic, the cayenne, and a bit more broth.Simmered for about 30 minutes and then served on rice.

The verdict; Okay, but not exciting.

Stroganoff Variation

Beef stroganoff is a standard, favorite meal of mine. I enjoyed it as a child -- in fact it is the first meal I remember cooking for the family by myself. I was probably 12 or 13 at the time. Growing up beef stroganoff meant beef with cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and Worcestershire sauce. As my palette has aged, the campbell's cream of mushroom soup has been removed, but Worcestershire sauce remained a constant.

So having mushrooms and sour cream in the fridge and some defrosted stew meat, I naturally decided to make stroganoff. However, since I've already blogged about making stroganoff once, I decided to try a bit of variation. Even though Worcestershire sauce was a key ingredient in my mind, it wasn't in any of the stroganoff recipes I've encountered on the web. Those recipes often have mustard or dill in them, which I decided to try this time.

Here's the quick and dirty summary of what I did:
-Brown the beef in batches in a bit of oil
-Briefly saute a chopped onion, then add sliced mushrooms and cook for a while.
-Deglaze the pan with beef broth. Add back the meat, along with some dried mushrooms, black pepper, and enough broth to cover.
-Simmer for a while to get the meat tender and reduce the liquid.
-Add some sour cream (1 to 1.5 cups). Salt to taste.
-Add a tsp of dijon mustard and 1/4 tsp dill.
-Served on white rice.

It was okay. I liked the mustard addition, though I'd use slightly less next time. The dill didn't do much for me here.

I served this with Balsamic Brusslesprouts, using a recipe from Serious Eats that I had been meaning to try. I very nearly followed the recipe! I stirred in a bit of cold butter to finish the sauce at the end. The result: well it depends on how you feel about brussle sprouts and Balsamic vinegar. If you don't like sprouts, this recipe might be for you, since you couldn't really taste them. If you don't like balsamic vinegar, this recipe is definitely not for you, as that was all you could taste. While I like balsamic vinegar, I don't like it *that* much. I'm currently trying to learn to like brussle spouts. (I've read that it can take 10 exposures to learn to like a vegetable. This is my 5th attempt at brussle sprouts since I've read that.)

I also served it with some roast squash mixed with butter, salt, and a bit a cardamom. (Yes the flavors don't go together, but I like cardamom!)

Over all, edible but not fantastic.

Beef Stroganoff

Stew meat #2 up. One of my favorite dishes is Beef Stroganoff. I used eat it a fair amount growing up and loved it. I keep tweaking how I make it trying to get the flavors of my childhood without the can of cream of mushroom soup. I based this version off a recipe from Cooking for Engineers.

I cut the meat into smaller pieces and salted it. Then, in batches, I browned it in butter. After removing the meat, I sauteed a chopped onion for a few minutes before added a package of sliced baby bella mushrooms and a bit more butter. Cooked down the mushrooms for about 10 minutes. Then I deglazed the pan with some beef broth. Added back in the meat and about 2 or 3 cups of broth as well as a few handfuls of dried chinese mushrooms and a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce. I let it all simmer for 1 to 2 hours for the sauce to reduce. Then I added in some sour cream (1/2 carton) and a few spoonfuls of greek yogurt (since I didn't have any more sour cream). I seasoned it with black pepper and some mushroom flavored dark soy sauce. After tasting I wanted it a bit tarter, so I added a teaspoon or so of dijon mustard.

Served the stroganoff over couscous with a side of microwaved sugar snap peas, steamed carrots with dill, and a sliced pear. I greatly enjoyed the stroganoff and will probably stick with this version.

Beef Paprika (Stew Meat #1)

Used the first package of stew meat last night. Had to cut down the pieces, but that's not a problem. I adapted this recipe from a chicken dish I usually make.

Brown 1lb stew meat.
Add 1.5 onions, thinly sliced
Add 3 cloves minced garlic
Add 2TB Paprika (I used Hungarian)
Cook until onions are tender.
Deglaze the pan with 1 cup chick broth
Add 28oz (1 can) tomatoes, chopped.
Simmer for a while. (I did 1.5 hours)
Stir in 1/3 c cream (or sour cream)
Season to taste with salt, thyme (1 tsp), pepper, Spanish paprika.

I served it over fusilli. The sauce was kind of thin for pasta. If I do it over pasta again, I'd reduce the broth and thicken the sauce. I had leftovers in a mug -- it worked well as a stew. Next time I might add more tomatoes and broth and serve it as a stew with dumplings. Over all, tasty.