It’s been incredibly cold the past couple weeks here in Boston. Usually it ends up around the low 40′s high 30′s in December but we’ve already had our fair share of subzero Fahrenheit days already (three weeks ago it was 7 degrees out when I left for work in the morning!). I’ve been cooking up a lot of stews and other winter comfort food lately, but nothing really new or improved. More like “revisiting” a familiar wine =P

But I can’t say I’ve exactly been inactive though! I’ve got all my Christmas shopping done! Earliest I’ve finished shopping ever (It helped that most of it was done online, gotta love getting it done from the comfort of an armchair and a glass of scotch (A nice pour of Glenmorangie 10Yr). And that being finished, I celebrated by hitting some of Boston’s restaurants, some of the recent ones being Giacomo’s in the North End, Craigie on Main in Cambridge, Mistral in the Back Bay, and Neptune Oyster in the North End. Fantastic, all of them. The raw bar at Neptune Oyster is fantastic, over a dozen selections and mostly local too, which is a plus. And the burger at Craigie? I’ve been scoffed at, but I’d definitely go out of my way to enjoy the burger again. Even at $21, I think it’s a steal for dinner. Local freshly ground beef, homemade bun and condiments, local bacon, all cooked just right. Enough juice in the burger to make each bite tasty and the toasted bun just enough to keep from making a mess but not oversized for the pattie.

But anyway, onto today’s recipe. Even though I’ve been cooking a lot of the recipes built up over the past two to three years, I managed to cobble together a nice recipe for a homestyle Cantonese recipe: Beef brisket and daikon radish stew.

Chinese Beef and Daikon stew

Recipe adapted from Christina’s recipes.

Ingredients:
- 2 lbs brisket (more or less, up to you)
- 3 slices of ginger
- 3 whole star anise
- 3 tb Chu Hou Sauce
- 1 piece rock sugar (optional)
- 2 L water or broth (enough water to cover brisket)
- 2 carrots
- 2 tsp l. soy sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tb starch + 2 tb water
- Bean thread sheets (optional)

Method:
1. Blanche brisket to get rid of some of the fattiness
2. In a pot, saute oil, ginger, chu hou sauce. Add beef and brown.
3. Add anise, sugar, and water/stock. Bring to simmer.
4. Stew for about 20-30 minutes
5. Add in seasoning (soy sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch, water), daikon and carrots. Add a little more Chu Hou sauce to taste.
6. Add in the bean thread sheets about 5-10 minutes before serving

I love steak. Especially ribeye steak. So what if it’s one of the fattiest cuts. Doesn’t make it less good in my eyes =)

And what a way to kick off the Fall season (And football season). It’s just about time to switch over to heavier cooking once again (read: meatloaf, mac&cheese, roasts, hot pot, etc) which’ll be a nice change. Weather has been fantastic lately though…where was this earlier this year? (70 degrees and sunny)

Seriously though, a well-seasoned medium-rare ribeye steak is probably one of my favorite things to eat. And it’s ridiculously easy to do. I’ve done it on the grill, on a frying pan, and most recently in a cast-iron pan (which I think is the best way to cook it anyway).

Note: I think I’ve posted about Ribeye at least two to three times already but I thought this deserved it’s own post since I used a cast iron pan this time. Made a huge difference!

Ribeye Steak

For a steak about an inch thick.

Ingredients:
– 1 lb Ribeye steak
– salt & pepper
– canola oil

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. On each side of the steak, season with salt, pepper, and some canola oil. Rub into the steak well.
3. Heat the cast-iron pan until almost smoking hot. Add a little oil and add the steak. Let sear for 3 – 5 minutes and then turn over and sear the other side for the same amount of time. Can sear a little longer if you want it a little crispier.
4. Move cast iron pan to the stove and bake for another 10-12 minutes, depending on how rare you like your steak. 10 minutes should probably keep it in the medium rare range.

Note: Times will differ based on the steak thickness

Things are finally getting back to normal here so that means more cooking and updates (I hope)! I’ve had to resort (not that it’s a bad thing) to cooking even quicker weeknight meals than normal (read: 20 minutes instead of an hour) for the better part of two weeks (with a vacation mixed in) but I’m hoping that’s going to change soon.

In line with the 20 minute meals, I’ve been cooking up a popular Japanese homestyle dish, Gyu-don (stir-fried beef bowl). Thin slices of beef with scallions, onions, and a tasty sauce make this one of my favorite dishes to make. And I’m not alone. Yoshinoya, a chain in Japan, makes this one of their signature dishes. It’s also delicious locally at Cafe Mami, an old haunt back in my college days (I still wind up there now and then, just not as often…well, less than twice a week).

I’m still working on getting this just the way I like it (spicier with a slightly thicker sauce) but it’s working out pretty well so far. I compiled a recipe after consulting Marc Matsumoto’s version at No Recipes and Shizuo Tsuji’s A Simple Art, one of the best cookbooks on the whole range of Japanese cooking available. Both are resources I’ve been depending on for a bunch of different dishes. It never ceases to amaze me how people can whip up dishes on the fly, it’s something I’ve never been able to do.

Gyudon

Time: 20 minutes
Serves : 2-3

Adapted from Marc Matsumoto at No Recipes and Shizuo Tsuji’s A Simple Art

Ingredients:
– 2 tsp canola oil
– 1 medium onion, sliced
– 1 lb marbled beef (I use short rib or steak tips), thinly sliced
– 4 tbsp mirin
– 4 tbsp sake
– 2 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tbsp Gochujang or Sriracha
– 1/4 tsp grated ginger
– 2 stalks scallions, chopped
– Cooked rice
– Optional: 1/2c dashi stock w/ 2 tbsp soy sauce

Method:
1. Mix together the mirin, sake, and 2 tbsp soy sauce.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil and onions. Stir fry until somewhat soft.
3. Add the thinly sliced beef and brown. Then add the ginger and mirin/sake/soy sauce mix (plus the dashi stock if you made it). Simmer until most of the sauce is gone.
4. Serve over hot rice, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

When cooking rice for meals, I’ve always stayed on the greedier side. That is, cooking more rice and then figuring out what to do with the leftovers. You see, I scarf the stuff down like there’s no tomorrow (just a little soy/sugar or rice seasoning and that can be a meal!) but lately I’ve been trying to do a little bit more portion control. Now that hasn’t stopped me from cooking too much rice, now I just have to figure out something to do with it afterward.

Usually I just cook something else and heat up the leftovers but one thing I try my hand at from time to time is fried rice. Again, one of the most important steps is to refrigerate the rice, overnight would be best. Still, I have a habit of overcooking the leftover rice in the pan but my technique has gotten better. You really only need to warm the rice up and toss it around for about a minute to break up the rice clumps and to mix everything together. More to the point, the rice and sauce go in after everything else is cooked. And remember, don’t overfill the pan!

I found a great recipe at Jam’s Thai Food a little while back and since it looked tasty, I decided to give it the ole good faith effort. Ended up using a little bit more sauce mix because I had so much rice and a pound of beef to use, it wound up a little salty but that was alright, I don’t mind it being that way. Thanks Jam!

Beef Basil Fried Rice

Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Serves : 4 – 6

Recipe adapted from Jam’s Thai Food

Ingredients:
– 2 – 3 qts of cooked rice, refrigerated overnight
– 3/4 to 1 lb Beef, sliced (Or Chicken, Pork, shrimps, or a combo)
– 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
– 1/2 medium onion, chopped
– 2 – 3 tbsp fish sauce
– 3 – 4 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1 – 1 1/2 cups Fresh Thai Basil leaves, washed
– 3 – 4 Thai Chillies, minced
– 1 shallot, minced
– 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
– A little soy sauce and cornstarch, for marinating (3-4 tbsp soy sauce w/ 1 tbsp starch)
Method:
1. Marinate the beef in some soy sauce and cornstarch for about 15-30 minutes.
2. Mix the Chillies, shallots, and garlic together. If you have a food processor, you can put the mix through to make a paste.
3. Heat a frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add some vegetable oil and then the paste. Stir and let cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the beef into the pan with a small dash of fish sauce and soy sauce. This will give the meat a little bit more flavor. Stir fry about a minute.
5. Add in the pepper and onions, stir fry another minute or so until the beef is cooked.
6. Add the rice in along with the rest of the sauce (fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar). Mix well and stir fry for about a minute.
7. Add in the basil leaves, stir fry another minute and then serve with fried eggs (however you like your eggs is fine)

If you live in the area, you probably know that there was a water main break over the weekend. Then came the boil water order. It’s funny that temporarily being deprived of clean water can inconvenience someone so much. No washing dishes, no drinking water, be careful showering, no brushing teeth…the list goes on! Fortunately I haven’t gotten completely through my case of poland spring yet so it’s only slightly annoying.

On a side note, I was up in New Hampshire on Saturday making a meat run, as strange as that sounds. Jason from Bite the Bullet BBQ e-mailed me just a little while back with a deal I just couldn’t refuse. He had a Spring offer for 12 racks of ribs…I just couldn’t turn that down! And for good measure, I asked if he would be able to cook up some pulled pork too and he did (I ended up with 12 racks of ribs and 4 pork butts). I brought a friend up with me too…he was a little skeptical at first after Jason fed us with some fresh meat off the grill, he couldn’t stop talking about it on the way back. And of course, in a lack of foresight, I forgot my camera…doh!

Anyway, while experimenting with some of Marcella Hazan’s sauces, I figured I’d try out something else in addition. Anchovies never have been a big part of my diet but they’re used fairly often in Italian cooking, so I decided to give it a shot. Marcella suggests that one buy anchovies fresh from the market (read: not in a can or jar) but not having that available, I had to resort to the jarred stuff. Not that it was THAT bad mind you, I just wanted to see what the suggested anchovies would taste like!

Beef Patties baked with Anchovies and Mozzarella

Time: 30-40 minutes
Serves : 6

Ingredients:
– 1 slice white bread, crust removed
– 3 tbsp skim milk
– 1.5 – 2 lb ground beef (93%)
– 1 egg
– salt
– plain bread crumbs
– canola oil
– a little butter
– 28oz can whole tomatoes, drained
– 1/2 tsp dried Oregano
– Mozzarella cheese
– 12 flat anchovy fillets

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Add the milk and bread to a small saucepan over low heat. Mash the bread to a pulp with the fork and remove from heat.
3. Combine the chopped meat with the milk mush, egg, and a sprinkle of salt. Mix well and then shape into 6 patties. Dredge the patties in bread crumbs.
4. Add a little bit of oil to a frying pan and cook the patties over medium high heat for about 2 minutes on either side, turning only once.
5. Slice each tomato in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice a small sliver from one of the pieces for garnish later.
6. Butter a baking dish and place the patties in the dish. Cover each patty with both halves of a tomato, sprinkle with a little salt and oregano, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese and finally place 2 anchovy fillets, criss-crossed, on top with the sliver of tomato placed in the center.
7. Bake for about 10 minutes and then serve directly at the table.

Note: I served this with Pasta Amatriciana. I’ll have a post about that soon =)

Quick post today, got a lot of catching up to do in the queue, there are about 5 other things to post about and I’m trying to come up with something good to write about

Boston got 20+ inches of rain over the past 3 weeks and it’s still flooded in many parts of New England. I traveled home for Easter and figured this time I wouldn’t drive through rush hour and take the train instead. Easy right? Not quite. I got an automated call the night before traveling saying that the train was canceled due to flooding. Yikes! I called the next day and managed to get onto a train that went out west through Springfield and then down into Connecticut…but it was 2.5 hours longer than the normal train was. Not to mention it ran late an extra 30 minutes so 8 hours in the darn train, felt like my legs were going to atrophy.

And of course my train back got canceled too, but I had a friend visiting family in NY and was able to hitch a ride back in what turned out to be massive traffic too. Must’ve been the Easter ham. Or the potatoes. Maybe the ham AND potatoes.

This past week has been some of the best weather I’ve seen (for March anyway) in Boston in the past 8 years. After 10-11 inches of rain in 3 days and massive flooding throughout the state, it hit 72 degrees on Saturday. From deluge to shorts weather…freaky. I won’t complain though, I got to dust off the golf clubs and hit up the driving range. And I guess a lot of others had the same idea, ended up waiting 30 minutes to get a booth, the line was 2 deep at one point!!!

I’ve also been on the hunt for a good tripod and head. Up until now, I’ve been shooting without a tripod and most of the time without flash. So it’s been tough to turn out good shots (can’t hold steady) and I’m getting a little tired of sifting through a dozen shots to find out none of them look any good! I’ve heard of a few brands, Manfrotto comes to mind, but I just started really looking this week. Pics to come once I get it though.

Anyway, onto the food. I’m a huge fan of Ree at The Pioneer Woman Cooks. She provides a step by step pictorial on almost all of her dishes as well as interesting tidbits and tips for each dish. But the thing I like the most is how homey the dishes feel, I’m an big admirer of homestyle cooking. There’s something to be said about the creativity home cooks have had over the years to feed their families, good times and bad.

Spaghetti and Meatballs is no exception. When I started cooking I never really paid any attention to staple dishes like this and Macaroni and Cheese. I guess my experience had been mostly cafeteria food and made from a box, so maybe that’s why I was blocking it out! But really, the stuff is classic for a reason, because it’s good AND it’s easy to make!

Recipe originally from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Time: 90 minutes
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
– 1 lb ground beef (85 or 90% lean)
– 1 lb ground pork
– 2 eggs
– 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
– 3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
– 3/4-1 cup grated Romano cheese
– 1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
– 1/4 tsp salt
– Fresh ground black pepper
– 1-2 tbsp skim milk
– 4 – 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sauce:
– 28oz can Italian plum tomatoes
– 28oz can crushed tomatoes
– 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
– 5 cloves garlic, minced
– 1/2 cup dry white wine
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 2 tsp sugar
– Fresh ground black pepper
– Red pepper flakes
– 1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
– 1 – 2 lbs Spaghetti, cooked

Method:
1. Combine meat, garlic, breadcrumbs, romano, salt, pepper, parsley, eggs, and milk in a mixing bowl. Mix together well. Roll into meatballs (should be around 30).
2. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil and cook meatballs, 8 at a time until browned, it’s ok if slightly undercooked, the meatballs will be returned to the sauce later. Remove meatballs and drain.
3. When finished with the meatballs, add onions and garlic, stirring for a couple minutes. Make sure to scrape up the brown bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add in tomatoes, wine, salt, pepper, sugar, and parsley. Stir to combine and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add meatballs back to the pot, reduce heat, and cook another 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I had a few friends over for dinner several weeks back and cooked a hodgepodge of Asian dishes. I don’t have a whole lot of experience cooking dinners for more than a couple people and figured it’d be a great opportunity to work on how to get everything on the table while still hot. Unfortunately, that meant that I was busy in the kitchen while everyone arrived but in the end it was well worth the effort.

One thing I’ve picked up is that prepping all of the vegetables, sauces, and marinating the meat ahead of time really helps. This way, you’re never wasting any time chopping garlic when you could be paying attention to the three or four dishes going on the stove! Not to mention, it makes it easier on cleanup too, as the mixing bowls and knives can be cleaned and put away well beforehand as well. And as is with stir-fry, dishes are cooked very quickly so you don’t want to be bogged down with other tasks.

I ended up serving three Cantonese dishes, a Korean dish, and Thai dish. Four things I’ve posted before (Pad See Ew, steamed striped bass, yo-choy, and a seafood stir-fry) and the dish I’m posting about today. I’ve had similar dishes in the past but never tried making it myself. So I figured, what the heck, it’d be a nice dish to try out. This recipe is from Practical Korean Cooking, one of the de facto books on Korean recipes.

A word of caution though. I wasn’t paying attention to how long I had the hot peppers for but they had enough time to get spicier than I remember. One of my buddies was determined to best the spice and I guess he did, but he looked like he was in pain with every bite =P

Stir-fried Beef with Hot Peppers

Time: 25-30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
– 3/4 – 1 lb beef tenderloin/flank/eye of round, matchstick sliced
– 1 tbsp ShaoHsing rice wine
– 2 tsp Soy sauce
– 1 tsp Sugar
– 1 tbsp Corn Starch
– 3-5 Long Hot Green Peppers
– 3-5 Long Hot Red Peppers
– 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp sugar

Method:
1. Combine meat, rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, and corn starch in a bowl and let marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Julienne the peppers and discard the seeds. They can be soaked in warm water to remove some of the spiciness.
3. In a frying pan or wok, add the peppers and remaining salt and sugar, stir frying for about 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Still over high heat, add a little canola oil and garlic, then after about 30 seconds add the beef. Stir-fry the beef until just barely cooked and then add the peppers back in.
5. Stir fry another minute or so and then serve with rice.

I wish I had a better name for this post but alas I’m not that creative. Maybe “tasty hamburger” or “zesty burger” might’ve worked (hmm, “goodburger” =P) but I’ll stick with this one for now.

I’ve always been a big fan of marinated burgers (don’t get me wrong, I love the plain ones too!) but I’ve never tried making them myself. I usually end up buying some of the ones at Whole Foods whenever they’re on sale (which is next to never) so needless to say, I don’t have them very often. But I’ve had this on the list of “things to do” for the past 5-6 months so I figured what the heck, I might as well put the new cast-iron pan to good use and make burgers!

This recipe originally came from White On Rice Couple and it’s really amazing how good something can taste with just a few simple ingredients. The folks at White on Rice do a fantastic job with their food. They grow many of their own ingredients and are AWESOME with photography, I really should use some of their tips =P

Anyway, in addition to fish sauce and the other ingredients, I dashed in a little Worcestershire sauce and minced a shallot. I should probably make the recipe word-for-word just to compare tastes but I’ve always liked a little Worcestershire sauce with meatloaf so I figured heck, why not try it with a burger!

Savory hamburgers

Serves 4-6 (depending on burger size)
Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients:
– 2 – 2 1/4 lb Ground beef (I use 90/10)
– 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
– 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
– 1 small shallot, minced
– 3 cloves garlic, finely minced then crushed
– 1/2 tsp sugar
– 1 tsp ground black pepper
– Hamburger buns

Method:
1. Combine all of the sauces and spices in a bowl, mix well. Add beef, try as best to get the marinade all over the beef (as evenly distributed as you can) and marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Roll the beef into balls and flatten into patties (roughly 1/2 lb). Make a thumbprint in the middle of the patty, this helps keep the patty uniform when cooking (the middle always rises).
3. Bring a cast-iron pan up over high heat. Lightly oil the pan and add in the hamburgers. Let cook relatively undisturbed (I usually move them slightly to avoid sticking) on each side for 3-5 minutes depending on how well done you like your burger. Time will also depend on the thickness of the patties.

Happy New Year and I hope everyone had a nice, safe, and relaxing holiday. And that all of the travel plans weren’t too much of a pain. And that you all ate a lot…I definitely did. I think there are studies that say the average American gains between 5-10 pounds been Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Then again, there are studies that say they only gain an average of 1 pound. Gotta love science, there’ll always be studies for and against something.

I’ve been getting pretty busy during the week these days and believe it or not, I’m running out of time to cook sometimes (unless I want to eat dinner at 10pm of course). So I’ve been getting creative. I’m trying to cook some things in about 30 minutes and other times when I get back late, eat leftovers and then cook something up that I can just heat up for lunch/dinner another day. I guess there’s also the instant boxed stuff, but that’s no fun =)

I wrote about a staple Chinese recipe, Beef Chow Fun, a while back…originally adapted from Grace Young’s Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen. I’ve been trying to come up with a few variations on the recipe, I found the original one a little bit greasy, and not enough of the saltier/soy flavor that I was used to. Then there’s the “gravy” version. It’s a similar recipe, only with a thick gravy sauce poured over top, delicious.

Beef Chow Fun

Serves 4
Time 30 minutes

Ingredients:
– 1.5 – 2 lb Fresh Wide Rice Noodles
– 1 lb Beef flank, sliced
– 1 Medium onion, chopped
– 4 stalks Scallions, chopped
– 1 small handful bean sprouts, rinsed
– 5 tsp soy sauce
– 1 – 2 tsp ShaoHsing Rice wine

Marinade:
– 2 tsp soy sauce
– 1 tsp corn starch
– 1/2 tsp sesame oil
– 1 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine
– Few grinds of white pepper

Method:
1. Marinate beef for about 10-20 minutes.
2. Heat wok/frying pan over high heat, swirl in 2 tbsp oil, stir-fry beef until just barely cooked. Set aside.
3. Clean pan, return to stove. Add 2-3 tbsp oil and the chopped onions and white parts of the scallions. Stir fry about a minute. Dash in the ShaoHsing rice wine.
4. Add in soy sauce, let bubble (20-30 seconds). Add in the noodles, stir-fry and combine.
5. Add beef back in, give a couple stirs.
6. Add green parts of scallions and bean sprouts. Stir fry another minute then serve.