Beef Wellington

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This past weekend I finally made beef wellington. This dish has been on my list of dishes to try ever since seeing it on MasterChef. I did a lot of preparation and research before making this dish so I could understand all the steps involved in making such a complex dish. I combined a few different recipes but this video was a big help in seeing how to execute some of the more technical aspects of this meal, beef wellington video. This recipe is for special occasions. It takes a lot of time to prep but in the end it turns out great. just make sure to take your time as you work through the recipe and trust your meat thermometer. For a nice medium rare pull the wellington out of the oven when the internal temperature reaches 125. As the roast rests it the temp will rise to 130-135. When cutting the wellington use a sharp chef’s knife to prevent the pastry from shredding and falling off. Enjoy.

Beef Wellington

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Braised Beef Short Ribs

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Over the weekend I made braised beef short ribs for dinner. A warning before you attempt this recipe, it is fairly simple technique-wise but it will take 3-3 and a half hours to make. However, the time is more than worth it for the final product. To come up with this recipe I combined a few recipes I had researched online while looking up how to make this dish. I am a fan of peppers so I added a few into the mirepoix mixture.

When buying the short ribs see if your butcher can cut the ribs into 2 inch pieces cut crosswire, this allows the ribs to fit in the pot and be covered by the braising liquid. After the ribs are done it is important to remove them from the liquid then strain the liquid to remove some of the fat. You then return the liquid to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil to reduce down for 5-10 minutes. As it boils add salt and pepper to taste. You can serve the short ribs over mashed potatoes or polenta. With the weather in the Northeast getting cooler this is perfect for an Autumn or Winter weekend. Enjoy!

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Korean Curry

Hello! Lindsey here, while Greg is over in England for a couple weeks, he left his blog in my hands.  A little background for you, I am Greg’s younger sister and I recently moved away from home to RIchmond, Virginia.  Like Greg, I am also a foodie and love eating, cooking, and trying a variety of food.

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Tonight on the menu was a Korean Curry, this dish had the perfect amount of spice and flavor.  As other curries are known to be over-powering, this curry hit the nail on the head and is quite different from the more popular Indian Curry.  I can not take credit for this recipe, I helped my roommate Melissa cook this wonderful concoction tonight.

We started first by browning ground beef in a large pot, while the meat was cooking, we chopped the veggies (carrot, potato, onion, garlic, zucchini, green onion) and added them to the pan–to brown.

While the meat and veggies were cooking, we stirred together the curry powder into two cups of water, then added this to the pan with the meat and veggies.  Then we stirred together until well blended and added 1 more cup of water.  Stir.  Simmer about 10 minutes and add the peas with about 3 minutes remaining.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve over rice or noodles.

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This recipe is extremely easy to cook and has exceptional flavor.  The curry powder may be harder to come by, as my roommate bought it at an Asian market and the packaging is mostly in Korean, but below I posted a picture of the packaging for an easy find.

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As this is my first post, I am not yet familiar with the format of the blog, so I will just post the recipe below:

Korean Curry- 10 tablespoons of powdered curry

1/3 ground beef

2 large carrots

2 potatoes

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 zucchini

1 bunch green onion

Handful frozen peas

Surf and Turf: Ribeye Steak and Scallops

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Earlier this week I made up a nice surf and turf with a ribeye steak and some sea scallops. I also experimented with some grilled potatoes that I marinated in a chipotle sauce. For the steak I just sprinkled on some kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper then cooked it to a nice medium rare.

For the potatoes I wanted to try something different and looked up a few ideas for grilled redskinned potatoes. Most of the recipes I found were pretty basic so I modified a few to add some spice to the potatoes. I thought they turned out quite well and were a nice change up from a regular baked potato.

I cooked the scallops on Himalayan salt blocks. If you can I highly recommend getting one. They cook some of the best scallops I have ever eaten. They are also good with tuna and thinly sliced pieces of beef. The most important part of cooking with a salt block is to make sure you heat it correctly. You need to take your time to not damage the block. I go over the proper way to heat a salt block in the recipe for the scallops.

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The salt blocks give the scallops a fantastic sear and a light and salty seasoning. Enjoy!

Seared Scallops on Himalayan Salt Block

Chipotle Grilled Red Potatoes

Mother’s Day Dinner

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On Mother’s Day I cooked dinner for my family. The menu was made up of Fillet Mignon with the Guinness reduction, double stuffed potatoes with cheese and bacon, sauteed mushrooms, and oven roasted asparagus. Putting the meal together turned into a family effort with everyone pitching in on various parts of the meal. I’m getting closer and closer to perfecting the Guiness reduction and should have the final version of it nailed down in the next few attempts. With this attempt I was focusing on getting the right consistency to allow the sauce to grab onto the steak better. For dessert I made bananas foster. Now I am not a huge fan of cooked fruit and was surprised with how well it turned out. The bananas foster will be getting a dedicated post in the very near future. I hope all of you also had enjoyable Mother’s Days.

 

New York Strip Steaks With Green Peppercorn Sauce

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So after eating the enchiladas I made on Cinco de Mayo for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the last few days I decided I needed a change for dinner tonight. I went to the grocery store after work and just wandered around until something struck me. I walked past the meat case and saw some beautiful looking New York Strip Steaks. I Then came up with the idea to pair the steaks with a simple green peppercorn sauce. The sauce itself is very simple and you make it like you would an other pan sauce. The recipe I came up with makes enough for roughly 3 steaks so if you are cooking for more people you may need to tweak the recipe a bit. you can find the recipe by following the link below. Enjoy!

Green Peppercorn Sauce

Asian Beef Rolls

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I found a recipe similar to this in Cooking Light Magazine, I tweaked it a little but it still stays true to the original. This recipe is a bit tedious to prep but very simple to cook.

To put rolls together place 1 steak slice on a cutting board and place 3 pieces of green onion and 3 pieces of red pepper on steak then roll. Place completed beef rolls on baking sheet.

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Then coat grill pan with cooking spray then heat pan over medium-high heat. Place beef rolls in pan, seem side down and cook for 3 min. Then turn and cook for an additional 3 minutes. While beef rolls are cooking bring reserved marinade and remaining rice wine vinegar to a boil and reduce by about half. pour sauce over rolls then serve.

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This recipe is great to make for game day. They are bite size and offer an alternative to wings and a six foot hoagie. For full recipe see the link below, Enjoy!

Asian Beef Rolls

 

Guinness Reduction Part 2

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Inspired by St. Patrick’s Day I worked on perfecting the Guinness pan sauce that I made a few weeks ago. Before cooking the steaks I took 4 cups of beef stock, carrots, celery, garlic, and onions and placed them in a saucepan; I then reduced the broth by half to build more flavor in the stock. After fortifying the stock I cooked the steaks in the pan. I sauteed half a shallot then deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup of Guinness. I reduced the Guinness by 2/3 then added the fortified beef broth. I simmered the sauce for ~2 min then added 1tsp dijon mustard, 1 tbs soy sauce, salt, and chopped fresh parsley. I let the sauce simmer for another 2 min then added 1 tbs unsalted butter and 1/2 tsp truffle butter. I then did a final taste to get the salt level right. I then served the sauce over the steak.

To cook the shrimp I took a cast iron skillet and cooked 4 pieces of bacon. I then added the shrimp, which I seasoned with Old Bay and cooked them in the bacon grease.

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Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

Last Night I made the Beef Stroganoff recipe we were given at the cooking class on Monday night. To warn you in advance this recipe is all about taste, not so much on being healthy. It calls for quite a bit of heavy cream and sour cream. This dish is very rich and is perfect for a cold day. I’m a bit short on time so I will update this post and add the recipe next week. I’m away this weekend so there will not be any posts for the next few days.

Cookin Classes Week 2: Beef, Veal, Lamb and Pork

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In week two of the cooking classes we learned how to prepare and cook various forms of meat. The class started with a talk about the various types of each meat, ie the difference between choice and prime cuts of beef. We were then walked through where on the animal various cuts of meat came from. After the short lesson the chef taught us how to prep and French a rack of lamb and prep a pork and veal tenderloin. Then we got into the cooking. I chose to cook a roasted veal tenderloin with a maple bourbon glaze, Ben I’m sorry about the veal. One skill I will take away from this recipe was learning how to properly sear a piece of meat. From properly preheating the pan to the proper time to flip the meat. The chef was very good about answering any questions we had during the class. A few of the other dishes from the class that stood out were the beef stroganoff, the Thai curried pork, and the tri tip that the head chef prepared for us. I look forward to trying out those dishes in the near future.