Beefy Stew

I made a beef stew last night and it turned out so well I thought I would share it. I found 1½ pounds of sirloin beef on sale so I decided to greet our change to autumn weather with a hearty meal. You can use round steak or even chuck steak for this recipe but cut it up in pieces about 1 inch square. (I think that supermarkets sell you beef stew pieces that are too big to cook and eat easily … and need to be at least halved.  Cooks Illustrated magazine recommends sirloin steak tips for beef stew.)

Dice one large onion and sauté it in a few tablespoons of olive oil. (Bacon grease would also be good.) Use a Le Creuset pot if available, otherwise, a cast iron one. Add a few chopped up garlic cloves and cook till transparent. Salt and pepper the meat well and brown it along with the onions and garlic. Next add a small package of mushrooms, cleaned and halved. Now clean and chop three carrots, two celery stalks (with leaves). Add them. After things are well amalgamated add a bouquet garni (I used a teaspoon of powdered bouquet garni from Penzey’s Spices. See here), one bay leaf, a half teaspoon of dried thyme, two tablespoons of chopped parsley, three squirts of Lea and Perrins, five peppercorns, five allspice berries, a third bottle of Bogle old-vine zinfandel, and a container of good beef stock (Emeril’s was good). Bring up to a simmer. Halve 7 or 8 baby Yukon Gold potatoes and add them. Mix well with a fork a heaping tablespoon of flour with an equal amount of softened butter and stir well into the pot. Continue simmering this concoction on the back of the stove for at least one hour (two is better). Then remove the bay leaf (and bouquet garni, if not powered) and adjust the seasoning. Serve with the remaining bottle of Bogel’s zinfandel and a crusty baguette. Enjoy!

Now, when done, if it is still light out, go out and rake some leaves.

Meat Loaf

There must be ten thousand good meat loaf recipes. Mine is unique only in a few ways, but I like it and I think you will too.

First the meat: a mélange of ½ pound of ground beef, ½ pound of ground pork and ½ pound of ground veal is certainly a winner. However, if your taste runs to all beef … cajole your butcher into grinding you 1 ½ pounds of beef neck meat. It’s the sweetest and tastiest of all the beef cuts. A German butcher in New York City put me onto this trick and I think he was the only man I was ever tempted to run away with.

Next make the meat extenders:
- Chop and sauté one medium Bermuda onion in good olive oil until mahogany in color … adding toward the end two minced garlic cloves or ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Also add two big pinches of Kosher salt and two grinds of black pepper. Let cool.
- Cut the crusts off of two slices of sturdy white bread and dice into ½ inch cubes. Soak this bread along with seven or eight cut-up dried mushrooms (Polish is best) in enough milk to cover and let stand until all milk is absorbed..
- In a dry non-stick frying pan heat six generous marrowed bones, turning frequently until the marrow browns and starts to loosen from the bone. Cool and scoop out this marrow into a small bowl. Save the fat in the frying pan to make the meat loaf gravy.
- Whisk one large egg (two eggs if you like your meat loaf “tight”) in a bowl along with six`squirts of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon of dried thyme (or 1 teaspoon of fresh), two more pinches of Kosher salt and two more grinds of pepper.

Combine all the above with the meat in a large bowl and mix well with your impeccably clean hands. Butter the bottom and sides of a square oven-proof dish (rectangular is better) that fits into your toaster oven (or you can use your regular oven). Preheat this oven to 350 degrees. Place the meat mixture in this dish and flatten out the top. Put about ½ a bottle of Heinz’s chili sauce on top of this meat loaf and place it in the oven for about 45 minutes (alternate topping – cover with three thin slices of good Swiss cheese.)

Remove from the oven and let stand for about twenty minutes. Then pour off any fat and juices from around the sides of the meat loaf into the frying pan that cooked the marrow bones. Add an equal amount of flour or Wondra and heat until all the fat is absorbed and the flour is light tan. While still on the heat, add some good beef stock and stir well until this gravy reaches the consistency you prefer. Correct the salt and pepper seasoning, perhaps adding a bit of Magi and marjoram to your taste. Stir and heat further briefly.

Serve this meat loaf and gravy with mashed or escalloped potatoes and briefly-cooked fresh peas (with butter and a bit of chopped-up fresh mint). You might also enjoy a bit of prepared horseradish with your meat. Enjoy.

You Say Scalloped, I Say Escalloped

Potatoes that is. This is a relatively low-calorie version of the classic lyonnaise potatoes … without the heavy cream and loads of butter. I prefer saying “escalloped potatoes” because it makes it clearer that it does not contain those shellfish.

This recipe is quite simple and delicious: Peel and thinly slice (a Mandolin helps) three or four medium to large Russet potatoes soaking the slices in cold water for about fifteen minutes. In the meantime peel, crosscut and thinly slice a very large onion (or two smaller ones) and saute these slices in some olive oil and a dollop of butter until they are dark brown but not burned. Add a little salt, pepper and dried thyme and mix well. Butter the bottom and sides of an oven-proof dish that fits in your toaster oven.

Now, layer the dried-off potato slices and onion mixture in this dish, lightly salting and peppering the potato slices as you go. Don’t go above four or five layers stopping on the potato layer. Now add enough boxed chicken stock to come up to the top of these layers. May I suggest the new product called “rotisserie chicken stock”. It is darker and more flavorful (or make your own chicken stock from a leftover rotisserie chicken.) Cover the top with grated Gruyere cheese.  (Don’t skimp on the quality or quantity here.)  Place in the toaster oven set on 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. At the end, if the top is not bubbly and brown, put the toaster oven on broil for a few minutes until it is.

Enjoy with a baked ham, a meat loaf (with some bottled horseradish), or a roast beef (ditto on the horseradish).

Hang Out Your Shingle

In the Army they used to call it SOS, “[bleep] on a shingle.” It is really creamed chipped beef on toast and it can be a sensational breakfast or brunch dish if prepared with just a modicum of care. First you have to acquire some real dried chipped beef (or jerky). I say "real" for the brand I often used was Beardsley’s. Unfortunately it is no longer available … another casualty of the food Nazis. (I bought a bunch of it on close-out at Ocean State Job Lot). Don’t be tempted to use Armour’s chipped beef. It’s a reconstituted product made from minced beef pressed back into a sheet with some kind of binder. So, you probably must go on the Internet to find the real thing. May I suggest trying Carson's or Knauss Snack Foods (the original maker of Beardsley’s). I can’t really vouch for either since I still have my larder stocked with aging Beardsley’s, so caveat emptor.

To prepare this wonderful dish, generally follow the following steps:

- Soak the dried beef in cold water for about 10 minutes to remove some of the salt.
- Mince a small onion and a small Italian pepper (or half a larger one)
- Sauté the onion and the pepper in a large frying pan in about half a stick of butter until the onion is translucent.
- Sprinkle this mixture with about about two heaping tablespoons of flour (or Wondra). Stir and heat until the flour turns a light brown.
- Gradually add about one cup of milk (1% is fine), stirring vigorously, and heat until this mixture thickens.
- Drain, dry, roughly chop, and add the dried chipped beef.
- Then add about three grinds of black (or white) pepper and ½ a teaspoon of dried thyme (or one teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme)
- Give this mixture about four or five squirts of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce..
- Heat thoroughly and taste for salt. Be careful about adding any more salt.

Serve on four buttered toast points made with a good quality rustic white or whole wheat bread (more generously than that pictured). Goes well with a good hot cup of coffee and a fresh-cut fruit cup.

Shepherd’s Pie-eyed

This Shepherd’s pie recipe is inspired by a dish served at a diner where I once washed dished when I was in college (Hal's ... and was the first job from which I was fired).

Ingredients:
1½ pounds lean ground beef or lamb (neck meat is best … grind your own if you can)
2 small yellow onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ pound green beans, cleaned, deveined, halved and cooked al dente in salted water
3 large Russet potatoes peeled and quartered
½ cup milk (or cream)
3 dollops of butter
½ Tsp. thyme
5 good dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
5 or 6 more dollops of butter for the top of the mashed potatoes
Sprinkling of paprika

Boil the potatoes in a large sauce pan of water until tender. Drain well and return to a low heat. Mash these potatoes well, adding a large pinch of salt a 2 or 3 grinds of black pepper. Whip these mashed potatoes well with the milk or cream. If the potatoes appear mushy, they will tighten up as you continue whipping them over low heat. Add the first 3 dollops of butter. Stir and set aside.

In a large frying pan, add the olive oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the chopped onions. Sauté until transparent. Add the ground meat. Add the thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and the salt and pepper to taste. Cook until well browned. Add the cooked and drained green beans. Mix well. Transfer to a baking dish and cover with the mashed potatoes. Place the rest of the butter dollops on top and sprinkle with paprika. Place under the broiler and cook until the top is a golden brown. Serve with nice crusty bread and a good quality cold beer in a frosty glass. And I know it is anathema, but I also enjoy a little ketchup on the side.