Pepper Steak

The mother of a former sweetheart of mine used to boil her steak, regardless of the cut, until it was grey, slice it and serve it. It was chewy and unappealing.  I grew up in a household where steak was fried.  The first time I ever had a roast beef, I was 18.  I can still remember my husband and I taking my mother and two younger brothers out to dinner in a nice middle class restaurant.  My oldest brother saw roast beef on the menu and his eyes lit up; roast beef sounded so fancy.  He proudly placed his order and when the waitress asked him how he'd like it done, he stumbled, looking confused and abashed,  and said, "Fried, I guess." 

I needed a recipe for beef tips and when I found this recipe I was prepared not to like this, mostly because of the way the beef is prepared ...simmered  until tender, even if it was with other delicious flavors.   However, I needed something quick and easy, something a little different than I normally serve, with items I had on hand.  Gosh, this was good.  Ole Sweetie-Pi, the beef lover, gave it two hearty thumbs up.

This is a good recipe if you're trying to cut back on meat.  With one pound of beef, you can serve four people. You're going to have to like the flavor of green peppers, though.  It's a predominate flavor along with the stewed tomatoes.  The recipe calls for cutting the peppers into rings, which makes for a nice presentation, but not so easy to eat. I'd be inclined to save a couple of rings for decorative purposes and cut the peppers into large chunks.  Same with the stewed tomatoes.  I threw the can in whole, but next time will cut the tomatoes into at least halves if not fourths.

Leftovers were very good.  The noddles had a chance to absorb some of the broth and I think I liked this even more the second day.

Pepper Steak with Stewed Tomatoes

(http://southernfood.about.com/od/steakrecipes/r/bl30609h.htm)

1 pound sirloin tips cut in serving-sized pieces

2 tablespoons oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, diced finely

1 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

1 cup beef broth

1 14.5 ounce can stewed tomatoes, tomatoes broken up

1 large green bell pepper, cut into chunks

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

pinch sugar

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium low heat.  Add the beef and brown, about 15 minutes.  Add the onion and garlic and season with the salt and pepper.  Add beef broth to the meat and cover and simmer over low heat, about 25 minutes, or until meat is tender.  Add the tomatoes and green pepper; cook 10 minutes longer. 

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the cornstarch, water, and soy sauce.  Stir well to make a slurry.  Add to the meat mixture, stirring constantly, about five minutes to thicken the sauce.  Add a pinch of sugar if desired.  Adjust seasoning.

If sauce is too thick for your liking, add a small splash of water and stir.  If it's not thick enough, make another batch of slurry (just water and cornstarch) and add in small amounts, allowing it to cook in between before adding more  to determine how thick the sauce is going to be. 

 

Classic Crock Pot Roast Beef

Now here was a meal that was a tasty surprise. I've mentioned it before, but I generally don't make a delicious beef meal, but with a few kitchen staples, this came together easily, and we both liked it. I still think there are few things better than perfect slices of rare, oven roasted beef, but I seem to be particularly challenged in that area.  For now, this suffices very well. Ole Sweetie-Pi loved this. Personally, I'm more into the mashed potatoes and gravy.

Crock Pot Roast Beef
(found on:  http://crockpotroasts.com/recipes/classic/)

1 2-3 pound boneless beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil **

1 14.5 ounce can beef broth
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce **
3 cloves garlice, diced

1 onion, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon red pepper **
3 bay leaves **

Trim the roast of excess fat and then salt and pepper.  Heat the oil to hot in a saucepan large enough to hold the roast.  Salt and pepper the roast and put the roast in the sauce pan to brown the roast on all sides, generally about two minutes per side.

Place all your vegetables on the bottom of the crock pot and then place your roast on top of them. 

In the same pan that you browned the roast, lightly brown the garlic, then add the broth, Worcestershire sauce,  and tomato sauce..  Reduce the liquid to about half and then pour over the roast beef.  Set your crock pot to low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours,or until the roast is done.

**MY NOTES:  I had bacon grease left over from that morning's breakfast, so I browned my roast in bacon fat.  I don't like a lot of Worcestershire, so I reduced the amount to about 2 teaspoons.  Same goes for red pepper, I omitted it.  The original recipe didn't call for bay leaves, but I sampled the sauce after the beef had been cooking a while and felt it was lacking a little something (probably the additional Worcestershire and red pepper, smiles) and threw in some bay leaves.  Perhaps a wee bit of ketchup for acid would be good?

This made quite a bit of gorgeous meat juice.  I scooped some from the pot and put it in a saucepan and made a slurry of two tablespoons cornstarch to about a quarter cup of water.  I added a splash of it to the roast beef juices and  cooked and stirred until I saw how thick it was going to be, adding small amounts of slurry and stirring until I achieved a desired gravy consistency.  Taste for seasoning.  I'm thinking the rest of the meat juices will make a mighty fine minestrone with some of the leftover roast beef and frozen mixed vegetables and little pastas thrown in.

Salisbury Steak


I have maybe a half dozen or so recipes that I fall back on with regularity when I want something tasty but relatively inexpensive, and one of those dishes for me is Salisbury steak.  This is not true steak, but dressed up ground beef, purportedly developed during leaner times when home cooks needed  one more delicious way to serve the less costlier hamburg.  Another source says this dish was created by a Dr. Salisbury as part of a low carbohydrate diet.  Whatever the history, we enjoy this flavorful, filling dish.  For us, it's kind of a special family meal, but I certainly wouldn't hesitate to serve this to friends who are like family. A pound and a half of hamburg easily serves and satisfies six people.

Salisbury Steak
(http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Salisbury-Steak/Detail.aspx)

1 10.5-ounce can of condensed French onion soup, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef with 1/3 cup of condensed onion soup (reserving the remainder for the gravy), bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper.  Shape into 6 oval patties.

Brown both sides of  the patties in a  skillet large enough that the patties are not crowded.  Remove from pan and drain off the excess fat.  Put browned patties back into the skillet.

In medium bowl, combine the remaining onion soup and flour and mix until smooth.  Mix in the remaining gravy ingredients and pour the mixture over the patties.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring the gravy, being careful not to break the patties.

My Notes:  For us, the recipe as written does not provide nearly enough gravy.  I didn't do it for the photograph, but waited until after the picture taking was done to add lots of gravy to my mashed potatoes, smiles. I buy two cans of condensed French onion soup, using the 1/3 cup required for the hamburg, and using the remainder, plus one entire can for the gravy, and doubling the rest of the ingredients.  You may or may not want to reduce the mustard (I use yellow prepared mustard, like the kind you'd use on hot dogs), ketchup, and Worcestershire, because, as I mentioned, the sauce is quite flavorful and could be deemed too piquant for those who like subtler tastes.

Yankee Pot Roast

There are several memorable Sunday dinners that my grandmother and mother used to make and Yankee pot roast was among them.  I declare, there were few meals that beckoned more heartily or alluringly than a pot roast in the oven.  We'd gather in the kitchen to breath in the deep aromas or beef and onions and carrots and potatoes, occasionally lifting the cover of the roasting pan in hopeful expectation, and actually have to talk to each other in the meantime, smiles, while we waited for those first generous portions to be heaped onto our plates. The meat would be fall apart tender, swaddled in gravy, and accompanied with root vegetables that absorbed the beefy  juices and goodness and imparted their own rich flavors.

I should have paid more attention to the preparation and not so much the result, as different recipes I've used over the years have not quite been "it."  And then I found this one.  Take out your cast iron Dutch oven or your blue speckled roasting pan and heat your oven, this is good!  Ole Sweetie-Pi, who is  normally a finicky and light eater, ate big portions of this, and covetously guarded the leftovers. 

Yankee Pot Roast

1 bone-in chuck roast, 4-5 pounds, trimmed of excess fat (sometimes labeled pot roast or 7-bone chuck)
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil

4-5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons dried thyme or 6 sprigs fresh
2 bay leaves
3 ½ cups water or half chicken stock, half water (do not use beef stock)
2 tablespoons tomato paste

8 -10 small onions
5 carrots cut in 1-2 inch pieces
1 pound red potatoes or larger white potatoes in chunks

Pat the beef dry (helps it to brown) and generously salt and pepper it.  Place the meat in a Dutch oven or other large heavy pot over high heat with a little oil.  Sear the meat on both sides.  Remove the meat from the pan and pour off the oil. 

Reduce heat to medium, return the pan back to the heat.  Add the  chopped carrot,  celery, onion, and garlic, with a little oil, and cook until softened but not browned.  Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir 2 to 3 minutes.

Return meat to the pot and add the water/stock, tomato paste and herbs.  Bring to a simmer on top of the stove, covered tightly.  While you are bringing the pot to a simmer,  preheat oven to 325*F.  Place the covered pot in the oven and bake for 2 hours.  Check the meat at the end of one hour and turn the meat.  If it is not covered by liquid or if the liquid is too thick, add additional water.  The consistency should be like thin gravy.

At 2 to  2 1/4 hours, add the remaining vegetables. From here, the time varies, depending on their size, but plan on another hour of roasting.  If, at the end of  the hour the vegetables are not quite cooked, you can keep them covered in the pot, and the carryover heat should finish cooking them. 

Taste for seasoning and adjust as desired.

Using a slotted spoon, move the meat and vegetables to a platter.  Skim any excess fat from the remaining  liquid.  I like to slightly thicken the gravy with a slurry of cornstarch and water, but it's not necessary.  Slice the roast before serving and top with a little of the gravy, with the extra served on the side in a gravy boat.

Chinese Sizzling Steak



In the little city where we live we have six Chinese restaurants and yet when we want Sizzling Steak we have to travel 45 minutes out of our way to order it.  We won't have to do that again, I am pleased to say.  This recipe tastes virtually identical to the restaurant version that we enjoy. Tender slices of beef with golden onions and a sweet-spicy cause to crown it.  Oh so good!  Ole Sweetie-Pi couldn't stop eating it and put dibs on the leftovers.

A couple of  caveats:  there is some advance preparation time that needs to be factored in, and recipe uses  several different pans to cook in. 

Chinese Sizzling Steak
(The Recipelink.com) 

1 pound steak, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
4 tablespoons oil, divided

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon white wine

Slice the meat thinly (slices easiest when slightly frozen) and flatten with a meat mallet. Put into a large bowl.  Combine water and baking and pour over steak.  Let marinate one hour to tenderize the meat.  Drain the meat.

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wok or pan, add steak, and toss steak over very high heat to evaporate the water and then remove steak from pan. Set aside.  Drain oil from pan and put pan back on flame and add two tablespoons oil.  Add back the steak and cook until well browned.  Once again remove steak from pan and set aside.

Put a cast iron steak plate or a cast iron pan in a very hot (375*F) oven for about ten minutes or until it's very hot.

Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the wok and add the onion wedges.  Saute until golden brown and crispy and then remove from the pan, keeping warm.

Return steak to pan and toss one minute.  Add Worcestershire and tomato sauces and sugar, stirring until sauce boils, reduce heat and simmer two minutes. 

Carefully remove hot cast iron pan from oven and place on wooden base or trivet.  Arrange onions on steak plate.  Spoon meat and sauce over onions.  Pour wine over the steak plate to give it that characteristic sizzle.

Marinated Chuck Roast

Love beef?  I saw this on Chaya's My Sweet and Savory blog, and when she said that she and her husband are not big beef eaters but really liked this, then I knew this was for us. Chaya did not mislead. This has to be the very best roast I have ever eaten.  A rich marinade deepens the mahogany color. But the flavor!  Oh,  the flavor is amazing, getting  into the very corners of your mouth ~ slightly sweet and tangy, slightly winey, and  tender good.

Marinated Chuck Roast
(Discovered on Chaya's Sweet and  Savory)

3 to 4 pounds. chuck roast
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon tarragon **
1/3 cup rice vinegar **
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoon olive. oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup red cooking wine**

8 small mushrooms **

1 tomato, sliced **

Preheated 350 degrees oven.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, except tomatoes, to make the marinade.

Salt and pepper both sides of the roast and then place roast in glass pan. Pour the marinade over the roast.  Cover, refrigerate and allow meat to marinate at least 3 to 4 hours. Spoon marinade over roast from time to time. Just before roasting, slice the tomato and place on top of the roast.  Roast at 350 degrees for one hour.

I didn't have all the ingredients, so I had to make some substitutions.

**tarragon - after Googling for a substitute, I used a tiny pinch of anise seed

**rice vinegar - rice cooking wine

**red cooking wine - Madeira wine

**garlic powder - fresh diced garlic

 ** mushrooms - used Shittake

**tomatoes - omitted because I didn't have any fresh

Chaya, as I said, this has to be the very best roast beef I have ever made or eaten.  Thank you so much for sharing; it's a keeper and a recipe we'll enjoy many more times.

Mahogany Beef Stew and Never Fail Biscuits

Doggone it's been cold here.  We probably don't have as much snow on the ground as some of our southern and western cousins do, but we sure have plenty of the low double and single digit temperatures.  Once we get chilled, the cold goes to the bone, and it seems to take forever to thaw out.  (Have you ever noticed that in some places folks use the colloquialism  unthawed, such as unthaw the meat, when they really mean thaw? I digress but felt a need to point it out, grins.)

It's a good day to turn the oven to bake something hot...

and set a pot on the stove to simmer something long and slow and comforting...

It was just one of those days when no one minded the kitchen being heated up.

For a short while during the Depression years, my grandfather cut wood for a living and, in conjunction,  my grandmother ran a small boardinghouse of sorts where the workmen could stay and she'd feed them. She provided very simple fare she told me, but her baking powder biscuits were a staple, and her biscuits were her pride and joy.  To this day I don' t know of anyone who can make them higher or fluffier or more golden.  I can still see her knobby knuckles, splayed fingertips, the heavily veined hands, working the flour and lard together until "it felt just right."  Brows furrowed, no measuring, just working quickly.

I did not inherit the baking powder biscuit gene.  I have to give my beloved, sainted grandmother credit; she did try to teach me.  I made rocks, hockey pucks, door stops, cannon ballast, but not biscuits.  I gave up. years passed.  And then I saw this recipe on Allrecipes.  And you know what?  They're just as advertised.  They are no fail!  I've made them a dozen times at least since discovering them and every time they have risen beautifully, are tender and flaky, and taste (not quite like Gram's, must be the lard!) good.

Cold weather inspires heartier meals.  I like cooking with wine; it makes the recipe seem so much more elegant, but I mostly cook with white wine, sherry, the occasional Merlot, and of course champagne in my mimosas.   As I'm not a huge beef eater and as Ole Sweetie-Pi isn't much for gussied up food, red wine stays on the shelf until it becomes vinegar.  So, when I found this recipe for Mahogany Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin Sauce on Epicurious I didn't have the recommended Cabernet Sauvignon  and had to substitute Merlot.  I think the Cabernet might have been a better choice, as this stew was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but Ole Sweetie-Pi gave it a big thumbs up.  This stew has a decidedly different, but delicious, flavor because of the hoisin sauce ~ sweet, rich, hearty, winy.  It's not the beef stew I grew up with, but one that I would make again.

Stuffed Meat Loaf

Who says meat loaf isn't company worthy. Let me assure you that when it's a meat loaf stuffed with savory, cheesy, vegetable goodness, it certainly is. I've been eying this recipe in Mario Batali's Molto Italiano for some time and finally with the cooler weather when heartier meals are more welcomed, I decided to put this together. I won't kid you, this meat loaf takes a little bit of time to put together, but it's not difficult. This was my first time putting it together and it probably took me an hour's preparation. Next time, because I know what to expect, the time will be much shorter. Plus, this is something that can be prepared earlier in the day and put in the refrigerator until you're ready bake it.

Let's start with the ingredients.

Stuffed Meat Loaf

1 pound ground lean pork
1 pound ground lean beef
2 cups, plus 3 tablespoons, fresh bread crumbs
1 cup pecorino Romano cheese, grated
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste

8 ounces baby spinach, stems removed, washed dried (I used frozen spinach, defrosted in the microwave, and removed excess water), blanched
2 carrots, cut lengthwise into about 6 slices each, and then boiled until just tender
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
6 slices Prosciutto di parma

2 sprigs rosemary (I used a couple teaspoons of dried)
1 cup water

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Putting It All Together

In a large bowl, combine the pork, beef, 2 cups of bread crumbs, pecorino Romano, eggs, salt and pepper. Using your impeccably clean hands, mix gently but throughly. Cover and refrigerate.

In the meantime, either blanche your fresh spinach in a salted boiling water, dipping in the leaves just until they're wilted. Dry on paper towels or spin dry in a salad spinner. Add the carrot slices to the still boiling water and cook for about ten minutes, drain, and set aside.

Combine the 3 tablespoons of flour with 3 tablespoons of bread crumbs. Dust your work surface with the mixture. (Here is where I parted company with Mario's directions. I used a long sheet of tin foil because I wanted to use my tin foil to help me roll the meat loaf in the next steps.)

Pat the meat mixture into a thick rectangle, about 16 inches by 6 inches on the dusted work surface. (I use a ruler specifically reserved for cooking.) Lay the spinach leaves over the meat, leaving a half-inch border on the short sides.

Lay the carrot slices over the spinach, lengthwise down the rectangle.

Add the prosciutto and the cheese. ( I forgot to take a picture of the cheese, but I think you have the idea.)

Now, starting from the long side, roll the meat up as if it were a jelly roll. Using the tin foil, simultaneously lift the two opposite long ends and gently turn and roll the raised edge to the inside. You'll have to run your hands down the length of the cylinder to help shape it and keep it tight. Repeat until the roll is complete.

Ta dah! You might want to give it just a little extra pat and make sure that the seam is pinched together.


Add one cup of water to the bottom of your broiler pan and the rosemary sprigs.

Now, because you were clever enough to use a sheet of tin foil as your work surface, you can cradle and lift the entire rolled loaf onto your broiler pan rack and gingerly roll the roll onto the rack so that it doesn't break apart.

I had to put my loaf on diagonally as it was too long for the broiler. Pour 1/2 cup of extra virgin oil oil over the entire length of the loaf.

Bake for approximately 1 hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. I checked at the end of one hour, and the internal temperature of my loaf was 180, so it was probably slightly overdone. If you have an insta-read thermometer, I'd start checking at 45 minutes.

Look at that golden crispy crust on this meat loaf. The house smelled absolutely sensational as it was baking. Five cats and an Ole Sweetie-Pi just couldn't stay out of the kitchen. My mouth was watering the whole time.


To remove from the rack, you'll need a thin spatula to release the underside of the meat loaf from the pan. I didn't have any real issue, and was able to move the entire loaf without breaking it. The pan juices made a nice gravy; I deglazed the pan, added some additional seasoning and thickening. Oooh, this was good.

Pigs in a Blanket

Lately, it seems as if we've just been too busy to sit and enjoy a full meal, so meals been pretty hit or miss. Today has been overcast and suddenly cool, so we wanted something warm and fulling and we wanted it now!

A short while back I saw that our local grocery store had refrigerated crescent roll dough on sale; it's a product I rarely ever buy, but I couldn't resist the price. The minute I saw them I was reminded of these little rolls that my mother used to make when my brothers and I were growing up and so, for a quick dinner tonight, they were just handy and delicious. Warmed up a can of tomato soup in that famous red can, and in under 30 minutes we were eating a nice, satisfying little meal. We agree this is one that we look forward to enjoying again.

Pigs In a Blanket

Not a recipe really, more of a how to.

One roll of refrigerated crescent dough (such as Pillsbury Poppin' Fresh) (makes 6 crescents)
4-6 six slices cheese, your choice
6 hot dogs or slices of ham
Mustard, if desired

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Open up on the can of crescent dough and separate the crescents into individual crescents. You may want to slightly flatten them, though it's not really necessary.

Lay pieces of cheese on top edge (widest part) of the dough, leaving a small margin of dough all around as the cheese will melt out of the edges. Lay your hot dog or sliced, crosswise, ham over that. Add your mustard if you are using it.

Holding the dough at the two outer edges, roll the dough towards you, catching up the cheese as you roll. The short pointed end of the crescent should be the last part that is rolled up.

Place filled crescent, pointed side down, on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Chili Beef Burgers with Mustard Butter

Ole Sweetie-Pi watched me while I was taking a picture of these burgers. He wrinkled his nose in disdain and asked, "Getting desperate, Dearie? You're now taking pictures of hamburgers?!"

Really, timing is everything. I'm standing there with the camera in my hand, contorting my body to get the best possible light and angle. I was becoming more and more frustrated because I can see the green cast being shed from the platter onto my food, and he says he says something infuriating. So, I do as I always do, I "uh huh" him and then pretend not to hear anything more.

I'm not a real big fan of beef, but every now and again I absolutely crave a really good, thick and juicy, genuine beef, hamburger. Most of the time, I like my burgers about as plain as you can get them, just minced beef and a little salt and pepper. And they have to be cooked all the way through. No thrills, no frills. I only want ketchup. No cheese, no lettuce, no secret sauce, no mayonnaise, no pickles, no onions, no tomatoes. I'm talking bare bones here. I don't even want seeds on my buns. Yes, sirree, they are plain and boring. Little did Ole Sweetie-Pi realized that when he quipped his witty observation that these weren't just my normal Plain Jane burgers.

His expression markedly changed after his first bite of these Chili Beef Burgers with Mustard Butter. The surprised look of approval and smile said it all.

Barbecued Chili Beef Burgers with Mustard Butter
(adapted from Favorite Meat Recipes by the Confident Cooking Promise of Success)

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, grated
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon malt vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce
1-3 teaspoons dried oregano

Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and using your impeccably clean hands or a sturdy spoon, combine well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 2 hours.

When ready, take bowl from refrigerator and shape the mixture into burger sized patties. Place the patties on lightly oiled grill or cast iron grill plate or heavy duty fry pan. Cook about four minutes each side, until nicely browned and cooked through. Serve with mustard butter.

Mustard Butter

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mustard

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and beat until combined. Set aside for a half hour or so to allow the flavors to meld and ripen.

P. F. Chang's Mongolian Beef

I love the P. F. Chang's in Boston. I went there, in my first limousine(!), with a group of co-workers for a Christmas gathering and then we went to a play in the theater district that's nearby. I don't remember a lot about the play, but I do remember I loved the food. After having dined there it was difficult to enjoy Chinese food any place else; their food is just that good.

I was fortunate enough to find this fabulous recipe for Mongolian Beef on Meemo's Kitchen. Have you visited Pattie's blog there? She has a ton of super secret and copycat restaurant recipes: Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, Hard Rock Cafe, just to name a few. I spent a looong time there perusing all those delicious recipes and she has a ton I want to try!

I didn't have the Mongolian Beef on my only trip to P. F. Chang's so I can't swear to its authenticity, but I can swear that Ole Sweetie-Pi devoured his dinner when I served him this.
If you like the flavor of teriyaki beef, I think you'd enjoy this as well. For us, this is an absolutely keeper recipe!

P. F. Chang's® Mongolian Beef

Sauce

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pound flank steak (to make slicing easier, put the beef in the freezer for 30-45 minutes to freeze slightly)
1/4 cup cornstarch
4-6 large green onions

For the sauce:

Heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic to the pan. Quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. If your oil is too hot, this may splatter, so be careful. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then bring the heat up to medium heat and allow the sauce to boil for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

Slice the slightly frozen flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.

Coat the steak pieces with a very thin coating of the cornstarch on both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

Heat one cup of oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat until it's hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon or a spider to take the meat out and onto paper towels.

Pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, add the meat back into the wok or skillet and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring. Add the green onions. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Servings: 2

Filet Mignon with Brandy & Cream

This has to be about one of the best beef dinners I've ever made. Ole Sweetie-Pi couldn't stop smacking his lips and telling me how good this is. Indeed, such high praise from a consummate beef eater.

I found this recipe in my Northern Italian Cooking cookbook by Biba Caggiano. I can't tell you how long I've had it; the book was published in 1981, so at least since then,. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I've never once made anything out of it until now. What a mistake!

This recipe is restaurant quality (indeed it's a restaurant recipe) that you can easily make at home. So elegant and delicious.

Filet Mignons with Brandy & Cream

2 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard **
2 tablespoons green peppercorns
or pinch red (cayenne) pepper **
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 filet mignons, 3/4-inch thick **
1/3 cup brandy **
1/2 cup whipping cream
salt

In a small mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and green peppercorns (or cayenne).

Melt butter with oil in a large skill. When the butter foams, add the meat.

Cook over medium high heat 1 to two minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet.

Add the ketchup-mustard mixture and the cream. Return meat to skill. Season with salt.

Cook over medium high to preferred doneness. Place meat on warm platter. Spoon sauce over meat. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

** Cook's Notes

I think this had a very strong mustard flavor. If you don't love mustard, I would suggest cutting back the amount. Sweetie-Pi loved the flavor; I thought it was too assertive.

I used cayenne; I could not justify buying a jar of peppercorns for such a small amount as it's not an ingredient I readily use. I do believe, however, that the peppercorns would've been a better choice.

Filet mignons are expensive and exquisite and should stand on their own, I think, or maybe wrapped in bacon. I do not think they should be covered with a heavy sauce such as this. I used two Delmonico steaks; they were flavorful, tender,absolutely gorgeous.

I keep cognac in the house for cooking purposes only, and from past experience I know how quickly a dish can go from flavorful to overwhelmed. I reduced the amount I used by about three tablespoons, and that seemed to be just right. Once again, a small sampling will tell you if you'd like to add more.

Finally, the rich brown sauce didn't just happen. Even after scraping up all the little bits in the bottom of my pan, the sauce did not get the deep rich color that you see. It was actually rather salmon colored and anemic looking. So I cheated. I used a product GravyMaster. Wonderful product. I added in small amounts and stirred to combine until I achieved the beautiful, rich brown gravy that you see. If you use GravyMaster, taste sample the gravy before adding any salt.

This has to be the best steak I have ever cooked. It's fast, easy, elegant. Just perfect for that special dinner.