One of my favorite Christmas gifts has become my subscription to Cooking Light. I always enjoyed flipping through the magazine at work but now since I’ve started to cook from it I have truly come to love it. Granted the seasoning is always underdone for me (easily fixed) and many times I stray from recipes to scale down servings or make them cheaper, but it’s full of wonderful ideas and recipes.

I know I just did another stew but I can’t help but be drawn to dishes like this when I’m trying to eat healthier and still want to feel full. At under 300 calories per serving (not including the tabbouleh) it really is a delight. This poor man’s version of Moroccan tagine is quick, cheap, and tasty. Period. I love the spicy-sweet flavor profile and as lame as it sounds, I have totally fallen in love with the Near East brand’s boxed tabbouleh salad. This came together in under 40 minutes and I see myself making this dish many times in the near future. And I hope you do, too.

—

Beef Tagine with Butternut Squash

Serves 4.

Based on the recipe from Cooking Light.

I think this would be something fabulous to make in the slow cooker if you felt so inclined. The meat is just slightly tough because it’s such a cheap cut, so it was begging to be cooked low and slow. I would just stop once I’ve browned all the meat, add everything from the pan (juices too) into the crock pot, along with the broth, tomatoes, and squash, and cook for 4-5 hours on low. I bet it would be tasty eats.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground ginger
• ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (1-pound) beef shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• ½ cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Cooked couscous or tabbouleh salad.

Directions

1.) Whisk paprika, cinnamon, salt, ginger, red pepper flakes, and black pepper in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss the beef in the spice mixture until well coated.

2.) Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add beef and onion and cook until browned, stirring occasionally (about 4 minutes). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Stir in broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Add the squash, cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Stir in fresh cilantro and serve with couscous or tabbouleh.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, stew, vegetables, winter

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Oof. I don’t know about y’all but I have a wicked food hangover. This Christmas was filled with what felt like a week of marathon eating and drinking – whether it be snacking on appetizers at home, drinks out with friends, multiple calorie-laden coffee drinks while out running errands, Christmas dinner and its leftovers, etc. It just feels like I’ve been eating non-stop since Wednesday and I am so ready for a break…. until New Year’s Eve at least.

But onto the good stuff! The great stuff. Our dinner this year went from the over-the-top 6 rib prime rib roast we’ve done the past few years to something a little easier and more economical for our 4-person dinner: strip steaks. We all love em in the family and I did em the best way: seared in a huge cast iron skillet, popped in a screaming hot oven for a few minutes, and served with lotsa butter and blue cheese crumbles. All the side dishes I made were either done far in advance (and then reheated) or done à la minute (right before serving) so I could keep my time well divided. I did about an hour of prep, an hour of prep cooking time, and then about 20 min cooking right before dinner. It was the easiest and most delicious Christmas dinner we’ve ever had. Take that, prime rib!

So here’s a (very) random collection of photos from what I ate and drank over my holiday. Apologies for the quality and randomness. I just didn’t seem to want to take the time to use my Nikon during all the fun so the iPhone did a lot of the work this year.

Our menu:

• Pan-seared strip steaks with butter and blue cheese
• Scalloped sweet potatoes with sage
• Creamy parmesan polenta
• Roasted fresh Brussels sprouts
• Wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon
• Christopher Elbow truffles (for dessert)

Pre-dinner martini.

My least favorite vegetable. The things I do for my family…

Dinner!

Post-dinner proseco.

Post-dinner martinis.

Left Hand milk stout. The only beer I drank while in KC (at home and out).

Lemon drop martini for mom.

Old Fashioned at Harry’s Bar (one of my fav’s).

Happy Holidays, everyone!

—

Strip Steaks My Style

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 4 12-ounce strip steaks
• Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• Canola oil
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
• Blue cheese crumbles

Directions

1.) Set steaks out at least 30 minutes before cooking (you want them at room temp). Preheat your oven to 500° F and pop a 12-inch cast iron skillet inside. Let the skillet get screaming hot (at least 20 minutes).

2.) While the skillet preheats, sprinkle a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides of the steaks. Press the seasoning into the steak to make sure it sticks. Lightly coat the steaks in some canola oil on both sides.

3.) When the pan is ready, carefully remove it from the oven and place on range over high heat. Let it heat up at least 1 minute then throw the steaks in. Don’t touch them for 30 seconds. SERIOUSLY. LEAVE THEM BE. Then flip them and give them another 30 second nap. Pop the pan back into the oven and close the door. Cook 2 minutes, flip the steaks, and cook another 2 minutes (for med rare). Remove the steaks from the pan, top with butter and blue cheese, cover loosely with foil, and let rest at least 3-4 minutes.

—

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Based on the recipe from Cuisine at home magazine.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled, cut super thin on a mandoline
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1¼ tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup heavy cream

Directions

1.) Butter a 4-quart baking dish and preheat oven to 400° F. Toss sweet potatoes, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Pour into prepared baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake 20 minutes and remove from the oven. You can stop here and refrigerate (like I did) or go right to the next step.

2.) Remove the foil and pour the cream all over the sweet potatoes. Continue to bake (uncovered) about 15 more minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

—

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Based on the recipe from Ina Garten’s “How Easy is That?”

Serves 6.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. fresh Brussels sprouts (from the stalk if you can get em)
• Olive oil
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 400° F. Trim the stems off the Brussels sprouts and ditch any that look wrinkled or old.

2.) Toss together the Brussels sprouts, some olive oil (just enough to coat them), salt, and pepper. Lay out on a large baking sheet with a deep lip (like a jelly roll pan) and bake until tender, shaking the pan every now and then – about 40 minutes. Salt to taste once more when they come out.

Make ahead note: I baked my sprouts almost to complete doneness earlier in the day and heated them up (while the sweet potatoes finished cooking) when the steaks were resting.

—

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Based on the recipe from Ina Garten’s “How Easy is That?”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal (I used Quaker)
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

1.) Bring the stock and garlic to a low boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal and reduce heat to medium-low. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir in the salt and pepper.

2.) Keep stirring for about 10 minutes (this is a great job to give a relative or loved one asking to help) until the polenta is super thick but creamy. Take it off the heat and stir in the parmesan, sour cream, and butter. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, christmas, sidedish, vegetables

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I know, I know, my last update was a slow cooker dish too, but I just had to make something in my crock pot again because look what I got on Friday:

We had our annual prop sale in the test kitchen / studio and tons of wares sent to us from companies and retailers (to test) all went on sale for crazy cheap prices. I got this $65 crockpot for $20 and frankly it looks like a rocketship compared to my old one. And when Pam was giving out packages of short ribs she ended up not using, I snatched up a couple pounds and knew immediately what I’d be doing with them this weekend.

I’ve had this dish bookmarked since right before summer started and finally felt like it was the right time (aka 60° and cloudy) to make them. Braised short ribs are something I’ve lovingly talked about before, and this is a fun Vietnamese twist on the flavors. These short ribs are unbelievably hearty and rich and have a nice subtle flavor from the ginger. The refreshing rice noodles served alongside (or under) help cut the richness of the beef, which may sound like heresy, but once you taste it, you’ll be on board.

—

Slow Cooker Vietnamese Short Ribs with Rice Noodles

Serves 4

Based on the recipe from Healthy Delicious.

If you don’t have a slow cooker, just pour all the liquid for the short ribs into the pot you sear them in, put the lid on, and cook in a 350° F oven for 3 hours.

Ingredients

For the short ribs:

• 1 Tbsp. canola or peanut oil
• 2 lbs. beef short ribs, trimmed
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small knob fresh ginger, sliced
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• ¼ cup dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Sriracha
• 2 cups beef stock

For the rice noodles:

• 6 oz. rice noodles, cooked
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into curls (ribbons)
• 1 English cucumber, peeled and shredded
• Juice of 1 lime
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. Sriracha
• ½ cup torn cilantro
• ¼ cup torn mint leaves
• 1 tsp. minced jalapeno

Directions

1.) Heat a large skillet over high heat and pour in the oil. Pat the short ribs dry with paper towels, and then sear in hot oil on all sides. Turn after about 1 minute on each side, for a total of 6 minutes. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon and toss in the shallots and garlic. Quickly stir around for 30 seconds getting some color on the vegetables, but don’t burn them. Remove with a slotted spoon and kill the heat.

2.) Pour the ¼ cup fish sauce, ¼ cup dark soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. Sriracha, and 2 cups beef stock into the bowl of a 5-6 qt. slow cooker. Whisk in the cooked shallot, garlic, and fresh ginger. Put the short ribs into the slow cooker and turn to coat in the sauce a few times. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or until fork tender and the bone slides out easily.

3.) Before serving, prepare the rice noodles. Whisk together the lime juice, 3 Tbsp. fish sauce, 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. Sriracha, cilantro, mint, and jalapeno. Toss noodles with carrots, cucumber, and sauce. Serve alongside or under short ribs.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: asian, autumn, beef, crock pot, pasta

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Merry Christmas, everyone!

We celebrate the happiest day of the year with plenty of red meat, traditional English sides, and a froufrou dessert I always like to tackle. Usually I make a cranberry upside down cake, but this year I wanted to try something different so I made a spin on a pear tatin, which was scrumptious to say the least. Plus chruscikis, cookies, hot apple cider, Holiday blend from The Roasterie and plenty of Usinger’s during the day.

Have a holly jolly holiday! I’ll be off in my food coma now, surrounded by DVDs and my family, but here’s a nice large selection of photos from our holiday. Enjoy! (recipes at the bottom if you’d like to scroll past!)

One of my biggest holiday indulgences.

Soooo good and sooo bad.

Yes, I am INCREDIBLY anal retentive, okay?

I was incredibly blessed and lucky to win one of the gourmet giveaways from Serious Eats…

An AMAZING $70 smoked ham from D’Artagnan – the best gourmet grocer in the world!

I am very excited about my ham. We’re going to serve it on New Year’s Day with black eyed peas and yeast rolls.. mmm..

Christmas morning breakfast!

Oh man, cranberries. Cranberries.

Zest!

Mmm smells so good.

Tart and sweet and so so so delicious.

Addictive.

I think it’s enough for 4…

Prime rib and roasted root veggies (oh mannnn)…

Yorkshire puddings and cranberry sauce.

All set.

Working my way through…

Pears. Don’t worry if they’re a bit banged up – it’s what’s inside that counts!

All sliced and laid out.

Mmmm caramel.

Sticky sweet.

Time to invert! Check out my gorgeous apron – a wonderful gift from my oldest friend in the world, Meagan Ferguson, who sewed it herself! FIERCE!

Flip!

And if you’re lucky, it doesn’t stick!

Ohhhh soooo goood.

Begging for vanilla ice cream!

One missing…

A la mode.

—

Prime Rib with Horseradish Crust

Based on Tyler Florence’s recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 3-rib prime rib beef roast, anywhere from 6-8 pounds
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed, plus 2 whole heads garlic sliced in half vertically
• ½ cup prepared horseradish
• ½ cup sea salt
• ¼ cup freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5 parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 red onions, peeled, ends removed and quartered
• 6-7 baby white potatoes, scrubbed
  

Directions

1.) Preheat your oven to 350° F with the rack set in the bottom third of the oven.

2.) In a small bowl mash together the garlic, horseradish, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make a paste. Massage the paste generously over the entire roast. Lay the beef in a large roasting pan (or jelly roll pan, whatever will fit and can collect the juices) with the bone side down. (The ribs act as a natural roasting rack.)

3.) Toss the vegetables with a 3-count of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and then scatter the vegetables and halved garlic around the meat. Put the pan in the oven and roast the beef for about 1½ to 2½ hours for medium-rare (or approximately 20 minutes per pound). Check the internal temperature of the roast in several places with an instant-read thermometer; it should register 125° F for medium-rare.

4.) Remove the beef to a carving board and let it rest for 20 minutes, covered loosely with aluminum foi. The internal temperature of the meat will continue to rise by about 10 degrees. Remove the vegetables and set aside. Pour the pan juices into a fat separator or small bowl and set aside to allow the fat and beef juices to separate. Pour off and discard the fat to use in Yorkshire puddings!

Horseradish-Chive Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup prepared horseradish
• 2 TBL chopped chives
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  

Directions

1.) Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning. Can be made up to 2 days in advance.

The Best Cranberry Sauce EVER

Ingredients

• 6 cups fresh cranberries, picked clean and rinsed
• 1 cup full bodied red wine (like a pinot noir)
• 1½ cups sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 TBL orange or clementine zest

Directions

1.) Simmer the wine, sugar, salt, and cinnamon stick in a non-reactive pot for about 1 minute until the sugar completely dissolves.

2.) Add the cranberries and bring to a rapid simmer, and let cook until they begin to pop – about 3-5 minutes.

3.) Once cooked, take off the burner and stir in the orange zest. Cool completely and refrigerate before serving.

Can be made up to a week in advance, but remove the cinnamon stick before storing.

Pear Cake Tatin

Based on Ina Garten’s Apple Tatin here.

Ingredients

• 2 pears of your choice, peeled, cored, and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
• 6 TBL unsalted butter, plus more to grease the pie dish
• 1¾ cups sugar, divided
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 TBL flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

Directions

1.) Preheat your oven to 350° F with the rack set in the center.

2.) Using at least 2 tablespoons butter, generously grease a 9-inch glass pie plate. Arrange the pears in a decorative, fanning fashion in the plate (this will be facing up when you serve it).

3.) Heat 1 cup of the sugar with 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl (but don’t stir) the pan until the sugar dissolves and eventually caramelizes. You want a warm, rich amber and it should smell nutty, but not burnt. Take it off the heat once you feel it’s there and immediately pour over the pears.

4.) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the 6 tablespoons of butter and ¾ cup sugar until fluffy. Keeping the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time, letting them completely mix in before adding the next. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla, then mix until just combined.

5.) Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined.

6.) Pour the batter over the pear slices and very carefully spread it evenly out. This can be tricky – the pears will stick but you don’t want them to move, so spread slowly and and gently. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Cool 15 minutes and then invert onto a pedestal or cake plate.

Serve warm or at room temperature with really good vanilla ice cream.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, christmas, favorite, fruit, savory, sidedish, winter

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Usually when I post on here I always start with some anecdote on what inspired me to make the dish above and go from there.  But this post is a little different because nothing inspired me other than, well, jonesing for some serious short ribs.  So as I was scratching my head, researching recipes and rewriting this post over and over trying to figure out what to say other than “Short ribs are awesome and braising is full of win,” a light bulb went off.  I could not only share the recipe, but how I got there.

When I want to make something I don’t have a favorite recipe or tried and true method for, I go through a routine to find and create the dish. I adore short ribs but have never made them at home, always having them in restaurants where all the work is done for you.  But since I have had them before, I at least knew what flavor profiles I liked. Thyme, red wine, heavy tomato base. And that was my jumping off point.

First, I go through all my cookbooks I own that I know would have recipes that fit the bill. I skim and flag anything that looks promising. Then I move onto this huge manila folder I have on top of my fridge (seen above) which is a pseudo-scrapbook of recipes I have torn out of magazines, printed off websites, transcribed from my mother, etc. I’ll pull from there. And finally, I hit up my favorite recipe websites (Epicurious, Everyday Food, Food Network, etc.) and compile those as well.  I look at all the most promising recipes and pull methods, ingredients, and measurements from them and sort of mash them altogether into the final recipe which I tweak along the way as I cook, often reducing serving sizes because I’m only cooking for one or two. And that’s how a “Based on…” recipe is born here.

And speaking of the recipe, this one is a perfect Sunday dinner treat. You can easily feed an army for cheap since short ribs are super tough cuts of meat and thus they run usually under $5 a lb. Since the cuts have a lot of connective tissue, it’s all about low and slow, braising the ribs in a great liquid base and not touching them for hours, so you get the most tender, fall-off-the-bone meat ever. Plus if you just whip up some instant polenta or steamed veggies on the side, you can just throw these in the oven for 5 hours, come back, and have dinner on the table in 15 minutes. Talk about the best way to enjoy your Sunday.

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Serves 3-4 depending on how fatty your ribs are.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs bone-in beef short ribs
• 1 TBL vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow (not sweet) onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup tomato puree (I can only ever find huge 28-ounce cans of this so just save the leftover for other uses!)
• 1½ cups dry red wine (I like using cabernet or pinot noir simply because it’s my favorite kind of dry red in general)
• 3 cups low-sodium beef or veal stock
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1.) Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 250°F.

2.) Using paper towels, pat the short ribs until they’re very dry. In a large dutch oven, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the short ribs and turn until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to a plate and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.

3.) Add the chopped carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to the leftover oil in pot and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in puréed tomatoes and wine, then bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened and scraping up all the little delicious bits on the bottom, for about 8 minutes.

4.) Add the beef stock, thyme, bay leaf, vinegar, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to sauce, and bring to a simmer. Skim fat from the surface, then add beef along with any juices accumulated on plate and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Transfer to oven and braise until beef is very tender, about 4 to 5 hours. Do not open the oven or check the ribs until at least 4 hours in.

5.) Once ready, tranfser the ribs to a small oven-safe dish and keep in the oven on warm. Pour the sauce through a medium-mesh wire strainer into a large bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids, then skim fat from sauce. If it feels like your sauce is too thin (or too much), boil the sauce until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes, polenta, roasted or steamed veggies, or whatever you’re in the mood for.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beef, indulge, savory, vegetables

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