I’d never heard of bibimbap before but it looked so delicious I knew I had to try it. There are a lot of components but none of them are too difficult to put together. This is mainly chopping and cooking glorious amounts of fresh veggies. You really could use just about any kind of veggies you like in here so it’s easily customizable. I would suggest however, that you try to the cucumbers as they added a delightful fresh spiciness to the mix. Have I mentioned I’ve already made this twice?
I’ve made chicken-fried steak a few times in my day, but never as good as this. I’m telling you the breading on the steaks AND the accompanying gravy were both perfect. That’s a hard thing to do. Usually one or the other is lacking and leaves me wishing I could be swept away to a little diner for a plate of pure comfort food. I’ve finally found my go-to recipe for chicken-fried steak. Hallelujah and pass the mashed potatoes!
Getting the initial oil temperature to 375 degrees is key to the success of this recipe. Use an instant-read thermometer with a high upper range to check the temperature; a clip-on candy thermometer is also fine. If your Dutch oven measures 11 inches across (as ours does), you will need to fry the steaks in two batches.
STEAKS
CREAM GRAVY
FOR THE STEAKS:
Mix the flour, 5 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and the cayenne together in a large shallow dish. In a second large shallow dish, beat the egg, baking powder, and baking soda; stir in the buttermilk.
Set a wire rack over a large rimmed baking sheet. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. One at a time, drop the steaks into the flour and shake the dish to coat. Shake excess flour from each steak, then using tongs, dip each steak into the egg mixture, turning to coat well and allowing the excess to drip off. Coat the steaks with flour again, shake off the excess, and place them on the wire rack.
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, set a second wire rack over a second rimmed baking sheet, and place the sheet on the oven rack; heat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a large plate with a double layer of paper towels. Meanwhile, heat 1 inch of oil in a large (11-inch diameter) Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Place 3 steaks in the oil and fry, turning once until deep golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes (the oil temperature will drop to around 335 degrees). Transfer the steaks to the paper towel-lined plate to drain, then transfer them to the wire rack in the oven. Bring the oil back to 375 degrees and repeat the cooking and draining process (use fresh paper towels) with the remaining 3 steaks.
FOR THE GRAVY:
Carefully pour the hot oil through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot. Return the browned bits from the strainer along with 2 tablespoons of the frying oil to the Dutch oven. Turn the heat to medium, add the onion and thyme, and cook until the onion has softened and is beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the flour to the pan and stir until well combined and starting to dissolve, about 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the milk, salt, black pepper, and cayenne; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. cook until thickened (the gravy should have a loose consistency–it will thicken as it cools), about 5 minutes.
Transfer the chicken-fried steaks to individual plates. Spoon a generous amount of gravy over each steak. Serve immediately, passing any remaining gravy separately.
From: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013
I don’t really like vegetable beef soup. It’s usually too tomato-y and the vegetables are mushy and it’s just generally not very appetizing. But I saw this version a while back on America’s Test Kitchen and thought maybe, just maybe I’d like it. To me it looked more like a fast version of a beef burgundy than a traditional vegetable beef soup. I took it as a sign I needed to make it when my sister, Annie gave me “The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook” for Christmas and I ran across the recipe as I was planning my weekly menu.
Now even though this recipe is called “quick,” it’s just quick in the sense that it takes less time to make than vegetable beef soup normally does. I’d say this took close to an hour. But don’t let that deter you. It was definitely an hour well spent. This soup turned out so delicious. The beef was tender, the vegetables were cooked through without being mushy (I added peas and potatoes as suggested below), and it had a great depth of flavor. A fabulous recipe that has earned its place in my “keeper” file.
Serves 4 to 6
“Choose whole sirloin tip steaks over ones that have been cut into small pieces for stir-fries. If sirloin tip steaks are unavailable, substitute blade or flank steak, removing any hard gristle or excess fat. Button mushrooms can be used in place of cremini mushrooms, with some trade-off in flavor. If you like, add 1 cup frozen peas, frozen corn, or frozen green beans during the last 5 minutes of cooking. For a heartier soup, add 10 ounces red potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces (2 cups), during the last 15 minutes of cooking.”Combine the beef and soy sauce in a medium bowl; set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the mushrooms and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is browned and dark bits form on the pan bottom, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.
Add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates and the meat starts to brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits, and cook until syrupy, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the beef broth, chicken broth, carrots, celery, bay leaf, and browned mushrooms and onion; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables and meat are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. While the soup is simmering sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let stand.
When the soup is finished, turn off the heat. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Add the gelatin mixture and stir until completely dissolved. Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
From: The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013
I was a little nervous using short ribs for this recipe because I’d never used them before. But my concern was all for naught because these tacos turned out freaking awesome. I took a few shortcuts such as using garlic and ginger from a jar and shredded both the carrot and cucumber in my food processor (and squeezed out the excess moisture afterwards). This one is definitely going into my keeper pile. Go make it right now!
This was the first time I’ve ever made “real” Reubens and I have to say they turned out pretty good. I can’t decide which recipe I like better though… this one or my tried and true Vegetarian Reubens.
Butter eight slices of bread on one side. Turn bread over. Layer four slices with meat, desired amount of Thousand Island dressing, a small mound of sauerkraut, and sliced cheese. Top with bread slice (buttered side out). Fry in buttered skillet over medium heat until one side is brown. Turn sandwich over and brown the other side until cheese is melted and bread toasted. Makes 4 sandwiches.
From: The Essential Mormon Cookbook by Julie Badger Jensen
Ok so on my last post I gave you a fabulous pepperoncini roast recipe. I made these awesome taquitos the next day with what I had left over. I’m not sure which I liked better… possibly these taquitos. They were very simple to make and were packed to the hilt with flavor. I originally served them with a simple dipping sauce made by combining some salsa and sour cream, but later on realized I had some homemade Cafe Rio-style cilantro lime dressing. That pairing about knocked my socks off. I highly recommend it.
This is one of the best recipes I’ve come across in a while. Which was surprising, really since all you do is put a roast in a slow cooker with a jar of sliced pepperoncinis and garlic and cook it for 8 hours or so. But the great thing about this is that the resulting delicious roast/pepper mixture can be used for many different things. The first night I chose to make these sandwiches. Yes, they tasted as fabulous as they look. They were a bit spicy, but not overly so… just enough to make your lips tingle.
The link to the recipe mainly gives instructions for the crockpot portion of this recipe, so I’ll tell you how I made my sandwiches:
Split some deli rolls in half and lay them out on a baking sheet. Spread mayo on one side of roll and some of the shredded beef/pepperoncini mixture on the other side. Place a slice of provolone on top of the meat and broil for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown. That’s it! And if you have leftovers after making your sandwiches, you’ll want to stick around for a killer taquito recipe!
This may very well be my most favorite of the Pioneer Woman’s recipes. Holy crap is this sandwich good. It’s so hard to find a good philly cheesesteak sandwich these days and I’m telling you this one is perfect. The main trick is using deli roast beef for the meat. It’s tender and full of flavor, not chewy and tough. There are a couple minor things I like to do to make these sandwiches even better. First of all, I like to add mushrooms to the peppers and onions. Second, I slice up my roast beef so it’s even easier to eat. That way you don’t pull out huge slices of roast beef when you take a bite of the sandwich. Third, use good bread! It can make or break any sandwich. Check out the bakery section of the grocery store for fresh-baked hoagie buns!
With all the football going on during the weekends, I wanted some food that was both game friendly and fast. Boy were these things perfect. This was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Seth gave it a 9.5 on the Richter Scale. I was worried the addition of the cream cheese would be too overpowering. Nay Nay. Holy amazing.
Last time I made a pot roast, I didn’t use the best cut of meat. I believe I used a rump roast that wasn’t very heavily marbled. While it wasn’t bad, it definitely didn’t have the moist tenderness I really wanted. This time around I sucked it up and went for the better option… a chuck roast. I also opted to try a new roast recipe because it’s what I do. And I figured who better to know how to make a good roast than ol’ Pioneer Woman herself? To my delight, this roast turned out just how I imagined it would… fall apart tender and moist with a nice subtle herby enhancement. Give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed!
I'd love to hear from you! Send me an email at karen.hanson723 (at) gmail (dot) com
gravytraining.wordpress.com 