Steak and Guinness

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”

                                                            -Abraham Lincoln

If you live in a culture that produces wine, chances are some of that wine will end up in the food, hence Coq au Vin or Beef Bourguignon or Osso Bucco.

If you make beer, some of it will end up the same way; think of the beer-laced dishes of Belgium or in this case, Steak and Guinness.

The steak in the title doesn’t necessarily mean using what we think of as steak, a nice piece of beef  usually  reserved for grilling or pan searing; it would be a waste in a braised dish like this one. Any beef used for stewing is what you want to use, such as chuck, top round, or as I found recently, sirloin. If you prefer, you can cut your own beef cubes, but there it was, sirloin already cut and trimmed. Hey, I’ll take a short cut every now and again, too.

Like all stews, this begins with taking time to brown the meat. Don’t overcrowd the pot with too much meat at one time.  Brown the meat in stages. All of that browned goodness at the bottom of the pot means flavor.

There are several ways to go with this recipe. You could serve it as is along with mashed potatoes, or under a crust of pastry as a Steak and Guinness pie. Cheese, such as Stilton or Cheddar is often added to the pie but you could just as easily omit it to your preference.

When I most recently made this, I used a bottle of Brooklyn Brown Ale that was in the ‘fridge, so you don’t need to adhere to the use of Guinness; what is important is the flavor imparted by a dark beer of your liking. George Washington, a beer drinking man of the people brewed his own porter and I like to think that it might have made it into some of the cooking at Mount Vernon. We know it made its way into him.

It is snowing. Nothing I like more than watching the snow fall while the smells of slow cooking fill the air. Talk about perfect timing.

Steak and Guinness (or Steak and Brooklyn Brown Ale)

This recipe makes four servings

2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1” cubes

1½ cups chopped onion

3 carrots, sliced, about ½ “ thick

2 ribs celery, sliced lengthwise, then across into ¼" pieces

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

2 or 3 fresh thyme sprigs and 3 fresh rosemary springs, tied in a bundle

12 ounces Guinness stout or other dark beer

1 cup water or beef stock

olive oil, for cooking

salt and ground black pepper

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Season the meat with salt and ground black pepper. Place a 4 quart Dutch oven on the stove over high heat. When hot, swirl in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add some of the beef; avoid overcrowding it in the pot. When browned on all sides, about 7 to 8 minutes, remove the meat to a plate and continue browning the rest of the meat. As the pot gets hotter, the amount of time needed for browning the meat will decrease. Replenish the pot with additional olive oil, if necessary. After all of the meat has been browned, remove the pot from the heat to cool for a few minutes before adding the vegetables.

2. Return the pot back over medium heat. Swirl in 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion, celery and carrots to the pot.  Season with salt and pepper and sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes to soften the onion. Push the vegetables to the outside of the pot. Add the tomato paste and garlic. Stir, cooking until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and mix it with the vegetables.

3. Return the beef and the accumulated juices to the pot. Add the thyme and rosemary bundle, pour in the beer and the water or beef stock. Stir and season with a little more salt and black pepper. Bring the stew up to a simmer. Cover and place into the oven. Cook for 2 ½ hours, until the beef is tender. Remove from oven.

The completed stew can be served as is, or refrigerated and served the next day or after it cools it can be made into a Steak and Guinness Pie

Steak and Guinness Pie

Pie Crust (alternatively, you could use store-bought pie crust or puff pastry)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup (4 Tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¼ cup vegetable shortening

6 Tablespoons ice cold water

For the pie: I used half of the stew for our pie. You may choose to use the total amount, which will serve four. If you are adding cheese, add these amounts per person: 2 Tablespoons Stilton (or other) blue cheese or grated Cheddar cheese.

1. Mix together the flour and salt. Blend the butter into the flour either using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer or by hand using a pastry blender or fork. Work until the butter is broken down into small pieces. Add the vegetable shortening to the bowl and mix, leaving the shortening in larger lumps. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the cheese, if using, into the completed cooled stew. Place stew into a 4 cup baking dish. Roll out the crust and fit the crust into the dish, over the stew and draping over the side. Trim any excess. Mix one egg with 1 tablespoon water. Using the point of a knife, cut a steam hole in the middle of the crust. Brush the crust with the egg wash. Using the point of a knife, mark the edges of the crust and make a crosshatch design on top of the crust. Place the baking dish onto a baking tray. Bake the steak and Guinness pie for 30 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and serve.

 

                                

The Not So Cheap Cuts: Short Ribs Braised in Port

                                     “Joy, health, love, and peace, be all here in this place.”

While the rest of you may have been busy stringing lights, festively festooning a fir, macerating mincemeat, filling the lawn with inflatable or plastic illuminated figures, lighting the menorah, spinning a dreidel, wassailing, caroling, rolling your struedels, well, you get the point, some of us have been busy working to make your holidays happen. Such is the day–to-day routine of working at a restaurant during the holidays, which has meant no time to work on this.
Now before you offer me a choice of cheese to go with my whine, let me say that it was a great holiday. Youngest daughter was home from college and her older sister and sister’s southern beau were here. The tree was decorated. A sprawling gingerbread chalet appeared on the dining room table. (This is the third year of gingerbread houses with the unwritten rule that each year has to outdo the previous creation). We had our Christmas morning champagne brunch, followed a week later by our new tradition (started at the same time that gingerbread villages began springing up) of New Year’s Eve dinner with guests. And more champagne at midnight.

Plus there was the snow that made the snowman possible. (They named him Bernard. No idea why).

So it’s back work. (Cue the short ribs).

Short ribs used to be among a group of cuts of meat often referred to as the “cheap cuts.” These were the ones that were seen as less desirable as others and therefore, at one time, they cost less.

Not so much anymore.

They may be harder to find because most people would rather pitch a steak on the grill. Or you can blame the chefs (“God made the food, the devil the chefs”*) who have turned to them for variety in their menus, which drove up demand (and in turn the price) over the past decade. I often have to try several places before I find them.

You can find them either on or off the bone. I recently saw mammoth-sized on-the-bone, grass-fed short ribs (with a correspondingly mammoth price). Boneless short ribs, also called “English” short ribs, are cut from the chuck. There is a variety called flanken style, which are cut across the rib, not down the length. They're not what I like to use but there are recipes that call for flanken style short ribs. Use what you can find. Short ribs on the bone should have a good portion of meat on them. Sometimes they don’t, so look carefully. You can also befriend the butcher in your local store who can get you what you’re looking for, too. But remember, they’re no longer “cheap cuts.”

Short ribs benefit from long, slow braising. After the initial preparation, the oven does the rest of the work breaking down the collagen and making the meat meltingly tender.

You can easily expand the recipe depending on the amount of short ribs you find by adding more vegetables and stock.

This makes four serving. Carnivores may see this as two serving.

Short Ribs Braised in Port or Red Wine

1½ pounds beef short ribs **

1 medium onion, halved and sliced lengthwise

3 to 4 carrots, cut crosswise into ½” slices

2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

1 bunch of thyme (about 8 to 10 stems) tied together

2 or 3 bay leaves

1 & ½ cups port or red wine or a combination of both

1 cup beef stock

salt and ground black pepper

olive oil

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Place an ovenproof 4 quart Dutch oven over high heat. While pot is heating, pat the short ribs dry with a paper towel. Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper. When the pot is hot, swirl in 2 or 3 Tablespoons olive oil. Add the short ribs. Don’t over crowd the ribs; it’s better to cook them in two batches then all at once. Brown the ribs on all sides; this will take about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the well- browned ribs from pot and set aside. Slide pot off the heat to cool for a minute or two before adding the vegetables.

2. Return the pot to the heat. Add additional olive oil, if needed. Add the carrots and onions, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any of the “brown bits” that accumulated while cooking the ribs; season with salt and pepper. After 2 or 3 minutes of cooking, add the garlic and continue cooking. After the onions have softened, move the vegetables to the outer edge of the pot and add the tomato paste. Stir and toast the tomato paste in the center of the pot for 1 to 2 minutes, then mix the tomato paste together with the vegetables. Add the flour and mix it into the vegetables. Cook the flour for a minute.

3. Add the port/ red wine and stir. Add the thyme and bay leaves. eturn the short ribs to the pot with any juices that may have accumulated. Add the beef stock and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring the pot up to a simmer, cover it and place it in the oven and cook the short ribs for 2 ½ to 3 hours- low and slow. The ribs are done when the meat is tender, ready to fall of the bones. Remove from the oven.

This is a dish that is better the next day so if you can wait, refrigerate the cooled contents of the pot over night and reheat when you are ready. Taste for seasoning. When you reheat the short ribs you might want to add a fresh splash of port or red wine (about 2 or 3 tablespoons) and a little beef stock. Remove the thyme and the bay leaves before serving.

Short ribs are great with mashed potatoes or for a change, try soft polenta

Soft Polenta

For two servings-

1 cup water or milk

2 Tablespoons instant polenta

salt and ground black pepper

1. Place the water or milk into a medium-sized saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring liquid to a simmer. Whisk in the polenta one tablespoon at a time, whisking throughout. Lower heat and cook until polenta has thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the polenta gets too thick, you can thin it with additional liquid. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and ground black pepper to taste and remove from heat until ready to serve.  You can enrich the polenta with a tablespoon of unsalted butter and/or 1 tablespoon grated cheese (parmesan, cheddar, etc.).

                             “Old Christmas is past, twelve tide is the last,

                                    And we bid you adieu, great joy in the new.”

*from  Ulysses by James Joyce

** this is a perfect example of “recipe confusion.” It’s all a matter of what type of short ribs you find. Don’t worry if it’s too much. Leftovers are great.

A Hard Nut: Black Walnut Tart

If you go out walking in the early fall, you may come across round, green-husked black walnuts lying on the ground.  The nutmeat hidden inside may not be as well known as the English walnut but the black walnut’s distinctive flavor has its own enthusiasts.  If you have a black walnut tree in your back yard, you may already harvest your own, which can be messy, tricky and a bit of work. One of my sisters-in-law, inspired by the supply of black walnuts in her backyard tried harvesting them but she found it to be too much work for the reward.
They are a hard nut to crack.
This recipe was inspired by a black walnut pie I once had at a local diner. It has the basic pecan pie-style filling but with the addition of molasses to complement the dark, rich flavor of the black walnut. Black walnuts can be hard to find but there are several companies that process and package them. Diamond Walnuts of California and  Hammons Products of Missouri are two companies who save us from the inevitable mess of shelling them.
Black walnuts do have a distinctive flavor some people don’t like. This may be that they have eaten them raw, in the same way you would eat English walnuts. They are best roasted, or baked as part of a sweet treat.
Or maybe they just don’t care for them. Like jazz and Mozart, they can be an acquired taste.

Because of the rich nature of this dessert, I have made it as a tart, but it can be made as a 9” pie.

Black Walnut Pie or Tart
For one 9“ pie or tart
You will need pie dough for a 9“ pie or pate sablee or a 9” tart.
There will be a little leftover filling if making a tart.

3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 cup corn syrup, light or dark
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
pinch of salt
1 ½ cups black walnut pieces

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pie dough and fit it into the pie pan/ tart ring. With a fork, lightly prick the bottom and sides of the shell. Refrigerate or freeze the shell for 20 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, molasses, corn syrup, vanilla, melted butter, and salt until smooth. Set aside.
3. Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator/freezer and place it onto a baking tray. Line the shell with a piece of aluminum foil and fill it with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake the shell for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Carefully remove the piece of foil filled with the pie weights. Place the shell back into the oven for an additional 5 minutes of baking. Remove the partially baked shell from the oven and set aside to cool.
4. After the shell has cooled, spread the black walnuts on the bottom of the pie shell. Fill the shell with the completed filling mixture. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the filling has set. Remove the pie/tart from the oven and let cool.

Pumpkin Pie

(Listening: Elliot Carter *: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 4)

Growing up, there was an unwritten rule: pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and mince pie on Christmas. Or is that two rules?  There also was “elbows off the table!” but that’s not about pie unless you’re eating it with your elbows on the table.
This is the recipe my mother used for years and the tradition continues. I don’t know where she found it (back of a can of pumpkin puree?) but it’s the pumpkin pie we grew up on. Some recipes use half and half or cream or evaporated milk or a different spice blend  (nutmeg and mace, the dried outer covering of the nutmeg seed, are commonly used). If you grew up on a specific recipe you tend to honor it on the holidays.
There is one ingredient that doesn't appear in the original recipe and that’s cornstarch. Pumpkin pie has a tendency to crack. Cornstarch prevents surface cracking in custard pies.
This year I used puree from a sugar pumpkin I found at the store but feel free to be less “Martha-like” and open a can of pumpkin puree. We always did.

Pumpkin Pie
For one 9” pie
You will also need crust for one 9” pie

1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree
1 cup milk

2 eggs                                                              
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the crust to 1/8th inch thickness and fit it into the pie plate. Trim and  crimp the edges and refrigerate the shell while you make the filling.
2. Place the pumpkin puree into a bowl along with the milk, eggs, and sugars. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until combined.
3. When the oven is hot, remove the pie shell and place it onto a baking pan. Fill the pie shell with the filling. Place the pie into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the filling has set. Remove pie from oven and let cool before serving.

* 1908 - 2012  Rest in Peace

Sour Cream Apple Pie

                                                   “Jackie, have you ever made a pie before?”

                                          “I don’t cook much. I plan on getting by on my looks.”*

           

This recipe requires a little advance prep but the small amount of work makes the final assembly easier. Slightly precooking the apples assures everything bakes evenly.

Sour Cream Apple Pie with Walnut Struesel

For one 9” pie

You will need one recipe of pie dough for a 9” pie

2 ½ pounds apples, your choice

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 cup apple cider

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Walnut Struesel

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 ½ ounces) chopped walnuts

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Peel and core the apples. Cut the apples into ½” slices. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat; if you don’t have a large enough pan, you can cook the apples in batches. When the pan it hot, add the butter; after the butter has melted add the apples to the pan; sprinkle the apples with sugar and stir. Pour the apple cider into the pan. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the apples, stirring occasionally until they just begin to soften, about 5 minutes or so. Remove the apples from the heat. Strain the apples, reserving the juice. Set apples aside to cool. Place the cornstarch into a bowl; whisk in the reserved apple cider until smooth. Pour this mixture back into the sauté pan. Place the pan over medium heat and while stirring, bring it to a boil at which point it will thicken. Transfer the thickened cider to a container. Let cool. When the apples and the cider are cool, store each separately in the refrigerator until needed. This can be done 1 to 2 days in advance of baking.

2. Roll the pie dough to 1/8” thickness and fit it into the pie pan. Trim and crimp the edge. Using a fork, lightly prick the bottom and sides of the crust. Refrigerate or freeze the pie shell for at least 30 minutes.

When you are ready to bake the pie:

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator or freezer. Place the pan on a baking tray. Line the inside of the pie shell with a piece of aluminum foil. Fill the foil with either dried beans, rice or pie weights. Place the pie pan into the oven a bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the pie pan from the oven, carefully remove the foil and the pie weights and return the pie shell to the oven for an additional 5 minutes of baking. Remove pie shell from the oven and let cool.

4. To make the streusel topping, combine all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix to combine the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into small pieces, add them to the bowl and mix until crumbs form. This can also be done by hand using a fork or pastry blender. Set crumb mixture aside.

5. Mix the apples with the reserved juices and set aside. In a second bowl, mix together the sour cream, egg, and vanilla until smooth.

6. When the pie shell is cool, spread the apples into the bottom of the partially baked pie shell. Spread the sour cream mixture over the apples. Top the pie with the streusel mixture. Place the pie into the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and let cool before serving.

*from “That 70’s Show”, dialogue between Kitty Foreman (Debra Jo Rupp) and Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis).

Roast Chicken, the Aftermath, Part 2: Chicken and Dumplings

            “and we’ll all have chicken and dumplings

                                         when she comes, when she comes*…”

listening: Joni Mitchell: Night Ride Home

While I was writing this I saw that one of the TV shopping channels was selling chicken and dumplings. You get four 2 pound bags for $52.46, which works out to $6.50/pound for something you can toss together with leftovers and a couple of fresh ingredients. So if you want to skip this, you can log on and order your chicken and dumpling kits.

Still here? Good. This is classic comfort food that can be personalized to your taste. Down south, I understand that the base is creamier than this one. Feel free to add some light or heavy cream to the chicken and vegetables if you wish. Peas are a classic addition, except in our house where my wife views peas suspiciously as a result of childhood “pea trauma.” Despite being egged on by my daughters to use them, I substitute shelled edamame. They’re not a classic addition to chicken and dumplings but they are just as good and they keep everyone happy. And since my wife loves pearl onions, they are tossed in, too. You can pick and choose which vegetables to use.

You could use vegetable stock, skip the chicken and have a vegetarian option.

If you lived down south, you would have a variety of biscuit flours to choose from when making dumplings. As a Yankee, I found the combination of all-purpose and cake flours makes a softer textured dumpling. The dumpling recipe could also be used for biscuits or, with added sugar, shortcakes. You could add thyme to the dumplings, or chopped parsley, chives, or even chopped celery leaves. On a recent night I used cornmeal in the dumpling. That variation is below.

This is a meal that can be increased to serve more people but is simple enough to make for two.

For two servings:

(and this is two servings, plus seconds, mind you).

Olive oil, for cooking

3 cups chicken stock                                                            

1 carrot, sliced

½ rib celery, sliced

¼ c chopped onion

salt and ground black pepper

1 cup chicken, from leftovers

additional options: ½ cup pearl onions, ½ cup peas or edamame

Dumplings, for two

½ cup all purpose flour

½ cup cake flour (plain, not self-rising)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)

½ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup milk mixed with ½ teaspoon white vinegar)

1. Place a medium-sized wide pot over medium heat. Swirl in 1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add the carrots, celery, and onion and sweat the vegetables for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock. Cover and simmer over low heat to soften the vegetables for about five minutes.

2. Prepare the dumplings by mixing all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cut in the shortening until small lumps of dough form. Add the herbs, if using.  Mix in the buttermilk/soured milk, stirring until the dough comes together. Set aside.

3. Add the shredded chicken and additional vegetables to the pot. Taste to check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Bring the pot to a simmer and drop rounded spoonfuls of the dumpling dough into the pot. You should get six dumplings. Cover and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook covered for 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes, turn off the heat and crack the lid to cool the chicken and dumplings before serving. Ladle the chicken, vegetables, and broth into bowls and divide the dumplings between the servings.

Cornmeal dumpling variation:

Substitute ½ cup cornmeal for the ½ cup cake flour and omit the thyme leaves.

*A meal so good they had to mention it in “She’ll be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain.” Whoever “she” was.

Roast Chicken: The Aftermath, part 1

listening: J.S.Bach : the Unaccompanied Cello Suites, performed by YoYo Ma

Part One: Making Chicken Stock

The next step with your roast chicken is to turn it into stock. You can do this with a left- over store-bought roast chicken, too.  Don’t waste.

First, strip off any remaining chicken. Don’t forget the bottom of the chicken; there are morsels under there. Store the chicken in an airtight plastic bag in the refrigerator or freeze it if you don’t think you’ll use the leftovers right away.

There are two types of stock you can make, regular or dark chicken stock.

For regular chicken stock, place the carcass and bones into a stockpot or any other pot large enough to hold the chicken, vegetables, and water. Toss in 3 or 4 carrots cut into pieces, a medium onion, unpeeled, (the skins add color to the stock) and quartered and 2 or 3 ribs of celery, cut into large pieces. Fill the pot with about 12 cups cold water. Toss in 8 to 8 black peppercorns and ½ teaspoon salt. Salt used to be excluded in making stock, the thinking being that as the stock cooks and reduces, the stock might get too salty. A little salt helps to bring out the flavors and such a small amount doesn’t make for a salty end product. You can also toss in a couple of bay leaves, whole parsley sprigs or some fresh thyme. These are extras. Bring the stock up to a boil then reduce the heat so the stock gently simmers. Boiling the stock will result in a cloudy stock. Skim off any foam that may rise to the surface of the pot. Cook until the stock has reduced by half. Let cool and strain. Discard the solids, reserving the stock for future use.  Store the stock in containers in the refrigerator if you plan to use with in the next few days, or freeze it until needed.

Making dark chicken stock requires the extra step of roasting the carcass and vegetables. To make dark chicken stock, strip the carcass as directed above. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place the chicken carcass and bones into a pan along with the vegetables. Drizzle the vegetables with 2 or 3 Tablespoons olive oil. Place pan in the oven and roast until everything is nicely browned, about 1 hour. Remove pan from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes. Empty the contents of the pan into the stockpot. Place the roasting pan onto the stove, add about 1 cup of water. Heat the pan and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour this into the stockpot. Add an additional 10 to 11 cups of cold water. Toss in the peppercorns, salt, and herbs, if using. Bring the stock to a boil then reduce the heat so the stock gently simmers. Skim off any foam that may rise to the surface of the pot. Cook until the stock has reduced by half. Let cool and strain out the solids, reserving the stock for future use, either in the refrigerator or freezer.