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Whats_For_Dinner_Short_Rib_She.zip (734 KB)

We had a rare, adults only dinner party the other night and I spent most of the week trying to figure out what I was going to make.  Something that could be made ahead of time so I could enjoy cocktail hour--very important.  It also had to be something that I wouldn't necessarily make for a bunch of kids and had a bit of a "wow" factor when served at the table.  I finally decided on a recipe from this month's Bon Appetit--the Bison and Red Wine Shepherd's Pie (page 70).  I couldn't find bison short ribs so I substituted with grass-fed beef short ribs and I've changed some of the cooking times.  

I'm not gonna lie and tell you that you can whip this up in a flash.  It is definitely a labor of love--you have to braise the short ribs for a few hours, take the ribs out of the pot, cut up the meat, reduce the sauce and add then some other things to the sauce before you put the meat back in (check out the photos--shepherd's pie de-constructed).  All this, while you whip up some mash potatoes for the topping.  But, the great thing is, you can make this dish the night before--the whole thing (mashed potatoes and all) can be covered with plastic and put in the refrigerator overnight.  So, although you'll know that you worked hard, your guests don't have to see you sweat.  Plus, I had some leftovers the next day and the kids loved it!

Beef Short Ribs and Red Wine Shepherd's Pie

Filling

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 1/2 pounds bison or beef short ribs

1/3 lb rindless slab bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices (available at Vicente Foods)

2 tablespoons (or more) olive oil

1 cup chopped onion (1 onion)

1/2 cup peeled chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups dry red wine (such as Syrah)

2 2/3 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

10 ounces frozen petit onions

1 1/2 cups 3/4 inch cubes peeled parsnips*

12 baby turnips, trimmed, peeled (can be substituted with 3 regular turnips, quartered)*

*I happen to love parsnips and turnips and I thought they added a nice sweetness and textural variety to this dish.  But if you're not a big fan, you can omit the turnips and substitute carrots for the parsnips.

Mashed-Potato Crust (a great mashed potato recipe on it's own, by the way)

2 to 2 1/4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

3/4 cup whole mil

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg, beaten to blend

Garnish

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Filling

Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl.  Add bison, toss.  Heat large pot over medium heat.  Add bacon and cook until crisp.  Transfer to paper towels.  Add 2 tablespoons oil to pot; increase heat to medium-high.  Working in batches, cook meat until browned, adding more oil by tablespoonfuls as needed.  Return to same bowl with the flour mixture.  Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, and garlic to pot; cover and cook until vegetables soften, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.  Add wine; bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits.  Add broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, sage, reserved bacon and meat.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover; simmer until meat is tender, stirring occasionally.  The recipe suggested 2 hours for the bison and 1 1/2 hours for the beef.  I found that it took 3 hours for the beef short ribs to get tender.  I would start checking at 2 hours and take the meat out when it is fork tender.  

Transfer meat to rimmed baking sheet.  Cut meat off bones; cut meat into 3/4 inch cubes (remove fattiest pieces).  If it looks like there is a lot of liquid, put on high heat and reduce--I did this for about 20 minutes, just so the shepherd's pie wouldn't be so watery and the sauce would be thicker.  Lower heat, add parsnips and turnips to pot with meat sauce.  Simmer until tender (when you can cut the parsnips and turnips with a fork), stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes.  Add petit onions; cook 10 minutes.  Return meat to pot.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Mashed Potato Crust

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling lightly salted water until tender, 18-20 minutes.   Timing-wise, you can get the water boiling once you add the parsnips and turnips to the meat sauce and put the potatoes in after the sauce is done, so you're not multi-tasking too much.  Drain.  Heat milk, butter, and cream in medium saucepan until almost boiling.  Rice potatoes into large mixing bowl (I love using a ricer for my mashed potatoes--it makes the whole thing come out fluffier and creamier-- definitely worth investing in a ricer if you like your mashed potatoes); add milk mixture, 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and whisk until smooth and slightly cooled, about 2 minutes (you definitely want to wait the two minutes, because of the next step--don't want to cook the egg).  Whisk in egg.  

Preheat oven to 400.  Spoon meat filling into 3 quart (13x9x2 inch) baking dish.  Spoon mashed potatoes over; smooth top to cover completely.

Garnish

Beat egg and 1 tablespoon water to blend.  Brush over potatoes, then sprinkle cheese all over.  

Do Ahead

The whole thing (including garnish) can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and chill.

Bake pie until top is browned and filling is heated through, 30 to 40 minutes (50-60 minutes if chilled).  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with a bottle of 2008 Saldo (delicious, by the way) and enjoy.

Cheers.

I've gotten a couple of requests for a non-pork version of the taco bar (see previous post).  So, here's a shout-out to all my swine-averse friends.

Karla's Chicken Tacos

8 boneless,skinless thighs (trust me on this, my white meat-eating readers--this will be so much more moist and once it's grilled and chopped into taco-sized pieces, no one will even know it's dark meat.  ps, don't tell my husband!)

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard

4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

2 limes (juice of)

Goya* adobo seasoning (without pepper), to taste (I usually just season both sides of each piece of chicken)

freshly ground pepper, to taste (i like a lot of pepper in this)

Whisk olive oil, mustard, garlic, lime juice and pepper in a glass baking dish big enough to hold the chicken.  Place the chicken in the marinade, making sure that the chicken is coated.  Season the chicken with the adobo seasoning.  Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.  Bring back to room temperature.  Discard the marinade and grill the chicken on a preheated grill (make sure to spray the grill with non-stick spray before-hand!) at medium heat.  Grill until chicken is cooked through.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes.  Taste and add salt or pepper if needed.  Dice into small, taco-sized pieces.  Serve with all the same garnishes as the pork carnitas.  A lot of times, I will serve both the chicken and the pork in my taco bar so people get the best of both worlds.

* Available at most grocery stores (not Whole Foods) or online:  http://www.goya.com/english/product_subcategory/Condiments/Adobo  If you can't find this, any other brand adobo seasoning for chicken will do.

Cheers.

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Whats_For_Dinner_Pan-Seared_Ba.zip (173 KB)

My daughter's best friend's favorite cut of meat is a filet mignon. So, by the transitive property, Kaya's favorite is filet mignon. This causes a bit of a family debate because I like my meat a lot more marbled than a filet. I'm more of New York strip or rib-eye kind of person. And, since I'm the cook of the family, I usually win.

However, since we were celebrating a little something for Kaya tonight, I decided to give in to her request. But not without a little additional fat. Yep, if something is too lean for your taste, why not wrap it up in bacon?! And then maybe add a pan sauce with some port, shallots, thyme and butter (the result of rummaging around the kitchen for impromptu ingredients). What could be wrong with that? Nothing, apparently. Kaya polished off her entire filet in between a lot of "yums" and I even enjoyed my little filet. I served the steaks with French green beans sauteed with shallots, shitakes, thyme and a little white wine and a simple butter lettuce salad. A nice end to a strangely exhausting day.

Pan-Seared Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon (courtesy of Cook's Illustrated The New Best Recipe)

4 center cut filet mignons 1 1/2 inches thick (7 to 8 ounces each), patted dry with paper towels
4 teaspoons olive oil
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place oven rack to the lower-middle position, put a rimmed backing sheet on the oven rack and preheat oven to 450. Meanwhile, rub each side of the steaks with 1/2 teaspoon oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste. Wrap 1 slice of bacon around the circumference of each steak, overlapping ends and securing them to the meat with a toothpick. I let the steaks sit like this for an hour at room temperature to let the flavors meld.

When the oven reaches 450, heat a heavy-bottomed 10 inch skillet (not non-stick) over high heat on the stovetop until very hot. Place the steaks in the skillet and cook, without moving the steaks, until well browned and a nice crust has formed about 3 minutes on each side. Afterwards, hold the filets to or three at a time on their side with tongs in the skillet to crisp the bacon slightly all the way around the filets. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer each steak to the heated baking sheet in the oven.

General guidelines for roasting:
2- 4 minutes for very rare
4-6 minutes for rare
6-8 minutes for medium rare
8-10 minutes for medium

Keep a close eye on the filets as it is very easy to overcook them. Better to err on the side of taking them out too early because of the leanness of the meat. Transfer steaks to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Pan Sauce

Skillet fat
2 shallots minced
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup port
Thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon butter, cold
After transferring the steaks to the oven. Keep the heat on about medium for the skillet. Sautee shallots and thyme in the skillet fat until they soften slightly. Do not scorch or else the sauce will be bitter. Deglaze with chicken stock and port. Reduce to about half. Whisk in the cold butter until it is melted and incorporated into the sauce. Taste for seasoning before serving.

Simple Butter Lettuce Salad (inspired by Ashley--this salad is great for balancing out a heavier meal--it irefreshes the palate and everyone in the family loves it)

1 head of butter lettuce, washed, dried and torn to pieces
2 Meyer lemons
Olive oil
Honey
Maldon salt
Freshly ground pepper

This is a very loosey-goosey recipe. Zest the lemons into a bowl. Squeeze the juice of both lemons into the bowl. Add a 1/2 teaspoon or so of honey (to taste). Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in about a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Keep tasting until you like it. I like it on the tart, acidic side. Toss the salad with the dressing right before serving.

Cheers.

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Whats_For_Dinner_Winter_Comfor.zip (185 KB)

It's been surprisingly chilly in L.A. Perfect weather for roasted chicken, white truffle potato gratin and roasted asparagus with meyer lemon zest. I had actually never made a gratin before last night. Wow. Simple, elegant and unbelievably easy. Great for a dinner party because it makes it look like you've been slaving away all afternoon when, in reality, you've been sipping a glass of wine, flipping through a magazine, waiting for your gratin to come out of the oven. Plus, I got to use my mandolin which my kids thought was super-cool.

I served a dry Venetian Pinot Grigio with dinner--a nice Barolo would have been great too, but I have a new fondness for white wines these days. I LOVE red wine, but, lately, for some reason (hmmm...maybe it's that darned 40 year old thing again), I've been getting more headaches when I indulge in red wine. Is anyone else experiencing this? But, I digress. Here are my recipes from last night. 

Fool-Proof Roasted Chicken
1 4-5 lb whole chicken (I like Mary's air-dried organic from Whole Foods)
1 or 2 Sweet Onions sliced into 1 inch rings (any thinner and they'd disintegrate)
Handful of Herbs (thyme, sage and rosemary are my usual standbys)
1 or 2 Lemons (I used Meyer lemons last night--even better if they are in season)
1/4 stick of unsalted butter, melted
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange onion slices next to each other in a roasting pan, creating a "bed" for the chicken. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry inside and out (making sure to remove the giblets, etc... inside the cavity). Place the chicken on top of the onions in the roasting pan. Squeeze lemon juice all over the chicken, inside and out. Season generously with salt and pepper, inside and out. Use a pastry brush to brush butter all over the skin of the whole chicken. Place herbs (and used lemons, if you'd like) inside the cavity. Tie the legs together (I find this works just as well as trussing the whole bird). The chicken can be covered with plastic and refrigerated for up to a day after this point--just make sure you bring it back to room temp before putting in the oven. I love things that can be prepared in advance--a great way to look at ease when your guests arrive!

Place chicken breast-side up in the oven. If you have a convection oven, turn it on--the chicken will cook more evenly this way. For a 4 lb bird--figure about an hour. Anything bigger, an hour for the first 4 lbs, plus about 8 mins per additional pound. The thigh will exude clear juices and the thickest part of the thigh will register about 170-175 on a meat thermometer when the roast is done. I personally don't use a thermometer for chicken--I just use the time guidelines and take the chicken out when the skin is nice and golden brown all over.

Let rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Pour caramelized onions and pan juices on top of carved chicken and serve.

White Truffle Potato Gratin (this recipe originally called for regular butter and garlic--I omitted the garlic and replaced the butter with white truffle butter)
1/4 cup white truffle Butter, at room temperature (available at Surfas and waaay better than white truffle oil--less metallic and more...errr...truffle-y)
6 Yukon gold potatoes (about 3 lbs), peeled and thinly sliced (bust out that mandolin!)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. Use 1 tablespoon of truffle butter to grease a 12 inch (1.5 quart) oval gratin dish. Layer one-third of the potato slices, slightly overlapping, in the prepared gratin dish. Sprinkle the potatoes with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Repeat with another one-third of the potato slices and another 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and a few grindings of paper. End with remaining potatoes, taking care to arrange in a nice pattern ("Why does it have to be pretty, mommy?" "Do you like to eat ugly things, Zade?" "No!"). Season with remaining salt and pepper. Pour the cream over the top and dot with remaining truffle butter. Place the gratin on a sturdy baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bakeuntil potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife and the top is a dark, golden brown--about 1 1/2 hours. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus, washed and bottom tips broken off
Olive oil
Maldon salt
Pepper
1 Meyer lemon

Preheat oven to 350. Place asparagus on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss to distribute oil and seasonings.

Place in oven. Turn convection on if you have it. Roast about 15 mins. Take out of oven, season with meyer lemon zest and juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Cheers!