Cow

Ingredients
1 flank steak, about 1 ¹⁄₄ pounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
4 slices bacon, diced
¹⁄₂ cup balsamic vinegar
¹⁄₂ cup beef broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions
1. Heat grill, griddle or grill pan over medium-high heat.  Season both sides of steak with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

2. Cook steak for 4-7 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness and thickness of steak.  (I did about 6 minutes per side and it was medium at the thinner parts and medium rare where thicker.  I was aiming for 140*F.)  Remove from heat, loosely cover with foil, and let rest 10 minutes.  Slice meat thinly across the grain. 

3. While the steak is cooking, cook diced bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp. Add vinegar and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, or until liquid reduces and starts to thicken. In a small bowl, add broth and cornstarch, whisking until cornstarch is completely dissolved, and add to skillet. Simmer 2 minutes bringing to a full boil, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

Comments
Flank steak, balsamic, and bacon?  Sign me up!  A friend sent me the link to this recipe on foodnetwork.com and I thought it looked delicious.  Since the weather was gorgeous, I decided to fire up the grill for the first time this year and grill this on the Big Green Egg.  It was absolutely amazing, nothing really compares to grilled meat.  The balsamic glaze was equally amazing and we learned, yet again, that flank steaks aren’t really large enough to generate leftovers.  Oh well :)

Shown here with Oven Fried Potatoes.

Internet - Food TV

Ingredients
1-2 pounds top round steak, trimmed and cut into chunks (Eye round also works well.)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dried dill
¹⁄₂ teaspoon black pepper
16 ounce mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
¹⁄₃ cup all purpose flour
1 cup beef broth
8 ounces sour cream (I use light sour cream which works well.)
Egg noodles, cooked for serving

Instructions
1. Place steak, onion, parsley, mustard, salt, dill, pepper, mushrooms, and garlic into slow cooker.  Stir well. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk flour and broth together until well blended.  Add broth to slow cooker and stir well.  Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour.  Reduce heat to LOW and cook 7 to 8 hours or until steak is tender.  (10 hours all on LOW will also work.) 

3. Remove lid and let stroganoff stand for 10 minutes.  Stir in sour cream and serve over noodles. 

Comments
This slow cooker is one of the many that I tried out when I was cooking for my parents in early 2009.  Slow cooker meals were perfect to get started on Fridays before I drove back to my own home.  This recipe is from Cooking Light: Slow Cooker and, as you may have noticed, I’m always game to try a new stroganoff recipe. 

We all enjoyed this quite a bit, and my parents were able to feast on leftovers for days.  This time around, Lance and I also enjoyed it quite a bit!  The steak ends up very tender and well flavored.

Cooking Light: Slow Cooker

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 (4-pound) top sirloin roast, fat trimmed to ¹⁄₄ inch thick
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper

Instructions
1. Combine parsley, thyme, and shallot in bowl. Transfer 2 tablespoons herb mixture to another bowl and stir in mustard and 1 tablespoon oil until combined. Add butter to remaining herb mixture and mash with fork until combined.

2. Butterfly roast and rub inside and out with salt and pepper. Spread herb-mustard mixture over interior of meat and tie securely with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. (I did about 4.)

3. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 257*F. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Heat remaining oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown roast all over, 8 to 12 minutes, then arrange on V-rack set inside roasting pan. Transfer to oven and roast until meat registers 125*F (for medium-rare), 1 ¹⁄₂ to 2 hours.

4. Transfer roast to carving board, spread with herb-butter mixture, tent with foil, and let rest 20 minutes. Remove kitchen twine. Slice roast crosswise against grain into ¹⁄₄-inch-thick slices. Serve. 

Comments
I’m always looking out for ways to prepare cow that doesn’t require it to be in the form of a steak.  I especially enjoy roasts.  This recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual and, while it’s not quite as good as previously posted recipes for eye round roast and filet mignon roast, it was very flavorful and all around enjoyable.  The spice rub was fantastic and it seems like it would be easy enough to tweak to achieve a whole range of flavors.  While top sirloin will never be my go-to cut of meat for roasting, this was certainly a nice change from our normal roast cuts. 

Shown here with Bacon and Egg Risotto.

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup soy sauce
¹⁄₃ cup sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 flank steak (about 1 ¹⁄₂ pounds)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Instructions
1. Whisk soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, ginger, pepper flakes, and cornstarch in medium bowl.  (Or use a handheld blender to blend.) 

2. Pat steak dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook steak until well browned and cooked to desired doneness, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil. 

3. Add remaining oil and green onions to empty skillet and cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to bowl. Stir soy sauce mixture and any accumulated beef juices into skillet and simmer, scraping up any browned bits, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Slice beef thin on bias against grain. Transfer to bowl (or serving platter) and toss with sauce, green onions, and sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

Note: To toast sesame seeds, cook them in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes. 

Comments
With Art being gone for most of the week, I’ve been trying to make things I know he’ll really love on the nights he is home for dinner.  I found this recipe in the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual and his commentary of how fantastic it was included expletives, so I consider it successful.  Lance and I enjoyed the meal as well and I was surprised that we had enough leftovers for even a single lunch. 

I would make a few changes in the future, I’d have been happier with twice as many green onions.  There was also enough sauce that adding other vegetables would have worked quite well too.  This was a pretty fantastic meal and it will certainly be repeated in the future.

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
1-2 pounds beef stew meat
1 onion, cut into eights
1 (13-15 ounce) can coconut milk
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon curry powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced

Instructions
1. Add all ingredients to slow cooker and stir well.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.  (I did HIGH for 2 and LOW for 4, since that fit my timeline.) 

2. Stir well and serve over rice. 

Comments
This recipe is from the fantastic Year of Slow Cooking blog.  Lance’s first comment was “the pieces of meat are pretty big” and then he picked one up with a fork and it fell apart.  The meat gets extremely tender during cooking! 

We both definitely enjoyed the flavor of this dish.  I would add more onion next time, perhaps two instead of one.  I also want to figure out what vegetable would go well, either in the crock or on the side.  Everything was tasty regardless and it was very simple to bring together this morning.

Internet - A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients
1 to 1 ¹⁄₂-pound beef flank steak
¹⁄₂ pound bacon, sliced thin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions
1. Using a meat mallet, pound flank steak to even thickness, about ¹⁄₂-inch thick.  (I’ve skipped this step many times with no ill effects, but it seems to work better with the pounding.)  Sprinkle flank steak with garlic salt and pepper.  Score steak diagonally, making diamond-shaped cuts. 

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until almost crisp.  Remove from skillet and drain. 

3. Sprinkle parsley over flank steak and then top with bacon.  Roll flank steak, starting at the narrow end.  Cut 5 lengths of butcher twine and tie every 1-2 inches, creating 6 even pieces.  Cut between strings to create rounds. 

4. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat.  Place steak rounds in skillet, cut side down, and cook until desired doneness is reached, flipping halfway through.  (5 minutes per side tends to be rare to medium-rare.) 

5. Let rest 5 minutes, remove strings, and serve with Béarnaise Sauce. 

Comments
This is a family favorite recipe from my mom and one I’ve always loved.  It’s one of the things I look forward to most when the butcher has flank steaks in stock.  The original recipe is definitely a product of its time and calls for meat tenderizer and hollandaise sauce from a packet – I prefer to skip the tenderizer and make Béarnaise Sauce from scratch.  I think that next time I’ll omit the garlic salt and use minced garlic instead, since it was a bit too salty this time around.  Still delicious, though! 

Shown here with French Fries, Béarnaise Sauce, and Belgian-Style Dipping Sauce.

Person - Mom

Ingredients
20 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 ¹⁄₂ cups beef broth
1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes
2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped fine
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
4 cups colby-jack cheese, shredded (I used the reduced fat variety.)
1-2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced (The jalapeños at the store were HUGE, so I ended up just using one of them.)
¹⁄₂ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1-3 teaspoons hot sauce (I used Sriracha.)
Salt and pepper

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450*F. Grease 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Toast 3 tortillas in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until they bubble and turn spotty brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining tortillas.

2. Tear 8 toasted tortillas into rough pieces and transfer to food processor. Add ³⁄₄ cup broth and Ro-Tel tomatoes (with juice) and process until smooth; transfer to large bowl. Add beef to empty skillet and cook over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain beef in colander, the transfer to bowl with tortilla mixture.

3. Add oil and onion to empty skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and remaining broth to skillet and simmer until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir half of tomato sauce mixture, 1 ¹⁄₂ cups cheese, jalapeño, cilantro, and hot sauce into bowl with tortilla mixture to finish filling. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Arrange 6 toasted tortillas in bottom of baking dish. Spread filling evenly over tortillas. Arrange remaining tortillas over filling and top with remaining tomato sauce mixture. Bake until casserole is bubbling around edges, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over casserole. Bake until cheese is browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before serving. 

Comments
The goal for this recipe, which is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual, was to get good corn tortilla flavor throughout the dish and to ensure that the tortillas were sturdy enough to hold up to the other ingredients.  I’d say that it was a resounding success.  The pulverized tortillas in the filling added great flavor and texture.  All three of us enjoyed this quite a bit and Art felt that it compares favorably to his beloved Chicken Enchiladas.  That’s high praise coming from him!

Cook’s Country 2009

Ingredients
For the meatballs
1 large egg
¹⁄₄ cup half and half
1 large slice white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces (I use Arnold Country White.)
8 ounces ground pork
1 small onion, grated or pureed in a mini processor
¹⁄₈ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground allspice
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar, packed
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 ounces ground beef
1 ¹⁄₄ cups vegetable oil

For the sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
¹⁄₂ cup half and half
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
Table salt and ground black pepper

Instructions
1. For the meatballs: Whisk egg and half and half together in medium bowl. Stir in bread and set aside. Meanwhile, in mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat pork, onion, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping bowl as necessary. Using fork, mash bread mixture until no large dry bread chunks remain; add mixture to mixer bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping bowl as necessary. Add beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl as necessary. Using moistened hands, form generous tablespoon of meat mixture into 1-inch round meatball; repeat with remaining mixture to form 25 to 30 meatballs. (The meat mixture will be very wet, as a result my meatballs weren’t very ball-like. They were quite lump-like.)

2. Heat oil in large straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until edge of meatball dipped in oil sizzles, 3 to 5 minutes. Add meatballs in single layer and fry, flipping once halfway through cooking, until lightly browned all over and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Adjust heat as needed to keep oil sizzling but not smoking.) Using slotted spoon, transfer browned meatballs to paper towel-lined plate.

3. For the sauce: Pour off and discard oil in pan, leaving any browned bits (fond) behind. Return pan to medium-high heat and add butter. When foaming subsides, add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is light brown, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits. Add brown sugar and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in half and half and return to simmer.

4. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Note: Serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes, boiled red potatoes, or egg noodles. 

Comments
Once upon a time, when I was a young child, I had Swedish Meatballs at some potluck type thing and thought they were the most delicious meatballs ever.  Years passed and I had them again, and the actuality in no way lived up to my memory.  They were heavy and the sauce was goopy, and not at all tasty.  I pretty much forgot about Swedish Meatballs.  Then I found this recipe in the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual and thought “Ah-ha!  Cook’s Illustrated never steers me wrong so I should try these and maybe they’ll be as delicious as the ones I tried so very long ago!” 

Are they the same as the Swedish Meatballs of my youth?  I have no idea, I just remember that I enjoyed them, and not at all what they actually tasted like.  Regardless, this recipe was delicious and the results were great.  I opted to serve them with egg noodles but Lance tells me that potatoes would be a more traditional accompaniment.  I’ll make these again someday, so thanks Cook’s Illustrated for redeeming the Swedish Meatball.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
For the roast
1 beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied for roasting
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon olive oil
_
For the butter_
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
¹⁄₄ teaspoon table salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Sprinkle roast evenly with salt, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300*F.

2. For the butter: combine all ingredients in medium bowl.  Set aside.

3. Pat roast dry with paper towels. Sprinkle roast evenly with pepper and spread unsalted butter evenly over surface. Transfer roast to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 125*F for medium-rare, 40 to 55 minutes, or 135*F for medium, 55 to 70 minutes, flipping roast halfway through cooking.

4. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place roast in skillet and sear until well browned on four sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side (total of 4 to 8 minutes). Transfer roast to cutting board and spread 2 tablespoons flavored butter evenly over top of roast; let rest 15 minutes. Remove twine and cut meat crosswise into ¹⁄₂-inch-thick slices. Serve with flavored butter on the side. 

Comments
It’s safe to say that my family loved filet mignon and when our butcher has it on sale for $4.50/lb that’s just too good to pass up.  While steaks are always nice, once in a while it’s great to have a roast instead.  This recipe in the 2009 Cook’s Illustrated Annual inspired me to pull a frozen roast out of the freezer.  I was thrilled with the results.  The butter was fantastically garlicky and rich.  The meat was tender, juicy, and perfectly medium rare.  It was hard to get enough!

Shown here with Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage.

Cook’s Illustrated 2009

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup milk (I used whole since I had it on hand from the mashed potatoes.)
7 tablespoons instant potato flakes
1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, halved and sliced thin
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 ³⁄₄ cups beef broth
¹⁄₄ cup ruby port, tawny port or dry sherry (I used dry sherry, I haven’t even heard of those ports.)

Instructions
1. Whisk milk and potato flakes in large bowl. Add beef, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper and knead until combined. Shape into 4 ¹⁄₂-inch-thick oval patties and transfer to parchment-lined plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate.

3. Add onion and remaining butter to empty skillet and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt and cook until liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and flour and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Slowly stir in broth and port (or sherry) and bring to simmer. Return patties to skillet, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2007 Cook’s Country Annual.  I don’t think I’ve ever had Salisbury steak before, so I thought it would be fun to try out.  I did goof while making the patties and made 6 instead of 4.  Oops.  I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this recipe yet.  The patties were very tender, but they weren’t very flavorful.  I also found the sauce to be a bit too thin, but I think I could fix that next time with a bit more flour and perhaps a short simmer of the sauce after removing the patties in the end. 

Shown here with French Mashed Potatoes with Cheese and Garlic (Aligot).

Cook’s Country 2007