Tonight I'm having a friend over for dinner and we are going to eat like kings! Because of a busy Sunday this week, our typical meat day got shifted to Thursday. My two housemates are both working late tonight, so it will just be the two of us dining on a feast of pot roast and gravy, garlic smashed potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, and cauliflower with cheddar cheese ALL TO OURSELVES! Can you tell I'm hungry? Here's some recipes for ya'll:
Pot Roast
I browned the roast in a hot (NOT non-stick) pan--a few minutes on each side. Then I put it in the crock pot over some carrots and an onion, chopped up.
I added about 3 tbsp. butter to the pan I had just taken the meat from and melted it while scraping the meaty goodness off the bottom of the pan. I added 2 large tbsp. flour to the butter, whisked it together, and let it cook for a minute or so. Then I poured in one part chicken stock and one part beer, while whisking, on pretty high heat until it thickened into gravy. I poured this over the meat and set the crock pot on high for three hours.
Brussels Sprouts
I halved and washed some brussels sprouts right after I bought them on Sunday. Tonight, I will dump them in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, add salt, pepper, loads of garlic, and a touch of balsamic vinegar. I'll roast them in the oven at about 400 until they look nice and crispy--30 minutes or so.
Cauliflower
I also cleaned and chopped some cauliflower on Sunday. I will dump that into its own roasting pan to cookat the same time as the sprouts with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe cumin. Right before it's done, I'll sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese on top so it gets all melty and wonderful.
Potatoes
While the veggies are roasting, I will halve some potatoes, boil them with skins on (lazy way), and mash them up with some butter, a scoop of cream cheese, salt, pepper, and several cloves of garlic. I might throw in some dried chives if we have any.
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Slow-Cooked Beef
*Update*
The beef was tender and delicious. It has a slight gamey flavor compared to supermarket beef, which I really enjoy. I could have cooked down the red wine in a pan at a higher heat to make a sauce, but it was really moist and flavorful without that. We ate at our new dining table for the first time! We've been couching it for way too long. It is so nice to finally sit at a table across from a person. It really makes eating food feel like Having a Meal.
I got some stew cuts of beef from Heiden Valley Farm at the South Wedge Farmers Market here in Rochester. They raise cattle, pigs, and chickens that are pasture-raised, grass-fed, and sold locally. I've had their bacon before and loved it, I get eggs from them every week (at $3/dozen), and I'm excited to try their beef.
Eating ethically, particularly when it comes to meat, is often very expensive. We have decided the investment in our health, the local economy, ecology, and general food culture is worth it. Still, we are not rolling in dough over here. Money doesn't grow on organic, local, community-supported trees. So I use some budgeting tricks like buying in bulk and freezing, buying a whole chicken and stretching it with other ingredients into several meals, saving the bones for stock. And of course, getting the cheap (read: tough) cuts of meat and cooking them slowly.
I thawed the beef (which is cut into 2 inch sq. chunks) last night.
Today at my lunch hour, I grabbed a bottle of Bully Hill semi-dry red wine, reflected on how great it is to live in the Finger Lakes area, ran home and took out my slow cooker.
I braised the meat (which was still a little frozen) in a hot pan, then threw it in the cooker, and covered it with salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, and a little brown mustard.
I sliced an onion, sauteed it in some butter in the braising pan until it was starting to get brown, then I added a sliced clove of garlic.
After another minute or so, I added the onion and garlic to the slow cooker, poured about 1/3 to 1/2 the bottle of red wine over it all, covered, set it on high, and headed back to work. Were I not such a procrastinator, I could've done all that last night, put the pot in the fridge, and set it on low this morning to cook all day. Alas, I did not. It will still get 6 hours of cooking time.
I'm now about to head to the farmers market where I'll pick up some green beans to sautee on the side. I'll just cook them in some olive oil, salt, and garlic.
I may also cook the one new potato I have left from last week. I'll probably slice it pretty thin, toss it in olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe a little dill, throw it on a baking sheet and roast it at about 425 degrees.
I will update later on how it turns out! Also on all the lessons on pollination I learn from the overly friendly Bee Guy at the market--since I need to buy honey today.
The beef was tender and delicious. It has a slight gamey flavor compared to supermarket beef, which I really enjoy. I could have cooked down the red wine in a pan at a higher heat to make a sauce, but it was really moist and flavorful without that. We ate at our new dining table for the first time! We've been couching it for way too long. It is so nice to finally sit at a table across from a person. It really makes eating food feel like Having a Meal.
I got some stew cuts of beef from Heiden Valley Farm at the South Wedge Farmers Market here in Rochester. They raise cattle, pigs, and chickens that are pasture-raised, grass-fed, and sold locally. I've had their bacon before and loved it, I get eggs from them every week (at $3/dozen), and I'm excited to try their beef.
Eating ethically, particularly when it comes to meat, is often very expensive. We have decided the investment in our health, the local economy, ecology, and general food culture is worth it. Still, we are not rolling in dough over here. Money doesn't grow on organic, local, community-supported trees. So I use some budgeting tricks like buying in bulk and freezing, buying a whole chicken and stretching it with other ingredients into several meals, saving the bones for stock. And of course, getting the cheap (read: tough) cuts of meat and cooking them slowly.
I thawed the beef (which is cut into 2 inch sq. chunks) last night.
Today at my lunch hour, I grabbed a bottle of Bully Hill semi-dry red wine, reflected on how great it is to live in the Finger Lakes area, ran home and took out my slow cooker.
I braised the meat (which was still a little frozen) in a hot pan, then threw it in the cooker, and covered it with salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, and a little brown mustard.
I sliced an onion, sauteed it in some butter in the braising pan until it was starting to get brown, then I added a sliced clove of garlic.
After another minute or so, I added the onion and garlic to the slow cooker, poured about 1/3 to 1/2 the bottle of red wine over it all, covered, set it on high, and headed back to work. Were I not such a procrastinator, I could've done all that last night, put the pot in the fridge, and set it on low this morning to cook all day. Alas, I did not. It will still get 6 hours of cooking time.
I'm now about to head to the farmers market where I'll pick up some green beans to sautee on the side. I'll just cook them in some olive oil, salt, and garlic.
I may also cook the one new potato I have left from last week. I'll probably slice it pretty thin, toss it in olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe a little dill, throw it on a baking sheet and roast it at about 425 degrees.
I will update later on how it turns out! Also on all the lessons on pollination I learn from the overly friendly Bee Guy at the market--since I need to buy honey today.
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