Bill’s son Tyler turned 18 last month.  To celebrate I asked him what he wanted for dinner — Mexican!!!!

I invited his girlfriend & my parents over and cooked up a storm.  I got so darn excited about eating dinner that I forgot to take any pictures.  The Menu:

Jalepeno Roasted Chicken
Chili and Cheese Rice
Re-fried Black Beans
Marinated flank steak
Flour Tortillas
Fresh Salsa

If you are reading my blog, you’ve likely come to realize I’m currently obsessed with Mexican food.  I absolutely love the flavors.  My dad used to joke about ordering in a Mexican restaurant “hmm,  do I want the beans, tortilla and cheese or should I have the cheese, beans and tortilla?” For a long time, I thought that was true.  But it’s not, the flavors are so layered with nuance when the cooking is done with passion.  It’s easy to see how Rick Bayless spent 20 years perfecting his Mole.  Every time I cook these foods I learn something.

In July we took a cruise on Princess and had a fantastic time.  The best excursion was in Cozumel.  My wonderful amazing husband researched and found a private cooking class in a woman’s home Cocina con Alma.  Josephina teaches small groups to make traditional dishes.  Along the way she explained the ingredients, the history and methods.  It was a fantastic experience.  Check out her site. We made the pork roast!  I plan to write another post with more detail about the class, but the point I wanted to make here is that she opened my eyes to simplicity.  Her salsa is the recipe I wrote about in my chicken tortilla soup post (linked to above).  It’s a 6 minute recipe and when you make a batch it disappears.  I can buy “fresh” salsa that will sit in the fridge for weeks!  With her recipe I’m lucky to have enough to put on my eggs in the morning.

Her class gave me a good dose of confidence and I’ve been playing around since then.  My family seems to love it as I’m not seeing any leftovers.  So for Tyler’s dinner I made a pretty ambitious menu.  The recipes for the chicken and rice came from the food network (Mexican made easy)  I changed up the rice a little adding more garlic, using chicken stock instead of water and upping the amount of peppers for flavor.  I have to tell you that recipe ROCKS.  It has the trifecta – easy, tasty and cheap.  The roasted chicken recipe came from the same episode.  I’ve made it three times now.  At first I was worried about the Jalapenos making the dish too spicy but when they cook down they are amazing.  The chicken gets flavored all the way through.  It’s stunning.

Josephina teaches tortillas in her class.  We made delightful corn tortillas that were light and flavorful.  When I came home and tried to make them I could not reproduce the results.  Mine were “corny-ier”  and the texture wasn’t light.  I experimented with the recipe, mixing in some flour with the masa trying to reproduce what she did.  I couldn’t.  I am assuming it’s a difference in ingredients.  So I switched to flour tortillas.  They are not effortless, but they are not in the same class as what you can buy in the store.  Worth every second.  I found the recipe online (link above)  I use my mixer to combine the ingredients and they turn out fine.

So now, I’ll finally give some actual original recipes.  I don’t usually link to other people’s recipes but I think it’s part of the learning process.  Research and make it your own.

I’ve made the flank steak about five times since July.  The keys are marinating and quick cooking over high heat.  Flank steak should be sliced thin against the grain or ti will be hard to eat.  This is the current favorite at the house beating out steak.  For the marinade I used my Salsa Rojo which freezes well.  Marinate the steak for about 30 minutes to an hour then cook over high heat for about 3 minutes per side.  The grill works best, cast Iron is second best but beware, it smokes,  a lot!

Re-fried beans are easy enough to buy in a can.  And they aren’t horrible.  In fact they are pretty OK.  So you may think why bother.  Please please please just once try it from scratch.  When you soak dried beans and cook them you get a different texture, a better texture.

Re-fried Beans

1 lb black beans or pinto beans
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 onion in quarter plus 1/2 onion fine dice
2 bay leaves
6 Tbsp Lard (yes lard) divided
3 Tbsp salt
2 whole cloves garlic
2 minced cloves garlic

Soak beans overnight with the baking soda.  Rinse drain.  Cover with water in a dutch oven or stock pot, add 1/4 onion, 3 Tbsp lard, salt,  bay leaves and 2 whole cloves garlic.  Bring to a rapid boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 90 minutes or until they are tender.  Remove onion, bay leaves and garlic cloves.  DO NOT DRAIN THE BEANS.

In a large skillet over medium high heat add lard and cook onions until soft.  Add garlic and then add about 3 cups of beans.  Use a slotted spoon so you don’t get too much liquid.  Heat the beans through.  Move to a food processor and process till smooth adding cooking liquid as needed to get the consistency you like.  Return to pan.  Add 1 cup whole beans.  Serve with cheese, sour cream, fresh onions.  I’d tell you what to do with leftovers but I’ve never seen them!

Cheers!

I think Mexican food is better with beer.  I always love IPA.  In this case I like the Stone IPA because it’s crisp and balances the rich foods.

First and foremost before anyone thinks I have developed mad food photography skills, this picture is lifted — or borrowed from Williams Sonoma.  I feel fine about this because it links back to their Steak au Poivre Sauce.

Williams Sonoma has been offering free cooking classes every Sunday.  I went to a couple of them fully expecting to have them use these classes as an opportunity to sell their wares.  That was fine by me because I also went with the intention of picking up some stainless steel saute pans I’ve been coveting and they give you a discount for attending the class.  I did not however expect to buy any finished sauces or seasonings.  If you read my blog, you know I am passionately against sauce in a jar ….  I guess the old adage never say never applies here …

Tyler, Bill’s 17 year old is an avid fan of steak; all things beef really.  Tyler wanted to take the class so I thought I’d tag along and get my pans (you get a 10% discount on anything related to the class).  I chatted with the store manager while Tyler took notes.  I’m an accomplished cook! I didn’t think I had much to learn on a class that relied on sauce in a jar.  I did learn something; I learned that I had to get a jar of that sauce!

We all have our nights when we don’t want to cook — this is the perfect answer.  Rub this sauce (it’s really more of a marinade) on your steaks (we used NY Strips) and let them rest for at least a half hour.  Then either grill them outside or cook them on a smoking hot grill pan (it’s still so hot in Florida I went for the grill pan — but the smoke was more than I had anticipated so consider yourself warned).  I  pre-heated a cast iron grill pan (8 on my electric range) and cooked 3/4 inch thick NY strips about 6 minutes per side for a perfect medium rare.
Since I was cheating with the steaks, I made cream of mushroom soup from scratch.  This was incredibly worth it, but time consuming.  Over the weekend Bill took me to see Julie & Julia (I know, I don’ t like to rush into things).  I cried the entire movie — why I don’t know; but it made me cry!  The good news is that the tears lead to inspiration and I decided to tackle one of her recipes, Cream of mushroom soup.  Below is my version.  I’d never argue with Julia (or Julie) but the great thing about cooking in your kitchen is you adapt to your own tastes and based simply on the recipe this soup was not achieving it’s flavor potential.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (Click here for printable recipe)

6 Tbs butter separated
1/2 onion diced  (you are going to strain this out later so no points for neatness)
3 Tbs flour
About 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock (preferably homemade, but store bought will work, be careful with salt)
2 pounds mushrooms stemmed, caps sliced thin (I used cremini  and a few oyster but pick your favorite, keep stems separate from caps)
1/4 cup Marsala wine
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Over medium low heat cook onions in 3 Tbs butter until soft (less than 10 minutes).  Meanwhile bring stock to boil.  After onions are softened, stir in flour and cook for 3 – 4 minutes.  Off heat whisk boiling stock into onions, add mushroom stems and cook on a low simmer for about 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, heat remaining 3 Tbs butter over medium heat until it foams and then the foam subsides.  Add sliced mushroom caps and Marsala wine (this is my addition)  and season the mushrooms.  Put a lid on the pan and cook until soft, about 8 – 10 minutes.

Strain soup-base of stock, onion and mushroom caps. pressing to get all the juices.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg yolks and cream.  Slowly, by spoonfuls, whisk in hot soup base.  Don’t do this too fast or  your eggs will scramble instead of thickening the soup.  Once you have about half the mixture you should be fine to return it all to the saucepan.  Then add the mushroom caps and any liquids released by cooking to the soup base.  Return to medium low heat and cook for a few minutes to thicken.  Do not let it come to a simmer, you could still get scrambled eggs and to go through that at this point would be heartbreaking.

So, what did we drink with it you ask? The Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon that Bill and I love!  The picture below is a link to their website.

One other thought I want to leave you with!  I recently discovered the art of “White”  Really cool, funky art with attitude.  The image below will take you to his site.

Beef Daube

There are as many recipes for Boeuf Daube as there are for meatloaf.  This is comfort food at it’s best.  All the flavors meld together the meat melts in your mouth and the noodles absorb the sauce.   I looked at several French Cookbooks and took elements from many of them to create my version of Boeuf Daube.  I have to admit, I was originally inspired by the recipe in the Editor’s Letter from this month’s Cooking Light.  For the record — I promptly added bacon thereby eliminating any claims to “light” eating but making my taste buds EXTREMELY happy!  There were almost zero leftovers from this meal; which is a huge statement to how much it was enjoyed as I typically cook as if the entire neighborhood may stop by at any second.

One of my pet peeves with cooking channels is they never admit when things go wrong.  Well, when Whineaux’s play with fire, sometimes the results are amusing.  There’s a video at the end of the post with my out-take.  It’s rated “R” for explosions and language.  Grab a glass of wine and laugh at the girl trying to get on The Darwin Awards List.

Whineaux’s Boeuf Daube (Click for printable version)

2T vegetable oil (you can use olive oil but it has a low smoke point and strong flavor)
1 Diced onion
12 cloves crushed garlic
4 slices bacon (slicked thin)
1 (2 pound) roast cut into 1 – 2 inch cubes.
1/2 cup cognac or brandy
1 cup carrots (cut them into big chunks or they will fall apart, roughly 3 – 4 carrots)
2 T tomato paste
1 package sliced cremini mushrooms
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomoatoes
1 Cup red wine (I used Merlot)
bouquet garni – (1 sprig rosemary, 3 sprigs flat leaf parsely, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp marjoram wrapped in cheesecloth so they can easily be removed)

Preheat Oven to 300 degrees

In a large Dutch Oven over medium heat, saute the bacon until crispy, remove and set aside

Lower heat to medium low, add vegetable oil as needed and slowly saute the onion and garlic until soft, but not browned remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.

Increase heat to medium high.  Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides (about 5 minutes each)

Off the heat (especially if you are using a gas stove) add brandy or cognac to deglaze pan.  Scrape up any frond from the bottom  of the pan.  Use a long lighter to burn off the alcohol (make sure your hair is pulled up and your face is not directly over the pot, please see video for what not to do)  Add remaining ingredients, stir, put a lid on the pot and put it in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Traditionally this is served with mashed potatoes or egg noodles, rice or cous cous would also be tasty.

And now for the outtake:

Disclaimer:  No actual Whineauxs were injured during the making of this dish.

I am just not there yet. This is the time of year I hang onto my winter recipes like a drug addict hanging onto a fix.

My favorite meal this week was Beef Stroganoff. I fell in love with this dish in my 20s when I worked at a place called the “Coffee Tree.” If you lived in California and had occasion to drive Interstate 80 from the Bay Area to Sacramento you may remember it. It had a huge gold roof and it was legendary. It was the kind of place where the staff wore HORRIBLE polyester uniforms straight from the 70′s, just like everything else about the place including the decor and menu. The food was nostalgic and fantastic. People made it a point to stop there during their road trip and many had been stopping there since they were kids. The Coffee Tree is gone now, but I remember it.

Beef Stroganoff at the Coffee Tree was not the traditional recipe. It was thick, rich and full of tomatoes. It was incredible. Every time I’ve tried to make it in the memory of the Coffee Tree I’ve used diced tomatoes as they did and the finished dish has ended up tasting like tin. Too much acid.

This week when I made it I had the best result ever (Or I was really hungry, I’m not sure)

Here’s the recipe:

2T olive oil
1/2 red onion diced
8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin cut into half inch pieces
2 cloves garlic diced
3T tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth
2T softened butter
2T flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
Egg Noodles
Sour Cream

Saute the onions and mushrooms over medium heat until they are caramelized. You want to bring out the flavor here but not burn so be patient. Season them with salt and pepper. Once caramelized, remove from pan and place in a separate bowl.

Bring heat up to medium high and working in batches brown the beef (season in the pan with salt and pepper) Remove from pan and set aside with the mushrooms and onions.

Saute the tomato paste and garlic in the pan. Cook until the tomato paste goes from red to a deep rust color.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine and reduce it by half. Add the beef broth and return the beef, mushrooms and onions to the pan.

Bring to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small dish combine the flour and butter until it’s a smooth paste. You want this to have a moment to rest before you need it so do this as soon as you put everything back into the pan.

Add one tablespoon of the flour and butter mixture at a time to the sauce until it’s the thickness you desire. A note here — because the sauce is boiling it will thicken quickly, but you have to let it cook a a little (2 – 3 minutes) to see where you are going to end up. If you over thicken you can add beef broth, wine or water but you’ll end up diluting your flavor. Once you have the thickness you want let it cook for about 5 minutes longer. This is not an exact science this is where your grandma tells you to “cook it until it’s done.” You’ll have to taste the sauce, stir it and decide what your are looking for. I LOVE thickening sauce this way as opposed to starting with a roux because it allows me to instantly see the thickness and avoid over or under thickening but it’s something you have to do and play with to get it right.

Serve over buttered egg noodles (or rice if you prefer) with a garnish of sour cream. A hearty red wine such as a Zinfandel or Cabernet will go great with this meal!

One of my friends is in the hospital in pretty tough shape following emergency heart surgery. I wish I was one of those people who always says exactly the right thing to make my friends feel better. I am not. I always say the wrong thing – my heart means the right thing, but my brain to mouth connection is askew. When my heart is saying, “I know you are hurting, go ahead and hurt I am here for you. But know it will get better”; my mouth says “quit whining this will blow over.”

So … when things are rough I cook. I know my friend is not eating. She’s barely coming home and getting a shower. Tonight I am taking her beef vegetable soup. To me, there’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of soup. It’s a little cold tonight (By Florida standards, roughly 55 degrees) and soup can warm your body and soul. I’ve been reading the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook and there is a great article on “quicker” beef vegetable soup which I used as my base. A couple tricks I really liked:

• Use Sirloin, it will cook tender in about an hour.
• Marinade the Sirloin with Soy Sauce for about 15 minutes prior to cooking.
• Use Cremini Mushrooms, tomato paste and red wine to build flavor.

One thing they suggested I didn’t like was to use unflavored gelatin to thicken the soup at the last minute. I didn’t like this for two reasons, the first reason is that while I love soup, there’s no way Bill and I are going to consume an entire recipe in one evening. I like to make a pot and have it around, gelatin gets gloppy and ugly in the refrigerator. It will reheat to the right consistency, but after I see the soup all “glopped up” I’m not as interested in it. And also, this is soup, not stew. I want a broth like consistency. I put some potatoes in to thicken it a little but not too much.

Here’s my recipe:

1 ½ pound sirloin meat cut into ½ inch cubes
3 tsp soy sauce
2T vegetable oil (or other high smoke point such as peanut)
1 Onion
1 package (8oz) cremini mushrooms
4 cloves minced garlic
3T tomato paste
1 cup red wine
32 oz beef broth
8 oz chicken broth
1 cup minced celery hearts with leaves
1 cup diced carrots
3 Bay leaves
3 Sprigs thyme leaves removed
3T Tamari

Marinade the sirloin in the soy sauce for about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven.

Brown the onions and mushrooms, when golden and liquid has evaporated remove them from the pan and put them in a bowl.

Brown the sirloin and let the liquid evaporate.

Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook about three minutes more. Deglaze the pan with red wine. Reduce the wine by half.

Add broth and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and then let the soup simmer for about 45 minutes.

I was about to take a photo of this beautiful soup which really does have a rich broth and great color when the phone rang. After I hung up, I was suddenly in cleaning mode and I had put it into storage containers and in the fridge before I realized what I had done. This blog WILL have a photo soon. Perhaps tomorrow I can take a pic of the soup in the bowl. Tonight I’m too tired.

Night all – keep wine-ing!