Hello! Did everyone watch the Preakness??? Great race! We may have a triple crown winner again!! Tonight's the All Star Race on Speed, should be a good one, it usually is.
Anyway for dinner, we had hamburger meat thawed and I didn't know what to do with it. Seems like a theme, for some reason. Alan suggested the burgers with brown gravy and it sounded good, so I made it. He usually makes this dish, so I needed direction. Of course, I embellished a bit because I really wasn't sure how to do it. This is what I did. I hope you like it; it came out good.
Burgers with Brown Gravy
1 lb ground beef
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1/4 cup ketchup
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons butter
1 jar savory beef gravy
(these amounts are based on about a pound of ground beef, if you need more, just double the recipe)
Slice the onions, smash the garlic, heat a fry pan and melt the butter. Add the onions and garlic, let them saute. Use a lid to keep them from burning, medium heat. In a bowl, add the meat, ranch dressing mix and ketchup, mix well. Form into patties and add to the onion mixture. Flip the burgers once. Pour the gravy into the fry pan and making sure the onions are in the liquid. Cook for about 20 minutes on medium-low heat letting the mixture's flavors meld and the burgers cook.
I served with corn. However, I think mashed potatoes would be best with this.
Enjoy!!!!!
Enjoying Life!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Broccoli anyone???
I know it's Saturday, but..................................
I was watching Julia Child's Master Chefs today and guess who was on??? Lidia!!!!! The episode was from 1993 and she was soooooo young!!! Oh my, it was great!!! She made a mushroom risotto and orechiette pasta with sausage and broccoli di rappi - or broccoli rabbe. It looked fabulous and I decided that's what we're having for dinner. Since I didn't have any sausage thawed, we went to the new Wegmans that opened up in King of Prussia. I bought Italian sausage patties, more broccoli and some other things, of course.
My husband doesn't like broccoli di rappi, so I made the recipe with regular broccoli and it was just as good. It's so easy to make, takes about 1/2 hour and dinner is served! Try this, I hope you like it!!
Orechiette alla Broccoli e Salcicci
1 lb Orechiette pasta
1 lb sausage
good size broccoli florets (about 8 inches around)
2 plump garlic cloves
2 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock)
salt, pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
crushed red pepper to taste
locatelli cheese to taste
In a 12" heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil. Take the casing off the sausage and add to the olive oil. Break up the sausage and let it get a tiny bit crispy. While the sausage is cooking, bring the pasta pot of water to boil. Smash the garlic cloves and add to the sausage while cooking. Chop the broccoli into medium size pieces. When the sausage looks just about done (no pink), add the broccoli, chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste. Stir it well, bring it to a slight boil, lower the heat to medium and cover. When the pasta water is boiling, salt the water, then add the pasta. Cook until desired tenderness. I like al-dente, your choice. When the pasta is done, drain and to the sausage & broccoli, mix well. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer for about 5 to 10 mins until all of the flavors meld together. Serve with locatelli cheese and hot pepper if you like it spicy. You can add the crushed red pepper to the mixture and let it cook together, but this depends on if you like your food spicy. I do, hubby doesn't.
Enjoy!!!!!
I was watching Julia Child's Master Chefs today and guess who was on??? Lidia!!!!! The episode was from 1993 and she was soooooo young!!! Oh my, it was great!!! She made a mushroom risotto and orechiette pasta with sausage and broccoli di rappi - or broccoli rabbe. It looked fabulous and I decided that's what we're having for dinner. Since I didn't have any sausage thawed, we went to the new Wegmans that opened up in King of Prussia. I bought Italian sausage patties, more broccoli and some other things, of course.
My husband doesn't like broccoli di rappi, so I made the recipe with regular broccoli and it was just as good. It's so easy to make, takes about 1/2 hour and dinner is served! Try this, I hope you like it!!
Orechiette alla Broccoli e Salcicci
1 lb Orechiette pasta
1 lb sausage
good size broccoli florets (about 8 inches around)
2 plump garlic cloves
2 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock)
salt, pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
crushed red pepper to taste
locatelli cheese to taste
In a 12" heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil. Take the casing off the sausage and add to the olive oil. Break up the sausage and let it get a tiny bit crispy. While the sausage is cooking, bring the pasta pot of water to boil. Smash the garlic cloves and add to the sausage while cooking. Chop the broccoli into medium size pieces. When the sausage looks just about done (no pink), add the broccoli, chicken stock, salt and pepper to taste. Stir it well, bring it to a slight boil, lower the heat to medium and cover. When the pasta water is boiling, salt the water, then add the pasta. Cook until desired tenderness. I like al-dente, your choice. When the pasta is done, drain and to the sausage & broccoli, mix well. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer for about 5 to 10 mins until all of the flavors meld together. Serve with locatelli cheese and hot pepper if you like it spicy. You can add the crushed red pepper to the mixture and let it cook together, but this depends on if you like your food spicy. I do, hubby doesn't.
Enjoy!!!!!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Beef, wine...........a nice combination
Good Morning!
Well, we didn't get to see the "big moon" because of clouds last night, but, maybe tonight? It's cloudy and cool right now, so I'm guessing no. At one point later in the afternoon yesterday, it was sunny and the moon was just rising. It did look bigger than normal, that's as close to seeing it as we'd get yesterday.
Last weekend we had a fun time in Richmond at the races despite the rain. Saturday night's race was boring and I really thought Tony Stewart was going to win. As usual, NASCAR called what we call a "phantom" caution changing the end of the race entirely. Fans were pissed, booing, and very unhappy. The Friday night race was good racing, so all was not lost. Here's something funny though. We arrived at the track on saturday with rain in the forecast. We sat in the parking lot for awhile, then decided to go in. Well, it began to rain as we were walking to the track. People were leaving as we were going in. It downpoured. We bought rain ponchos and found places to stand while waiting out the storm. We ate some "track" food, walked around, looked at the driver trailers and some of the exhibits, then decided to go back to the car. The rain finally stopped. As we're walking back, Alan says to me, "we did this wrong". I'm like "what???" He said, take a look...........as we were walking in, everyone was leaving. As we were leaving, everyone was walking back! So, a little bit of backwards never hurts sometimes!!!
Anyway, I had a London Broil in the freezer and didn't know what to do with it. So, I took out my handy, dandy, Lidia cookbook and voila! I figured it out! There is a wonderful recipe I've made before called Filetto alla Carbonade or Beef Filet with Wine Sauce. For this you're supposed to use a filet roast, but I only have London Broil. You can use what you want, the flavor is the same. Of course, I've made the recipe my own, here it is:
3 lbs beef roast
3 and 1/4 cups dry red wine
4 cups water
4 plump garlic cloves, smashed
1 large onion, quartered
1 to 2 carrots (about a cup), cut into 1/4" pieces
1 to 2 celery stalks (about a cup), cut into 1/4" pieces
1/2 cup loosely packed dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 oz)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 or more tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoon butter, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon honey
In a 4 quart saucepan, combine the wine, water, veggies, 1/2 tsp salt, garlic, rosemary. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a steady stimmer. Cook for an hour or more, partly covered, until the sauce reduced by 1/2. Then with a sieve, strain the sauce into a bowl. With the veggies, smash them into the sieve, gleaning out their liquid and flavor. Rinse out the saucepan, return the liquid to the saucepan. Heat again, slowly, steadily until the sauce reduced in 1/2 again, adding 1/2 tsp of salt. Meanwhile, prepare your meat. Rub the meat with salt, a little olive oil. In a fry pan, brown the meat on all sides, cook about 15 mins or so (or less depending on how you like it). Make sure the meat gets brown and crusty on all sides. When the meat is done to your liking, remove it to a warm plate. Add the sauce to the meat skillet, bring it to a boil while scraping the brown bits from the bottom. Then add the butter chunks one at a time, stirring each one until melted, when that's done, do the same with the honey. The sauce makes about 1 1/4 cups when completed. For a filet roast, when you like your meat rare or medium rare, this is the perfect way to make this dish. However, when using a cheaper cut of meat, or NOT an expensive roast, this is what I do and it comes out just as wonderful:
As a variation, I cook the beef in the sauce itself. After the 1st reduction, I add the 1/2 tsp salt, but also drop the butter chunks and honey. I bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. While this is happening, I just brown my meat, then add my sauce to the frypan and let the meat and the sauce cook and reduce together, partly covered, tenderizing the meat and having all of the flavor.
Slice the meat, drizzle with the sauce to serve. This recipe is great with mashed or baked, smashed potatoes.
Enjoy!!!!!
Well, we didn't get to see the "big moon" because of clouds last night, but, maybe tonight? It's cloudy and cool right now, so I'm guessing no. At one point later in the afternoon yesterday, it was sunny and the moon was just rising. It did look bigger than normal, that's as close to seeing it as we'd get yesterday.
Last weekend we had a fun time in Richmond at the races despite the rain. Saturday night's race was boring and I really thought Tony Stewart was going to win. As usual, NASCAR called what we call a "phantom" caution changing the end of the race entirely. Fans were pissed, booing, and very unhappy. The Friday night race was good racing, so all was not lost. Here's something funny though. We arrived at the track on saturday with rain in the forecast. We sat in the parking lot for awhile, then decided to go in. Well, it began to rain as we were walking to the track. People were leaving as we were going in. It downpoured. We bought rain ponchos and found places to stand while waiting out the storm. We ate some "track" food, walked around, looked at the driver trailers and some of the exhibits, then decided to go back to the car. The rain finally stopped. As we're walking back, Alan says to me, "we did this wrong". I'm like "what???" He said, take a look...........as we were walking in, everyone was leaving. As we were leaving, everyone was walking back! So, a little bit of backwards never hurts sometimes!!!
Anyway, I had a London Broil in the freezer and didn't know what to do with it. So, I took out my handy, dandy, Lidia cookbook and voila! I figured it out! There is a wonderful recipe I've made before called Filetto alla Carbonade or Beef Filet with Wine Sauce. For this you're supposed to use a filet roast, but I only have London Broil. You can use what you want, the flavor is the same. Of course, I've made the recipe my own, here it is:
3 lbs beef roast
3 and 1/4 cups dry red wine
4 cups water
4 plump garlic cloves, smashed
1 large onion, quartered
1 to 2 carrots (about a cup), cut into 1/4" pieces
1 to 2 celery stalks (about a cup), cut into 1/4" pieces
1/2 cup loosely packed dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 oz)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
1 or more tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoon butter, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon honey
In a 4 quart saucepan, combine the wine, water, veggies, 1/2 tsp salt, garlic, rosemary. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a steady stimmer. Cook for an hour or more, partly covered, until the sauce reduced by 1/2. Then with a sieve, strain the sauce into a bowl. With the veggies, smash them into the sieve, gleaning out their liquid and flavor. Rinse out the saucepan, return the liquid to the saucepan. Heat again, slowly, steadily until the sauce reduced in 1/2 again, adding 1/2 tsp of salt. Meanwhile, prepare your meat. Rub the meat with salt, a little olive oil. In a fry pan, brown the meat on all sides, cook about 15 mins or so (or less depending on how you like it). Make sure the meat gets brown and crusty on all sides. When the meat is done to your liking, remove it to a warm plate. Add the sauce to the meat skillet, bring it to a boil while scraping the brown bits from the bottom. Then add the butter chunks one at a time, stirring each one until melted, when that's done, do the same with the honey. The sauce makes about 1 1/4 cups when completed. For a filet roast, when you like your meat rare or medium rare, this is the perfect way to make this dish. However, when using a cheaper cut of meat, or NOT an expensive roast, this is what I do and it comes out just as wonderful:
As a variation, I cook the beef in the sauce itself. After the 1st reduction, I add the 1/2 tsp salt, but also drop the butter chunks and honey. I bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. While this is happening, I just brown my meat, then add my sauce to the frypan and let the meat and the sauce cook and reduce together, partly covered, tenderizing the meat and having all of the flavor.
Slice the meat, drizzle with the sauce to serve. This recipe is great with mashed or baked, smashed potatoes.
Enjoy!!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)