Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

I made the of mistake thinking immersion blender-ing the veggies into the sauce would give it more body. Let's just say I'm not doing THAT again. 

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion

2 medium carrots

2 medium stalks celery

3 to 3 1/4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs

3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

1 cup low-sodium beef broth (or reconstituted beef base)

2 bay leaves

4 fresh thyme sprigs (or some dried thyme)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups dry red wine

Instructions

1. Dice 1 large yellow onion, peel and cut 2 medium carrots into 1-inch pieces, and cut 2 celery stalks into 1-inch pieces.
    
2. Pat 3 to 3 1/4 pounds short ribs dry. Season all over with 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large, high-sided frying pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of the short ribs and sear on 3 sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
    
3. Transfer to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. If needed, add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and repeat with the remaining short ribs. Transfer with tongs to the slow cooker. The short ribs will not be cooked through. Add 1 cup low-sodium beef broth, 4 fresh sprigs thyme, and 2 bay leaves to the slow cooker.
    
4. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, to the pot, season with the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the all-purpose flour and tomato paste, stir to coat the vegetables and cook until darkened in color, about 2 minutes. Pour in 3 cups dry red wine and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
    
5. Pour the hot liquid and vegetables into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 8 to 10 hour or until meat is fork-tender and bone easily pulls away.
    
6. Transfer the short ribs to a large plate with tongs. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a large glass measuring cup or bowl and discard the cooked vegetables, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and any loose bones. Serve the short ribs with sauce spooned over top.

Tip: If you have a fat separator, strain into that and pour leaving the fat behind. If you want to richen things up even more (which I barely recommend), transfer separated sauce to a pan and finish with 1 or 2 tbsp. COLD butter.

Serve over mashed potatoes or polenta. 

Sausage and Herb Stuffing

Standard fare sausage stuffing. This can be prepared in advance and reheated. Just thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours, then reheat it covered at 325 until hot. 

Ingredients

400 g of unseasoned stuffing cubes (sorry, but that's 1 + 60 g from a 2nd package)

1 stick or ½ cup unsalted butter

1 ½ cups diced yellow onion

1 cup diced celery

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

1 lb bulk sweet Italian sausage

2 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 large egg, beaten

1 tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary (or ½ tbsp. dried)

1 tbsp. fresh chopped sage (or ½ tbsp dried)

¼ cup fresh chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsely

½ tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with unsalted butter.

Dump stuffing cubes into a large mixing bowl.

Sauté onions and celery in butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add vegetable mixture to stuffing cubes in bowl making sure to get all of it. 

In the same pan, brown the sausage till cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Break it up as you cook it. 

Add browned sausage to bowl with cubes and vegetables. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix until bread is well moistened. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and bake for about an 65-70 minutes, uncovered. You should have a nice crispy top. 

Smoked Turkey Breast

Loved how this turned out. Perfect for smaller gathering or for those who prefer white meat. I got my boneless turkey breast from Whole Foods. I used this video but used a salting technique from Cooks Illustrated. Start the day before you need it since you'll be salting it overnight. I use an electric CookShack smoker, so if you are using something else plan accordingly to prepare your smoker. 

Ingredients

1 or 2 turkey breast halves (usually 2-3 pounders are available)

Kosher Salt

Coarse black pepper - I used Sam's Choice . Reasonably priced at Walmart. 

Dried thyme (optional)

Unsalted Butter

Instructions

1. Remove skin from the breast and salt all over with ¾ tsp per pound. 
2. Wrap with plastic wrap, put on something to catch any leaking liquid and refrigerate about 12 to  hours. 
3. Unwrap turkey breasts and sprinkle black pepper VERY LIBERALLY all over turkey. I used prepared coarse black pepper. You could grind fresh, but it's a lot of pepper. 
4. I added some thyme but that's up to you. You are after all 
5. Smoke the breast at about 250 to 275 for  2 hours.  Double wrap in foil, breast side down with the butter. I think I used about 1/2 stick per breast. 
6. You can return these to the smoker or to a 275 degree oven. Insert a meat probe and cook till internal temp is about 160-162 degrees F. I think this was about another hour. 
7. Remove from oven or smoker and let rest in foil for about 30 minutes. 
8. Remove from foil and slice. Reserve liquid for drizzling over turkey once sliced. 

Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast

Finally made one of these and wowza! I looked at a bunch of recipes before synthesizing this one.  Really good. Give it a try. Adjust the amount of pepperoncini peppers and brine to suit your taste.

1 (3 to 4-pound) boneless beef chuck roast

1 (1-ounce) packet ranch salad dressing & seasoning mix

1 (1-ounce) packet au jus gravy mix

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 (12-ounce) jar pepperoncini peppers

1. Add the chuck roast to a slow cooker. Place a 3- to 4-pound boneless beef chuck roast in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.
    
2. Add the seasoning packets. Sprinkle the chuck roast with 1 packet ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix and 1 packet au jus gravy mix.
    
3. Add the butter, pepperoncini, and brine. Cut 1 stick butter into cubes and place on top of the roast. Pour 1/2 cup brine from a jar of pepperoncini peppers and pour this over the roast. Add about 10 pepperoncini peppers.
    
4. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours until the beef is very tender.  About 8 hours on the LOW setting, or 5 to 6 hours on the HIGH setting. Mix and spoon liquid over roast after about 2 hours.
     
5. Use tongs to shred the roast and serve. Shred the roast into bite-sized pieces with tongs. 

Serving suggestions

Serve over or with mashed potatoes

Grilled cheese with some pot roast between two slices of provolone using Texas Toast bread. 

Wild Rice Mushroom Soup

This has become one of my favorite soups. It is REALLY worth it. You can complete tasks while other parts are cooking. Currently I'm using wood-parched wild rice and like it. Pictures coming soon. 

Ingredients

¼ ounce dried shitake mushrooms
4 ¼ cups water
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, peeled, plus 4 cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 cup wild rice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon tomato paste
⅔ cup dry sherry (Lustau Amontillado works well)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup minced fresh chives (optional)
¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grind shiitake mushrooms in spice grinder until finely ground (you should have about 3 tablespoons).

1. Bring 4 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, garlic clove, ¾ teaspoon salt, and baking soda to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Add rice and return to boil. Cover saucepan, transfer to oven, and bake until rice is tender, 35 to 50 minutes. (While rice is in oven, move on to the next step.) Strain rice through fine-mesh strainer set in 4-cup liquid measuring cup; remove thyme, bay leaf, and garlic. Add enough water to reserved cooking liquid to measure 3 cups.  
    
2. Melt butter in Dutch oven over high heat. Add cremini mushrooms, onion, minced garlic, tomato paste, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned and dark fond develops on bottom of pot, 15 minutes. Add dry sherry, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until reduced and pot is almost dry, about 2 minutes. Add ground shiitake mushrooms, reserved rice cooking liquid, broth, and soy sauce and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until onion and mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes.
    
3. Mix cornstarch and remaining ¼ cup water in small bowl. Stir cornstarch slurry into soup, return to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat and stir in cooked rice, cream, chives, and lemon zest. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This is my take on a very popular dish. I'm working on a smoked version, but use liquid smoke in this one. 

Ingredients

1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast - Boston butt

1 cup barbeque sauce

½ cup apple cider vinegar

⅛ teaspoon liquid smoke

½ cup chicken broth

¼ cup light brown sugar1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 extra large onion, chopped 
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
8 hamburger buns, split
2 tablespoons butter, or as needed

Mix the barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke and chicken broth in the slow cooker. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker and spoon some liquid over the top. Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours. I flipped mine about halfway through. 

Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

Serving ideas...

Classic: on buttered and toasted buns with pickles, pickled red onions, etc. 

Grilled Cheese: Texas Toast bread, slice of provolone and American cheese with some pulled pork in the middle. 

Storage: This makes a lot. Freeze in muffin tins then transfer to Ziplock in the freezer. Zap in microwave and use as needed. 

Black-eyed Peas with Collard Greens

You can make this kinda vegetarian friendly by swapping the chicken broth for vegetable broth and skipping the bacon. Add some liquid smoke, maybe a little brown sugar and some soy sauce at the end. Thanks to Gracie for this makeover. This is a good candidate for New Year's Day. 

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, Farmland thick cut if you've got it

1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cracked red pepper 

14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes, canned, with juice

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 pound collard greens, stemmed, rolled, cut once lenthwise the into 3/4 inch ribbons

31 ounces blackeyed peas, canned, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

NOTE: If you cook a whole package of bacon in the oven, you can reserve the bacon grease and use 2 tbsp in this recipe with 6 of the cooked slices. Put remaining slices in ziplock bag in freezer and refrigerate the leftover bacon fat for cornbread.

Cook the bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined palte and set aside.

Remove all but 2 tbsp bacon fat from pot. Add onion and salt and cook stiring frequently until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Add garlic, cumin, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add tomatoes and their juice. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Add greens, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until green are just tender, about 15 minutes

Add black-eyed peas to pot and cook covered stirring gently occasionally until greens are silky and tender, about 15 more minutes. Remove lid, increase heat to medium high, and cook until liquid is reduced by one-fourth, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and sugar. Serve topping with reserved bacon.

Migas

These are kinda like the migas at Trudy's Texas Star Cafe. 

Serves 2. 

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp margarine, or butter, or bacon grease, or combination
1/2 med to smallish onion, diced
2-3 tablespoons drained Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
2-3 handfulls of bagged tortilla chips, crushed in your hand when adding to skillet
Some cheese: velveeta, mexican blend grated, or leftover chile con queso
Serranos or Jalapeños finely diced
Flour tortillas

Wrap 4 tortillas flat in foil and put into a oven set at about 250 degrees. 

Put two plates into the microwave so you can heat them later. If melting Velveeta, put the cheese and a little milk into a small bowl and put that on the plates. 

Sautè the onions in the margarine. While onions cook, beat eggs with milk. 

Once onions soften, add the drained Rotel tomatoes. Heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and tomatoes are heated through. 

Add the beaten eggs and crumble the tortilla chips onto the eggs. 

Cook as you would scrambled eggs. Lowered heat and moving eggs spatula to get the curd size you like. Turn on the microwave for about a minute watching cheese doesn't overflow if melting cheese. 

Plate the eggs, drizzle with the melted cheese or sprinkle with grated cheese. 

Sprinkle some diced serranos or jalapeños. Don't forget the tortillas in the oven. 

Freshly brewed coffee is a great beverage choice.

Egg Confidential

I hated eggs my whole life growing up. Would not eat them no matter how they were prepared. When I got to University of Texas, a roommate suggested we go to Trudy's for migas. I protested. He said there was hardly any egg in them and I should try them. I complied and am forever grateful to Jim Speedy for getting me to try these.

Chili Con Carne

While cookin' up a mess o' chili I can't think of anything better to enjoy than some Stevie Ray Vaughn. Any song will do. This recipe is not the chili I learned to love at The Texas Chili Parlor, but it makes a lot and most folks like it.

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef chuck
1 pound bulk Italian sausage

Dry Ingredients

1 tablespoon bacon bits
2 tablespoons Ancho chile powder, or use another two tablespoons of regular chili powder here
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano, Mexican oregano if you have it
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt, leave out to reduce sodium

2 beef bouillon cubes or 2 tsp beef base (optional, its fine without this)

Canned Ingredients
45 ounces chili beans medium, canned, drained (3 cans)
15 ounces chili beans spicy, canned with the sauce
2 x 28 oz diced tomatoes with juice, canned
6 oz tomato paste

Vegetables
1 large Yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 medium Jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup beer (no bitter IPA's please)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Hot pepper sauce, e.g. Tabasco

Garnish
corn chips, Fritos
diced onion and jalapeños
shredded cheese or some chili con queso you've made


Instructions

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
2. Add all the dry ingredients to the cooked meat and stir. 
3. Add the vegetables, wet, and canned ingredients. Stir to mix ingredients.. Simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day.
5. To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips, cheese, some finely diced onion and a sprinkle of freshly minced jalapeños. 

Martinez Cocktail

 

I think using Hayman's make a huge difference. I tried Beefeater and Ransom Old Tom gins, but Hayman's works best here. Update: Chuck Taggart suggests trying Porter's Tropical Old Tom gin. Beefeater will always do in a pinch.

David Lebovitz is okay with Beefeater gin. He uses 1.5 oz gin to 1.5 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz Maraschino liqueur with orange bitters. A bit fruity for my taste, but to each their own. 

Musical Accompaniment: Soul Sauce by Cal Tjader

Gold Rush Cocktail

This one's for you, Kendall!  Honey syrup is made with 1:1 honey and hot water. You can shake and strain into an ice filled glass if  you prefer. It's great either way. 

Musical Accompaniment: Just Like Honey

Bloody Perry's and Bloody Perrito's

 Two styles of Bloody Mary's here -- one with vodka and the other with tequila. 

Bloody Perry

Ingredients
4 cups V-8® vegetable juice, low sodium if you prefer
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
5 teaspoons horseradish, prepared
2 1/2 teaspoons shallot, grated or minced (i'm tempted to try onion powder or dehydrated onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
1-2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce (up to you)
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
2 teaspoons black pepper, ground
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, Omit if watching your sodium intake
2 medium lemons, zested and juiced

Combine the V8, and all the other ingredients in a one of those Rubbermaid pitchers or other shakeable container. Refrigerate until well chilled; around 2 hrs. Pre-chill your V8 the night before if you are in a hurry.

Add some to a glass filled with ice. Add  your vodka.

Garnish: pickled okra, picked onions, olives, lime wedges. Up north some folks add beef sticks, bacon, and/or pickles. Pretty much anything pickled is fair game. 

---

Bloody Perrito

Ingredients

Step 1

32 oz straight tomato juice 

2 oz worcestershire 

1.5 oz olive brine

2.5 oz pickle brine

2.5 tbsp prepared horseradish

2-3 oz lemon juice + the zest from the lemons

Step 2

1 bunch of fresh dill

Salt, celery salt, black pepper, hot sauce

1. Combine all the ingredients for Step One in a sealable 60+ oz container. I used an 84-ounce plastic pickle container. Mix well with a whisk and taste to get an idea of where you are at this point with the understanding the horseradish will add a bit more as it sits. 
2. Chop up a bunch of fresh dill and add to the container. Stir well.
   Add salt and celery salt till it approaches a point where it will work in the drink. This will vary based upon your tomato juice and your taste. It might be a good bit. Keep in mind this will be diluted by the ice, tequila and maybe beer when you make the drink. Stir with each addition.
   Add ALOT of freshly ground pepper. Add enough hot sauce to provide a sense of heat but realize one can add more when the drink is made. If preparing only for those in the household add to your taste. 
   
   

Continue to add more of whichever ingredient you think you need. Once satisfied, put in fridge overnight. 

Make a drink using tequila or vodka (suggest tequila) in proportions to your taste. You can float some Mexican lager on top. 

Garnish ideas: lemon wedges, pickled red onions, olives, poached or grilled shrimp (cold), rim salted with celery salt or salt-pepper combo,  pierced pepperoncini pepper, slices of spanish chorizo, dill pickle, celery