Salisbury Steak

I know what you're thinking. Salisbury steak is just an entrée in a TV dinner, right? Or maybe it's just some old-fashioned meal that your parents were forced to eat when they were kids? That's what I thought too. I had heard of it, but I'm almost certain I'd never eaten it. It's usually made with ground beef, which is mixed together with onion and maybe some other seasonings, and formed into the shape of a steak. It's usually served with a brown sauce or gravy of some kind.

Another way to make Salisbury steak is to start with cube steak. Incidentally, that's how I came across Alton Brown's recipe, when I was searching for what to do with this thin, tough cut of meat. Not that cube steak is that uncommon, but it's definitely not something I've ever bought before. That's why I like buying mixed cuts of beef in bulk - not only does it save money in the long run, but we get to try new things! Cube steak is usually made from top sirloin or top round and has been tenderized with an electric meat tenderizer at the butcher (that's why the surface is covered with little "cubes").

I only took one package of cube steak out of the freezer, so we only made half the recipe. It was really good! Actually, it was pretty funny, the first thing I said when I took a bite was, "this tastes like hamburger". Well that makes sense, seeing as that part of the cow is usually made into ground beef.

Mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish for this meal because they soak up the delicious brown sauce nicely, but macaroni and cheese is also a common choice. For a quick vegetable side, I defrosted some peas on the stove with just the tiniest pat of butter, and salt and pepper. Peas are one of Joe's favorite vegetables, and they add a nice splash of color to the plate as well.

I still have two more packs of cube steak in the freezer - what should I make?  

Salisbury Steak
adapted from Alton Brown - I'm just here for the food
serves 4

Note: I say this recipe serves four, but 1/2 a pound of meat is a lot for me, so if you are watching calories and portions, just eat half to three-quarters of the steak and save the rest for leftovers.

4 (1/2 pound) beef cube steaks
Flour for dredging
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced Lyonnaise-style (that means thinly sliced lengthwise, from root to tip, rather than crosswise)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 pound brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
3/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup beef or chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 275 F. Season the steaks and the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the steaks in the flour, and shake to remove the excess.

Heat an oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon each of the butter and oil.  When melted and hot, add the steaks, two at a time, and brown for about 4 minutes on each side (they will finish cooking in the oven, you only want to sear them for now). Add more butter and oil when flipping to prevent them from sticking (I failed to heed this advice, and had major stickage. Luckily, I just scraped the pan like crazy during deglazing time and it just made the sauce that much more flavorful).  Remove the steaks to a plate and set aside.

Pour off any grease from the pan and add the remaining butter. Add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms to the pan. Saute until cooked down and caramelized. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom. Add the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and stock, stirring to combine. Return the steaks to the pan, cover, and cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

Warm Chickpea Salad with Spinach

Another great warm salad recipe from Mark Bittman.  I have already blogged about his delicious spinach and sweet potato salad with warm bacon dressing. This recipe is just as satisfying, with chickpeas, spinach, red onions, and a dressing flavored with garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, and honey. 

This recipe is actually called "Warm Chickpea Salad with Arugula", but the grocery store did not have arugula that day so I picked up a bunch of spinach instead.  I thought the spinach leaves were rather large, so next time, I would chop them up smaller (all I did was lazily tear them in half), or buy baby spinach. 

I am not always a fan of raw onion in salads, so I opted to cook the red onion with the chickpeas, just to take the edge off and soften them slightly.  I liked it that way.

If you want to take leftovers to work for lunch the next day, here is what I did:  I put some of the spinach into a tupperware container (plain, no dressing added yet).  Then I reserved some of the chickpea/dressing mixture and spooned it over the top of the greens in the container.  The greens didn't wilt at all this way, since the dressing was not mixed in, and then you only have to pack one container.  It tastes great cold too!

Warm Chickpea Salad with Spinach (or Arugula)
adapted from - Mark Bittman (found in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and his website)
serves four as a side or two as a main dish

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (canned is fine too, rinsed and drained, I just used a whole can)
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
4 cups arugula leaves (or substitute spinach)
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 hard cooked eggs, quartered (optional, I did not try this)

Wash and spin or pat dry the arugula (or spinach).  If using large leaves of spinach, tear or roughly chop.  Put into a large bowl and set aside.

Put the oil into a deep skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add the ginger, garlic, and cumin.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the ginger and garlic are soft.  Season with some salt and pepper.  Add the chickpeas, stirring to coat with the seasonings and oil.  Cook for about 3 minutes or so (I think I went a little longer).  If you don't want raw onions in your salad, add them to the skillet about a minute or so after the chickpeas.

Remove the pan from heat.  With a fork (or spatula if using a nonstick skillet), stir in the vinegar, honey, and 1 tablespoon water (oops, as I type this I realized I skipped the water).  As you stir, mash a few of the chickpeas, this will give the dressing some thickness and texture.  If you did not add the onions to the skillet earlier, add them to the bowl of arugula now.  Pour the contents of the skillet over the bowl of greens and gently toss to combine.  Taste, and adjust the seasonings if needed.  Serve immediately, garnishing with hard-cooked eggs if using.

Thai-Style Ground Beef, and 100th Blog Post!

It seems fitting that this, my 100th blog post, is also the first post to feature my new toy.  I turned 28 in late December, and this was my husband's birthday present to me.  The lighting in our kitchen sucks, so I had been making due by taking my photos near our Aerogarden to make use of it's bright light (incidentally, I've had to relocate my collection of begonias near it as well, as it seems that our house is also too dark for those.  They are now thriving and taking over our kitchen.  You can hardly get to the microwave anymore).  Anyway, for Christmas, my mother-in-law also gave me several fun-colored plates to spice up my meal plating (Fiestaware, same as our white ones).  Looks like another 100 posts are in store for this food blogger!

So, about this Thai beef dinner.  Let's be honest, it's basically glorified sloppy joes.  But it's fabulous.  I love the flavors of coconut milk, curry paste, and fish sauce.  Fish sauce smells like bad cat breath by itself, but it does good things to Thai food, I promise you.

Other than leeks and limes, if your pantry is well-stocked, you could have all the other ingredients on hand anytime you wanted to make this dish.  A big jar of curry paste is cheap and keeps practically forever in the fridge.  We just finished our bottle of fish sauce with this meal, but before that we had it at room temperature in the cupboard for 9 months (the high salt content is what keeps it from spoiling).  Keep a few cans of coconut milk and tomato sauce in the pantry, some ground beef or turkey in the freezer, and you're all set!    

Thai-Style Ground Beef
adapted from Cooking Light - January 2006
serves 4 (1/2 cup ground beef mixture, 3/4 cup rice)

Notes: The original recipe calls for cooking spray instead of olive oil, and iceberg lettuce instead of romaine.  My ground beef was not lean, so I spooned out the fat before I adding the curry paste and tomato sauce.  This recipe is easily doubled, and I highly recommend doing so to ensure that there will be leftovers.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced leek (I sliced the leek lengthwise into quarters first, then thinly sliced)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound lean ground sirloin
1 teaspoon red curry paste (such as Mae Ploy, from an Asian grocery store)
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce (we like this brand, from an Asian grocery store)
3 cups any hot cooked rice (we had wild rice, so we used that)
Lettuce wedges, such as romaine or iceberg (optional)
Chopped cilantro
Chopped green onions (optional)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil.  When hot, add the leek and cook 4-5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the beef and break it up with a wooden spoon.  Cook for about 7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring often.

Stir in the curry paste, then the tomato sauce.  Cook for a couple of minutes to allow about half of the liquid to evaporate.  Add the milk, brown sugar, grated lime rind, lime juice, and fish sauce.  Here it says to cook for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened, but mine was still very liquidy at that point, so I let it go for probably 8 more minutes (I lowered the heat slightly so the bottom wouldn't burn, and I stirred it often).

When the beef mixture is thickened to your liking, serve with rice and lettuce leaves.  You could also serve the beef mixture in warm corn tortillas if you'd like.  Garnish with cilantro and green onions.