Month: February 2016

by

Molasses-Peanut Slaw and Masa Biscuits

Lyn asked me what I thought, I liked so posted here, showed her that I saved. Good she replied, now go make it!

Molasses-Peanut Slaw
‘The Boston Globe’ – 2016-02-21
MAKES ABOUT 9 CUPS
The recipes for this slaw and the biscuits are inspired by Texas Home
Cooking by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.
1½ pounds green cabbage (about half a medium head), finely shredded (about 12 cups) Salt and pepper
½ small red onion, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced (about 2/3 cup)
3 large carrots, scraped and coarsely grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons juice plus
1 teaspoon zest from
1 lime
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 small cloves)
¼ cup olive or neutral oil
½ cup roasted, lightly salted peanuts,roughly chopped

In a colander over a medium bowl, toss the cabbage with 1 tablespoon salt.
Allow cabbage to stand until it wilts slightly, at least 1 and up to 4 hours.
Rinse the cabbage well under very cold running water; drain well and dry with paper towels, transfer it to a large bowl and fluff it up with your fingers (you will have about 8 cups; can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days).

In a small bowl, cover the onion with cold water and set aside to soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain the onion and dry it with paper towels.

Add the onion, carrots, and cilantro to the cabbage and toss to combine.

In a medium nonreactive bowl, whisk the lime juice and zest, molasses, garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Vigorously whisk in the oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.

Add the dressing and most of the peanuts to the cabbage mixture and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary, sprinkle with the remaining peanuts, and serve.

© 2016 The New York Times Company

Masa Biscuits
‘The Boston Globe’ – 2016-02-21
MAKES 10 TO 12 BISCUITS
Adam Ried appears regularly on America’s Test Kitchen. Send comments to cooking @globe.com.
Take care not to overprocess or over-knead the dough.
1 cup all-purpose flour,
plus extra for patting out dough and cutting biscuits
1 cup masa harina
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper and Salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into roughly ½-inch cubes
¾ cup cold buttermilk

With the rack in the middle position, heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Line a large baking sheet (roughly 18 by 13 inches) with parchment paper or silicone liner and set aside.
In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, masa harina, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, cayenne, and 1¼ teaspoons salt until well blended. Scatter the butter pieces evenly over the flour mixture in the food processor and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 6 2-second pulses. Add the buttermilk and pulse until dough is just beginning to come together into a single, scrappy-looking mass, about 10 2-second pulses.
Generously flour work surface, turn out the dough, and sprinkle with a little more flour. Knead the dough gently, folding it in half and rotating it 3 or 4 times, just until it is uniform and cohesive. Sprinkle a little bit more flour on the work surface and dough to prevent sticking, if necessary, and gently roll the dough into a circle that is roughly 1 inch high.
With a 2½-inch biscuit cutter, punch biscuits out of dough. Transfer the rounds to the baking sheet, positioning them about 1 inch apart. Push the leftover dough scraps together, knead them gently once or twice until cohesive, and repeat.
Bake for 5 minutes. Adjust the oven heat to 400 degrees and continue baking until the biscuits are puffed, light golden on top, and deep brown on the bottom, about 10 minutes longer, rotating the sheet halfway through baking time. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack, cool briefly, and serve warm.

© 2016 The New York Times Company

Advertisement
by

INDIVIDUAL MINI BEEF WELLINGTONS

Someone posted this to Facebook and I shared on my FB page cause it look good and easy. Lyn batted her eyes and asked what about Valentines Day …I said once again our minds were in meld. So off to Wholefoods we went bracing the subzero temps. this came out pretty good, melted in your mouth but could have been cook just a little more maybe 5  minutes or so. the meat thermometer said it was done but then one never knows. The video – link below- does not mention putting the beef in freezer after searing and letting the mushroom mixture cool but over all it is not that long. I put meat in freezer while I was doing the mushroom. I also think I over cooked the mushrooms but still tasted pretty damn good.

Anyway her was my first attempt

IMG_20160214_161533434

IMG_20160214_174852

IMG_20160214_175103

IMG_20160214_175212

INDIVIDUAL BEEF WELLINGTONS <<<here is the video link

Serves 2 generously

You’ll Need
– Two 2 ½-to-3-inch-tall pieces beef tenderloin (filet mignon), about ¾ pound
– 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
– 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
– 6 ounces finely-chopped baby bella mushrooms
– 1/3 cup finely-chopped sweet onion
– 1 large clove garlic, minced
– ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
– Freshly-ground pepper, to taste
– ¼ cup dry sherry
– 1 large sprig fresh thyme
– 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
– 1 sheet (1/2 box) puff pastry
– 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
– Egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 tablespoon milk)

How To

  1. Heat a stainless steel pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and heat until just starting to smoke.
  2. Rub the meat generously with salt and pepper.
  3. Once the pan is very hot, sear the two filets very briefly on each side. You don’t want to cook the interior of the meat at this point, so it shouldn’t be more than a minute or two per side. Remove the filets from the pan and place on a plate in the freezer while you make the filling.
  4. Let the pan cool slightly and turn the heat down to medium. Add the mushrooms, onion and garlic to the pan, and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms release all their water and the onion is translucent.
  5. Add the sherry and thyme. Cook until the sherry evaporates. Taste for salt and pepper, and season as necessary.
  6. Remove from the heat and refrigerate until cold, then stir in the chopped parsley.
  7. Roll out one puff pastry piece and cut in half, so you have two rectangular strips of dough.
  8. Remove the steaks from the freezer and brush with the Dijon mustard on both sides.
  9. Put a quarter of the mushroom mixture in the middle of one piece of the puff pastry. Top with one steak, then add a quarter more of the mushrooms. Repeat with the other steak, puff pastry piece and mushrooms.
  10. Fold the long sides of the pastry over the steak, tucking in and tightly sealing all the edges so the juice doesn’t escape. Wrapping it all in plastic wrap can help!
  11. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and line a sheet pan. While the oven preheats, put the wrapped beef in the freezer.
  12. Once the oven is hot, remove the beef from the freezer and put on the lined sheet pan. Coat with the egg wash.
  13. Bake for 25 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the middle of the steak reads 135 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (medium-rare) and the pastry is a deep golden brown.
  14. Cut in half so you can see the intersection of steak, pastry and mushrooms, and serve.

Expert Tips

  • Make the puff pastry easier to work with by keeping it cold. That’s why this recipe calls for chilling the meat and filling in between steps!
  • The pan needs to be very hot in step 3 because it’s the key to searing the meat and subsequently adding flavor. If the pan isn’t hot, the meat either won’t brown, or it will take too long to brown and the middle will start to cook.
  • You can make this recipe ahead of time by following it up to step 9, then freezing until ready to bake. When you’re ready to cook, just put it in the oven directly from the freezer without thawing, and cook until the interior temperature of the meat is 135 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (for medium rare), which may take longer than the 25 minutes.