I think I enjoy the cooking more than eating, there is nothing better than to watch the smile grow after someone’s first bite. Note from Steve: I am a flow of thought writer and apologize up front if I lose you. My family is used to it.
As I mentioned Lyn is fasting this week and I get to make what I want. I decided to make American Goulash and discovered that I did not a can of diced tomatoes and did not feel like opening a large can of ground tomatoes. So I ad libbed. I also used smoked paprika.
What I did was mix ketchup with the chicken broth and diced what little I had of cherry tomatoes left from Misfit Market. I had chopped green peppers and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Was a good supper and lunch today. Lyn was mad she kept complaining it smelts so good.
Right now I’m waiting for Charlie Baker to give an pandemic update and all that is on screen is his sign person who is looking very nervous walking back and forth and I think talking to himself.
Yup another brisket recipe, told you I love brisket.
I usually don’t like the texture of meat cooked in a crock pot it always seems on the dry side to me. I think this is just personal preference. This recipe came out good and when topped with my BBQ sauce it was very tasty. I had this sliced and pulled on a bun. It’s a very easy recipe to throw in the slow cooker walk away and get very hungry every time you enter the room.
Mix paprika, pepper, salt, brown sugar, chili powder, and cumin together in a bowl; rub evenly over the surface of the brisket. Put brisket in a large, resealable plastic bag; refrigerate 30 minutes to overnight.
Stir barbeque sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke together in the bottom of a slow cooker. Lay brisket into the sauce mixture. Arrange onions atop the brisket.
Cook on Low until brisket is very tender, 6 to 7 hours. Scrap the fat cap off with spatula or knife. Rest brisket 10 minutes before slicing or shredding; serve with sauce.
I’ve posted the Hill Top steak tips recipe before, I remember the Hill Top well, ate there 2 -3 times a week when I was a theater manager in Saugus and Peabody. There were three of us from local theatre and Big Rosie the waitress. We would take care of her with passes and she would come out halfway through the meal apologize that it was not made right and return with a new order for our take home leftovers.
From the globe: Steak tips are a distinctly New England cut. They’re sometimes called sirloin tips (because they can be cut from the sirloin, but also from the tenderloin, flank, or other tender beef), and families have been making them for weeknight suppers or backyard barbecues for decades. You can use steak tips, sliced thinly, for a stir-fry with vegetables, but they’re also a very quick dinner on their own with a little sauce.
First let them marinate in fresh ginger, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and Dijon mustard for an hour or a day. Then sear them in a hot skillet — this takes five minutes — and make a pan sauce with mushrooms and red wine. The downside is that the meat can be expensive, because you’re buying ends of high-priced cuts. The upside is that dinner is ready in minutes and though it’s a little retro, it’s delightfully familiar and delicious.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 piece (1 inch) fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, grated
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
1½ pounds steak tips (cut from sirloin or tenderloin), cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound mixed mushrooms (shiitake, cremini or baby portobello, button)
½ cup dry red wine
¼ cup chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)
1. In a bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, mustard, and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Stir well. Add the steak tips, stir well to coat them all over, and cover. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to 1 day, turning several times.
2. Transfer the steak to a plate and pat it dry with paper towels. Reserve any marinade in the bowl.
3. In a large deep skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the steak in one layer. Cook without disturbing for 3 minutes. Turn and cook the undersides for 3 minutes more. Remove from the pan and transfer to a clean bowl (not the marinade bowl).
4. Without wiping out the pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and pepper. Lower the heat, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
5. Add the wine and stock or water with any reserved marinade from the bowl. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and let the mixture bubble steadily for 6 minutes, or until it is reduced and starts to look syrupy.
6. Return the steak tips to the pan with any juices that accumulated in the bowl. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, or until the steak tips are heated through. Sprinkle with parsley.
Sheryl Julian can be reached at sheryl.julian@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @sheryljulian.
We are living in a weird time of Social Distancing, gloves, masks and fear of going out or shopping for necessities. Being basically confined to the house what does one do, watch TV – news to depressing, watching movies and binging series, search the net for needed items to be shipped or delivered and cook – gets a little old after a while. I’m extremely lucky to have woods behind my house with paths at the end of the street leading to the Upton town forest. Escaping to the silence except birds, peepers, the creaking of trees and the wind blowing through them sounding like a distant ocean all which calm the mind. I have a 3 mile path that is starting to feel short to me did it in a half hour the other day. Ny fall back has been cooking for Lyn and I and trying to make it interesting with what we have in stock so to speak. IT started when Mike and Gail return from New Orleans after he proposed they came with masks on as to not infect us or was it to protect themselves? N.O, was named the next hot spot the week after they returned, but they always had plenty of and used hand sanitizer with them. Anyway, I made this when they came over to show the ring and their smiles.
Ingredients
3 pound pork loin not tenderloin
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Cut up apple
How
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Add the pork loin to your baking pan.
Slightly score (large diamonds shape) the fat cap to allow garlic and rub to sit in.
Coat with the garlic on top of the fat cap.
Mix the seasonings (salt, pepper and paprika) in small bowl and rub it on the pork. Spread apple around the roast.
Cook the pork for 60-75 minutes or until it has reached a temperature of 150-160 degrees.
I love pork chops, bone in, boneless, stuffed, fried mostly like the taste of the crunchy fat…shhhh don’t tell Lyn she would not approve. Anyway, I wanted to try something different in the air fryer so I looked at a lot of recipes and came up with my take. My only complaint is that it was maybe a little too salty, Cooking Channel salty if you know what I mean. But parmesan cheese does have a lot of salt. Any suggestion on the salt let me know.
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless pork chops
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
How
I like to quick brine pork especially if I’m grilling. Water, Honey and about a tablespoon of salt for about 15 minutes. Rinse when done with fresh water.
Pat pork chops dry with paper towels, then coat both sides with oil.
In a medium bowl, combine Parmesan and spices. Coat both sides of pork chops with Parmesan mixture.
Place pork chops in basket of air fryer and cook at 375-400° for 9 minutes, flipping halfway through. Depending on the size you may need to adjust the time. I use an instant read thermometer about 145 degrees internal.
Got some orange beets, butternut squash, red and orange peppers and red onions from Misfits and had just receive some pork chops from Butcher Box so I figured this would make a good meal.
Porkchops
I like to do a quick brine soaking in salt, sugar and water for about 15-20 minutes. Keeps the meat moist especially if grilling outdoors. Then I take a preheated cast in pan and pan sear one side for about 4-6 minutes flip and finish in the oven. Make sure you dry the pork chops with paper towel then salt and pepper before you place in the pan. if you don’t do this you will end up streaming the meat rather searing. This time I had some red wine left over from a nice basket off goodies I got from my retirement party at work. So when I placed in oven I poured the remaining about a cup in the pan and roasted for about 4-6 minutes until done. Hey it was either have a second glass of wine or try something new. My theory was it would braise but silly me braising is done on low heat so the wine quickly evaporated. However, the taste of the wine did come through so it was not a total maitake.
I had already roasted the veggie in a 425 oven.
The veggies as mentioned above, were tossed in oil and spices but I added 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and roasted until done turning half way through total time about 25 minutes. Really like the addition of vinegar.
