In A Nutshell

This recipe comes from Fine Cooking Magazine and is supposed to be served as a wrap with butter lettuce, but the grocery store did not have butter lettuce so I made it into a salad instead-- which I think was a good call. 1 1/2 lbs skirt steak 1/4 cup gochujang (Korean red chile-bean sauce-- it's delicious!) 2 T sesame oil 2 T soy sauce 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 T rice vinegar spring lettuce or butter lettuce kimchee sliced scallions grated carrots Mix the marinade ingredients and pour half over the steak; I like to let this marinade overnight. Grill the steak for 3-4 minutes per side and slice thinly. Serve atop the lettuce and scatter the other ingredients over and around the steak and pass the remaining marinade to use as dressing to taste. Alternatively you can keep all the ingredients separate and let people make their own lettuce wraps using butter lettuce.

This is an adaptation and simplification of a recipe from Rachel Ray. It is perfectly divine- I highly recommend a cold frosty beer with this burger. The leftover pimento cheese can be served with veggie slices, pretzel thins, pretzel bites-- the list goes on and on. bacon strips, cooked sourdough bread softened butter ground beef: form as many patties as you would like to serve (the original recipe has you add fresh parsley, Worcestershire sauce and onion to the meat but I've made it that way and also with plain meat and don't think that there is enough added flavor to merit the added work) For the pimento cheese spread: 8 oz. sharp cheddar, grated 4 oz. roasted red peppers, drained 2 t hot sauce (such as Frank's) 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 t sweet paprika 1/4- 1 t cayenne pepper (to taste) 2 garlic cloves 1/4 cup mayo 1/2 t salt Put all ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth. Grill the burgers to your liking; meanwhile butter...

This recipe comes from Bon Appetit; it is festive and delicious! Enjoy with a margarita or beer and some refried beans. For the steak marinade : 3 lbs skirt steak 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped  6 T lime juice 6 T EVOO 1 T hot smoked Spanish paprika 1 T mild paprika (it doesn't have to be Spanish) 2 T chopped cilantro 2 t salt 1 T cumin 1 t onion powder freshly ground pepper Whisk marinade ingredients and pour over the skirt steak, taking care to make sure that it is completely dunked on both sides. Marinade all day or overnight. Grill the steak over high heat for about 3 minutes per side, depending on how thick your steak is. Slice thinly and cover while you grill your vegetables. For the vegetables : 1 small head red cabbage, cut into 4ths 1 large white onion, cut into 4 wedges 1 bunch scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces salt and pepper EVOO for brushing the vegetables lime juice for squeezing over the veg after they are grilled Brush the vegetables wit...

These meatballs, adapted from Bon Appétit, are SO light and tender; they go well in spaghetti sauce or served with a little marinara sauce on the side as an appetizer. 1/2 cup ricotta cheese 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1/4 c milk 1 T chopped parsley 1/2 t garlic powder 1 t salt 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes 1 egg 1/3 cup parmesan 1 lb ground beef  Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and pour the milk over. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and work together with your hands gently- don't overwork this. Form into meatballs, the size of your choice and fry them in a large non-stick skillet. If you are using them for a sauce, just brown them but if you are going to have them as an appetizer, cook them through.

This recipe is adapted ever so slightly from Fine Cooking magazine; I use beef instead of lamb-- it's just a personal preference. I served the kebabs with  quinoa tabbouleh naan and grilled slices of eggplant (I used the leftover grilled eggplant for eggplant caprese salad ). Washed it all down with French rosé (as per the magazine's pairing recommendation). For the spice mix : 1 T ground cumin 1 t dried oregano 1 t sweet paprika 1 t hot paprika 1 t black pepper For the yogurt sauce : 1/2 cup plain or Greek yogurt 1 T pomegranate molasses 2 T chopped mint or parsley 1 t ground sumac (or 1/2 t lemon juice) For the kebabs : 1 lb ground lamb or beef 1 T spice mix 1 plum tomato, seed and finely diced 1/4 cup finely chopped red or white onion 1 t pomegranate molasses 3/4 t kosher salt Mix kebab ingredients together and divide into 8 portions. Press the meat portions around (Pam sprayed) flat skewers (I like to use metal skewers because it seems no matter h...

I had never before made hummus from dried chickpeas, and I can tell you that it was absolutely the silkiest, smoothest hummus I have ever had. This recipe is from Jerusalem (one of my favorite cookbooks); it calls for lamb (or you can substitute ground lamb) but I am not crazy about lamb so I used beef. And since I am extremely lazy, I purchased beef "for tacos" at my local ethnic store so it was already cut up into nice small pieces. The amount of tahini you use is up to you; I made two batches- one following the recipe and one using 1/2 the amount of tahini and personally, I liked it with 1/2 cup of tahini better. Serve with pita bread. Hummus Spiced Beef Pine Nuts, toasted in a small skillet with a little butter Lemon-Parsley Sauce For the hummus : 1 1/4 cups (250 g) dried chickpes 1 t baking soda 1/2 cup - 1 cup tahini (depending upon your preference) 6 T lemon juice 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 4 T ice water 2 t salt Cover the hummus with water in a lar...

I'm acutely aware that my photography skills are lacking.... someday I will try harder! This is from the Rachel Ray magazine. Easy peasy. 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 3 anchovies, mushed with a fork to a paste 2 T sun-dried tomato paste 3 T mirin or unseasoned rice wine 1 T Worcestershire sauce 1 T soy sauce 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 t salt freshly ground black pepper 2 lbs flank steak Marinate overnight; grill over high heat for 5-6 minutes per side, depending on how you like it done. Delicious flavor!

This definitely does not fall into the category of quick & easy, but it's so mind-blowingly good that it's worth the effort once in a blue moon. The butter-basted beef would be delicious on its own so if you opt out of doing the sandwich, at least try the beef prepared this way. This is adapted from Food & Wine magazine. For the aioli : I use the recipe for  The Creamiest Aioli from Bon Appetit but make the following changes: I press the garlic clove instead of grating; I use 1 t of Dijon mustard; 1 T lemon juice and when it's all done, I stir in 1 t horseradish. I can only successfully make aioli in my mini-cuisinart food processor and have never ever ever had any luck whisking slowly or any other method. If you don't want to bother with this step, you can just add a little horseradish to some purchased mayo or use a mixture of Dijon and horseradish. For the beef : 2 T canola oil 2 lbs beef tenderloin, at room temp. kosher salt and pepper 4 T unsal...

This is a nice hearty salad adapted from Food & Wine magazine. I think it would be even easier to grill the meat and then slice it. Marinade : 2 lbs skirt steak, sliced into strips (or left whole if you are planning to grill) 6 garlic cloves, minced 3 T sherry 3 T soy sauce 1 t Vietnamese seasoning (optional) 1 T sugar 1/4 t Chinese 5-spice powder 1 T veg oil plus more for cooking the meat Combine marinade ingredients and marinade meat for 5 hours or overnight. Vinaigrette : 2 T soy sauce 2 T veg oil 1 T sherry vinegar 1 T red wine vinegar 2 t minced fresh ginger (or 1/2 t ginger powder) 2 t sugar 1 garlic clove pressed 1 lemongrass stalk, lower third Whisk all the ingredients together except the lemongrass. I added that in large pieces to flavor the dressing and later removed it (because I was too lazy to chop it up nice and fine). Salad : spring lettuce, arugula or watercress (or a combo of all) sliced red pepper sliced red onion Saute the meat in...

This recipe is adapted from Arabesque by Claudia Roden ; it's a gorgeous cookbook with Lebanese, Turkish and Moroccan recipes.  We drank a chianti with this; a pinot noir or beaujolais would go nicely as well. For the tomato sauce : 1 small onion, chopped 2 T EVOO 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 Fresno pepper, chopped 1 14-oz. can crushed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Fire Roasted) salt and pepper 1 t sugar Heat the oil and fry the onion until soft; add the garlic and chili pepper and stir for a bit until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. For the kebabs : 1 1/2 lb ground beef salt and pepper 1 small onion, very finely chopped or grated 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1 t sumac 1 t Turkish seasoning (I got this from Penzey's Spice; it consists of garlic powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, sumac, cayenne and dried cilantro- you could improvise with some or all of these ingredients separately) Mix the beef and all the remaining ingred...

These kebabs are supposed to be grilled but since our grill is buried under about 4 feet of snow, I had to broil them. I served the kebabs with Caroline's Winter Salad which was heavenly! A nice glass of syrah and a piece of naan rounded out a fabulous meal. For the Charmoula : 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley (they say 2 oz. but who's going to weigh herbs???) 1 handful of cilantro (see above comment) 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 T cumin 1/2 T ground coriander 1 T sweet paprika 1/2 t smoked paprika 1/2 t cayenne 2 T lemon juice 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 t kosher salt Grind the herbs and spices in a small food processor; add the lemon juice, EVOO and salt. Set aside half the charmoula and use half for the marinade. For the marinade portion, add another 1/2 t of salt. 2 to 3 lbs rib eye steaks Cut the steak into 2" cubes and coat with the marinade. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate for 4 hours.Thread meat onto skewers (metal i...

This is adapted from Fine Cooking magazine; it was easy, fast and delicious. 1 lb flank steak, sliced into thin strips 1 13.5 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk (I used lowfat) 2 T red curry or Panang curry paste 2 T natural crunchy peanut butter 5 t fish sauce 4 t brown sugar 1 T Thai dry chile paste (I bought this at Trader Joe's) 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 cup frozen peas 1/2- 1 cup loosely packed Thai basil, chopped (depending upon how much basil you like) 2 T lime juice Heat 1 T veg oil in a large deep skillet and add the curry paste, chile paste, onion and bell pepper. Saute for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer. Add the beef, basil and peas and simmer for about 3 or 4 minutes until beef is just cooked through. Serve over jasmine or basmati rice.

This is adapted from Bon Appetit; I was on a bit of a chili kick (it probably has something to do with all the cold weather and snow we've had) and wanted to try this one out because it looked so hardy and satisfying. I made  blue corn cornbread to go along with it and beer was the beverage of choice. 4 T veg oil, divided 4 lbs boneless beef cubes (I bought very small cubes that were labeled as being for chili- about 1/2" pieces) 2 medium onions, chopped 12 cloves of garlic, chopped 4 T ground ancho chili 2 T ground cumin 1/2 t ground allspice 1/4 t ground cinnamon 1 12-oz. bottle dark beer 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes in juice (I like the Muir Glen roasted diced tomatoes) 2 t dried oregano 2 t kosher salt 2 T tomato paste 3 T masa (corn flour for tortillas) Heat 1 T oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat and add 1/3 of the beef. Cook until browned and remove with a slotted spoon (about 3 minutes). Repeat 2 more times.  Reduce heat and add the remaining...

This is an adaption of a Rachel Ray recipe from her magazine; the recipe calls for ground Szechuan pepper which I was able to find at Season with Spice (a gorgeous website-- easy to navigate and with lots of delicious recipes). The recipe does not ask for any liquid but I might be inclined to add maybe 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken broth or even pasta water just to make it easier to toss together at the end. Drizzle (or douse like we did) with Sriracha. 1 lb thin spaghetti or 2- 9 oz packages of fresh Chinese noodles found in the produce section 3 T veg oil 1 lb ground beef 1 onion, chopped 1 fresno pepper, chopped (or jalapeno, serrano etc.) 4 garlic cloves, minced 1" piece of ginger, minced 2 t ground szechuan pepper 1 t Chinese 5-spice powder 1/3 c tamari 2 cups (one small head) chopped Napa cabbage 1 bunch scallions, sliced Heat the oil and add the onion, pepper, garlic, chile, ginger, szechuan pepper and 5-spice. Saute for about 3 minutes or so over medium heat. ...

This is without a doubt the best burger I have ever eaten (through no particular skill of my own, I might add). It is inspired by a recipe in a Rachel Ray magazine which is an adaptation of the Graze Burger from Graze in Madison, Wisconsin. You were supposed to ask your butcher to grind 1/2 lb of bacon for you (as if we all naturally have our own butchers) but when I asked them to do that at Whole Foods, they stubbornly refused, citing sanitary issues. I got around this issue by cutting up the bacon at home and chopping it very fine in the food processor. The burger is decadent and delicious beyond belief. 1 lb ground sirloin 1/2 lb ground bacon 1/2 lb ground ribeye steak (I got one smaller steak ground and it was closer to 3/4 lb) 2 large onions 4 slices white cheddar 4 slices yellow cheddar 4 eggs 4 pretzel buns (or brioche) Mix all the meats together with your hand to distribute evenly without overworking it. Form into 4 giant patties if you're feeling piggish (whic...

My Dad has become a rather awesome cook in his retirement; this is one of his specialties that is always a hit. It's very easy and you get to use your crock-pot! Yay!! 1 3 lb beef roast (anything is fine-just not too gristly) 1 packet Italian dressing seasoning 3 cups beef broth 2 t vegeta (optional) 1 jar giardiniera* sturdy rolls Put all these things in a crock pot and cook on low all day (8-10 hours); shred meat with a fork and serve on rolls. * My Dad puts the entire jar of giardiniera in (oil and all) and I can tell you that it's phenomenal! I, however, can't bring myself to dump all that oil in there so I either drain it before putting it in the crock pot or I leave it out entirely and we add it individually. This way those of us who don't like it can skip it and those of us who do can load it on like crazy. Sliced pepperocinis are also good on these sandwiches.

The toppings you can choose for the "Mexican Burgers" (what an embarrassingly unimaginative title!) are limitless- basically anything you might like on a taco. You could do any number of salsas as a topping, chopped lettuce, tomatoes etc. They go well with margaritas or beer. 1/2 lb Mexican chorizo, casing removed and cooked 2 lbs ground beef chihuahua cheese Mix the cooked chorizo with the raw ground beef very gently and form into patties (I did 5 but you can make smaller or bigger burgers to your liking).  Grill over high heat and top with chihuahua cheese. For the toppings : sliced red onion, cooked in a small amount of canola oil over very low heat until carmalized pickled jalapenos (I like Mrs. Renfro's in a jar) sliced radishes sliced avocado chipotle ketchup

This steak is crazy good- I will never have use for another steak marinade recipe as long as I live (well, maybe...).  The key ingredient to the marinade is the Maggi Sauce which is really indispensable to the recipe; I have no idea what is in it, but it is pure deliciousness. It's not difficult to find and I buy an industrial sized bottle from our local ethnic store. This is adapted from Mexican Made Easy . 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice 4 T Maggi seasoning sauce 5-6 garlic cloves, minced 1 serrano chili, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped pepper 1/2 cup olive oil 3 lbs skirt steak (outer skirt steak is preferable) Mix all the marinade ingredients and marinade steak for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight. Take it out of the fridge about 1 hour before you want to grill. I grilled this for 5 minutes and then 4 minutes on the other side but I think that was too long- it should probably be more like 4 min. per side (or even 3 1/2 minutes per side). Sorr...