Sunday, January 9, 2011

Crock Pot Carne Asada

I love using the crock pot to cook....Not only does it make cooking dinners super easy....but I love how tender the meat gets.


Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds lean stew meat (I used beef shoulder roast)
2 Tbsp chili powder (I used 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 Tbsp ancho chili powder, and 1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper)
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp salt
2 Tsp minced garlic
Juice of 1 fresh lime
12 oz dark beer or beef broth (I used beef broth)
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, chopped
1 small onion, cut into eigths
1 Tsp dry oregano

In a ziplock bag combine the chili powder, cumin, salt, minced garlic, and lime juice until blended. Put meat in ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, put the meat in the crock pot, along with the beer/beef broth, onion, jalapeño peppers, and the oregano. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours. Shread meat with two forks and serve with your favorite garnishes in flour tortillas.

Super easy oven baked spare ribs


My friend found this recipe on http://www.cookingforengineers.com.  We went and played poker at her house one night and she made these...I was quite impressed!  The meat was falling off the bone and it was oh so juicy!  Here's what the website said:


For pork ribs that literally fall off the bone, I use an oven to slowly cook the ribs. 
The recipe is quite simple: mix 18 oz. of barbeque sauce (1 bottle) with 1/2 cup orange juice. Pour into a 9x13 pan. Place ribs in pan and flip using tongs so ribs are coated. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a 300°F oven. Total cooking time can be as short as 2 hours or as long as 4 hours. Flip ribs over halfway through cooking. 

Cooking the ribs for 2 hours will result in meat almost falling off the bones. If you cook for four hours, the ribs may be hard to lift out of the pan because the meat will be on the verge of falling off the bones under slight pressure. The cartilage will also be soft and practically melt in the mouth. 

After the ribs are done cooking, remove th aluminum foil and continue to cook for about 10 min. per side to thicken the sauce. 

Roasted Red Onions with Butter, Honey, and Balsamic Vinegar

This dish goes wonderfully with the Roast Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish Crust.  I wasn't actually too sure how this dish would turn out.  I was very skeptical about it.  But in the end I'm glad I made them.  The onions turned out quite tasty!



Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 bunch fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 red onions, halved
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the butter, vinegar, honey, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute to reduce slightly. Place the onions, cut sides up, in a single layer on a baking pan. Drizzle the butter-vinegar mixture over and roast until soft and slightly caramelized, about 45 minutes.
Yield: 6 servings

Scalloped Potato Gratin

This dish goes wonderfully with the Roast Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish Crust.  Because I had a lot more company coming over....I added an extra potato...but this ended up being so good that I should have doubled the recipe.  As I was preparing this, I felt like the amount of Parmesan indicated in this recipe was not enough....So I basically added more.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.
While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Roast Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish Crust

My friend Andrea made this dish for a little holiday party and it tasted so good that I decided to make it for my Xmas Eve dinner.  She found the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roast-prime-rib-of-beef-with-horseradish-crust-recipe/index.html  Definitely make it with the Scalloped Potato Gratin and Roasted Red Onions.  The one thing that I did differently...was that I took a fork and I jabbed some holes on the top of the roast before I massaged the paste on.  I also let the paste sit on the roast for 8 hours before I cooked it to let the flavors soak into the meat.


Ingredients

  • 1 bone in prime rib beef roast, 3 ribs, about 6 pounds
  • 5 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1/4 cup grated fresh or prepared horseradish
  • Leaves from 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • Leaves from 4 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups canned chicken or beef broth

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lay the beef in a large roasting pan with the bone side down. (The ribs act as a natural roasting rack.) In a small bowl mash together the garlic, horseradish, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make a paste. Massage the paste generously over the entire roast. Put the pan in the oven and roast the beef until the internal temperature of the meat registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer (medium-rare), 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove the beef to a carving board and let it rest for 20 minutes before carving.
Pour off some of the pan drippings and place pan on stovetop over medium-high heat.
Add the white wine and bring to a simmer, scraping the bits on the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by half. Whisk in the flour, then add the broth and continue to cook, whisking until sauce thickens into a gravy, about 10 minutes.
Serve with Scalloped Potato Gratin and Roasted Red Onions.

Yummy Red and White Sagrias

 I got to taste both the red and white sangrias at a holiday party and fell in love!

Ingredients:
- 2 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2/3 bottle of Mango Passion or Mango Nectar juice from TJ'S (or to taste...depending on how strong or weak you want it)
- Sliced up fruit
      (I like to use lemon/oranges and muddle them first in the pitcher and then put slices into the sangria, but any kind of fruit works)
- A splash of Orange liquor (I used the patron one from TJ'S)

For the white sangria just substitute Sauvignon Blanc for the Cab and add raspberries for extra color. Two Buck Chuck works well for this because you want a palatable wine, but not an expensive one