Aussie Meat Pies, Made Quick

This afternoon found me scanning the Publix weekly ads online, trying to think of stuff to make for the week. Ground chuck was on sale, so I decided to pick some up, even though I usually shy away from fatty ground beef. I found this recipe for faux Aussie Meat Pies after a quick flip through Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats and decided it was worth a try for two reasons: (a) I could cook the beef and drain off the fat before commencing with the rest of the recipe, and (b) it uses luscious, delicious puff pastry for the pie component.

Since I've never been to Australia, I have no idea if this bears much similarity to a real Australian meat pie; considering that it is courtesy of Rachael Ray, probably not :-) There actually is a place called Australian Bakery Cafe in East Atlanta that specializes in meat pies. I need to check it out sometime!

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 and 1/3 pounds ground chuck
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, or whatever your package of puff pastry calls for.

Lay out the sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured cutting board. Cut it into 6 roughly equal sized rectangles and arrange on a cookie sheet. Season the pastry pieces with a little salt and pepper, and bake according to package directions or until golden brown all over, about 12 minutes. Cool on a cookie rack for 5 minutes.

Warm up a deep-sided pan over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the beef and break it up well as it browns. When the beef is no longer pink, drain it in a colander suspended over a bowl to catch the grease. You can dispose of the grease in your trash can when it has cooled down a little. Place the drained beef back in the pan and add the onion and garlic. Saute over medium-high heat until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and let cook for a couple of minutes. In a small bowl, combine the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and brown sugar, then whisk in the beef broth. Pour the broth mixture into the pan and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle the grill seasoning over the beef and turn down the heat to low. Let the contents of the pan simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, gently pull apart one of the puff pastry pieces in half, like a hamburger bun. Place the bottom piece of the pastry in a shallow bowl. Spoon over roughly 1/6th of the meat mixture and crown with the bronzed, puffy peaked top piece of the pastry. Dig in!



Rating: This is awesome

This was a true 30 Minute Meal (I usually find that RR's concoctions may take 30 minutes in theory, but not practice), and it was very satisfying. She wrote that it tastes like "a ritzy version of a sloppy joe." I can't put it any better than that!

Thai Style Pork

This dish is basically the same thing as the Thai Chicken with Basil that I made last month from Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats, except with pork tenderloin in place of the chicken. I think I prefer it with the pork! It added a rounder flavor to the dish that you just can't get from chicken breast. I used one pork tenderloin, about 1 pound, and trimmed it of the visible fat and silverskin. I sliced it into thin rounds against the grain, and then cut each round into 2 or 3 strips. It cooked up tender and juicy, not overcooked in the slightest. I used a yellow bell pepper in place of the red, only because the yellow ones looked better than the red when I was at the grocery store!

Rating: This is awesome

Almond Encrusted Chicken Cutlets with Rice Pilaf

I was watching Food Network on one of the mornings last weekend. I saw Rachael Ray make these chicken cutlets, and I thought they looked pretty yummy. I gave them a try last night, making my own little changes to the recipe.

They did not turn out great. If you want to try making this, I suggest you use her method, because mine obviously didn't work. I can't say if hers will be good, although the picture on her website looks a LOT better than mine!

I will give the recipe for my rice pilaf, because that actually turned out well. I wasn't feeling the rice dish RR suggested, so I came up with my own.

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and chopped (optional)
Olive oil

Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until they are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and garlic, and keep stirring until each grain of rice is coated in the oily, oniony juices in the pan. Add the chicken broth and bring up to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and put a lid on top. Let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Check the rice after 15 minutes. If there's still liquid in the pan, give it a few more minutes simmering with the lid on. When all the liquid is gone, stir and fluff the rice and add the artichoke hearts if you're using them. Put the lid back on and let the pan sit for at least 10 minutes; 15-20 minutes is better if you can manage it.



Rating: This is Not Awesome for the chicken, This is Awesome for the rice!
I think I'm done with RR recipes for a little while. I declare that next week will be an RR-free zone!

Five Spice Chicken Burgers

I was pretty disappointed with this recipe. I got it from good ol' 365: No Repeats, and it was very heavy on sodium. Part of the problem might have been my fault; I don't think I used the full 1 and 1/2 pounds of ground meat that the recipe called for, so the finished burgers might have tasted overly salty to me. Even so, when I look at the sodum content on the various items in the recipe, I'm a little shocked that Rachael Ray would include so much of them. I guess I learned my lesson: always read the labels before you start dumping shit in!

She suggested serving this with pineapple chunks and "exotic vegetable chips." We used unexotic potato chips that we had leftover from our football party instead.

1.5 pounds ground chicken or pork
2 teaspoons five spice powder
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, like McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
5 green onions, 2 finely chopped and 3 cut into thirds then thinly sliced lengthwise
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Olive oil
4 hamburger buns of your choice, split and toasted

Heat a nonstick skillet or grill pan over medium high heat. In a medium sized bowl, combine the meat with the five spice powder, grill seasoning, garlic, ginger, finely chopped green onions, soy sauce, and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix the meat thoroughly and form into four patties, roughly 1 inch thick. Cook the burgers for 6 minutes on each side.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add about a teaspoon of olive oil. Gently saute the sliced green onions until they are wilted, about 4 minutes. Serve each burger on a bun, topped with the warm green onions and any other toppings you want. RR said to saute some sliced shiitakes and cabbage with the green onions, and then toss the contents of the skillet with 3 tablspoons of hoisin sauce (more sodium!) to make a "Mu shu slaw topping." Since I didn't have any mushrooms or cabbage, I skipped that part.



Rating: This is not awesome
It tasted like a not-very-good chinese dumpling on a bun. I think it could be saved though; I would cut out the grill seasoning entirely. Its strong flavor doesn't go well with the other milder ingredients, and it contains a lot of sodium. With all of the soy sauce in the burger meat, it does not need more salt! Just add several good grindings of black pepper instead.

Side note: What is with RR and adding grill seasoning to everything? Does she own stock in McCormick's or what?!

Lion's Head Stew

I didn't cook last night. We had some friends over to watch college football in the afternoon, which is always a vicious cycle for me. I like football okay, but I don't love it. I mostly just enjoy the novelty of it being socially acceptable to drink in the middle of the day (on my couch no less!), and I think it's cute to watch my husband and male friends get all excited about the games. After a while I get bored, which leads to more drinking. Then it's dinner time, and I'm too drunk to trust myself with a knife in the kitchen. We ordered pizza instead!

Even though this is a Chinese dish, Wei didn't teach it to me. Rachael Ray did. Yup, 365: No Repeats strikes again!

Does this look familiar?

Maybe a little like salisbury steak? Yeah, I'm not sure why I picked two balls-of-ground-meat recipes in a row. In actuality, they are very different. These oversized pork meatballs are braised with cabbage in a light broth and served with rice. Don't buy lean ground pork for this--the meatballs need a little fat to stay moist.

Peanut, corn or vegetable oil
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 pounds ground pork
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cornstarch
Salt and pepper
2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 medium head of napa cabbage, chopped into thin strips

Get a pot of rice started first.

Drizzle about a teaspoon of oil in a small skillet and warm over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 4 minutes. Season with some salt, and remove to a large bowl.

Add the pork, soy sauce, egg, a teaspoon of cornstarch, and a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper to the bowl with the mushrooms and garlic. Stir to combine. Put a large, deep sided skillet or wok on high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Form the pork mixture into 8 or 10 meatballs, and add to the skillet when the oil is hot. Brown for 2 minutes on each side, then drain on a plate covered in paper towels.

In a deep soup pot, heat the chicken broth to a boil. Add half of the cabbage to the bottom of the pot, then add the meatballs. Finish with a layer of the remaining cabbage. The pot should be filled to the top at this point. Clamp a lid on top and let simmer for 10 minutes, when the cabbage will be wilted into the liquid. Remove a ladleful of the broth into a small bowl or coffee mug and dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in it, then stir it into the pot. Simmer with the lid off for a minute or two to thicken the broth. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve over the rice.

Rating: This is awesome
I'm a big fan of using cabbage; it's a vegetable that people seem to forget about a lot. It's so cheap, tasty, and packed with vitamins. It's perfect in this dish, paired with the flavorful pork.

Sauteed Salmon with Spicy Fresh Mango-Pineapple Chutney

Another RR recipe from 365: No Repeats tonight. I was a little gunshy about this one after last night, since pineapple and mango are both possible latex allergy triggers, but all seems to be well.

This isn't particularly groundbreaking, but I did love the flavor of ground coriander on the salmon. I might have to slap some on anytime I make salmon from now on! The outside of the fillets crisped up perfectly for me. And the skin on the underside...OMG...so tasty. Is it bad to eat the skin? Oh well, I don't care.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow or red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and membrane removed, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained
2 tablespoons honey
2 salmon fillets, about 8 ounces each
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 ripe mango, diced
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3/4 - 1 pound green beans, ends trimmed

Heat up one tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add the onion and jalapeno, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook for 8 or 9 minutes until the onions are soft. Add the pineapple, honey, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then down to a gentle simmer.

If you want to serve steamed green beans with this, as I did, put a pot with a couple of inches of water on to boil, then get on with the salmon. Warm up the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the salmon on both sides with salt, pepper, and ground coriander. Place the fillets in the hot pan, skin side up first (I don't know if there's a reason for it, but that's how I cook it). Saute until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness.

While the fish is cooking, put the beans in a steamer insert and place inside the pot of boiling water. Season with salt and clamp a lid on for 5 minutes. To finish the chutney, add the mango lime juice, parsley, and cilantro, stir to combine, and turn off the heat.

Serve each piece of salmon with some of the chutney on top and with green beans on the side.

There are different theories about the best way to cut mango. The easiest way for me is to cut down each side of the large, flat pit in the middle so you have what resembles two halves of a sphere. Hold one half in your hand, take your knife and, being very careful not to pierce the skin of the mango , cut grindlines into the meat of the fruit. Flip the skin inside out, and voila, you have mango cubes! If you are a master of dexterity, cut the cubes free from the skin. If you're not (like me), just pull them off.

Rating: This is not awesome
It was fine, but I'm not wowed.

Thai Chicken with Basil

This dish is an fantastic blend of sweet, spicy, and salty. I got it from 365: No Repeats. I've made a different version of this before, but it was way too saucy and didn't have the honey and heat that makes this version such an interesting contrast of flavors. The only thing I didn't like about Rachael Ray's version is that she said to serve it over shredded iceberg lettuce; I did rice instead. If you don't want to serve it over rice, I think using shredded savoy cabbage, quickly braised in simmering chicken or vegetable stock, rather than lettuce would be a healthier, tastier option.

I had to make one change to the recipe. It called for a red bell pepper, which I bought. However, when I cut into it, I saw that there was mold all over the seeds inside. Nasty! The best laid plans, eh? So it went in the trash. I think it would have been great with the bell pepper--definitely try to include it if you make this recipe!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, quartered, and thinly sliced
4 green onions, cut into two-inch lengths, then cut lengthwise into thin shreds
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
20 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons peanut, corn, or vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Rice

Get a pot of rice on the stove first thing, before you start any prepping. If you need help making it, check out my tips in this post.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper while it's still on the cutting board. Heat up the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it's no longer pink. Throw in the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and bell pepper strips. It will smell insanely good as soon as the garlic and ginger hit the hot pan; give yourself a moment to lean over and inhale the deliciousness :-) Cook for two minutes, then add the green onions and stir fry for another minute.

Whisk the honey into the soy sauce and add to the pan. Toss everything together. I added a small cornstarch slurry at this point to thicken the sauce, but I'm psycho about having a thick sauce--it's not necessary! Add the basil and stir until wilted.

Rating: This is awesome
It is so simple, yet SO yummy. The spiciness makes it great for the sultry summer nights we've been having here lately!

Grilled Flank Steak and Orzo with the Works

I have such a love-hate relationship with Rachael Ray.

I love that she encourages people to get in the kitchen. I love it when she creates recipes that boil down the essence of a classic dish so you get the flavor without all the fuss. I hate it when she throws way too many ingredients into a big pot and calls it a "stoup." I hate that in the book from which I got this dish, 365: No Repeats, she advocates feeding meals to dogs that include onions, which happen to be toxic to dogs. She says that her dog used to love the flavor of onions. WTF?! Her dog liked the flavor of death?

But I digress. This was one of her better recipes. Also, it included a vegetable that I had never used before: fennel! I had to modify it a bit; it originally called for skirt steak, not flank, but there was nary a piece of skirt steak to be found in Publix when I was there yesterday. She suggested using 1 pint of grape tomatoes in the orzo, but honestly, I think grape tomatoes are twee and overpriced. Regular seeded tomatoes worked quite well instead! Also, I had to omit the flat leaf parsley that she specified for the orzo because I didn't have any. I didn't really miss it, either.

1.5 - 2 pound piece of flank steak
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for drizzling
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound orzo pasta
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 fennel bulb, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
A couple of pinches (or more if you like it spicy!) of crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Marinate the steak for 10 minutes in the balsamic vinegar, a good drizzle of olive oil, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat your grill pan or outdoor grill to as hot as you dare.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add the orzo. Cook until al dente, about 12 minutes.

While you're getting the pasta water started, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, fennel, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Season the steak with salt and grill for 5 -7 minutes per side. [Disclaimer: I don't know anything about using an outdoor grill, as I've never owned one. This time works on my stovetop grill pan to produce a rare steak. I highly encourage you to use the touch test otherwise: if the meat feels like your cheek, it's rare. If it feels like your chin, it's medium. If it feels like your forehead, it's well done.] Remove the meat to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Add the chicken stock and tomato to the pan and bring it up to a bubble. Add the cooked orzo, basil, and parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper until it's how you like it.

Slice the meat very thinly on a sharp angle against the grain. Plate and serve!

Rating: This is awesome
I totally didn't expect it to be awesome. I was iffy about using balsamic vinegar on steak, and I thought the orzo would be blah. But it wasn't! I would probably make it again.