Porter House

Cowboy Gravy over Mashed Potatoes

Frequently, I am left with little energy and the need to make dinner. I usually always have a pound of home-ground chuck in the freezer. Last night was one of those nights... I began looking on the internet for something different to do with my ground beef this time.

On Chowhound I found several references to something one poster called 'cowboy gravy' on this thread. It sounded good to me. Simple home cooking that would fill up my hungry family. I took the rough guidelines and added a couple flavor enhancers. I made up some mashed potatoes using a recipe in How to Cook Everything. Mashed potatoes are so simple with a potato ricer! I just boiled them whole in their skins until a knife slipped in easily, and then riced them. The skins stayed in the press, and the flesh was silky smooth.

I must admit that cowboy gravy is not the most beautiful meal I have ever put together, but I will tell you that my kids were begging for more. Justin and I loved it, too. Plus, between the gravy, riced potatoes, and a bagged salad I was done in about 30 minutes!

Now a quick word about one ingredient I used; Marmite. I bought my little pot of Marmite at Central Market. I was hoping I would develop a taste for it on buttered toast like the Brits do. Truthfully I have been too scared to try. It is a dark brown, salty, yeast-based spread that contains  a good dose of B vitamins and a strong umami flavor. It smells meaty, though it is a vegetarian option.

I have been using it recently in gravies and stews. It lends a delicious meaty flavor. I usually only need less than a teaspoon. My sister recently told me about spaghetti with Marmite from Nigella Lawson. It tried it and I loved it! It is also very quick, delicious, and gives you a boost of B12 vitamins as well! 

 

Cowboy Gravy

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck

1 onion, diced

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, to taste

a heaping 1/4 teaspoon Marmite, optional

about 1/4 cup flour

milk

s & p, to taste

Brown Ground beef in a  large saute pan. Add the onion and saute until softened. Season to taste with a healthy sprinkling of Tony's and salt & pepper. Stir in the Marmite. Add enough flour to equal the fat left in the pan. Stir and cook for a minute or two. Whisk in enough milk to create the consistency that you'd like. I used about 2 cups. Bring to a boil while whisking. Check for seasoning.

Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or toasted bread.

Pies

Apparently this is a good week for making pies. We had this coconut key lime beauty on the 7th. It is from the new issue of Everyday Food.

Then last night I tried out a recipe that I stumbled on through some posts at Chowhound. Apparently it is a very popular recipe. Grandma Ople's Apple Pie has a lot of comments on Allrecipes. I liked the fact that it was different, and that it didn't seem like it would be too sweet. I also do not have a problem with cinnamon-less apple pies, though you could add it. It uses all granny smith apples. It is unique in that you mix up the butter, flour, sugars, and a bit of water in a saucepan and pour it over the lattice work of the pie. 

My sister made it first and had a few issues with it. The top crust darkened too quickly, and the apples didn't soften enough. Her dish deep pie pan didn't seem big enough for 8 apples, and that made pouring on the caramel syrup tricky.  So, I used my non-pyrex pie pan, which is larger. I managed to get 8 medium apples in the crust. I made sure to cover the pie with foil about 5 minutes into the baking. I didn't want to cover it immediately because I thought the foil might stick to the caramel-ly top. I also cut the apple quarters into thirds, and made sure to cook the pie until the filling was really bubbling. Next time I will cut the apple slices into 1/4 inch slices. They were still a little too toothsome.

We loved this pie. The apples were still tart, but the syrup was sweet. I loved the contrast. I loved the texture of the top crust. It was a little chewy, while the bottom crust was crisp. I do wish the apples were a little softer, but otherwise it was perfect.

Now I do not believe in having one perfect version of some foods, and apple pie is one. I have 4-5 favorite apple pies and I do not have any problems with it. This is definitely one of them.

Tonight we are having a ridiculously large Mississippi Mud Pie. I'll let you know how it goes.

Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake

This is the last recipe for French Fridays with Dorie for the month of October. I have actually made it twice in the last couple of weeks.  The first time I used my 9-inch springform pan because I do not have an 8-inch springform, though I do have a 9, 10, 0r 11-inch of course. I also used light rum because I did not have dark rum on hand.

I found the cake a bit sweet. I really appreciate acidity in fruit desserts and this did not have enough for me. I would prefer it with all granny smith apples, but I really wanted to use a mix as recommended. I thought perhaps my rum substitution might have affected the flavor a bit, so I decided to try it again.

This time I decided I would make it in my regular 8-inch cake pan and hope for the best. I lined it with parchment and sprayed it with Baker's Joy. I have never had anything stick when I have used it. I omitted the rum and just used the vanilla. Luckily, the cake turned out of the pan easily. I managed to invert it without any trouble.

I thought the height of the 8-inch cake definitely looked nicer with the way the apples embedded a little deeper. I was surprised to find that the taste was nearly exactly the same. I did not miss the rum. I found the cake soft and delicious, but I do think I would prefer it with all granny smith apples, and perhaps with a little lemon juice or maybe even cinnamon. Of course these changes would drastically change the cake.

I love all the exciting desserts in Around My French Table and intend on trying them all!

Lasagna with Meatballs

Night before last my son Ryan called my husband at work. My husband asked him what he was cooking for supper. He replied "If I could I would make lasagna." I realized that I hadn't made his favorite dish in a while. We all prefer Cook's Illustrated's Lasagna with Meatballs from The Best International Recipe.

My husband likes it because it is a fairly dry lasagna. It is not swimming in red sauce. The meatballs are so good and more fun than the usual meat sauce. I ground my own chuck for these meatballs and once again was blown away. The beef tastes so much beefier than preground meat. It makes ordinary ground beef taste insipid.

I ground the meat, and then formed the tiny meatballs out of beef, parsley, parmigiana reggiana, eggs, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. They are browned in the oven, which is so much easier than on the stove top.

You make the sauce by sauteing garlic in evoo and then adding a can of crushed tomatoes. You simmer it for about 15 minutes to reduce out the water. Then you stir in basil or parsley.

My least favorite part of making lasagna is cooking the pasta. Or actually preventing the pasta from sticking together after boiling it. I know there are a few easier ways to do it but I just follow the recipe. I lay it out on a clean towel after boiling and rinsing.

Then comes the fun part of layering everything: pasta, sauce, mozzarella, parm, pasta, etc. This lasagna only requires 25 minutes in the oven which is nice. We ended up with only one slice left and Justin took it to work with him. I have to remember to make this one more often.

 

Hachis Parmentier

 

I made a double recipe of this meat and potatoes dish a couple of weeks ago. My sister and her family, were coming to dinner, and I knew this would be liked by everyone.

This is France's version of Shepherd's Pie. I have to say I like this version the best! The filling is cube steak simmered to make its own broth. It is chopped and then combined with sausage. The filling is topped with mashed potatoes. I brought out my potato ricer, and my potatoes were silky smooth. You top it with Gruyere and pats of butter, and then bake until bubbly and browned.

There is absolutely nothing to not like in this dish. I find myself wanting it again right now. The doubled recipe left us with just enough for lunch the next day, which made us very happy.

You can, of course, find the recipe for this dish in Dorie Greenspan's book, Around My French Table.

Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

I have a confession to make. I am scared of fish sauce. It's true. I have been wanting to try my hand at Thai food for years, but I was too afraid of fish sauce. It is included in everything it seems. Now I know it is a great source of umami, which I happen to love, but I just couldn't get over the idea of it.

Then comes this soup on French Fridays with Dorie. I probably would have never made it myself. I have always wanted to try pho though and figured this was a good intro into the cuisine.

For this soup you simmer aromatics (onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, peppercorns, etc.) in a mixture of chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce. You poach a chicken breast in the broth. Then you shred the chicken into the soup, and add the noodles, lime juice, and cilantro. It all sounded great to me except... well you know.

I got it all ladled out and got the kids to start eating.... while I secretly watched their reaction. They didn't bat an eye. They started slurping up the chicken and noodles and drinking the broth with gusto. They loved it.

This gave me enough courage to try my bowl. Of course, it was delicious. I loved the acidity from the lime juice. I meant to sprinkle on some of the optional chili oil, but I totally forgot. I must say that without it this soup was not spicy at all.

Perhaps next time I see a recipe that calls for fish sauce, I will actually make it instead of turning the page.

Do yourself a favor and purchase Around My French Table. It is fast becoming my favorite cookbook.

Gerard's Mustard Tart

I will start by saying that I love mustard. I have never liked mayo, so mustard is my condiment of choice. I was very intrigued and excited about this beautiful tart when I saw it was the next recipe for French Fridays with Dorie. I started out by making the necessary crème fraiche. I needed to make my own because they do not seem to sell it around here. It is a very easy project, as you can see here. It just takes a day or two. It turned out lovely. It wasn't quite as thick as usual, but it was much thicker than cream.

Dorie wrote in the recipe's introduction that the original version of this tart was made with tomatoes, but her friend Gerard made it with leeks and carrots. I decided that I had to try both. I only have one tart pan, so I used a 9-inch springform for the tomato version. It looked pretty good, a little more rustic than the leek one.

I would like to state once again that the savory tart dough in this book is fantastic. It works perfectly for me, and tastes incredible. I baked off the tart shells early yesterday, and they waited to be filled last night. I used smooth and coarse-ground Dijon mustard in the filling, along with the crème fraiche, eggs, salt and pepper.

The tomato mustard tart had fresh tomatoes settled into the filling.

 

The leek and carrot version used matchsticks of both steamed until tender. It was a little fussy to arrange them in the design, but well worth the effort if you are making it for company.

When they came out out of the oven though, I couldn't believe how lovely they looked. I especially loved the way the custard in the tomato tart peeked up and browned in the areas between tomatoes.

We all dug into the tarts with gusto. The kids both said, "This really tastes like mustard!" They were correct. Luckily it was certainly not overwhelming. We all liked the tomato tart the best. The mustard was just really set off by the sweet  tomatoes. The tomatoes retained their moistness and it was a great contrast to the crispy shell.

The leek and carrot tart was eaten quite easily as well though! We actually only had one piece of each left this morning. I ate the last slice of the leek and carrot  version just now. It was still wonderful warmed for a few seconds in the microwave.

I have never had anything like these tarts before and I am so glad that Around My French Table, brought them onto my plate!

The Ultimate Patty Melt

Patty melts happen to be one of my husband's favorite sandwiches. Maybe even THE favorite? I love them, too. Actually, I love anything that consists of beef, cheese, onions, butter, and salt. When I read Kenji's newest article about the ULTIMATE patty melt on Serious Eats, I knew I had to make it.

I doubled the recipe so that the kids could have one as well. The kid's sandwiches looked a little better because I used less onions in theirs. Ours likely tasted the best though.

I think the best change the article made in our regular patty melt is the use of seedless rye bread instead of white bread. Rye bread has a mildly pickle-ly taste to it, and that went perfectly with the p-melt.

The quick caramelized onions were fantastic, and I love the two slices of cheese. It kept the sandwich nice and moist.

I often salt the butter in the pan for my grilled cheese so I knew it would be good. Shaping the beef to the rye bread really improved the sandwich. I actually penciled a template onto a piece of wax paper using a bread slice, and shaped the meat  on it.

This sandwich was crispy, buttery, salty, cheesy, beefy, and very very savory. We were pleased. We even added a crisp green salad to fool ourselves into believing this wasn't that unhealthy.

Quiche Maraîchère

I have been cooking out of Around My French Table since I got it. All the recipes have turned out delicious. I was fully expecting the same when I set out to make her quiche maraîchère the other day. I had read a great review of the recipe on this egullet thread about the book. I did not expect such a simple thing to be so incredibly delicious.

This quiche has a much higher percentage of vegetables than custard. In fact the sauteed vegetables fill the tart shell to the brim, leaving little room for anything else. The combination of sauteed leeks, carrots, celery, and red bell pepper are so aromatic and savory. The quiche is topped with Gruyère cheese at the end of the baking. It is the perfect topping to all the lovely vegetables.

Her tart dough recipe for this quiche was great as well. The instructions led to a very even beautiful tart shell, and the flavor was right on. It was crisp and buttery, and just thick enough.

As I was enjoying my first few bites, I was literally calculating how many of the vegetables I had left in my fridge, to make sure I could make it one more time. It is the main reason I decided to use gouda and cheddar in my gougères. I was saving my remaining Gruyère for this second quiche!

I loved it so much that I messaged Dorie Greenspan on Facebook asking her if I could post the recipe. So you can thank her for its inclusion here.

Savory Tart Dough

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 large egg

1 teaspoon ice water

In a food processor: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in the processor and whir a few times to blend. Scatter the bits of butter over the flour and pulse several times, until the butter is coarsely mixed into the flour. Beat the egg with the ice water and pour it into the bowl in 3 small additions, whirring after each one. (Don't overdo it- the dough shouldn't form a ball or ride on the blade.) You'll have a moist, malleable dough that will hold together when pinched. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball (if the dough doesn't come together easily, push it, a few spoonfuls at a time, under the heel of your hand or knead it lightly), and flatten it into a disk.

To roll out the dough: I like to roll out the dough between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap, but you can roll it out on a lightly floured surface. If you're working between sheets of paper or plastic, lift the paper or plastic often so that it doesn't roll into the dough, and turn the dough over frequently. The rolled out dough should be about 1/4 inch thick and at least 12 inches in diameter.

Transfer the dough to a 9 inch tart pan, easing it into the pan without stretching it. (What you stretch now will shrink in the oven later.) I roll it out on a sheet of parchment, lifting it often. When it is 12 inches, I turn the parchment over the tart pan dough side down. I center it on the pan, and then carefully peel off the parchment paper. Press the dough against the bottom and sides of the pan. If you'd like to reinforce the sides of the crust, you can fold some of the excess dough over, so that you have a double thickness around the sides. I did! Using the back of a table knife, trim the dough even with the top of the pan. Prick the base of the crust in several places with a fork.

Freeze the dough for at least an hour before baking. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Press a piece of buttered foil against the crust's surface. Line the baking sheet wit parchment paper and put the tart pan on the sheet.

To partially bake the crust: Bake for 20 minutes, then very carefully remove the foil. Return the crust to the oven, and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to cool before you fill it.

To fully bake the crust: Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until it is an even golden brown. Transfer sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to cool before you fill it.

                   

                                                                         Quiche Maraîchère

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 celery stalks, trimmed and cut into a small dice

2 slender leeks, white and light green parts only, quartered lengthwise, washed, and thinly sliced

2 slender carrots, trimmed, peeled, and finely diced

1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely diced

salt and pepper

1 9-inch tart shell made from tart dough, partially baked and cooled

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2/3 cup grated cheese, preferably Gruyère (cheddar is good too)

Melt the butter in a large skillet  over medium-low heat. Toss in the vegetables and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until they are tender. Season with salt and pepper, then scrape the vegetables into a bowl and let cool.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the crust on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spoon the vegetables into the tart shell and spread them out- they will just about fill the crust. Whisk the the cream, egg, egg yolk together, season with salt and pepper, and carefully pour over the vegetables. Depending on how your crust baked you may have too much custard- don't push it. Pour in as much custard as you can without it overflowing and wait a few minutes until it has settled, then add more if you can. Very carefully slide the baking sheet into the oven.

Bake the quiche for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for another 5 or 10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden and, most important the filling is uniformly puffed (wait for the center to puff), browned, and set. Transfer the quiche to a rack, remove the sides of the pan, and cool until it is only just warm or until it reaches room temperature before serving.

Gougères

One of the reasons I started blogging again is that I wanted to participate in French Fridays with Dorie. I signed up and waited for an email or something about the start date. This morning I went looking around at the website again, and realized that today was the first day!

Luckily Dorie chose gougères as the first recipe from Around My French Table to use in the challenge. I am pretty certain nearly all of you readers have the ingredients for this one in your fridge: milk, flour, butter, eggs, cheese... The fact that I was able to make this recipe on such short notice is a testament to how easy it is!

You bring the milk, water, butter, and salt to a boil, stir in the flour, and cook the paste for a minute or two. Then you transfer the mixture to a mixer bowl, beat in the eggs, and beat in the cheese. Then you spoon or pipe out the mixture in tablespoon portions, and bake in a hot oven.

As for the cheese, this time I went went with one part smoked gouda to 2 parts extra-sharp cheddar. The combo is fantastic, and certainly a great variation on the traditional gruyere.

These puff up in the oven. The interior is nearly hollow, and the result is an extremely light cheese puff.

I just wish I had the recommended glass of champagne to go with the them. I do have the makings of a kir though... Hmm.

(No recipes today. I highly recommend the book for purchase!)