German Beef Rouladen

 

When temperatures drop, I crave hearty braised dishes that fill your house with tempting aromas. I remember my Mom making beef rouladen on occasion and it was the perfect meal for a cold Sunday. She couldn't locate her recipe, so I looked at dozens of them on the internet, and created my own version. This takes a long time to make, but sometimes I want a long complicated recipe. Any yutz can throw stuff in a crock pot, but I find most dishes pasty and gray. You have to brown meats prior to braising them in my opinion. 

A great thing about this recipe, is that the very economical cut of bottom round can be used. I bought a roast about 3.5 lbs and with a very sharp knife cut slices about a half inch thick. I then pounded the slices till they were about a quarter in thick. 

Ingredients

2-3 lbs. bottom round steaks, pounded to 1/4 " thick, (should have 8 pieces)

1/2 tsp. alt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup dijon mustard

1 white onion

2 medium dill pickles cut into match sticks

1 carrot par boiled and cut into match sticks

4 slices thick bacon, cubed and fried to almost crisp

2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. olive oil

1 carrot peeled and finely diced

1 stalk celery finely diced

1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dry thymee

1 cup beef broth

1/4 cup red wine

1 heaping tbsp. tomato paste

Directions

Step One-- Season both sides of the pounded steaks with salt and pepper. Spread mustard on one side of steak. Distribute chopped onion, 2 carrot slivers, and 2 pickle slivers , and some bacon pieces one one end of steak, and then roll it up and secure with toothpicks.

Step Two- In a Dutch oven heat the olive oil and butter on medium high heat. Brown the rolls on all sides. Remove rolls and set aside.

Step Three- Add the diced carrots, celery and thyme to the dutch oven and cook till softened. Add the wine and broth and deglace the pot. Add the rolls back to the pot and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours, turning the rolls every half hour. 

Step Four- After 2 hours remove the rolls and put on a warmed platter. Strain the sauce and discard the vegetables,  and put back in dutch oven. Stir in the tomato paste, and over medium high heat and reduce the sauce by a third. Add diluted cornstarch to thicken if needed. Remove toothpicks from rolls and slice on the diagonal and plate it. Pour gravy over the rolls and have some in a gravy boat for the recommended side dishes of red cabbage and spaetzle.

Pork Chops Cordon Bleu

 

As usual, on Sunday I roamed around the market looking for dinner inspiration. I went in thinking Italian, since a locally made sausage was on sale. Lipari's sausage has been around a long time and are made a few towns over. Check their web site out: http://www.liparisausage.com/   I did buy 5 lbs. of both hot and sweet sausages for future use, but happened to see some very nice thick center cut pork chops and decided to try making them Cordon Bleu style. I started by slicing them in half making a nice pocket to house my ham and swiss.

After making the pocket I pounded the chop to make them thinner and larger. I then folded a long slice of swiss cheese over a few times, then wrapped the cheese in a slice of imported deli ham. By wrapping the cheese you will eliminate most of the melted cheese from oozing out of the assembled chops. After getting the ham swiss package fully into pocket I used a few toothpicks to seal the edges. After dabbing the chops with a paper towel, I sprinkled some salt and pepper on them, lightly dusted some flour on them, dipped them in beaten eggs, then pressed panko crumbs on all of the exposed sides. I sauteed them in vegetable oil for about 3-4 minutes per side to get them golden brown. They get finished in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes. 

Ingredients:
4 thick pork chops on the bone
4 slices of swiss cheese
4 slices imported deli ham
Salt, pepper, Wondra flour (enough to lightly coat chops)
2 Eggs -beaten
1 cup or more panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup vegetable oil (add more if needed when browning in batches)

They came out crispy on the outside and very juicy inside. Jersey Pammy thinks maybe a butter lemon sauce would compliment them, and I will try that next time I make them. You can do almost everything beforehand and have them ready to go in the oven for the last 35 minutes.  I served Ruth's Chris mushrooms with it. Their recipe is simple. One stick of butter to one pound of mushrooms. Put the two items in a covered pot on the stove on medium low heat for half an hour. For the last 5 minutes remove the top so some of the mushroom liquid evaporates. I used "baby Bellos", which work really well this style. Very nice meal and outside of the bread crumbs, little to no carbs.

True Texas Chile Con Carne

 

True Texas Chili Con Carne

With winter around the corner, nothing warms you up like a bowl of good chili. Real Texas chili never has beans in it. Although my recipe does include a little tomato sauce (also verboten in classic Texas chili), this easy recipe makes a good, old-fashioned bowl of red. If you like beans, serve them on the side, please. This formula is only moderately hot, assuming that the chili powder you use is basic, store-bought stuff. To bring it up to three or four alarms, increase the amount of chili powder or use a very hot powder, available from most spice sources.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds lean beef round or chuck cut into bite-size cubes
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons coarse ground pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
5 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon of Tabasco
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon masa harina (or corn starch) dissolved in 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Sautee the onion and garlic in oil until soft.
2. Add the beef and cook until it is browned.
3. Add salt, sugar, pepper, oregano, cumin, chili powder, Tabasco, tomato sauce, and water. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmering boil and cook partially covered for one hour and 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Add masa harina (or corn starch) dissolved in water into chili and stir it in well. Place the chili over low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally till thickened.

You can make a larger batch and freeze it in pint or quart containers, and it actually tastes better when re-heated. To make the meal complete, grate some sharp cheddar over the bowl of chili, and serve with a green salad, and crusty toasted Portuguese rolls.

Grilled Cheese Burger

 

I first made one of these about a year ago after I had it in a Florida burger place. It's basically two grilled cheese sandwiches used as the roll. I know, its a ton of calories, but I only have it once a year. The version I made today came out great. 

The Bread

Since you are eating 2 sandwiches it's critical to use Arnolds "Very thin" sliced white bread. Each slice is only 40 calories and forms a nice square. 

The Cheese

There are lots of wonderful cheeses from around the world to choose from, but  I always felt that Velveeta made a great grilled cheese. I know it's a processed cheese like product, but it melts very well, and has a high ooze factor.  This cheese choice is no different than having Cheeze Whiz on a Philly cheese steak, which is the preferred choice at Geno's and Pat's.

The Meat

I use an 80% lean freshly ground chuck for my burgers. It has a much beefier taste than ground round or "ground beef". I mix a little fresh ground pepper and salt into the meat and loosely form it into a square shape, so it fits the sandwich. 

Condiments

I don't put anything on this burger. I may make a little puddle of ketchup on the plate to dip in.

Directions:

Butter the outsides of the assembled grilled cheeses and brown in medium hot pan. When done remove to a warm plate. Fry the burger till medium rare and place between the sandwiches, putting ketchup, or onion, or tomato, or pickle, inside if desired.

The juices of the burger will drip into the lower sandwich, and the cheese will definitely ooze out the sides. The one I polished off earlier today required 4 napkins.  I'm thinking bacon needs to be on next year's sandwich.

Herb Crusted Roast Beef

 

Roast beef is a simple dish, but for it to be tender and juicy is the challenge. I'm always searching for new ways to make it. I am not talking about a rib roast (prime rib), which always comes out great due to the marbling and high fat content. I'm more focused on the rump roast or bottom round, which is inexpensive and can be real tasty. Look for a roast 4-6 lbs. with a nice fat-cap on one side. You need this fat to stand a chance at the result being juicy.  I used to be a fan of roast at 450 for the first 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 300, with a rub of oil, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic.  This created a nice crust, but it sometimes would be dry. I came across this recipe a while ago and I have used it three times successfully. I don't think I will ever cook a roast any other way. The recipe will feed 6-8 hungry people. I usually don't bother making the gravy, since it is so juicy, but I have included it.
Ingredients:
1 Beef Rump roast or Bottom round, with good fat cap. 4 1/2- 6 lb.s
2 Large garlic cloves put through a press
2 Tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
 Herb mixture:
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 Teaspoon dried basil
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 Teaspoon dried Tarragon
1/2 Teaspoon dried thyme
 Gravy ingredients (if desired)
1/4 cup  all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons beef boullion granules
2 cups water
Directions:
Pre heat the oven at 325, place roast with fat side up in ungreased roasting pan. Combine the next five ingredients and pour (shmear) over the roast. Mix parsley, basil, salt, pepper, tarragon, and thyme and sprinkle over the shmeared roast.
Bake uncovered 1 3/4- 2 1/4 hours or until meat thermometer reads 140 for medium rare. ALWAYS use a meat thermometer. All ovens are different and the only way to know your roast will be cooked to the correct done-ness, without hacking it open and releasing precious juices, is to use a meat thermometer.
Remove to warm platter and let stand for at least 10 minutes prior to slicing, to prevent losing all the tasty juices.
For Gravy- Skim fat from pan juices. In a sauce pan combine flour, water and boullion until smooth. Gradually add the pan drippings and additional water if needed.  
If desired, one hour before roasting time is done add 2 lbs. Baby Bellos mushrooms into the roasting pan. They add liquid to the pan juices and pick up the herb flavoring and make an excellent side dish.

California Pot Roast

This is a great winter dish. The recipe came in a booklet with an electric frying pan my mother bought in the early 1960's. A year or so ago my wife Pam found a great Farberware heavy duty electric frying pan at her favorite store, The Salvation Army. Even though the pan was clearly 20 plus years old, it was in new condition. I've used it for many dishes, and it even serves as a chafing dish for buffets, keeping a steady low temperature. This dish works just fine with a dutch oven as well.

Ingredients:

3 1/2-4 Lb. Boneless Chuck Roast

2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil

1-2 Tbsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Celery Salt

½ Tsp. Ground pepper

1 cup Heinz Chile sauce (or more)

1 large white onion, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp. Wine or water

Optional: 6-8 carrots peeled and sliced in half lengthwise

For Gravy:

1 – 1 ½ cups water or light beef stock

Corn starch

Directions:

Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Salt and pepper the roast and brown in the vegetable oil in the electric frying pan set at 350 degrees. Brown on all sides taking about 10-15 minutes. Spread the Chile sauce over the meat, add celery salt and sliced onion on top of the meat as well. Add water (or wine) to pan and cover. Lower heat and simmer until tender 2 1/2-3 hrs. After about half the cooking time you can add some peeled carrots if desired.

Remove meat (and carrots if used) from pan to a heated serving platter. Add water to the drippings in the pan to make about 2 cups of liquid. Raise temperature till liquid boils and gradually whisk enough corn starch till thickened. You can add a little Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet and additional salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over pot roast and serve. Goes great with buttered noodles or boiled potatoes.

Fish Marechiara

 This is a great dish that is easier than it sounds. Use any fresh dense fish, like grouper, red snapper, sea bass, even fresh cod.

Ingredients
1 pound Fresh Fish (Grouper, red snapper, sea bass) Cut in to serving size portions and lightly salt and pepper.
1 dozen fresh littleneck clams (or mussels or both)
1 small can black pitted olives sliced and liquid drained.
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped well.
2 medium onions peeled and chopped.
2-4 large cloves of Garlic thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon(s) each of salt, pepper and ground cayenne pepper, Or to taste
1 can whole plum tomatoes (29 ounces) Broken up with your fingers
1 Tbsp. Fresh oregano (or ½ Tbsp. dried)
2 Tbsp. Capers


Directions
In a non stick deep frying pan that will accommodate all the ingredients including the fish, saute onions, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano, olives and capers in the olive oil on medium heat for 4 minutes.
Add the 1 can of tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 1 minute.
Lower flame to simmer, add pieces of fish and unopened clams into sauce cover and cook on low for 20-30 minutes until fish is cooked through, stirring occasionally and spooning sauce over fish.
Discard any clams that failed to open. Serve over angel hair pasta. Makes 2 good size servings.