Pulled BeefTostada

A tostada, in Mexico, refers to a flat or bowl shaped tortilla that is toasted or deep fried. It's nice because its quick and simple to do and becomes the serving and eating utensil for the dish. I used a little of the left over pot roast, some beans from el polo loco, and some fresh avocado and lime. It was really yummy and satisfying as a quick lunch before work. You can add any other taco toppings you like such as lettuce, cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc.

What's great about a tostada is that it's a good vessel for all kinds of flavors. You can use chicken or beef, savory or sweet (put cinnamon and sugar on the cooked tortilla, yum). The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients;

oil for frying (canola or vegetable)
1-3 tortillas per person, dependso n how hungry
enough of your toppings for everyone

Directions:

1. Heat a saute pan with about 1/4 inch of oil.

2. Add the tortillas and fry until lightly browned on the edges. Turn over and fry the other side. Once both sides are browned and crispy, drain on a paper towel and season with salt while the tortillas are still hot.

3. Keep all of the tortillas in a dish towel until ready to serve. (serve ASAP so they stay crunchy).

4. When ready to eat just load on your topping the way you like and enjoy. This could be fun for kids because they get to create their own dish before eating it.

Pot Roast with Creamy Polenta

It's very rare that I have an entire day off so I thought I'd celebrate by cooking up a long cooking dish that could cook while I did other chores so I turned to my best friend-the braise. This time I wanted to try something brand new and braise some lamb shanks but when I got to the meat counter there was a sale on beef so lamb shanks are going to wait a bit.

I wanted to make this dish a little different so I made a really creamy and cheesy polenta. I tried to keep it light by using only a little cream, butter, and cheese but if you want it to be really luxurious load it up with that stuff haha.

I used a very similar braising liquid that I did for the short ribs a week or two ago. This time, to get more final sauce for the meat I used a little more liquid. I also push out all the liquid from the veggies and everything in the pot when I finaly strained it. After the meat was finished, I let it reest and cool in the liquid. Then I removed the meat to a platter and used a strainer and cheesecloth to take all the chuinks out of the liquid. Then I squeezed the cheesecloth filled with veggies to get out every last drop. Be careful when doing this because I squeezed too hard and got sauce all over me so take your time for this step.

Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 lbs. chuck roast
Kosher salt
1 large Spanish onion or 2 small yellow onions, cut into 1-inch dice
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 cloves garlic
3 tbs. tomato paste
3 cups hearty red wine
10 to 12 thyme branches tied together in a bundle
4 to 5 cups beef stock
4 bay leaves

Directions

1. Coat a large Dutch oven generously with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the roast generously with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Brown well on all sides. This is an incredibly important step; do not rush it.

2. Meanwhile, chop the onions, carrots, celery and garlic and set aside.

3. Remove the roast from the pan to a platter. Discard the excess fat from the pan. Add a little more oil to coat the bottom of the pan and add the veggies. Season with salt and pepper. Saute the veggies until they are very brown and aromatic, about 20 minutes. The brown veggies should form a sort of crust on the bottom of the pan, do not let this burn; it is where a lot of the flavor is! Don't rush this step either, since this is where you will develop the brown color and flavor.

4. Add the tomato paste and brown for 5 minutes. Stir in the wine, beef stock, and thyme bundle. Stir frequently and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half.

5. Add the roast back to the pot and pour in more wine and stock until the beef is covered. Add the bay leaves to the pan, cover and leave on the stove over very low heat. The cooking time will be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

6. Halfway through the cooking time, turn the roast over. Check the roast every 45 minutes or so. If the liquid has reduced too much add more water. Defat as you go.

7. Remove the lid during the last 30 minutes of cooking time for maximum browning. When the roast is done the meat should be incredibly tender and flavorful. Transfer to plates with creamy polenta and garnish with strained sauce.


CREAMY POLENTA

Ingredients
2 2/3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon salt, plus extra for seasoning
1 cups yellow cornmeal or polenta
1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup milk or cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions


1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large, heavy pot. Add the salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal.

2. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the cheese, milk, butter, and parsley. Stir until the butter and cheese have melted.

4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the polenta to a bowl and serve.

Pumpkin Pie

It's not truly fall until I've made a pumpkin pie. This year I used my basic dough recipe (below) for the crust and for the filling I used the recipe that was on the canned pumpkin. I figured that if they canned the pumpkin, they probably had a good way to cook the pumpkin too. I used a Libby's can and posted the recipe below.

Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:

Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Milk
1 recipe pie dough
Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Make Pie dough and allow to rest in the fridge while you prepare the filling. Recipe below.

2. Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

3. Butter a pie pan and set aside. Flour a work board and roll out the pie dough until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. You want to make the crust as even as possible. Poke holes with a fork all over the bottom of the crust once its in the pie pan. To make the pie look extra fancy you can crimp the edges of the pie with the fork.

4. Pour pumpkin mixture into pie shell.

5. Bake in a preheated 425° F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.


Basic Pie Dough:
Tips: make sure butter is ice cold and don't be afraid to leave it in largish chunks. This will make the crust extra tender. Don't over mix it. When the dough is just coming together, ball it up and refridgerate it.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
7 tablespoons cold butter, diced
3-8 TBS, cold water

Directions:

1. To Make the dough by hand. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles yellow corn meal mixed with bean sized bits of butter. (If the flour/butter mixture gets warm, refrigerate it for 10 minutes before proceeding.)

2. Sprinkle up to 8 tablespoons of cold water over the mixture. Add water 1 tbs at a time to mixture until you can squeeze dough and it stays formed. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour until dough has had time to hydrate and rest.

Braised Short Ribs

This was one of the best dishes I have ever made. I've made short ribs before but this time I changed it up a little and the result was so good I couldn't stop eating it. I dream about the left overs all day at work and can't wait to eat them when I get home.

The problem with this recipe is that it is very time consuming and takes a few steps but if you put in the time and effort you will be rewarded with a rich and delicious dish!

Some things I did differently: I reduced the cooking liquids before adding them to the pot. This intensifies the flavor which then reduces and intensifies more as everything cooks. I made sure to deglaze all the brown bits with the liquid for extra flavor. Finally, I used a lot of fresh herbs. This added a big pop of flavor to the rich meatiness of the dish.

To go with the tenderness of the meat I like a creamy side dish like mashed potatoes or cheesy polenta. To add some texture I like to fry shallots or onions if I have the time and top the plate with them.

Ingredients
6 bone-in short ribs (about 3 pounds)
Kosher salt
Black Pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 tbs.tomato paste
2 to 3 cups hearty red wine
2 to 3 cups beef stock
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string
2 bay leaves

Directions:
1. Season each short rib generously with salt and pepper. Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.

2. While the short ribs are browning, roughly chop all the vegetables and garlic. When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Drain the fat, coat the bottom of same pan with fresh oil and add the vegetables.

3. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and the fond or brown bits have formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Scrape the brown bits again and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 2 to 3 minutes. Feel free to turn down the heat if things start to burn. You want yummy brown not burned black.

5. While this is happening in one pan put a small saucepan on the stove. Add the wine and allow it to reduce over high heat until it is about half what it was. Once veggies are done add wine to the large pan and allow to cook over low heat. Now add beef stock to the same side small saucpan and allow it to reduce by half over high heat.

6. Add the short ribs back to the large pot and then add the beef stock. Add extra wine or beef stock to the pan to make sure all the meat is completely submerged. (if it’s not submerged in the liquid it’s not really cooking with the rest of the meat).

7. Add the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Taste the braising liquid and see if the seasoning needs to be adjusted.

8. Cover the pan and place on the stove over low heat for 2 to 3 hours. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more stock, if needed. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes of cooking to let things get nice and brown and to let the sauce reduce. When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart.

9. Remove short ribs and set aside for a minute. Using cheesecloth and a fine strainer, strain braising liquid and return to a clean pan. Remove any fat and reduce the liquid until it has a nice nappe consistency (when you put a spoon in the sauce and look at the back of the spoon it should be well coated. Run your finger down the spoon and if the line you made doesn’t run then you now its reduced enough.)

10. Reheat short ribs in the strained sauce and serve with mashed potatoes or polenta.