Irish Whiskey Gravy

This gravy is really delicious but takes forever to make since you're reducing everything which takes time. It's a good do ahead if you want to impress company but it's not a recipe I plan to just whip anytime I have dinner. This sauce is best served with beef - either a steak or roast. It's great because usually gravy is the last thing you are making with the pan drippings when you have a million sides to heat up.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (3 large)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup Irish whiskey

1 750-ml bottle dry red wine

5 cups low-salt chicken broth, divided

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

For gravy base:

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute.

2. Be Careful for this step. If you do not have a high clearance over the stove, be very careful or do outside on the BBQ. Add 1/2 cup whiskey to saucepan and turn off heat from pan. Using long match or lighter and standing back, carefully ignite mixture to burn off alcohol. When flame dies, turn heat back on to medium high and add red wine. Boil until mixture is reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes.

3. Add 4 cups chicken broth and boil until mixture is reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes.

4. Whisk cream and mustard in small bowl; add to saucepan and boil until sauce coats spoon and is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 13 minutes.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Transfer to small bowl. Cover and chill in fridge.

To finish before serving:

1. Place gravy base in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup of broth and boil until sauce coats a spoon. Season gravy with salt and pepper and serve.  

Slider Taste Testing

My boyfriend requested burgers for dinner this weekend. We thought it would be fun to make a bunch of little ones to try some different flavors in the patties. We took a bunch of ground beef, divided it up, and added different mixes to each one.

To make sure we knew which burger was which, we used labeled paper bowls and placed the finished patties onto parchment which was labeled as well.

The winner to me ended up being the Asian inspired slider. It had so much flavor in the patty! I want to make these again and add some asian pickled cucumbers on top for some acidity. I would combine the BBQ and Bacon burger - just make the BBQ burger and top with the cooked bacon and more BBQ sauce. The bacon and bbq would add a really nice smokey flavor to the burger.


Asian Burger:
4 oz ground beef
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Balsamic Burger:
4 oz ground beff
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

BBQ Burger:
4 oz ground beff
1 tsp. favorite BBQ sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Bacon Burger:
4 oz ground beef
1 tbs. cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Mix up burger ingredients in a bowl. Try not to over mix the meat.

2. Make 2 inch wide patties from the meat mixture. Just use your hands and try to make them as close as possible to the same size so they cook evenly.

3. Grill burgers on a preheated grill at medium high heat for 5 minutes. Flip the burgers and cook another 5 minutes. Add cheese, if using, and allow to melt on patties for another 2 minutes.

4. Remove patties to a sheet tray and allow to rest, covered with foil, for about 3 minutes.

5. While the burger rest, toast your buns and start adding toppings to them. Add the patty and serve!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is a great dish to use for any type of ground meat. I like the kick of spicy italian sausauge but you could do ground beef, ground turkey, or another ground sausage like chorizo.

You can make this dish ahead. Just make the meat and rice filling and stuff it in the bell peppers. Cover well with plastic wrap and refridgerate. When you want to serve it, put together the breadcrumb and cheese topping and follow the baking directions below.

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork sausage
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain rice
2 sprigs chopped green onions, green part only
4 medium bell peppers, cut off the top and remove seeds and ribs
4 tablespoons dried fine bread crumbs
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan Reggiano

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large skillet, over medium heat, brown the sausage, about 5 minutes.

2. Once browned, drain sausage from fat using a strainer. Place 1 tbs. of the rendered fat back into the pan and set meat aside. Add the onions to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat for 3 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

3. Add the rice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the green onions and parsley. Add rice and onion mix to sausage and stir to combine.

4. Season the bell peppers with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the bell peppers.

5. In a mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Sprinkle the crust over each pepper.

6. Place the peppers in a shallow pan and add just enough water to cover the bottom. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the tops are crusty and brown. Serve hot.

Roast Chicken with Tomatoes, Onion, and Croutons

I love this meal because it uses one pan and if you use enough foil, you just throw away the foil and there is zero clean-up! This is a really homey dish that makes the house smell great. You could serve this on a weeknight or for a quick dinner party.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
1 loaf of french or sourdough bread
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 small red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 container of cherry tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, with skin on
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. paprika
Fresh basil or parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. On a foil lined sheet tray, arrange bread cubes in single layer, without spaces between cubes. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over bread and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

2. In large bowl, combine chicken, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, paprika, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Toss until well mixed. Arrange chicken pieces in single layer on top of bread, spacing 1/2 inch apart; scatter onion and tomato mixture over chicken and bread.

3. Roast 30 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 157. Allow everything to rest for a few minutes and then with a spatula, transfer chicken mixture on croutons to large platter. Garnish with parsley and serve!

Skirt Steak Marinade for Tacos

This marinade is really tasty and goes well with all kinds of steak. If you want to make these tacos a little lighter you can get butter lettuce and use that as the taco shell/tortilla!


Ingredients

1 orange, thinly sliced, divided
2 limes, thinly sliced, divided
1/2 onion, peeled and thinly sliced, divided
2 pounds skirt steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
garlic and onion powder sprinkled on both sides of meat
1 cup light-colored beer, preferably lager
1 tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Scatter half the orange slices, half the lime slices, and half the onion slices, on the bottom of a glass dish large enough to hold the skirt steak. Sprinkle the skirt steak all over with garlic powder, onion powder,  salt and pepper and place in the prepared baking dish. Scatter the remaining oranges, onions, and lime over the skirt steak.

2. Combine the beer, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Pour over the skirt steak. Cover in plastic and allow to marinate at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge.

3. Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

4. Remove the meat from the marinade. Discard the marinade. Grill the steak to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let the steak rest for 10 minutes. Transfer the grilled skirt steak to a cutting board and allow to rest.

5. While steak is resting prepare any other toppings for the tacos - pico de gallo, avocado slices, sour cream, lettuce, etc.

6. Slice the steak once it has rested and serve!