Steak Tips with Mushroom Red Wine Sauce and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

When cooked right, steak tips are buttery nuggets of goodness. I think the best steak tips are at Silvertone in Boston. Comfort food mecca of the East Coast, Silvertone marinates its tips in some sort of sweet and savory juice that makes them absolutely delicious. I'd never cooked them myself before, I'd just to go Silvertone for them. But I was at Wilson Farm the other day and couldn't resist. I tried to recreate Silvertone's version and I think I came pretty darn close.

The brussels sprouts on the other hand - those are a different story. When I was little, they'd make me gag and I once foolishly followed my sister's secret instructions to fill my mouth with them at the dinner table, go to the bathroom and flush them down the toilet so I wouldn't have to eat them. Brilliant plan except that my sister then went to the bathroom right after and asked Mom and Dad why there was lettuce floating in the toilet.

I've overcome my intolerance for the BS (pun intended). I LOVE them now, especially roasted. Here's a quick and easy way to make them.

TIPS

1-1.5 lbs of steak tips
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 cups of mushrooms, sliced (can use any kind, I actually use rehydrated shitakes which were great!)
1.5 cups of red wine
2 TB butter
Olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, sliced

Brussels Sprouts

1 bag of sprouts
2 TB olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Marinate the tips with the soy and honey all day.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degree.

3. Trim the stems off the sprouts and cut them in half. Mix them with the olive oil and salt and pepper (sometimes I add a small sprinkle of cayenne and a few drops of maple syrup - mmmm!). Lay them face/cut side down on a baking sheet and throw in the oven for 20 minutes or so...until they get brown.

4. In the meantime, remove the tips from the marinade, reserving the marinade! Dry each tip using paper towel.

5. Heat a large skillet on medium-high and add a bit of olive oil and the butter.

6. When the butter's melted and the pan is good and hot, add the tips, rosemary and garlic. Cook until they are nice and brown on all sides, only moving/flipping once per side. Some may be weird shapes so try to get all sides without too much jostling.

7. Cook them for about 7 minutes (this will depend on their size). The bottom of the pan will start to have a thick brown film.

8. When done, remove the tips and place on a plate and cover with foil.

9. Add the mushrooms to the pan and sautee until just soft. Add the wine and half of the remaining marinade and scrape up everything from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until reduced by about half.

Serve the tips with the sauce on top and the sprouts on the side.

Cheesy Baked Pesto Pasta & Tomato

I was feeling totally uninspired the other night. I'd forgotten to take the chicken out of the freezer and didn't know what to have. This turned out to be a new favorite and I think it'll be reappearing in our kitchen a lot from now on.

1/2 box of penne or rigatoni
1/4 to 1/3 cup pesto
1/2 small container of ricotta
1-2 large fresh tomatoes - thickly sliced
Shredded parmesan
Shredded asiago - really needed for the extra flavor (and a good one to have on hand in the fridge anyway!)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook the pasta until just al dente - it'll cook more in the oven so not too tender! Save 1 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.

3. Put the pasta in a large bowl and add the pesto. Mix well. Add a little pasta water at a time to help it incorporate and cover the pasta. Add the ricotta and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Pour the pasta mixture into an oiled/sprayed baking dish.

5. Place the sliced tomatoes on top and generally cover the top with both cheeses.

6. Place in the oven uncovered until the cheese is brown and bubbly on top.

Carnitas

We were having some friends over last week and I was trying to think of something that wouldn't have me in the kitchen the whole time they were here. So, I pulled out the glorious slow cooker that we got as a wedding present and decided it was the perfect time to try it out. My mom's big into her slow cooker and I have to be honest, I never felt the need or desire for one until lately. The idea of throwing everything into a pot and pressing a button sort of takes the fun out of cooking...unless you have a pork shoulder that only 8 hours of untouched braising could make into the most wonderful juicy meat for tacos. I'm sold. After turning the magic machine on before bed, I kept waking up throughout the night to the smell of slow-cooking pork. I almost needed to have it for breakfast. People with real houses whose bedrooms are upstairs and not located next to the kitchen: I have to say, you're really missing out on this one.

For the pork:

2.5 lb pork shoulder (can vary in size, doesn't really matter - the more the better!)
1 jalapeño
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 TB chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TB smoked paprika
A generous handful fresh oregano
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes - with roasted garlic is good, fire roasted even better.
3/4 cup fresh or canned pineapple, chopped
1/2 cup pineapple juice (go to the Goya section of the store - buy a can)
1 chipotle in adobo for smokiness if you like.

For the tacos:
1 package of corn or flour tortillas - small ones for tacos (I actually prefer flour but Kel will kill me if she sees this)
2 avocados
2 limes
1/2 head of red cabbage, sliced thinly
Cilantro
Tomatoes - diced
Queso blanco - crumbled, or shredded monterey jack

1. Put the jalapeno through the chipotle into a blender and blend until you have a smooth/smoothie consistency.

2. In a dutch oven or large cast iron pan, heat some oil. When good and hot, sear the pork on each side until you get a nice brown coating on the outside of all sides.

3. Remove the pork from the pan and place into the slow-cooker. Add all of the blended contents except for a cup or so into the slow cooker with the pork. The meat should be mostly covered. You can add a little water or broth if you need to - just want to make sure there's plenty of wet ingredients in there.

4. Turn the cooker on and let it do its magic - best overnight or before you go to work...8hrs if you can.

5. When pork is done, remove from the cooker and shred the pork with forks, it'll be very tender. Either put in a container and reheat later in a frying pan when you're ready to use it, or serve it up immediately. I like to use the sauce that was cooking with the pork and mix it in when reheating or to add extra flavor after it's shredded. If it's too fatty or if you want extra, use your reserves.

6. To make the guac, cut open the avocados and mash the insides with a fork in a small bowl. Squeeze half a lime (or a whole depending on taste) and season generously with salt and pepper.

7. About an hour before serving, place the sliced/shredded cabbage in a bowl and squeeze the juice of one lime in with it. Season with salt and pepper and stir occasionally to soften and flavor the cabbage.

8. Assemble your tacos with the pork, guac, sour cream if you have some, cabbage, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro and anything else you love.

Corn & Quinoa Salad

So Kel and I hit up Nubar for Restaurant Week last week, it's the new place at the Sheraton Commander in Harvard Square. It was VERY GOOD. And as always, I use these special restaurant week indulgences to get ideas for new stuff, new very good stuff. Kel's first course was this Corn & Quinoa salad - it was delicious and light and healthy and I had to make it at home. It's incredibly easy, a good use of leftover or uneaten corn on the cob this time of year and it's high in nutrition. I'm generally not big on seeds, yes it's a seed not a grain, but this is very yummy and has proven to be one of Paddy's new favorites.

It's great on its own but I like it with grilled chicken and steak. You could add chicken to it, warm or cold or mix in other ingredients/spices too to jazz it up or to go with your meat.

1 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups water or chicken broth
3 ears of corn, steamed or grilled
1/4 cup of olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
Green leaf lettuce

1. Cook the quinoa according to directions. Like anything that needs to be boiled or rehydrated, I found that it's tastier if made with broth instead of water.

2. Cut the corn off your cobs.

3. Make your salad dressing by mixing the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. You may not need all of the olive oil, so go easy and add more after if you need to. Add some lemon zest for good measure if you feel like it.

3. When the quinoa is done cooking, transfer to a medium bowl and mix in the corn. Add the salad dressing and mix well. It's good to do this while it's warm because it'll bring out the flavors of the oil.

4. Once it's cooled down, serve on a bed of green lettuce.

Ricotta and Pea Ravioli - The Easy Way!!

Ok, so I'm back. Now that the wedding has come and gone, I can sink my teeth back into searching for new and fun stuff to make. I tend to be a little less inspired in the summer, which is ironic considering that this is when food is at its best. But we do a lot of grilling and get stuck into our routine of grilled meat, corn and salad most nights. But, we were dying for some pasta the other night. Temps were down to a chilly 80 so we figured we could do it. Not wanting the usual sausage and heavy pasta, I opted for this VERY light summer pasta dish. It's delicious and easy. The best part is that given the heat, I wasn't up for cranking out the fresh pasta this week. Instead - wonton wrappers. If you really feel like you're cheating - use your own homemade ricotta and that will make up for it.

1 package wonton wrappers - found in the tofu section of the grocery store
2/3 of a small container of ricotta cheese (much better if you make your own!!)
1 cup frozen peas
1 egg
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano - grate your own, you want it fresh!
1 TB lemon zest
2 TB chopped basil
salt & pepper
tomato sauce (however you like it)

1. Have your tomato sauce ready and hot

2. Beat the egg. Reserve a spoonful or so in a small bowl and add a touch of water to make an eggwash to seal your ravioli. Set both aside.

3. Soak the peas in some warm water to defrost, then drain.

4. In a food processor, pulse the peas and basil until a sort of a meal is formed.

5. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, the beaten egg (not the spoonful with water), the parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix together and then add the peas. Mix well together.

6. Place about 1 tsp into the center of the wonton. Fold the edges to form a triangle and seal with the egg wash. Repeat until all of the filling is used, placing them on a cookie sheet.

Note: do not overfill them! It takes a little patience but if they're overloaded, they won't stay sealed! Also, this makes quite a few. You can freeze them raw, layer them in a tupperware container with parchment in between each layer. You can pop them into boiling water frozen and makes for an easy and convenient dinner.

7. Boil a pot of water. Add the ravioli one at a time and very gently check to make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Ravioli are usually done when they float to the top but they'll take a little over 5 minutes or so.

8. Carefully spoon them out onto a place and top with tomato sauce.

Thai Chicken Tacos

This was a classic case of 'what's in the fridge.' I had a hankering for Thai or Mexican and couldn't decide...so voila! Thai tacos. This is a take on chicken satay that's sort of inspired by a Vietnamese Bahn Mi...but with a tortilla. We had this the other night and I get the feeling that these will be on the menu at least a few more times before summer's over. Very easy and yummy and make lots of extra chicken - you can use the leftovers on salad, chicken salad, or just on their own!

Chicken Satay Marinade
1/4 minced lemongrass (peel away the outside few layers and only use the softer inside)
2 shallots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cayenne pepper or garlic chili paste
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 TB coriander
2 tsp cumin
3 TB soy sauce
4 TB fish sauce
5 TB brown sugar
2 TB veg. oil
1 or 2 packages of chicken breast tenders

Satay Sauce
1 cup peanuts (or you can use peanut butter but cut down on the brown sugar if you do)
1/3 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 TB brown sugar
2 TB fish sauce
1 TB lime juice
1/2 cayenne or garlic chili paste
1/3 cup coconut milk

Tacos
4-5 flour tortillas
green lettuce
cucumber sliced into thin spears
cilantro
basil leaves
carrot (ribboned from a peeler)

1. Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and add the chicken. Place in a large ziplock and marinate for at least an hour.

2. While the chicken is marinating (or before you go to work in the morning) soak your wooden skewers so that they don't burn on the grill later.

3. To make the satay sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Set aside.

4. Chop up the veggies and arrange your fixins for your tacos.

5. When the chicken is done marinating, fire up the grill. Put each tender on a skewer so that the skewer goes through the tender the long way. They should look like chicken popsicles.

6. Grill until the chicken is done, just a few minutes on each side. Set the chicken aside and then place the tortillas on the grill just one minute per side to heat them up and get slight grill marks.

7. To build the tacos, generously spoon the satay sauce on the tortilla, then add the lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, basil, carrot and chicken. Roll up and you're ready!

Lemon Lime Basil Shortbread Cookies

I don't do a lot of baking in the summer, mostly because I also don't really like air conditioning. Oven + 2nd floor apartment + mid-90 degree temps = HOT. But, I tried these from Bon Appetit and they are super simple, they took me about 5 minutes to make and 10 minutes to bake. And the best part is they're light in taste and the basil is the bonus.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 TB sliced fresh basil leaves
2 tsp lemon zest
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lime zest
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Place flour, powdered sugar, butter, basil, zests, lemon juice and salt in food processor and pulse until large moist clumps form.

3. Roll about a tablespoon of dough in your hand and place on cookie sheet. Press down lightly with your fingers to make a disc and repeat for the rest of the dough.

4. Bake about 15 minutes or until the edges are brown.