It's Good Though…

Yield: 6 Servings

Chef John / Food Wishes

A quick side combining instant couscous and vegetables.

• 2cups dry instant couscous (NOT pearl couscous)
• ½cup chopped green onions
• 2TBS olive oil
• ½tsp ground cumin
• 1pinch cayenne pepper
• 1pinch ground black pepper
• 2cups vegetable stock
• 1bunch thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1cup shelled fresh or thawed frozen peas
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine couscous, green onion, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in a large bowl; stir until olive oil is completely incorporated.

Bring vegetable stock, asparagus, and peas to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.

Pour stock, asparagus, and peas over couscous mixture; shake bowl to settle couscous into liquid. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Fluff with a fork, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 4 Servings

French Cooking Academy

For my first use of this recipe I used prosciutto which was too dry. Thin slices of deli ham would be better. Overall, a delicious main course. Especially with a Sauce Suprême.

Chicken:

• 2chicken breasts, sliced horizontally to make 4 filets
• 2oz Gruyere cheese, grated, or thinly sliced
• 4thin slices of ham
• 2TBS butter for cooking
• salt & pepper

Coating:

• 3TBS plain flour
• 1whole egg beaten
• ½cup bread crumbs

Pound chicken to flatten into thin cutlets, about 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Layer thin slices of ham on chicken to cover in a single layer.

Top with grated, or thin slices, of cheese.

Start on the narrow end and roll the chicken, pressing down to keep tight. You can use a toothpick to hold it sealed if necessary. Repeat for the remaining cutlets. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.

Roll each roulade in flour to coat, pat off any excess.

Put the roulade in the beaten egg, roll to cover and transfer to crumb plate. Roll to cover with crumbs.

Heat a TBS of butter and add a TBS of oil. Place the roulades in the pan with the flap on the bottom. Roll occasionally to brown on all sides. Add another TBS or two of butter and use a spoon to baste the roulades.

Place in an oven at 325°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and check temperature for 155°F in the center. Remove to paper towel lined plate and let sit for 5 minutes while you prepare sides.

Serve with:

Sauce Suprême

Vegetable	Starch
Broccoli	Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans	Rice
Brussels Sprouts	Risotto with Mushrooms
Sauteed Zucchini

Yield: 2 Servings

Adapted from TheRecipeCritic

This Cube Steak is a tenderized beef steak seared in beef broth, onion and garlic powder then topped with Mushroom Gravy. A simple and delicious meal made in less than 30 minutes!

Steaks:

• ½cup flour
• ¼tsp pepper
• ½tsp salt
• ½tsp onion powder
• ½tsp garlic powder
• 2TBS olive oil
• 2cube steaks

Mushroom Gravy:

• 1TBS olive oil
• ½onion sliced
• 6oz mushrooms sliced
• 1cup beef broth (or 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon mixed with 1 cup water)
• 1package onion soup mix (see below)
• 1tsp cornstarch
• 1TBS water

Steak:

In a small wide bowl combine the flour, pepper, salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Add the cube steak and coat with the flour on each side.

In a medium sized skillet add the olive oil. Over medium high heat add the cube steak and cook for about 2-4 minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

Mushroom Gravy:

Add the olive oil and sliced onions. Sauté for 4-5 minutes then add in the mushrooms and sauté until they are golden. Add in the beef broth and onion soup mix and mix until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Add to the gravy and mix. Add the cube steaks back to the gravy and let simmer until sauce has started to thicken.

Onion Soup Mix Substitute

• ¼cup dried onion flakes
• 1TBS beef Better Than Bouillon or 2 TBS dry beef bouillon
• ¼tsp onion powder
• ¼tsp dried parsley flakes
• ⅛tsp celery seed
• ⅛tsp paprika
• ⅛tsp freshly ground black pepper

Serve with:

Vegetable	Starch
Green Beans	Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli	Parsleyed Potatoes
Asparagus	Spaetzle
Corn	French Fried Potatoes

Yield: 4 Servings

ATK

We found that treating the ground beef with baking soda (so that it retained more moisture when cooked) and then breaking it down to a fine, uniform texture in the skillet delivered a tender, flavorful, and cohesive mixture that stayed put when placed on a bun. Limiting the aromatics to just onion (also treated with baking soda to soften it) made for a beefier-tasting mixture with a rich, luxurious texture. We made ketchup’s sweet-tangy flavor more complex by adding vinegar, red pepper flakes, and sugar and balanced it out with generous amounts of tomato paste, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Finally, we served it all up on soft hamburger buns.

• 2TBS water, divided
• ½tsp plus ⅛ tsp baking soda, divided
• 1lb 85 percent lean ground beef
• ½tsp plus ⅛ tsp table salt, divided
• 2tsp vegetable oil
• ½onion, chopped fine
• 2garlic cloves, minced
• 2tsp packed brown sugar, plus extra for seasoning
• 2tsp paprika
• ¼tsp red pepper flakes
• ¼cup tomato paste
• ⅓cup ketchup
• 1TBS red wine vinegar,
• plus extra for seasoning
• 1TBS Worcestershire sauce
• ½tsp cornstarch
• 4hamburger buns

Tossing the beef with baking soda in step 1 helps keep it tender and juicy; adding baking soda to the skillet with the onion in step 2 helps the onion break down. You may substitute 90 percent lean ground beef in this recipe, but the cooked mixture will be a bit less tender. Serve the Sloppy Joes with pickle chips, if desired.

Combine 1 TBS water and ½ tsp baking soda in small bowl. In large bowl, toss beef with baking soda mixture and ½ tsp salt until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and remaining ⅛ tsp baking soda and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in sugar,paprika, red pepper flakes, and remaining ⅛ tsp salt and cook, stirring constantly, until paprika is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until paste is rust-colored, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add beef and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Mash beef with potato masher until fine-textured, about 1 minute. Add ketchup, vinegar, and Worcestershire and stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits.

Combine cornstarch and remaining 1 TBS water in small bowl, then pour cornstarch mixture over beef and stir to incorporate. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and coats beef, about 1 minute. Season with salt, extra sugar, and extra vinegar to taste. Spoon beef mixture onto buns and serve.

Yield: 4 Servings

Adapted from ATK

A nod to a shrimp boil, this soup delivers a taste of the South—fast. You should adjust the quantity of carrots and potatoes to your liking. I have doubled the amount of Kielbasa from the original and added the step of making shrimp stock from the shells and tails to improve flavor. This is a pepper forward dish, so you can omit the ½ tsp until adjust the seasoning at the end.

• 2TBS vegetable oil
• 2-4carrots, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick
• 1onion, halved and sliced thin
• 2-4celery ribs, sliced ½ inch thick
• 1½TBS Old Bay seasoning
• 5cups water or shrimp stock
• 1-2lbs red or white potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch pieces
• 114-16 oz Kielbasa, sliced on bias ½ inch thick
• ½tsp pepper
• ¼tsp table salt
• 1lb extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per lb), peeled, deveined, shells and tails reserved
• 1cup fresh or thawed frozen corn
• Special Equipment: soup sock (optional)

Make Shrimp Stock:
If you have a soup sock you can skip this step. Place 5 cups of water in a large saucepan over high heat. Add shrimp shells and tails from at least 1 lb of shrimp. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Strain into another heat proof container, pressing on shells to extract most of liquid. Discard shells.
Cook Vegetables:
Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onion, and celery and cook until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
Cook Soup:
Stir in Old Bay and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
If using a soup sock, put shells and tails into the sock and add to the Dutch oven. Stir in water.
If not using a soup sock, add the strained shrimp stock to the Dutch oven.
Add potatoes, sausage, pepper (can be omitted until adjusting seasoning), and salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until potatoes are barely tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in shrimp and corn. Cover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until shrimp is cooked through, about 4 minutes longer.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve with a nice country boule (bread).

Yield: 4 Servings

Adapted from J. Kenji Lopez / Serious Eats

Intensely beefy and buttery skirt steak is the star of this quick stir-fry, featuring sweet snap peas tossed in oyster sauce.

Beef:

• 1lb skirt steak of flap meat, thinly sliced

Tenderize: (optional)

• ¼tsp baking soda
• 3TBS water

Marinade:

• 1egg white
• 1pinch white pepper
• ¼tsp salt
• 1-2½TBS of corn starch
• 1TBS of oil

Sauce:

• ½tsp kosher salt
• ½tsp sugar
• 1tsp dark soy sauce
• 1tsp Shaoxing wine
• ½tsp roasted sesame oil
• ⅛tsp baking soda
• ½tsp cornstarch

Stir-Fry:

• 3TBS vegetable, canola, or peanut oil, divided
• 1lb snap peas, trimmed
• 8oz mushrooms, sliced
• 2medium cloves garlic, finely minced (about 2 tsp)
• 2tsp finely minced fresh ginger
• 1scallion, white and light green parts only, finely minced

Beef:

Note: Tenderize the beef with a Jaccard before slicing. (optional)

Slice the beef with the blade tilted 45 degrees to get a thin cut through the grain.

Tenderize: (optional)

Mix 1/4 tsp baking soda and 3TBS water in a small bowl. Add beef and let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Marinate:

In a bowl, add the beef, egg white, white pepper, salt, Mix well. Add 1 to 2 TBS of corn starch and mix well. Add 1 TBS of oil and mix again. Set aside for 15 to 30 minutes.

Combine beef, salt, sugar, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, baking soda, and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to combine. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Premix Sauce:

Combine soy sauce, wine, chicken stock, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Stir Fry Beef:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add half of the beef, spreading it out in a single layer, and cook without moving until lightly browned on first side, about 1 minute. Toss and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until barely cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Repeat with 1 more tablespoon oil and remaining beef.

Stir Fry Mushrooms:

Add oil if needed to have 1 tablespoon oil in the wok over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and stir fry until lightly browned. Remove to bowl with beef.

Stir Fry Snap Peas:

Wipe out wok, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and place over high heat until smoking. Add snap peas and cook, tossing and stirring frequently, until lightly charred in spots and bright green. Add garlic, ginger, and scallions and cook, stirring, until fragrant.

Finish:

Return beef and mushrooms to wok and toss to combine. Stir sauce and add to wok. Cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until sauce is thickened and coats beef and vegetables, about 1 minute.

Serve immediately.