Beef

On the menu tonight – Beef Stroganoff!

I love beef stroganoff. I love the fall apart goodness of the beef and the buttery noodles along with the creaminess from the sour cream and cream cheese. DELICIOUS!

This is one of those dishes that has been around forever and made a thousand ways. When I made this, I wanted to make the version I remember as a kid. I think I came pretty close. The next time you want Beef Stroganoff, I hope you will try my version.

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Beef Stroganoff

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 3 hours 15 minutes – Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 2 lbs beef, 2" cubes (chuck roast or whatever cut you would use for stew)
• 1 stick of butter, divided
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp dry thyme
• 2 Tbsp grainy or honey mustard
• 16 oz extra-wide egg noodles
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 oz cream cheese, cubed
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Instructions

1

Pre-heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat

2

Add the canola oil and 2 tablespoons of butter

3

Cook the meat in batches to get each side browned (you want a nice little crust on each piece)

4

Set aside the cooked meat

5

Once all the meat is cooked, add the sliced onions and mushrooms

6

Cook for about 8 minutes until the onions are translucent

7

Add the meat, beef stock, soy sauce, mustard, thyme, garlic (I intentionally put the garlic in later to ensure it doesn't burn), and the bay leaf

8

Bring to a simmer and let it cook for 3 hours

9

Bring a large pot of water to a boil

10

Heavily salt the water and add the noodles

11

Once the noodles are cooked, drain and add back to the pot with the rest of the butter

12

Mix the butter into the noodles

13

Add the sour cream, cream cheese, and half the chopped parsley to the meat and stir to incorporate

14

Season with salt and pepper to taste

15

For serving, put a bed of noodles on a plate, then ladle on the stroganoff mixture on top of the noodles

16

Sprinkle with a little more chopped parsley and serve

On the menu tonight, Ground Beef Enchiladas. I’ve made enchiladas before but these are different in that I didn’t use a lot of sauce on top. I also added olives, which I don’t normally use, but it turned out delicious. Other enchilada dishes I have made used flour tortillas, but I used corn tortillas in this dish. The taste and texture changes were really nice.

Unlike a lot of enchiladas I’ve had, this one has a lot of veggies with the meat. I mentioned the olives but there are also onions and green bell pepper. This isn’t a spicy dish, but you could easily add a little cayenne pepper and or jalapeno (or hotter) peppers to give it some heat. The most interesting change I made was adding Chinese 5 spice. WHAT?? In enchiladas?? Yes! It was so good.

If you don’t eat meat, you could easily substitute the ground beef with Impossible burger. I hope the next time you are in the mood for enchiladas, you will try my version.

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Ground Beef Enchiladas with Olives and Cheddar Cheese

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 30 minutes – Total Time: 45 minutes

Ground Beef Enchiladas with Olives and Cheddar Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small Vidalia onion, diced
• 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
• 1/4 cup green olives, chopped
• 12 6" corn tortillas
• 2 cups medium cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cup Cotija cheese, crumbled
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees

2

Pre-heat a large skillet with a little olive oil over medium-high heat

3

Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan and season with a little salt and pepper

4

Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes

5

Add the ground beef and season it with the 5-spice powder along with salt and pepper

6

Break up the ground beef and let it carmelize, another 5-10 minutes

7

Add the tomatoes and olives to the pan, stir to combine

8

Cook another 2-3 minutes and taste for seasoning

9

Remove and set aside

10

Heat some more oil in the pan and heat the tortillas on each side - 10-15 seconds per side

11

Place the cooked tortillas on a lined plate to absorb any excess oil

12

In a 13x9 baking dish, put down some of the meat mixture, about 1/2 cup

13

Start assembling the enchiladas. Put about 1/4 cup of mixture in the middle of tortilla along with a sprinkle of cheese

14

Roll the filled tortilla tightly and put in the baking dish seam-side down

15

Repeat until you've used all the tortillas and top the entire baking dish with some additional cheddar and Cotija cheese

16

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese melts

17

Serve with some sour cream, salsa, and maybe some home-made guacamole

I decided to make empanadas again, who doesn’t love a fried meat pie? This time, I went with Cheesburger Empanadas with “Special Sauce”. The special sauce is equal parts ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. For the meat, I used Impossible burger instead of ground beef, but either will work fine – the cooking technique is the same for both.

While it isn’t too difficult a dish to make, there is some preparation. As always, it’s a good idea to have everything organized before you start – especially with this recipe. Once you start frying the pies, you won’t have a lot of time to do other things. You’ll want to watch the ones you have in the oil so they don’t burn.

I hope you will make these empanadas. They would be perfect for a picnic or party.

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Cheeseburger Empanadas with Special Sauce

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4-6

Cheeseburger Empanadas with Special Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup mustard
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup chopped pickles
• 1 lb ground beef or Impossible burger
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 8 slices American cheese, chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 pkg empanada wrappers or 1 pkg puff pastry
• 1 quart oil for frying if using empanada wrappers

Instructions

1

If using puff pastry, pre-heat oven to 425 degrees / if using empanada wrappers, pre-heat the oil to 350 degrees in a dutch oven

2

In a mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, mustard, mayo, and chopped pickles, season with salt and pepper

3

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the onion and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes

4

Add the ground beef or Impossible burger, season with salt and pepper

5

Break apart the meat as it cooks, you want small crumbles

6

Once the meat is lightly browned, transfer to a mixing bowl

7

Let the meat and onions cool, then mix in about a 1/3 of the "special sauce" and the cheese

8

Prepare the empanada wrappers or puff pastry for filling. If using puff pastry, roll out the puff pastry and cut into 4 inch circles. Get a platter ready for the pre-cooked empanadas

9

Fill each wrapper with about 1-2 tablespoons of your meat/onion/cheese filling and a pinch of the chopped pickles

10

Wet the edges of the empanada with the beaten egg and fold over to seal the filling in

11

Try to press out any air near the filling, working your way out to the edges, then seal with a fork

12

Once you have the empanadas prepared, start frying them (or put in the oven if using puff pastry)

13

If frying, gently lower them into the oil with a spider

14

Once they are golden brown, remove to a wire rack or lined platter to drain

St. My Day is coming up soon. Just in case you don’t have a go-to recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage, look no further!

Start with a 4-5 pound prepared corned beef from your local market. Make sure you have some Guinness on-hand, you will need one for this recipe. You will also need some potatoes, carrots, and of course – cabbage.

Because this is so easy to make, you also have time to make some Irish Soda Bread to go with it, but that’s another post.

Check out my version of Corned Beef and Cabbage this year. Let me know what you think. Oh, if you want to to something a little different with the leftovers, consider making some Reuben Egg Rolls. If there are any leftovers, that is my plan this year.

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Classic Corned Beef and Cabbage

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 3-4 hours – Total Time: 4 hours

Classic Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients

• 4-5 lb prepared corned beef
• 1 14.9 oz can Guinness
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 lbs potatoes (Your choice of which type, pretty much any variety small potato is great. If you have bigger potatoes on-hand, just cut them into bite-sized pieces)
• 1-2 lbs carrots, washed and cut on the bias
• 1 medium head of green cabbage (I've used other types of cabbage and they have all turned out great)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 spice packet that comes with the corned beef (optional)

Instructions

1

In a 6 quart pot, over low heat, put in the corned beef with the fat side up. Also add the Guinness, enough water to cover the meat, the bay leaves, spice packet, and brown sugar.

2

Set the timer for 3 hours and prep the veggies.

3

When the timer goes off, add the veggies to the pot and reset timer for one hour.

4

If the meat isn't tender enough after four hours, take out the veggies and let the meat cook a little longer.

5

Once finished, let it rest about 10-15 minutes, slice and serve with the veggies and some Irish Soda Bread.

On the menu tonight, My Favorite Beef Stew! As cold as it has been lately, I needed something warm and comforting for dinner. I love it when the meat is so tender, it practically falls apart as you get it on your spoon. The potatoes and carrots have soak up some of that yummy, oniony, beef broth. SO GOOD!

I started with some good quality beef cut into bite size pieces. Brown the meat in batches. If you dump all three pounds in the pot to try to brown it, all you are going to get is grey, sad looking meat. Put enough in the pot to cover the bottom but leaving a little space between the pieces so they can actually get those brown bits you want. As you finish one batch, put it in a large bowl and continue browning the rest.

Make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go so you don’t forget anything. As much as I prep, I sometimes forget an ingredient – try not to do that.

After the meat has been browned, you’ll deglaze the pot and then start adding the veggies. Check out the recipe below to get the full instructions on making My Favorite Beef Stew.

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Beef Stew, My Favorite

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 10-12

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 3 hours – Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

My Favorite Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 3 tbs Olive Oil, bacon fat or duck fat
• 3 lbs Stewing beef - your choice - ground chuck, short ribs, oxtail, bottom sirloin flap, brisket, or cross-cut shanks
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup brandy or cognac
• 1 cup red wine - a nice wine that you would drink
• 2 cups Vidalia or Spanish onion, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, (14.5 oz can)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 lb carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch rounds or cut at an angle
• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 10 oz frozen peas

Instructions

1

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees

2

Pre-heat large Dutch oven

3

Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown it in batches. Be sure not to crowd the pan so that each piece gets browned on each side

4

Continue cooking in batches until all the beef is cooked

5

Once the beef is cooked, add the cognac and 1/3 of the wine to deglaze the pot. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to get all those brown bits

6

Simmer over medium heat about a minute, add the onions and cook about 5-6 minutes

7

Add the garlic and cook about a minute

8

Add the tomatoes and tomato paste along with the rest of the wine, beef broth, and the beef (including juices)

9

Season with salt and pepper

10

Bring to a simmer and then bake for 2 hours

11

Add the potatoes and carrots

12

Lower the temperature of the oven to 225 degrees and bake another hour

13

Take the stew out of the oven and stir in the peas