Beef

On the menu tonight – Beef and Cheese Enchiladas with Jalapeno Peppers!

Full disclosure, there were mistakes made in the process of making this dish, but it turned out really well. One of the best lessons you can learn in cooking is how to pivot and adapt when you make a mistake or realize after you started that you don’t have a particular ingredient.

In my case, I accidentally grabbed a can of green enchilada sauce rather than the red sauce. I decided to go with it and see what happens. I guarantee that if you walked in as I pulled these enchiladas from the oven you wouldn’t turn your nose up because they have green enchilada sauce. I was doing a happy dance when I tasted them.

Another important lesson in cooking is learning how to use what you have on hand. I had a lot of peppers on hand, and I knew they would be perfect in enchiladas, so in they went! In this case, I had a habanero, a poblano, and some canned diced jalapeno. The flavors were fantastic! Since I de-seeded the habanero, they won’t melt your face. Poblano peppers are pretty big, so I only used about a quarter of it with one pound of meat. Despite all the peppers, it wasn’t overly spicy.

Once I sautéed the onions and peppers, I added the ground beef and browned it. The entire cooking time on the stove was about 15 minutes and another 5-10 minutes for assembly. There wasn’t anything complicated about this dish and it tastes as good or better than anything I’ve had at a Mexican restaurant.

I hope the next time you are in the mood for enchiladas, I hope you will try my version of Beef Enchiladas!

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Beef Enchiladas with Jalapeno Peppers

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Dinner – Mexican

By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 4-6

Beef Enchiladas with Jalapeno Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 oz diced jalapeno peppers (I had some left over canned diced jalapeno)
• 1/4 poblano pepper, diced
• 1 habanero pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 large corn or flour tortillas
• 1 28 oz can red or green enchilada sauce
• 1 cup beef broth
• 3 cups grated cheddar cheese or cheddar/Monterrey jack mix
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp flour
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

2

In a large skillet, add the olive oil, onions, and peppers

3

Cook about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent

4

Add the ground beef, break it up and brown with the onions and peppers

5

Season with salt and pepper

6

Once the ground beef is browned, about 5 minutes, add the flour and cook an additional 2 minutes

7

Add the beef stock, mix to combine, and let the sauce reduce and thicken

8

Add the garlic and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes

9

Cut the heat on the meat mixture and set aside

10

In another pan, or put the meat mixture in a bowl and use the same large skillet for the enchilada sauce

11

Add the enchilada sauce and heat over medium heat

12

Get a 13x9 baking dish

13

Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a light coating of the heated enchilada sauce

14

Dip the tortillas in the enchilada sauce and put in the baking dish

15

Spoon the meat mixture in a line on the tortilla in the center... ish

16

Sprinkle some of the grated cheese on top of the meat mixture

17

Tightly roll the enchilada and then repeat with the rest of the tortillas, meat, and cheese

18

Once all the tortillas are filled, sprinkle a little cheese on top (This isn't the time to smother them in cheese)

19

If you have any meat mixture left over, evenly distribute it on the sides and/or ends of the enchiladas

20

Bake for 20-25 minutes

21

After they bake, take out the enchiladas and let rest for at least 5-10 minutes before serving

On the menu tonight – Sous Vide New York Strip!

What in the world is Sous Vide (pronounced Soo Veed)?

Sous Vide cooking is the process of sealing food in an airtight container —usually a vacuum sealed bag—and then cooking that food in temperature-controlled water. The only special equipment you HAVE to have is the sous vide cooker, which can be had for around a hundred bucks. While you can cook the food in ziplock type bags (and I have done that a LOT), it’s better if you get a vacuum sealer to seal the food in that. A vacuum sealer can be used for a lot of things, so it wouldn’t be a uni-tasker (as Alton Brown would say). Here’s a link with some pictures of the cooker.

Back to the steak! This dish is top shelf worthy, I’m not kidding, but it isn’t something you will whip up in 30 minutes. If I want a steak, I will plan at least a week out. I’ll start by doing a dry age in the fridge. The day of the cook, I’ll bring the steak to room temperature (do this no matter what method you plan to cook your meat) and then season with Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. That’s it, nothing else. Maybe, sometimes, hardly ever, I’ll put a sprig of fresh rosemary and/or thyme in the sous vide bag. If you plan to marinade the steak, sous vide is awesome! By vacuum sealing the meat with the marinade, it gets that flavor in quicker.

Cooking sous vide, you put that vacuum sealed bag in a vessel of water (it could be anything that will hold enough water and be able to clamp the cooker to a side. It cooks at a precise temperature and will never rise above that temp. SO, whatever temperature you like your steak, set it to that temp and BOOM! Your steak will come out PERFECT every time. Here’s the best part. Since the temp never rises above the desired temp, you can set it to cook at a certain time (of course allowing time for the cook) and you can stop it when you’re ready. With a steak, you probably don’t want it to cook more than about 2 hrs beyond the finish time, but that’s a BIG window to work with.

But there is one more step after you take it out of the bag. Since the steak has been cooking in the bag, it doesn’t have that beautiful sear. You will need to finish it either on the grill or in a cast iron pan. I like to fire up the grill as hot as I can get it, then I’ll sear the steak on each side for about a minute – that’s it! It is already perfectly cooked, so the only thing you need to do on the grill or pan is get the sear you want. If you decide to sear it in a pan, you can do it with butter and the thyme and/or rosemary while basting it. When I grill it, I’ll sometimes put a pat of compound garlic butter on it after it comes off the grill.

I keep talking about steak, but there are a BUNCH of things you can do with a sous vide cooker. I invite you to do some googling for some of the many things you can do with it. You want perfectly cooked chicken? Sous vide! Again, it has to be finished after or else you end up with very flabby, soggy, undesirable skin. SO, you could sous vide the chicken to not quite done and then finish it in the fryer, without worrying whether the chicken is cooked through.

I hope you’ll explore the world of sous vide cooking. Let me know what YOU make.

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New York Strip - Sous Vide

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By Patrick Dulmage – Serves: 1

Prep Time: 1 week – Cooking Time: 1 hr 20 minutes – Total Time: 1 week 1 hr 20 min

New York Strip - Sous Vide with mashed potatoes

Ingredients

• 16-20 New York Strip steak
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Mashed Potatoes:
• 1.5 - 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 stick butter
• 4 oz cream cheese, cubed
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Compound Butter:
• 1/2-1 stick of butter, room temperature
• 1 garlic clove, minced through garlic press
• 1 tsp Kosher salt

Instructions

1

The Dry Age:

2

When you get the steak home from the store, remove it from it's wrapper and pat it dry

3

Put the steak on a plate, uncovered

4

Every day, turn the steak and pat both sides dry (you could also put the steak on a wire rack to allow airflow on both sides)

5

Cook Day:

6

Season the steak with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

7

Seal the steak in the vacuum bag (if you don't have a vacuum sealer, you can use a good quality re-seal-able bag. Consider double bagging)

8

Set up the sous vide cooker including vessel with water

9

Add the sealed steak to the vessel and set the temperature to your preference of "doneness", I like my steak medium rare and I set it at 129 degrees. Below is chart of the various levels of cook

10

Medium rare 125° F to 130° F 1-4 hours

11

Medium 135° F to 140° F 1-4 hours

12

Medium well 145° F to 150° F 1-3 1/2 hours

13

Well done 160° F and above 1-3 hours

14

While the steak is cooking, you can start on the mashed potatoes. Boil the quartered potatoes until fork tender

15

Drain the potatoes and put back in the pot

16

Add the butter, cream cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and mash

17

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed

18

For the compound butter, mix together the butter, garlic, and salt, then refrigerate

19

Pre-heat the grill or cast iron pan to high

20

Take the steak out of the bag, pat dry

21

Put on the grill and let it sear for 30 - 45 seconds, then give it a quarter turn for the cross-hatch grill marks

22

After it has cooked another 30 seconds, flip and repeat the process for the other side

23

Plate the steak with the potatoes and add a pat of the butter on top of the steak

Notes

I know not everyone is going to dry age their steak, but DO give it a try At the very least, when you get the steak home from the store, take it out of that pack with the "diaper" underneath it. If you plan to cook the steak that night, pat it dry and put it on a plate in the fridge uncovered. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the steak will be juicier. If you aren't going to cook the steak the day you bring it home, pat it dry and re-wrap as tightly as you can with saran-wrap and put in fridge or freezer.

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