First Hot Dog in 14 Years...

Literally, I haven't eaten a hot dog since 1996 when I was in 5th grade. My friend Darcey convinced me they were made of dogs, and although I had a hunch that was BS, the mystery meat still made me nervous. The just looked so far from the meat the package claimed that they contained, which turned me off the dogs for years and years. Friends and family have been accommodating, but still always thought I was a bit nuts for my aversion.

About a month ago after a long day in the emergency room (Kyler was dehydrated from food poisoning) I was starving and headed to Hyvee. I was ravenous, so went for every sample I could find. Including a hot dog from Missouri Legacy Beef . Meeting the farmer and knowing that the cows were raised within 25 miles of my home made me less weary (not eating for 7 hours, also helped). It was so, so delicious that I bought a package. I broiled my hot dog until it was slightly charred (I remember that being my preference when I was little), nestled it in a buttery bun, topped it with French's mustard and sauerkraut. At this point, I'm slightly obsessed.

Hungarian Beef Goulash

Goulash is one of the most satisfying cold weather foods I can think of. Hell, I love it so much I'll eat it in 90 degree weather. When it's in the single digits as it has been in my neck of the woods, I've got hearty Hungarian stew on the mind.

Ingredients:
1 1/2  pounds  boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
1 tbsp   butter
2 white onions, chopped
2  garlic cloves, minced
2  tablespoons  paprika (I've said it before, I'll say it again -- smoked paprika is the best!)
1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar (or really whatever thinner vinegar you have on hand, I don't think it makes a huge difference if you sub with apple cider or a white balsamic. I'd avoid a rich, dark balsamic vinegar)
24 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon  caraway seeds, crushed
3  whole bay leaves
1  cup  water
14 oz can fat-free, low-sodium beef broth
6 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 peeled carrots, cut into 3/4 inch disks
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Dredge beef in flour and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add beef to pot and cook until brown on all sides. Remove beef from pan and reserve.

Add onion and garlic to pan and sauté until lightly browned, then stir in paprika and vinegar. Cook mixture for 4 minutes before returning beef to pot. cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, crushed caraway seeds, bay leaves, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup water and beef broth. Bring to a boil and then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Add chunks of potato and carrots;  cover and cook until potatoes are tender (about an hour and a half). Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and lemon juice. Discard bay leaves.

Serve with crusty bread and a dark beer. Kyler picked up an amazing rustic rosemary garlic potato bread from Uprise Bakery and we drank Founders Breakfast Stout (Currently my fave beer in the whole wide world. It's a damn shame that it's seasonal and the season just ended...thus we stocked up).

Peshawari Chappli Kabab Pitas

I was a new Arabic shop in Columbia, Olive Cafe, and came across a spice mix for spicy ground beef patties. This mix has a variety of fragrant spices, which were pretty spicy, but in a flavorful way. The patties reminded me of a carnivorous version of falafel. I'm not sure of the proportions, but here's the listing from the package: salt, red chili, coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic, dehydrated onion, pomegranate seeds, fine flour (wheat), black pepper, black cumin, cinnamon, mace, bay leaf, fenugreek leaves, carom, citric acid.

Ingredients:
Kebabs
1 lbs ground beef
1 small onion finely chopped
* 1/2 small green pepper finely chopped
1 clove smashed, minced garlic
3 tsp grated ginger
2 eggs
1 package of Peshawari Chappli spice mixture (use less for mild hot flavor)
1 cup vegetable oil

Israeli Salad
1 small cucumber cut into small cubes
3 roma tomatoes cut into small cubes (seeds removed)
1/4 small red onion finely diced
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all salad ingredients and marinade in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.

Thoroughly combine kebab ingredients (except for oil), cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, warm oil in large fry pan to medium high heat. With wet hands, form thin flat 3 inch round kebab patties. Fry in hot oil until brown and crispy on each side.

Serve in pita with hummus and salad.

*original recipe calls for 3 green chilies, rather than green pepper, but Kyler and I thought it was pretty spicy to begin with. If your stomach can handle crazy spicy food, feel free to sub chilies for green pepper.

Sliced Steak Sammich time...

Before we headed out to tailgate for Mizzou homecoming (8 solid hours of drinking) it seemed a brilliant idea to load up on carbs in the form of steak sammiches...it was.

Putting these together was pretty simple.

You need:
1/2 pound of very finely sliced sirolin
1/2 green pepper
1/2 yellow onion
1/4 tsp garlic salt
pinch of pepper
hoagie buns
lettuce (a few leaves for each hoagie)
tomato (a few slices for each)
A1 steak sauce (to taste)

Fry up the beef, pepper and onion in shallow pan (I didn't add any oil). Sprinkle with garlic salt. Cook until all the meat is browned. Top bun with sirolin, veggie mixture, dress with tomato, lettuce and add A1 to taste. (Feel free to add cheese if you're into that).

Bully Porter Braised Beef

It's been frigid in Columbia these days, which makes me want nothing more than to spend my days filling my apartment with scents of home cookin'. Also, we have one of those old school stoves that heats up our apartment whenever we use it -- a definite plus.

I bought some gorgeous local cippolini onions and decided that they NEEDED to be braised and served over polenta. Perhaps using them in a 3-4 hour braise wasn't the best idea, because in the end the onions melted into the braising liquid (my bad). I used Boulevard Bully Porter as a sauce base, but you can use whatever dark beer you have in your fridge.

I used:

2 pound rump roast

1/2 pound of quartered  cippolini onions  

1/2 pound of sliced baby bella mushroom

1/4 pound of sliced shitake mushrooms

(any combo of your favorite mushrooms would work)

2 tbsp olive oil

3 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme (dried)

2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

12 ounce dark beer

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp corn starch

salt and pepper to taste

(served 3, with leftovers)

My method:

Coat the bottom of a deep skillet (deep enough to cover to put a lid on after all the ingredients are the it) with olive oil. Once oil is heated (medium high), brown roast on all sides. After browned, add vegetables, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, garlic, brown sugar and beer.

Reduce to a low heat and cover pot with lid. After 1 hour of cooking, remove roast and slice into thin pieces (I was worried that the roast wouldn't reach my desired tenderness if it remained whole) and return to pot. Continue cooking for at least 2 hours (the more time you have to braise, the better).

30 minutes before serving, reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid and mix in corn starch before returning liquid to the pot. Remove bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This braise went wonderfully with polenta, but would also be tasty over noodles, gnocchi, rice or any other starchy side.

End result:

Side note: This meal made me want a slow cooker...badly.