Chianti wine reduction for steak

I made this back in February of 2017--not sure why I didn't blog this part, as I did get the mushrooms in the picture blogged.  At any rate, it's been too long since I made it to give a proper rating, but I'm rather sure I really liked this one.  When I make it again, I'll have to update this :)

link to original recipe:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/ribeye-steak-with-chianti-sauce/

Ingredients:

1 c. Chianti
1/2 c. beef stock
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. shallots, chopped
1 tsp. Italian parsley, chopped

1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring Chianti to boil.  Lower heat to take it back down to a simmer and keep it simmering until reduced by half.

2. Add the beef stock, balsamic vinegar, and shallots.  Continue simmering until it is reduced by half again.

3. Stir in parsley and lower heat to keep sauce warm, no longer simmering.

4. Serve atop steaks and enjoy!

Baked Ziti with Pesto

Well, actually, the way I made it, should be called "Baked Mezzi Rigatoni with Pesto".  And it was pretty good--I would go 9/10.  The ricotta dominates a bit much, whereas there needs to be a tad more red sauce.  The seasoning is just right, though.  I will likely try making it again, only with some slight changes.

Link to original recipe: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-ziti-with-pesto

Ingredients:

8 oz. ziti (or similar pasta, such as mezzi rigatoni)
1.5 T. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 c. ricotta
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella, divided
1/3 c. grated Parmesan, divided
1/4 c. pesto (I used Kirkland (Costco) brand)

Instructions:

1. Lightly butter or oil an 8"x 8" baking dish.

2. Cook the pasta in pot of boiling water for only 7 min--it will not be completely done, this is intentional.  (note to self: the pasta I used had a normal al dente cook time of 10 min.)  Drain and rinse with cool water, set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for about 5 min.  Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.

4. Add the tomatoes, salt, and bay leaf.  Reduce heat slightly and cover with a splatter screen.  Simmer for 10 min.  Stir in the pepper, then remove from heat.

5. Heat oven to 350°F.

6. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, 1 c. of the mozzarella, half of the grated Parmesan (1/6 c.), and the pesto.

7. Pour half the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish, then top with about a third of the tomato sauce.

8. Top the tomato sauce with the ricotta mixture, spreading as best you can to make an even layer (this is not easy).

9. Pour remaining pasta over the ricotta layer and spread evenly, followed by the remaining tomato sauce.

10. Top with the remaining 1/6 c. Parmesan and 1/2 c. mozzarella.  Bake in oven for 30 min.

11. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 min. before serving.  Enjoy!

Brazilian Skirt Steak

I made this quite a time ago, back in 2016, I think. I could not find the pictures, so if and when I make it again, I will add them.  I remember that I really liked it, but hubby found it too garlicky (thus why I'm not sure when I'll make again).  Am guessing I would give 9/10, as I would like to have it again for sure.

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/brazilian-skirt-steak-golden-garlic-butter.aspx

6 medium-sized garlic cloves, peeled
kosher salt
1.5 lb. skirt steak, trimmed and cut into 4 pieces
freshly ground black pepper
2 T. canola oil
4 T. unsalted butter
1 T. fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1. Smash each garlic clove with the side of a chef's knife. Sprinkle lightly with salt, then mince them and set aside.

2. Pat the steak dry, then season generously all over with salt and pepper.

3. In a heavy 12" skillet (I used cast iron), heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add steak to pan and brown on each side for 2-3 min (longer if you prefer more done than medium rare).  Transfer steak to a plate to let rest.

4. In an 8" skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly golden (around 4 min.).  Lightly salt to taste.

5. Slice the steak and serve with garlic butter drizzled atop and garnished with chopped fresh parsley.  Enjoy!

Pappardelle with Mushroom-Beef Ragù

This recipe uses the leftovers from the brisket recipe I posted yesterday.  I could not find my pictures of it, but I do know it's tasty.  Great way to use up the leftovers from the brisket :)

Link to original recipe:
http://www.redbookmag.com/food-recipes/recipes/a32061/pappardelle-mushroom-beef-ragu-recipe-rbk0311/

Ingredients:

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 oz. diced pancetta
12 oz. cremini mushrooms
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves
1 jar marinara sauce
2 c. coarsely chopped leftover brisket (see yesterday's post)
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
8 oz. dried pappardelle, fettuccine, or linguine pasta (I recommend pappardelle)
fresh parmesan cheese shavings, to garnish

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Salt the water lightly.  Once the water boils, add the pasta to water and cook according to package directions for 'al dente'.  Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl.

2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil.  Add pancetta, mushrooms, onion, and garlic.  Cook, stirring often, until veggies are lightly golden and tender (around 10 min.)

3. Stir in marinara sauce, along with brisket, rosemary, salt, and red pepper flakes.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Let simmer for 12 minutes, stirring once or twice.

4. Add sauce to pasta in large bowl and toss to combine.  Garnish with parmesan cheese shavings and enjoy!

Braised Brisket with Red Wine and Rosemary

Made this one back in May of 2016 and had made it a couple years before that, too.  It was my first experience making a brisket; obviously, it went well, as I made it more than once!  However, I haven't made it again since (too busy trying all these other recipes!), so I can't give it a proper rating.  I just remember it is very, very good.  Everyone in the house loved it (except my kiddo lol).

Link for original recipe:
http://www.redbookmag.com/food-recipes/recipes/a32141/braised-brisket-red-wine-rosemary-recipe-rbk0311/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 T. smoked sweet paprika (I actually used Hungarian smoked paprika)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. coarse ground pepper
around 4 lb. beef brisket
3 T. olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
2 carrots, cut in large chunks
3 ribs celery with leaves, chopped
8 cloves garlic, smashed (?)
2 c. dry red wine (I used Chianti first time I made; this time I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
1 can (14 oz.) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 c. beef stock (I used beef broth since I was out of stock)
4 sprigs rosemary

Instructions:

1. If you prefer, you can braise in oven at 300°F--if so, heat oven now; I prefer using slow-cooker, which I started with on HI :)

2. In a small bowl, combine paprika, salt, and pepper.  Rub mixture all over brisket.

3. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over high heat until it shimmers.  Add brisket and sear on all sides until well-browned, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.

4. Reduce heat to medium and in same skillet, add onions, celery, and garlic.  Sauté for 5 minutes.

5. Add wine and increase heat to medium-high to bring to boil.  Maintain at boil for 3 minutes.

6. Add tomatoes and stock, bring to boil, and continue to boil for 5 more minutes.

7. Transfer mixture to the slow cooker (or a 16x12 roasting pan, if using oven).  Add the brisket to the mixture, along with the rosemary.

8. Place lid on slow cooker (or cover roasting pan tightly with heavy duty foil) and let cook for 3 1/2 hrs, or until meat is fork-tender.

9. Transfer meat to a cutting board and cover, let rest.

10. Meanwhile, strain the leftover sauce in the cooker into a saucepan, pressing down on vegetables to squeeze out sauce, then discard the vegetables.

11. Skim off fat from top of sauce, then bring to boil.  Boil until reduced to 2 cups (around 8 min.)

12. Serve meat topped with sauce and enjoy!

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Denmark: Stegt Flæsk (Cripsy pork belly with parsley sauce and potatoes)

Made this quite a while back, around June last year--trying to finish up the remaining drafts in my posts lists, so expect some more like these soon.  When I did this one, the recipe intrigued me, as I've never cooked pork belly before, and it's supposedly Denmark's most popular dish.  Plus, the pictures of it looked really good, like a thicker version of bacon.  Unfortunately, the recipe I used did not specify exactly how thick the "strips" were to be...well, let's just say I learned the hard way and my strips took far longer to cook thoroughly than anticipated.  Hubby loved them; I thought they were just ok.  The parsley sauce and potatoes were very yummy, though, so it's kind of hard to give this recipe a true rating.  At any rate, I wanted to share it in case anyone else wanted to give it a go...I might do so sometime in the future.

Link to original recipe: https://www.copenhagenet.dk/CPH-Map/CPH-Recipes-Stegt-Flaesk.asp

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of pork belly, excess fat trimmed off and sliced lengthwise in strips sightly less than 1/4" thick (I would have butcher do for me next time)
2.2 lbs. new potatoes
1/4 c. butter (it says Danish butter in the recipe, but I did not find any)
4 T. whole wheat flour (I think I may have subbed all-purpose)
1 2/3 c. whole milk
7 T. heavy cream
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg, if desired

Instructions:

1. Dry the slices of pork belly on paper towels for a while, then season with salt and pepper.

2. Peel the potatoes (if desired--can leave skin on if preferred), place them in a large saucepan, then cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil (over high heat) and let boil for 15-20 min.  Drain in a colander. (I cut mine in pieces to make sure they would cook all the way through)

3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and sprinkle flour over it--whisk continuously for 1 minute.  Whisk in milk a little at a time until a sort-of thickened consistency is reached--but do NOT boil the sauce!

4. Add in the cream and season with salt and pepper (and nutmeg, if desired; I can't remember if I did, but I am guessing yes, as I love nutmeg).

5. Whisk in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Keep sauce simmering for 5-10 min to meld the flavors.

6. In a skillet over medium to medium-high heat, cook the pork belly for 2 minutes on each side, or until they have a crispy/golden outside (this took far more than 2 minutes because mine were too thick).  Drain on a paper towel.   **Alternatively, you can bake at 390°F for 20 min or grill over charcoal grill.

7.  Drizzle sauce over the crisped pork belly and potatoes to serve.

Frosted Maple Spice Cookies

I f you are a spice cake fan, you will really like these cookies--they are so flavorful!!  And soft, too.  Original recipe has them topped with walnuts, but I didn't feel like messing with that, still turned out great! Recipe only makes 20, not 30 like it says in original. Another 10/10 :)

Link to original recipe: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/maple-walnut-spice-cookies

Ingredients:

cookie batter-- 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 c. dark brown sugar (packed)
1/4 c. unsalted butter
2 T. maple syrup
1 large egg

glaze/frosting--
1 c. powdered sugar
2 T. maple syrup
1 T. milk
2 tsp. butter, softened

optional topping: finely chopped toasted walnuts (I omitted these)

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together first 7 ingredients (flour through cloves). Set aside.

2. Heat oven to 350°F.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer/stand mixer, beat together brown sugar and butter until well combined (original recipe said until fluffy, but mine would not get 'fluffy' for some reason, even after a few minutes of beating).

4. Beat in the maple syrup and egg until well combined.

5. Gradually add the dry ingredients while mixing on low speed, until just combined.

6. Use 1 T. sized cookie scoop (or spoons) to drop 'mounds' of dough onto cookie sheet, 2" apart.  (I used parchment, but it may not be necessary; original recipe did not have it.)  Bake cookies for 14 min or until lightly browned and set (it was 14 exactly for me).  (forgot to take pic of first batch before they went in--this is why there are 5, then 15--they don't multiply in the oven haha!)

7. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

8. After cookies have cooled completely, prepare frosting/glaze: whisk together all frosting/glaze ingredients in a small bowl.  Mine came out more as a glaze consistency, so I just dipped each cookie on one side to coat and placed back on cooling rack.  If you want to add the walnuts, do so immediately after glazing/frosting.  Enjoy!