Month: January 2016

Ingredients

• 1 c brown rice flour
• 1 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 pinch raw or brown sugar
• 1/3 c water
• 1 Tbs melted butter
• sesame seeds
• kosher salt

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
• Mix dry ingredients
• Mix with oil and melted butter
• Slowly add water while mixing, until dough forms a ball
• Roll out on baking sheet until 1/8 inch thick (*)
• Brush with melted butter, add sesame seeds and kosher salt
• Score dough into rectangles, squares, whatever…
• Bake 15 – 17 minutes until golden brown

* I also pressed these in a tortilla press, then scored the dough like pie slices

 

Ingredients

• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 fresh jalepeno, or 8 sliced jalepenos with 1 Tbs juice from jar
• 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro, including stems
• 14 oz top sirloin steak (or flank steak or skirt steak)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 bell peppers: green, yellow, and red, sliced into strips
• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Mix lime, olive oil, garlic, cumin, and jalepenos to create marinade
• Coat the steak with marinade, cover and allow to sit 1 hour at room temperature
• Heat vegetable oil in iron skillet to smoke point over high heat.  Open window, turn on exhaust fan, or disable smoke alarms
• Remove most of the marinade from steak. Fry 3 minutes on each side. Place on carving board and tent.
• Add onions and peppers to skillet.  Allow to sear 90 minutes without stirring
• Stir and continue cooking veggies, 4-6 minutes according to preference.
• Slice steak across the grain into thin strips, add to skillet.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Re-enable smoke alarm before serving with home made flour tortillas

 

Preface

This recipe was an experiment, adapted from Cooks Illustrated 20th Anniversary Edition.  The objective was to create a tasty roast from a cheap cut of meat.  The result was successful, but I think it can be improved.

Theory

Cuts of meat such as eye or round or chuck contain a lot of connective tissue.  Enzymes break down this tissue as temperature increases, but stop working after temperature reaches 122 degrees F.  Therefore, slow cooking at low temperatures creates a tender roast. Most ovens do not have settings below 200 degrees; however, because my toaster oven can cook at 150 degrees, it can be used to slow cook this roast.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 lb eye of round roast
• 2 Tbs kosher salt
• 5 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp pepper

Directions

• Season all sides of meat with salt.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours.
• Remove meat from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.  Pat dry, rub with 2 tsp oil on all sides,  season with pepper.
• Heat 3 tsp oil in iron skillet or dutch oven to smoke point.  Open window, turn on exhaust fan, or disable smoke alarms.
• Sear meat on all sides, about 12 minutes.
• Place meat on rack over drip pan in toaster oven.  Bake at 225 degrees F until internal temp of meat reaches 115 deg. F (for medium rare roast.) Re-enable smoke alarms.
• Reduce heat to 150 deg F, continue baking until internal temp reaches 130 deg F.
• Place on carving board, tent and rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Result

Roast was very flavorful, but not as tender as I wanted.  I found the internal temp rose above 122 degrees sooner than expected. Next time, I will try roasting in oven at much lower temperature – perhaps 170 degrees F for a longer time. Subscribe to this blog to receive updates…

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb fresh organic green beans
• 1 medium shallot, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 6 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbs butter
• 14oz can cream of mushroom soup, opened
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 c french fried onions

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Blanch green beans for 5 minutes, drain and cool
• French cut green beans
• In a medium dutch oven, saute shallot and garlic over medium heat about 4 minutes, until shallots are clear
• Add cream of mushroom soup, heavy cream, stir until smooth
• Stir in mushrooms, green beans, thyme, salt and pepper
• Bake uncovered for 25 minutes
• Sprinkle french fried onions over top, increase oven temp to 400 degrees
• Bake 5 more minutes and serve