Champignon Schnitzel

Mushroom Pork Cutlets
Champignon Schnitzel

Okay, the Austrian’s rule in the types of Schnitzel.  These are Pork Schnitzel (Cutlets) in Mushroom Sauce and are very good as well.  I found the recipe in one of my Austrian cookbooks.  I have translated it from German.  Thankfully my scale will give me the metric measurements.  These Schnitzel are pork, pounded thin, salted, dredged in flour on one side, browned in a pan with a little butter on both sides.  Placed in a casserole to be kept warm in the oven and then served with a mushroom sauce and parsley.  My husband was happy to have some German food again as I have not made any for a while.

Champignon Schnitzel

Austrian Pork Cutlets in Mushroom Sauce

Serves 4

Adapted from an Austrian Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 4 pork cutlets, pounded thin (or 8 if they are small)
• salt
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 4 cups sliced white button mushrooms, (or Cremini mushrooms)
• For the sauce:
• water
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 bundle parsley, finely minced

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Pound the cutlets with the flat side of a meat mallet until it is about 1/8 inch.  Sprinkle the cutlets with salt.  Dredge them in the flour, but only on one side.  Melt about 1 Tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Brown the cutlets on both sides and remove them to a baking dish.  Pour about half a cup of water in the skillet and use a whisk to remove the browned bits.  Pour the pan sauce over the cutlets in the baking dish and put in the oven to keep warm.  Repeat the procedure with remaining cutlets.

Melt about 1 Tbsp of butter in the skillet and cook the mushrooms until they are browned.  Add about 1 cup of water to the mushrooms and bring to a boil.  Make a paste with the remaining flour and butter, mashing them in a small bowl with a fork.  Add to the mushrooms and water.  Simmer until the sauce has reduced by about half and is not as watery.  Add the minced parsley to the sauce and pour the mushroom sauce over the cutlets that are being kept warm in the oven.  Cook for about 20 minutes or until the cutlets are tender.

Serve with a side of pasta, crusty French Bread and a vegetable.  Another great very Austrian side would be Semmelknoedel (Austrian Bread Dumplings).

Source:  Thea: Einfach Kochen Kochbuch Nr 11 Seite 59

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Hawaiian Potato Macaroni Salad

On our recent trip to Maui, we were fortunate enough to go to a Luau at the Grand Wailea Resort in Wailea.  Their luau was the best we have ever attended and the food was very good.  One offering on their buffet that I was skeptical about was their potato macaroni salad (Potato Mac for short).  How can you combine macaroni salad and potato salad and get away with that!? Isn’t that a crime?  Well, as it turns out, it is NOT a crime.  It was one of the items I most enjoyed.  I skipped the poi this time, I ate it last time and was unimpressed!  Anyway… on to the good stuff:  Hawaiian Potato Mac!  I immediately went online to find a reliable recipe.  I think I found one on allrecipes.  I did not have celery seed, so I omitted it.  Also I did not need 20 servings so I cut the recipe in half, increasing the eggs to 3 and kept the macaroni at 1 cup because in the original recipe there were more potatoes than macaroni, and at the luau it was mostly macaroni.. so here is my rendition of Hawaiian Potato Mac.

Hawaiian Potato Macaroni Salad

adapted from allrecipes

Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp celery seed (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup finely grated carrots
• 1 cup green peas, cooked and drained
• 1/2 small SWEET onion, (like Vidalia or walla walla or maui)

Instructions:

Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring them to a boil, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and allow to sit for 10-12 minutes.  Immediately after that place the eggs in ice water. This will prevent the eggs from having a green ring around the yolk.  Chop the eggs into small dice.

Cover the potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium low to maintain a boil and cook them for about 15 minutes or until they are fork tender.  Drain them immediately and run cold water over them.  Chop the potatoes into small pieces once they are cooled.

Cook the elbow macaroni according to package directions and drain them immediately also running cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, curry powder, celery seed, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.  Add the finely grated carrot, cooked peas and finely minced onion to the dressing.  Gently fold the mayonnaise dressing with the chopped eggs, cooled macaroni, and cooled potatoes.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

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Whole Wheat Pizza

I used spelt flour and whole wheat flour in this healthier version of Pizza.  I found a good recipe for the whole wheat dough on all-recipes. I was pretty happy with the results too, except that I should have cut the dough in half (and made another pizza later) it made for a very thick edge crust, but the flavors were right on.  The original recipe did not have spelt flour in it, but since I had it, I used it.  The dough turned out exactly as you would want pizza crust to be, soft and chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside.  I topped mine with crushed whole tomatoes, seasoned with oregano and pepper, and then topped it with sliced Chicken Meatballs (Adelle makes some that are amazing) and marinated artichoke hearts.  I usually will dump a whole bag of shredded cheese on a pizza, but I cut back on that as well to save on the calories.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

adapted from all recipes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amazing-whole-wheat-pizza-crust/detail.aspx?src=VD_Summary

Makes dough for two pizzas

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110F)
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp olive oil (or more as needed)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup spelt flour (or whole wheat if you do not have spelt)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• Toppings optional- adapt to your own preference:
• 1 (14 oz) can whole tomatoes, drained, break up with hands
• Adelle’s Italian Chicken Meatballs
• 1 (12 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 cup Italian blend shredded cheese

Instructions:

In your Kitchen Aid mixing bowl, combine the sugar, warm water,and yeast and stir with a spatula.  Allow to sit a few minutes (though I found the waiting for the yeast to activate is not really needed if your yeast if purchased recently and not past it’s expiration date).  Add the olive oil, all purpose flour, and salt to the water and start mixing the dough with a paddle attachment.  When it is combined add the remaining whole wheat flour.  Mix again with the paddle attachment until it is combined.  Switch  to a hook attachment.  I added just a little more olive oil to help the mixture come together again.  Knead with the hook attachment for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until your dough has become a rough ball.  Remove the dough from the hook, add a drizzle of olive oil to the mixing bowl and turn the dough ball to coat lightly in oil.  Cover the bowl with  plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes (it may take longer if your kitchen is cold).  If you want a big outside crust use the whole ball of dough for one pizza, but I will use half the dough for one pizza and freeze the remaining for another time.

Spread your pizza dough out on a pizza stone, leaving a thicker edge on the outside of the pan. I really find they cook best on a stone without having the edges burn.  Top with crushed whole canned tomatoes, sliced up chicken meatballs, marinated and drained artichoke hearts and about 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Bake at 350F for about 25-35 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and the cheese is browned.

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Lemon Chicken Breasts

I am back from a trip to Maui with my family and it has been hard to reenter real life again.  It had to be done though, and now we have sweet memories to look back on.

I was looking for an easy recipe to make that did not mean going to the store for stray ingredients… this one fit the ticket and it is another winning recipe from the brain of Ina Garten.  This recipe is from Ina’s cookbook “How Easy was That?” (link) on page 120  I adapted it to serve my family of five.

Lemon Chicken Breasts

adapted from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa How Easy Was That? Page 120)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp fresh minced thyme leaves
• Kosher salt, to season
• freshly ground pepper, to season
• 4 (6 oz) boneless chicken breasts with skin on
• 1 lemon sliced into  8 wedges lengthwise

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Warm a small sauce pan with the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute, but don’t let it brown.  Turn the heat off and add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano and thyme.  Pour these into a large Pyrex baking dish.

Dry the chicken breasts with paper towels to remove excess moisture.  Season each chicken breast with salt and pepper and drizzle each lightly with olive oil.  Place them into the baking dish.  Tuck the lemon wedges between the chicken breasts.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until done.   If the chicken skin is not browned place it under the broiler for a few minutes.  Remove from the oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve with a fresh vegetable and rice or risotto.

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Veal Parmesan

My husband requested Veal Parmesan for his birthday celebration.  I love veal, but it is hard to find.  I have a wonderful little market nearby though that believes in good customer service, and have fantastic quality foods available (Baron’s Market).  They were kind enough to special order it for me.  It made my entire family happy!

Okay, on to the Veal Parmesan.  I looked for a recipe online and the recipe by Emeril Lagasse had one of the highest ratings.  I read the reviews and adjusted the seasonings to be less spicy as some reviewers said it was too spicy.  Here is what I did, I left the seasoning in the sauce the same, but breaded it in the classic European way, salt and pepper on the Veal, pounded thin – dredged in flour, then egg and milk, and plain breadcrumbs, frying them in hot canola oil on both sides.  I served this over cooked angel hair pasta, the sauce, the cutlets, a little more sauce and fresh mozzarella finished off in the oven to melt the mozzarella.  It was not a cheap meal to make, but it was for a special occasion and the 22 dollars spent of the veal was spread over a family of 5- and 7 servings once you take into consideration that you would easily pay 20-25 dollars per serving in a nice restaurant for a single serving it was almost a bargain!  For the budget conscious out there, you can make the same dish using chicken cutlets. If you are sensitive to spice, feel free to reduce the red pepper flakes by half.  It does have a nice kick to it still.

Veal Parmesan

adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Source: (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/veal-parmesan-recipe/index.html)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 8 thin veal cutlets, about 2 1/2 ounces each
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup plain dry bread crumbs (add more as needed)
• Vegetable oil

Sauce:

• 1/4 lb pancetta bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic, about 3-4 cloves
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 (28-oz) can Italian-style tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• 1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Instructions:

For the sauce (can also make ahead of time):

In a large sauce pan cook the pancetta bacon in 1 Tbsp of oil.  When it is cooked to a golden brown, remove the bacon from the pan.  Add the chopped onions to the pan and cook until it is translucent for about 6 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute.  Add the wine and deglaze the pan stirring bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon, for about 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, basil, parsley, oregano, and dried pepper flakes to the saucepan.  Bring the sauce to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the cooked pancetta back to the sauce.  Keep the sauce over low heat while you are making the veal cutlets.

For the cutlets:

Pound the cutlets out with a meat mallet between two layers of plastic until they are 1/8″ thick. Season the cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper.

Prepare three bowls: 1 with all purpose flour (seasoned with 1 tsp salt if desired), 1 with egg and milk whisked together with a fork, and the last bowl with dried breadcrumbs.

Dredge the seasoned cutlets first in the flour, then in the egg mixture and lastly in the breadcrumbs, coating both sides in each before moving to the next.

Heat a large non stick skillet that has about 1/4 inch of oil in it over medium high heat.  I like to drop a breadcrumb in the oil to test if it is ready to fry the veal- if it sizzles it is ready.  Then fry 3-4 cutlets at a time in the skillet, turning after 2 or 3 minutes (when the breading is golden brown on the bottom) and fry other side until golden brown.  Remove the cutlets to a wire rack over a baking dish and place in a warm oven to keep warm while you cook remaining cutlets.

Cook your choice of pasta, according to package directions.  I used angel hair, but Emeril used herbed egg noodles.

Top each cutlet with a spoon full of sauce and place a slice of fresh mozzarella on each cutlet.  Place the veal cutlets that are now topped with mozzarella under a broiler to allow the cheese to melt, watching carefully.  To serve: arrange the pasta on the dinner plate.  Ladle some sauce on the pasta.  Top the pasta with the veal cutlet.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired and a little fresh basil, cut in ribbons.

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Stuffed Peppers

Pinterest strikes again.  That site is dangerous I tell you.  My husband especially loves stuffed peppers.  I came across a recipe that used ground beef as well as sausage.  It sounded good.  And I made them with a few adaptations. The original recipe can be found here.

Sad story, the first time I started to make them, I discovered that the store had sold me some sausage that had expired last month!   The meat smelled “off” – as I started cooking it – my family appreciates that I quickly changed my menu for that day!!  The store were kind enough to give me my money back on that item, but made not apologies for selling it in the first place, nor did I feel that they cared if I ever bought another thing at their store, so I will not be buying my meat there again (EVER). Why is customer service so hard to find nowadays? I find plenty of customer dis-service.  Thanks for letting me rant!

Stuffed Peppers

Serves 6 adapted from http://www.dearcrissy.com

Ingredients:

• 1 package mild Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with basil and garlic
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 6 large bell peppers (I like to use red or orange or yellow ones)
• olive oil, to drizzle over the peppers before cooking

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 375 F.

In a large skillet, brown the sausage, ground beef, 1 teaspoon of salt, and onion over medium high heat.  Add the garlic the last few minutes of cooking.  Drain off any excess fat. Turn off the heat.

Add the cooked rice, 1/2 cup cheddar, diced tomatoes, parsley, remaining salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Wash the peppers and split them lengthwise.  Remove the stem, seed and white ribs from the peppers.  Place the peppers in a casserole.  Fill the peppers with the meat filling until full.  Sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheese.  Drizzle the peppers with a little olive oil.  Cover the casserole with foil.  Bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 F.  Remove the foil and continue baking for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This would also be great with heated up Queso if you wish.

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Ginger Crusted Salmon

Ginger Crusted Salmon

One of my favorite preparations of salmon I have ever eaten has been at the Yard House.  They serve a ginger crusted salmon on  a bed of wasabi mashed potatoes with a peanut ginger sauce that is to die for.  Much to my surprise I found the recipe online and in print (link)! You mean I can make this myself now?  I added the recipe to my bucket list of things I wish to make.  I bought some beautiful salmon at my favorite market – and thought it was the perfect opportunity to make it myself.  It was not quite what the Yard House serves, because it was missing the deep fried strips of carrot on top for presentation, but it was still very good.  I doubled the sauce, because I thought it would go nicely with a satay later in the week.  This recipe takes a little prep work to get it perfected, but I was rather happy with the results.  I will make it again for a special dinner.

Yard House Ginger Crusted Salmon (at home)

adapted from Yard House recipe published in Miami New Times

by Executive Chef Carlito Jocson Serves 2

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2009/06/yard_house_recipe_for_ginger_c.php (link)

Ingredients:

• 2 (6 oz) fillet of salmon
• 1/4 cup finely minced ginger (I used a microplane to grate it)
• 1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 cups julienne carrots and snow peas (cut in matchsticks)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Make ahead of time:

• 1/2 cup Sesame Peanut Vinaigrette (recipe below)
• Wasabi Mashed Potatoes (recipe below)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a small metal bowl, combine the grated ginger and sliced green onions.  Heat the olive oil in a small skillet.  Use caution to pour the hot oil over the ginger and green onions in the metal bowl.

Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to a large skillet and heat to medium high heat.  Sear the salmon on each side until golden brown.  Transfer the salmon to a baking dish and top with the ginger mixture.  Bake in the oven for 7 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.

Steam the snow peas and carrots in two separate pans for about 3-10 minutes depending how tender you like them.  Drain any water, add some butter to each and season with salt and pepper if desired.  Tip: I bought a small bag of carrot slaw mix in the grocery store, so I did not have to spend hours slicing carrots.

To serve: Drizzle the plate with 1 Tbsp of the Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette.  Put a dollop of Wasabi mashed potatoes on the center of the plate.  Top with steamed julienne carrots and snow peas.  Top with the baked ginger crusted fish and drizzle about 1/4 cup more of the Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette over each servings.  Top with fried strips of carrot if you desire (I did not this time). Serve and have a party in your Mouth.

Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• water to cover the potatoes
• 1/4 cup Wasabi Paste (I found some in a tube by S&B) See bottom of post for source)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• salt to taste

Instructions:

Prepare the potatoes: Bring the potato chunks, salted cold water to cover to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 12-15 minutes.  Test with a fork for tenderness.  Drain.  Mash the potatoes with the wasabi paste, heavy cream and butter.  Season with salt to taste.  These potatoes have quite the punch- my children opted for regular potatoes, but hubby and I enjoyed them.  If you are unsure how spicy they will be add less wasabi- you can always add more.

Sesame- Peanut Vinaigrette (doubled)

Yields about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (I used Jif)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped ginger
• 2 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1/4 sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients in your food processor or blender.  Process until smooth.  Refrigerate until needed.  I like this sauce so much I make extra and serve as a sauce with a beef or chicken satay later in the week.

Ingredients resource:

For the Wasabi paste:

http://www.sb-worldwide.com/products/paste.html (43 grams was the size of my tube and I used)

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Tzatsiki

I was searching for a good Tzatsiki sauce to go with my Gyro recipe.  My friend Sherilyn shared this recipe with me.

Tzatsiki Sauce

Yields: about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber, peeled and grated, wrung dry in a clean kitchen towel
• 2 cups (500 ml) plain yogurt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp minced dill
• juice of 1 lime

Instructions:

Combine all the ingredients and mix well to combine.  Chill and serve with Gyros.  You can find my recipe at:

http://goodcookbecky.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/gyros/ (link)

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Bauernkrapfen

No, I did not choke.. that is the word for this delightfully wonderful fried pastry that I ate growing up in Austria.  “Bauernkrapfen” is a rustic version of a doughnut, with less sugar than the American equivalent.  Traditionally, it is brushed with Apricot jam and dusted with powdered sugar, but you can use any jam you wish- strawberry or red currant jam would also be very good choices. I woke up this morning thinking about the Bauernkrapfen, so I called my Mom for the recipe she had from the friend who first introduced us to them.  A “Bauer” is the German word for “farmer” – “Krapfen” is the German word for “doughnut” (usually the jelly filled type without a hole in it).  These are easy to make, though a little time consuming, and my kids enjoyed them too, but would have preferred a different type of jam on them.

Bauernkrapfen (Austrian Farmer’s Doughnut)

Yields: 15-20 recipe translated from German into English – it is an authentic recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 oz milk
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 yeast packets
• 3 cups all purpose flour (400 grams)

Additional ingredients:

• Apricot jam (or strawberry or red currant)
• powdered sugar

Instructions:

Pour milk in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until it is steaming.  Turn off the heat and add the butter and allow it to melt in the milk, stirring a few times.  Allow to cool 5 minutes.  Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl.  Add the sugar to the milk mixture and stir to dissolve.  Allow to cool to lukewarm temperature (100-110)  Add the yeast and egg yolks.  Stir to combine.  Add the flour about a cup of it at a time, stirring to incorporate it to a dough.  Add a little more flour if it is sticking to the bowl, just enough to get it to release (I only had to add another tablespoon of flour, but it may vary depending on the size of the egg yolks you used).  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least 1 hour.  Form the dough into 15-20 balls, roll each ball in a little flour and cover with a tea towel and allow to rest 30 minutes.

Stretch each ball a little, similarly as you would pizza dough, a thin layer of dough in the center and a rim slightly thicker on outside.

Heat 3/4 inch- 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, carefully add 4-5 of the doughnuts to the oil and fry to a golden brown color on each side (this takes about 30-45 seconds per side).  Remove the doughnuts to a cookie rack to drain Tip:  I place my rack upside down on a cookie sheet that I have lined with paper towels, this allows the excess oil to be pulled away from your doughnut and keeps it from becoming soggy.

Heat the desired jam in a saucepan until it is slightly runny and warm.  Glaze the tops of the doughnuts with the warmed jam using a pastry brush.  Sprinkle a dusting of powdered sugar over the tops of the jam and doughnut.  Best still served warm, but tastes okay at room temperature as well.

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Chinese Beef Broccoli

Chinese Beef Broccoli

I have blogged for several years now and often get inspiration from other food bloggers.  One blog that I am particularly fond of is that of Jaden Hair – Steamy Kitchen.  Her posts are interesting and pictures are stunning.  She has published two cookbooks now, and I emailed her once regarding some questions I had about publishing a cookbook and she was friendly and helpful.  As for my cookbook aspirations, I have made cookbooks for friends, but none of them with elaborate pictures and often with errors in the recipes (oops!). Anyway, my dream of publishing a cookbook is on hold for now. I digress. Jaden’s first cookbook is beautiful and informative.   One recipe that I had been wanting to make for some time was her Chinese Beef Broccoli.  I doubled the recipe because I wanted leftovers, and it is a good thing I did, because there was one serving left.  My children, who occasionally like to be picky, gave this dish a thumbs up.  I used flat iron steak for the meat and it was an excellent choice – the meat was tender and delicious.  Here is my (doubled in volume) adaptation of Jaden’s Beef Broccoli.  It rivals that of PF Chang’s Beef and Broccoli dish in flavor.  I look forward to adding this to my regular rotation.  You do not have to use a wok for this wonderful dish, I used my large cast iron skillet and it came out beautifully!

Chinese Beef and Broccoli

adapted from Jaden Hair of steamykitchen.com

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs flat iron steak, thinly sliced into 1/8″ thick strips (or use top sirloin, flank steak)
• 3 lbs broccoli, cut into smaller pieces
• 2 Tbsp canola or peanut oil
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic, or increase if you like lots of garlic

Beef Marinade:

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp canola oil
• freshly ground black pepper to season the beef

Stir Fry Sauce:

• 6 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 tsp dry cooking sherry
• 4 tsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the beef marinade and add the sliced steak to the bowl.  Toss to coat.  Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.  I actually packaged mine in a zip-lock bag and threw it in the fridge because I realized I didn’t have the oyster sauce for the stir fry sauce, and because I had JUST gotten home from the store, did not want to go back so we had stir fry the next day and it turned out great anyway!

Bring about one inch of water to a boil in your cast iron skillet (or wok) and cook the broccoli florets, covered with a lid to trap steam, for 3-5 minutes over high heat. I like mine a little more cooked, so went with 5 minutes.  Drain immediately and reserve the broccoli in a separate bowl.  While the broccoli cooks, prepare the stir fry sauce.

Dry the skillet with a paper towel and heat over high heat until very hot.  Add the oil and make sure it coats the bottom of the skillet evenly. Add the garlic and cook it for 30 seconds.  Add the strips of meat and cook for about 30 seconds on each side.  Remove to a platter as you finish the batches.

Add the broccoli and beef back to the skillet and add the stir fry sauce.  Toss the broccoli and meat to coat with the sauce and serve with steamed rice (Jasmine is my favorite).

I highly recommend Jaden’s book, but her blog is also wonderful. So zip over to http://steamykitchen.com/ I know you won’t regret it!

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