Conquering the classic American dinner.

What else could it be? A juicy huge steak with a side of potatoes, baked or otherwise, the whole thing smothered in butter or cream. Your mouth should be watering by now. Stop right there. Everybody tells us that this is a recipe for disaster. These meals can create havoc with our health. But we still want our meat and potatoes. If not, what else is left for us to eat? How can we keep our tradition of "deliciousness" without digging our own grave? Everywhere we turn, we find guidelines, recommendations and tips for nutrition and healthy living: reduce the intake of fat and sodium, they all tell us. Basically less butter, less fatty meats. So are we all going to become vegetarians, eating only fruits and vegetables? Are we going to give up forever our favorite dishes? Of course not. There is a huge variety of lean meats out there, and with a little creativity we can prepare them with less fat, and combine them with more and more vegetables. All we need is a little tweaking and we can have our meat and potatoes back.

ROAST BEEF AND POTATOES

Growing up, the best days of school were when the lunch menu had roast beef. It was the classic eye round, tender and juicy. I hardly remember what was served with it. I only remember the lean and delicious beef slices. When, all grown up, I went to study in Paris, the best thing I would receive from home was a whole cooked eye round that would constitute the center piece of dinner with my friends for days. Now, here I am with a beautiful cut of eye round trying to replicate the delicious memories of the past. I cooked it on the stove, in the oven, covered, then uncovered, covered all the way through, and uncovered from the start. Nothing worked. I could never get the same result. Then one day I had the slow cooker out, and it dawned on me: why don't I try it in the slow cooker? And I did. It came out perfect. You'll need:

1 eye round about 7 x 4 inches

1 tbsp onion/garlic mixture

6 to 8 potatoes

1 large onion

1 tsp oil

1 cup stock (beef or chicken)

2 cubes of beef bouillon 

Salt and pepper to taste

Trim the small layer of fat on the bottom of the eye round. Rub the onion/garlic mixture and salt and pepper on the meat. Let it marinate while you prepare the onion and potatoes. Slice the onion in less than 1/2 inch slices. Peel and cut the potatoes in cubes, about 1 inch. Put them in the slow cooker, add salt and pepper. Mix to make sure that all are seasoned. In a nonstick skillet heat the oil and brown the eye round on all sides without disturbing it too much. Add the meat to the slow cooker. Sprinkle the 2 cubes of bouillon around it. Add the cup of stock. Turn the slow cooker on high and let it do the work. You may check on it after 2 hours, if it needs more liquid, but I don't think it will. Two hours later, (total 4 hours) your dish is ready. Remove the meat to a cutting board, and with a slotted spoon arrange the potatoes on the side of the serving dish. You may want to reduce the liquid left in the cooker in a small sauce pan and serve it on the side. Slice the meat and arrange it beside the potatoes.

BEEF MEDALLIONS WITH FENNEL AND ARTICHOKE SAUCE

Since we're talking "light beef", I wish you'd go the extra step and change the meat and potatoes routine a little bit and have some beef and vegetables. This dish is not a big departure from the classic beef dinner, it only has some different vegetables. Here I used another cut: a round tip. They say that leaner cuts of meat have the words "loin" or "round" in their name. I usually get a whole piece (this one was 9 1/2 lbs) and cut it myself according to my needs. Don't be intimidated: it is very lean and comes almost with no visible fat. All I do is cut it along the muscle lines: you'll get several pieces that you can slice, cube or leave whole. You may just want to remove some membranes around parts of the meat. So, I sliced the medallions about the size of my palm, about 1/2 inch thick. To make it easier for you, slightly freeze the meat before slicing it. You'll need:

1 1/2 to 2 lbs beef medallions (about 10 pieces)

2 fennel bulbs

1 bag (16 oz) frozen artichoke hearts 

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

4 cubes of bouillon (one cube= 1 cup stock)

3 to 4 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tbsp onion/garlic frozen mixture

2 tbsp olive oil (I use extra light)

1 tsp herbes de Provence

Salt and pepper to taste

Marinate the beef in the onion/garlic mixture with salt and pepper. Trim the fennel bulbs, cut them in half, core and then slice them. Slice the artichoke hearts when they are not completely defrosted. Try to make the slices of the same size. In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil and brown the meat medallions in it. In batches if necessary. Remove to a platter. In the same skillet add another tbsp of oil, add the garlic, and stir for 1 or 2 minutes. Add the fennel. Sprinkle the herbes de Provence, then add the artichoke slices. Stir constantly. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup stock. Stir and add the tomatoes. Return the meat to the skillet with any liquid in the plate. Cover and let cook on medium heat. You may add more liquid until the meat is tender.

Serve with a side of orzo pilaf.

                                            

"What to do with this ?" meals.

Every now and then, my husband triumphantly comes home with a sausage, a Polska Kielbasa beef sausage. He likes it as a side dish with eggs, scrambled eggs, on week-end brunch. Usually we use up only one half of it, and the rest goes to the refrigerator. He usually totally forgets it, until I find it hiding somewhere in there, and it's up to me to decide what to do with it. Of course according to our house rules, no eating the same thing twice, so there is no way we are having eggs and sausage again soon. But another rule I have is that no food should be thrown away. So, I have to come up with a way, or ways, to use the remaining piece of sausage, of course not as a side dish to eggs. I've tried it in salads, potato and pasta, but as you may know by now, salad doesn't count for my husband. So here is what I came up with yesterday.

SPANISH INSPIRED CHICKEN

This can be a one dish meal or an end of the month meal. It has all the ingredients of a meal in the same skillet, and you can make it using ingredients you have at hand in your refrigerator and pantry. You can also be very creative with it, you can use fresh or canned ingredients: I used fresh tomatoes I had from my yard, but canned diced tomatoes can also work. On the other hand the classic paella recipe (hence the "Spanish inspired" part) calls for fresh red bell pepper, but I had roasted bell peppers in a jar, so I used them. Also you can use more or less meat (chicken and sausage): for this dish I used a package of chicken thighs with 5 pieces in it and the leftover sausage I had (1/2 of the Polska Kielbasa beef sausage). You can use turkey sausage or any kind you prefer. You'll need:

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/2 sausage beef Polska Kielbasa

1 medium onion

2 large tomatoes (or 1 can, 14.5 oz, diced tomatoes)

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 bag (16 oz) frozen peas

1 1/2 cup rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp each: garlic powder, paprika, dried oregano, turmeric

1 tsp lemon juice

2 cups chicken stock (or 2 tbsp granules plus water)

Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and pat dry the chicken pieces. Trim all the visible fat, and you may cut the thighs in half. Put the chicken pieces in a bowl, add the garlic powder, paprika, oregano and salt and pepper. Mix to coat, add the lemon juice and let stand to marinate while you prepare the vegetables. Dice the onion, the tomatoes and the pepper. Slice the sausage in 1/2 inch slices. In a nonstick skillet, brown the chicken in 1 tbsp oil. Remove the chicken thighs to a platter. In the same skillet add the other tbsp oil, then cook the onion til tender. Add the turmeric, the sausage and stir. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil and turmeric. Add the tomatoes and return the chicken pieces to the skillet with their liquid. Stir, and add 1 cup of stock. Remember that tomatoes and the other ingredients have some liquid in them so you don't need to add all the liquid needed according to the rice package directions. So we'll start with one cup and add as needed. If you are using the granules, add them when the liquid is hot so that they dissolve easily. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let cook til all the liquid is absorbed. Check the rice for donness. You may need to add some more liquid. When the rice is almost tender, stir in the peas and the diced bell pepper. Stir to incorporate and let the liquid be completely absorbed and the rice tender.

NOTE: If you are using fresh red bell pepper, you should add it with the onion so it can take its time to cook. I used roasted bell peppers, so I added them at the end. 

POTATO SALAD WITH SAUSAGE

This salad couldn't be easier. You don't even need to have a recipe for it: simply mix the ingredients with a light dressing and you're done. I never make it the same way twice. It all depends on what I have at hand, and what we are in the mood for. This time I had half of a Polska Kielbasa beef sausage, some potatoes, which I boiled, a carrot, 3 or 4 scallions (white and green parts), 4 celery stalks, 2 sprigs of rosemary, 2tbsp mayo and 2 tsp mustard. Cube or slice the sausage and cook it in a drop of oil. Slice the celery and scallions, grate the carrot or pulverize it in the chop chop, cube the potatoes, put everything in a bowl. Sprinkle the salad with the chopped rosemary and mix the whole thing with the mustard and mayo. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

                                                                                                                                    

Bizarre Foods.

Sorry Mr. Zimmern, but today I really have to use this title. Yes, today I'm cooking some bizarre foods. This is the best way out of the same old routine and get some excitement in our lives. But first we have to determine what do we consider "bizarre foods". Basically I think that we tend to call bizarre all foods that we are not used to. Yes we have a tendency to eat what we are used to, even if it is bad for us. We tend to make and remake the same recipes, eat the same things over and over again, without trying to open up to new foods or recipes. We eat a lot of fast food, and processed foods, and we try helplessly to convince ourselves that somewhere in there, there must be something good for us. Not true. All studies confirm that processed foods are not good food, and that there is a lot of things out there that we can eat: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean meats and a whole new world of recipes that we should try and enjoy. One easy way to change a bad eating habit is to be open to other cultures and the way they eat. Lately we seem to have opened up a little, we eat sushi, Mexican food and Chinese food.. but it's all somehow sanitized. These  dishes are not the same in their country of origin. We always end up bending the recipes to make them suitable to our taste. It seems that we consider ourselves the "culture of reference", but why should we? We eat cheese, we love cheese, but some cultures in Africa and Asia, way older than ours, don't know cheese at all, and may consider it bizarre. Some may consider a food "bizarre" simply because they never experienced it. So my question is: "How can we say with certainty that a food is bizarre?" Do we really know what goes into a hot dog? or into the fast food that we love so much? Other cultures know for a fact that food doesn't always come from a supermarket or in a plastic container. I've traveled around the world and seen many examples of cultures and peoples living on the fruits of their land: they eat what they grow in their fields and the animals they raise. They eat everything and nothing goes to waste. So have the courage to experiment, don't let anything (texture, color or smell) hold you back. Try everything at least twice, just to make sure that you really don't like it, but I'm sure that you'll find many things out there, that you thought were bizarre, delicious and that you'll ask for seconds.

OXTAIL STEW

                                                       

Guess what I found at the store the other day? Yes, I found oxtail. To tell you the truth, I've never seen it before in my life. Actually, I remember vaguely that when I was maybe 6 years old, I was at the butcher's with my uncle, who pointed out that the small bones on the butcher's counter were "oxtail". Of course, at that age, I couldn't even understand what was that. So, years later, here I was standing in front of the meat display case looking at oxtail. I was amazed that what I was looking at was not the skimpy little pieces of bone barely covered by meat, as I remembered it from my childhood, but a huge chunk of meat, like the osso buco cut. So, without any hesitation I took the oxtail home. I went directly to my sources: Julia Child cooks it in a minestrone type soup. The Egyptian Julia Child, Abla Nazira, browns it with onions and a bit of tomato paste. Other books don't even mention oxtail. So I guess I'm on my own on this one. And here's what I did. You'll need:

4 lb oxtail

3 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

2 tsp sumac

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp oil

1/2 bag frozen pearl onions

Beef stock as needed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 can (6 oz) tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

The first thing I noticed is that oxtail is very fat, so I removed all the fat I could see. Now, mix the meat pieces with the onion/garlic, salt and pepper and sumac. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

When you're ready to cook the oxtail, put the flour in a shallow dish, and lightly toss the oxtail pieces in it. In a nonstick skillet large enough to hold all the pieces in one layer, heat one tbsp oil and start browning the oxtail pieces in it on all sides. Remove the meat to a platter. In the same skillet, add the second tbsp of oil and cook the leftover marinade. When it's browned, it will need only a couple of minutes, add the pearl onions still frozen and stir. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of beef stock or water. Stir the tomato paste in 1 cup stock. Return the oxtail pieces to the pan, add the tomato mixture. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer until the meat is fork tender. You may need to add some more liquid until the oxtail is done. Serve over mashed potatoes, pasta or rice pilaf.                                              

Easy and delicious salads.

Summer is the season for salads. When it's hot and humid out there it is most likely that you don't  want to turn on the stove or even come near it. So salads become the best meal for these days. They should not be difficult to make, nor need a recipe. You can simply look around your pantry and your refrigerator to come up with some easy and delicious combinations that everyone will love. You can surely use salads as meals, even when you have company. The only extra thing you'll have to do in this case is to make the presentation a little dramatic.

SEAFOOD AND BEAN SALAD

The last time I made this salad I had a lot of leftover seafood from a bollito misto I had made. You can also make it fresh, either you cook your seafood or buy it already cooked. If you want to cook the seafood, please do not boil it. Take it out of the shell, cut it in bite size (lobster for example) and simply toss it with some lime juice, a pinch of garlic powder or minced garlic and salt and pepper in a skillet with a drop of oil. When it turns red (actually orange) it is done. Let it cool, then assemble your salad. For this salad you'll need:

1 cup each: crab legs meat, shrimps, lobster meat
3 stalks of celery
1/2 red onion

1 can chick peas

1 can black beans
1 can (6oz black olives, pitted)
1 tomato
1 avocado
Juice of 2 limes
2 to 3 tbsp oil (olive oil or any oil you prefer in your salad)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a big bowl put all the seafood pieces and toss with the lime juice and some salt and pepper. Chop the celery, slice the black olive in small rings, and add to the bowl. Drain the beans, rinse and drain them again. Add the beans to the bowl. Dice the tomato and add it to the salad. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, dice it in the shell and then remove the flesh from it with a spoon. Add to the salad and sprinkle with lime juice. Add oil and toss. Adjust the seasoning, refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve.

CRAB MEAT SALAD

I made this salad when some friends called and said they were coming to see us one afternoon. Since they were from out of town, my husband thought that we should prepare a quick dinner and his first reaction was to go and buy some kind of meat or chicken to be grilled. Instead, I told him that we had at home many ingredients for a very good meal, and that there was no need to buy anything. Of course he was not convinced, until they came, had dinner with us and enjoyed every bit of it (there were no leftovers). I had a box of hors d'oeuvre in the freezer that I could bake in 35 minutes. I also made an easy pasta al forno and this salad. You'll need:
2 containers of crab meat (chunks and pieces, about 2 lb total)
3 stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1/2 red onion
2 to 3 tbsp capers, drained
3 tbsp lime or lemon juice
1/2 bunch of dill
3 heaping tbsp of mayo
Salt and pepper to taste
3 endives for serving
Whole wheat toast for serving

In a large bowl put the crab meat and sprinkle with lime juice. Make sure that the are no shells or bones in the meat. In a food processor, or the small chop-chop, chop the red onion, then the carrot followed by the celery. I usually pulverize them so that you don't have any big chunks in the salad, just the taste and the color. Add to the bowl. Toss the salad. Add the capers, toss and adjust seasoning. Be careful not to add too much salt. Fold in the mayo, one tbsp at a time. You may not need to add all the mayo. Sprinkle with chopped dill.
To serve: remove the leaves of the endives and fill them with the salad and arrange them on a serving platter.

Put the remaining salad in a small serving bowl. Toast the bread slices by putting them in a 375 degree oven until browned. Slice them in triangles and arrange them around the salad bowl.

RICE AND BEANS SALAD

                                                       

Beans are very nutritious. They are rich in vitamins, protein, fiber and minerals, and they really taste good. You may think that it's difficult to cook beans, but it's not true. Even if you cook the beans from the dried state, the only thing you need is a little bit of extra time. You should pick the beans, in case there are some little stones or debris, rinse and soak them overnight. The next day just boil them in water with a pinch of salt until they are done. Again this salad doesn't need a recipe, it only needs a formula to mix any kind of beans, grains and vegetables, toss them with your preferred dressing or simply with a vinaigrette or even salt and pepper with any oil you prefer, lemon or lime juice  and your salad is ready. This formula is very simple, it consists of: equal amounts of beans and cooked grains (2 cups) + 3 cups of vegetables + 1/4 cup fresh herbs + onion to taste (1/2 red onion or 4 scallions) + 1/2 cup extras (cubed or crumbled cheese, toasted nuts, olives). You may use raw or cooked vegetables, anything you prefer or you have around the house. Usually I combine raw and cooked veggies. The raw vegetables can be tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers etc., and I put 2 cups. For the cooked vegetables (corn, green beans, peas etc.) I only use one cup.  As for the grains, you can also use what you have on hand: cooked white or brown rice, couscous, bulghur, quinoa or small size pasta. For this salad you'll need:

2 cups cooked rice
1 can black beans
1 can black olives, pitted
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 small cucumbers
4 scallions
A small bunch of basil
A dash (1/4 tsp) of sumac
Lime juice, salt and pepper, oil, all to taste

Drain the beans, rinse them and drain them again. In a large bowl, put the rice, add the beans. Slice the olives, cut the tomatoes in half and thinly slice the scallions, white parts and some green. Peel the cucumbers, and with a knife cut them in four lengthwise, then slice them. Add all the vegetables to the bowl, and toss. Sprinkle the sumac (it's a Middle Eastern spice with lemony taste), lime juice and salt and pepper. Add the oil and toss. Note that the sumac tastes a bit like lemon and it is also salty, so don't add too much salt or lemon juice. Arrange the basil leaves one over the other, roll them and cut them in thin slices. Sprinkle the basil over the salad. Lightly toss and serve.                                           
                                                  

                                                     

Can you eat "organ"-ic?

The Mediterranean culture doesn't waste food. I grew up in this culture, where literally nothing goes to waste. As a tradition, at least once a year, every family gathers around a big feast of  a whole lamb. This concept may be strange for those of us who were brought up in the city, but in the countryside even today, this is a normal practice. In areas and farms where animal are raised, when one of the animals is slaughtered the event becomes a family affair and everybody joins in. On these occasions the whole animal is cooked, from head to tail. Growing up, our family tradition was to donate most of the animal to the poor, we would only keep a roast and the parts that were considered of "second grade", mainly the organs, the feet and the head. Today these parts are considered delicacies, and whenever they are served people welcome them with oohs and aahs.

I still remember the days when the whole family would gather at our home for the feast: my aunts would first prepare the meat to be donated, then start cooking our share. Brunch would be mainly a stew of different organs: liver, heart and kidneys. The menu for the other big meal of the day would consist mainly of whatever cut of meat we kept: grilled chops, boiled neck and a roast. These are relatively easy to prepare, so the main effort would be spent preparing all the other pieces: tripe, brains, testicles, tongue, lungs, all the organs, even the intestines and the feet. Nothing is discarded.

I don't remember that there even was a question of saying "I like this, or I don't like that". You had to eat everything.. or try everything at least twice to form an informed opinion and make up your mind. So I've tried them all. I can proudly say from experience that I've tasted all kinds of organs and have determined my preferences. Today I'm sharing them with you.

GRILLED LIVER

                                 

This is a very easy way to cook liver. You surely know that liver is very good for you. It's full of vitamins and minerals and is highly recommended for those who suffer from anemia. But, not everyone can eat liver. I noticed that many around me think that it is one of those things you cannot even come close to. That's not true. My recipe will prove it. In fact, the day I took this picture, I had some young family members  who had this opinion. Once one of them took a bite of liver, everyone was so excited that they didn't even give me time to do anything with the boiled potatoes I had on the side. Everything disappeared in a second. So, have a little faith, be courageous and try a piece of grilled liver. You'll need:

2 lb calf liver

1 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture

Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Ask your butcher to cut the liver for you in slices a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Please try to get your liver from a butcher, not those slices you find in supermarkets that God only knows how long they've been sitting in the display case, they will never give you the same taste. Rinse the liver slices thoroughly and make sure that you remove any clots of blood they may contain. Put the slices in a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Mix well and let the slices marinate for at least one hour. Heat the grill and grill the liver slices 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Make sure that you do not disturb them too much on the grill. To check for donness, remove a slice and put it in a plate: if the juices run clear, the liver is well done, if it is a bit red, it's medium rare. So cook them to suit your taste.  

MIXED ORGANS STEW

                              

Now that you've tried liver, let's  take it up a notch: let's try some more organs. This is a simple way to cook three organs together (liver, heart and kidneys) in a delicious stew. As usual, my way is a tweaked traditional recipe, where I reduce the amount of fat used. As we did for the liver recipe, try to get your organs fresh from a butcher. You can ask him to slice the heart, liver and kidneys for you. My butcher always resists when I ask him to remove all the fat from the meat I buy from him and tells me that fat makes the meat delicious, so I don't discuss it anymore: I ask him to remove the fat, he resists and removes part of it and I complete the job on my own at home. I always remove all the white I can see in the meat, and in this case in the organs. The liver has no fat, so I cut the slices in 1 inch strips. The heart has only a fatty part on top and it's very easy to remove. Make sure also that it doesn't have any pieces of big blood vessels, they are also easy to recognize and remove. The kidneys are a bit tricky: sometimes they come with a clear membrane on the outside, just peel it off. It will come off easy. The tricky part is in the middle: there is a chunk of fat in the center of the kidney, but it is very visible and easy to remove. You can even cut around it and get pieces of red meat. You'll need:

1 veal heart

2 veal kidneys

1 to 1 1/2 lb calf liver

2 to 3 tbsp onion/garlic mixture

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp lime juice

1 tbsp butter

Once you've prepared the organs and removed all the fat, put each kind in a bowl, and add to each 1 tbsp onion/garlic mixture and salt and pepper. Add the lime juice only to the liver. Let marinate for at least 1 hour. In a nonstick skillet large enough to hold all the organs you have, start cooking the heart slices. Let them first brown stirring frequently on medium high heat. When all the liquid is absorbed, add 1/2 cup of water and stir to loosen the browned bits from around the skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and keep cooking with the skillet covered. Remember that the heart is a very strong muscle, so it may need more time to cook and become tender. You may add some more water until you are sure that the heart slices are almost fork tender. You can now add the kidney slices, stir. Then add the liver strips. Stir. They will render their liquids. Wait until all the liquid is absorbed  and the slices are browned.  Add the tbsp of butter, stir to combine. Add 1/4 cup water or so to loosen all the browned bits in the skillet and constitute a brown sauce. When this sauce is formed and the organ slices are fork tender, remove from the heat and serve.