Steak and Pepper Fajitas

I was skimming through Fitness Magazine on the eliptical machine & stole this recipe! I made it for Cara and Lee and they both raved about it....It is going to become a staple in our house- 416 calories, 32 g protein, 38 g carbs, 16 g fat (4.3 g saturated) & 7 g fiber! Less for me since I hate cheese :)

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook time: 25 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

1 lb flank or hanger steak (I used flank)
Juice of 1 Lime
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp mild chile powder
3 tsp oil
1/2 red onion, sliced
3 bell prepper (red, yellow and orange)
1/2 cup corn
8 small tortillas (I use whole wheat)
2 tbsp cilantro (I skipped!)

I also made it with my guacamole (other people add low fat Monterey Jack and sour cream, but you know how I feel about dairy!)

2 ripe avocados
1 small onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 tbsp cilantro
kosher salt
pepper
splash of tabasco
chopped tomatoes at end

Marinate steak in lime juice, salt, garlic and chile powder in sealed back for 20-30 minutes (love that you don't need to prep ahead!). As it is marinating, make guacamole!

Heat a large skillet over high heat for 5 mins. Add 2 tsp of oil to pan. Add red onins, bell peppers- toss frequently for 5 mins. Add corn and continue until peppers are charred and soft, about 3 more minutes. Transfer veggies to a bowl and keep warm.

Wipe skillet with paper towel and heat for another minute. Add remaining oil. Remove steak from marinade and pat dry w pape towel. Lay steak in pan, reduce heat to medium high and cook 8 mins for medium rare, turning once halfway through. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes! Make sure to let it rest to let it soak up juiciness!

Slice steak across grain and make fajitas!

Roast with Garlic Mustard Rub

Three years ago, I heard about Bonnie Stern, the Canadian cookbook author from Toronto, for the first time while enjoying an amazing butternut squash soup at Corryn's apt. The recipe made its way into my "most used recipes" every fall & I passed it on to my mom, who now makes it too.

Bonnie recently released a beautiful cookbook, "Friday Night Dinners", that has great family dinner recipes with inspirations from around the globe. With little time to cook, I keep looking at the very homey photos of the food and her family and wanting to start cooking. The perfect occasion came up last night when my parents came in from Montreal.

The recipes in the cookbook live up to the photo hype so far! I made a boneless top sirloin roast for the first time with a meat thermometer and all. It was not only unbelievably easy, it was a perfectly juicy medium rare with a crispy crust. Rave reviews from the Braude clan!
I suggest it for Friday nights or anytime you want to impress! Works great with carrots & parsnips roasted at 425 with olive oil, thyme and honey. Popovers would make a great accompaniment too...

My sister insisted on taking the rustic, non-plated photo..

Check out this link to see Bonnie live on YouTube making this rib roast on CBC tv (she used a standing rib roast, I opted for a boneless top loin)...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5vzp4toY1E. She is so cute, she reminds me of my mom and even pronounces "shallots" the same way!

Rib Roast with Garlic Mustard Rub
Serves 10

If you are using a standing rib roast, be sure to tell the butcher to cut off the chine bone to make it easy to carve between the ribs. If this means the roast won't stand up in the roasting pan, just wedge a couple of peeled onions underneath.

Use a meat thermometer to make sure the roast is cooked to medium-rare. (Don't take a chance after paying so much for such a gorgeous roast).

1/4 cup (50 mL) Dijon mustard
2 tbsp (25 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp (5 mL) dried
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh thyme, or 1 tsp (5 mL) dried
1 tbsp (15 mL) kosher salt
1 tbsp (15 mL) pepper
1 6-lb (3 kg) standing rib roast, boneless rib roast or strip sirloin roast
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3/4 cup (175 mL) dry red wine
1 cup (250 mL) beef stock

In a small bowl, combine mustard, oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Smear roast all over with mustard rub. Place in a shallow roasting pan, fat side up.

Roast meat in a preheated 425 degrees F oven for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F and continue to roast for 1 1/4 to 2 hours, or until a meat thermometer reaches 130 degrees F for medium-rare. (I did a 4.25 lb boneless top loin for 5 people and it took 20 minutes at 425 and 1.5 hours at 375)

Transfer roast to a cutting board and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving. While roast is resting, place roasting pan on stove over medium-high heat and skim off fat. Add shallots and wine and cook until reduce to 2 tbsp (25 mL). Add stock and cook until reduced to a 1/2 cup (125 mL). To carve, remove string from roast.

If using standing rib roast, cut off bones in one piece by cutting between meat and bones. Cut bones apart and serve with meat (to guests who want them the most!). Turn roast over on carving board so it is sitting boned side down and carve into slices.

Spoon juices over roast when serving. Enjoy with your family & friends

My First Tagine

I am not sure what about my trip to Jamaica inspired me to make tagine! Perhaps it was the fairly mediocre food there (minus the beef carpaccio at Half Moon's Il Giardini) that inspired me to get into the kitchen and start trying out some new recipes!

I got this recipe from my friend, Mara, who travels to work with me everyday. She got it from a book she picked up in Morocco- "The Scent of Orange Blossoms" by Danielle Mammane & Kitty Morse.

Loved the buttery taste of the root veggies and the tender beef after they had been roasted so long! Even though it's time intensive, it's just the cook time that takes time- the prep time is extremely minimal.

Next time, I want to spice it up a bit and will add harissa, cinnamon, some honey, some saffron...who knows? You can throw anything in- a sweet potato- whatever...Make it with beef, lamb or chicken and it will be ready to serve to Darren Farber in no time.

Tagine of Beef with Carrots & Turnips (Serves 4)

3 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch sticks
1 lb small turnips, peeled and quartered
2 onions, quartered
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup water
2 tomatoes, peeled and seeded
10 sprigs cilantro, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350. In an ovenproof pan (thank god for my Creuset Dutch oven!), heat oil over medium heat. Add meat and cook until brown 5-6 minutes, turn occasionally. Cover the meat with carrots, onions and turnips.

In a small bowl, combine s&p, ginger and turmeric with the water. Pour over the veggies. Seal tightly with aluminum foil and bake until meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.

Sprinkle the tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic over the veggies. Continue to bake uncovered without disturbing the veggies until the tomatoes are cooked for 20-30 minutes.

Serve hot on some couscous to soak up all the delicious juices.

Freeze the rest for a night when you're too lazy to cook!

Stay tuned- I have big plans for Lebanese moussaka and Zingerman's mushroom and barley soup! I also just bought an ice cream maker (thanks little sister for my Williams-Sonoma gift card!) and am so excited to use it!

Teriyaki Steak in a Haze

I haven't cooked in a while, so I decided to shake it up tonight. I must have been inspired by the the heavenly salty caramel gelato I had at Otto last night. Or maybe it was the olive oil gelato? So glad it's bathing suit time in a matter of days.

I found an old cue card with my handwriting on it; a recipe for teriyaki steak- I don't know where I copied the recipe from, it was definitely from one of my mom's cookbooks. I tend to raid her cookbooks everytime I'm home.

I'm writing to you from a hazy, smoky 700 square foot (it's probably 625 sq feet and they're lying to ROB me monthly), but it's worth it. I just picked up yesterday's NY Times to finish it (so much stress to finish the damn thing!) and Mark Bittman did a bit about "granite being optional for real chefs". I have no fan, hardly any storage space, no outdoor BBQ but I can make it work (and well I may add after tonight's success)! So, I write you this recipe from my very smoky beefy couch! Talia knows what I am talking about- her last kitchen was a science experiment.

I didn't take a picture cause the smoke was a bit excessive. All in the name of a great meal.

Teriyaki Filets
(2) 5 oz center cut filets (or whatever!)
Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp vinegar
3/4 tsp ginger
1 decent size garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper steaks. Marinate for 5-10 minutes. Grill on both sides on a grill pan.
Leave some sauce left over to pour on. I served with stir fried green beans and garlic.

My first brisket

So I finally did it! I made my first roast! Something about it scared the hell out of me so I kept making a safe choice to make my meatballs. I chose a Barefoot recipe to conquer my fear because you can't go wrong.

Served it the night before Yom Kippur and it seemed to be received well (they could have been lying). The taste was great, but next time, I am going to cook lower and slower. I found that it didn't fall off the fork, so I am going to keep trying to perfect it! Today, I met Nigella Lawson at a New York Times Talk and asked her for her advice- she agreed with some dude on chowhound.com, lower and slower....300... So I will adapt the recipe below to reflect the advice I got!

Ina's Brisket with carrots & onions

Serves 10-12 people

*Note: I adapted for 8 people with a 5 lb brisket and reduced ingredients accordingly..

6 to 7 pounds beef brisket

1 tablespoon kosher salt (less than she recommends cause everyone said too salty in the reviews)

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)

2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks

8 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch chunks

6 yellow onions, peeled and sliced

6 fresh or dried bay leaves

1 (46-ounce) can tomato juice (I used low sodium V8)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (I am changing- 350 is too high!)

Place the brisket in a heavy roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano. Rub the mixture on the brisket. Pile the carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves on the brisket and pour in enough tomato juice to come about 3/4 of the way up the meat and vegetables. Cover the top of the pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper, then with aluminum foil. (The tomato juice will react unpleasantly with the aluminum foil if they touch.)

Bake for 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the pan and keep it warm.

Place the pan on 2 burners and boil the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for another 30 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened.

When it was done, I refrigerated over night and then sliced against the grain and froze....Reheat at 300 for an hour.

I am no longer scared to make brisket! If anyone has any ideas, send them my way.

Ricetta Salsa Verde from Firenze

A Real Italian Cookbook

Ricetta Salsa Verde
Homemade tarts with pastry cream & cognac glazed pears served with ginger ice cream

Thanks to the man in Todd (pictured above on the right), Braude's Bites is being published from bed today as I enjoy the new benefits of being wireless. I feel free in so many ways :) About a week ago, Lee and I were invited to a stranger's for dinner. All I knew about Gioia was that we shared a personal trainer, a love for cooking and a friendship with Karina & Todd. These nuggets, along with the fact that she is from Florence and adores entertaining, convinced me that her dinner would be worth traipsing to Brooklyn for in the middle of the week. I like Brooklyn, don't get me wrong, but Lee and I are known to stay home or within a 10 block radius from our apartment during the week. Not only did I make a new friend, we also ate a dinner to remember. Move out of the way, Giada DeLaurentis! Gioia is the real deal. Before we arrived, Karina & Todd scared her letting her know I do not eat cheese. Gioia called me to better understand my hatred for cheese and told me she had a cousin that hated cheese, but if you hid it, she wouldn't know. I explained her that if cheese came within a foot of any of my senses, I would know. The Italian goddess was thrilled to take on the no cheese challenge and delivered a meal that fell from heaven (and I appreciate it!). Her kitchen was so eclectic, full of authentic Italian cookbooks, rare spices and top of the line kitchen gadgets. Her mandalin was taller than me. When we got there, there were pears boiling in cognac, tarts shells coming out of the oven and a succulent tenderloin roasting. We started with a fettucini with salsa verde that was smooth & nutty. It tasted like it was from an Italian restaurant, which could be called Buon Gioia (I don't take credit for inventing the name of this "would be" hotspot). Moved on to my tuna tartare for a Hawaiian course in the middle of an Italian meal. For the main course,we had a wonderful salad with fennel, jicama (pronounced by Gioia as GI-CA-MA) and pears with a juicy medium rare beef tenderloin and crispy roasted new potatoes. For dessert, we enjoyed home made pear tarts with ginger ice cream. The crust, the pastry cream and the cognac glazed pears were delightful....so delightful, I ate Jorge's uneaten half as well. Who says I have class?

Gioia's Ricetta Salsa Verde

30 grams flat leaf (Italian) parsley

1 large garlic clove

2 filets of anchovy in olive oil (drained)

1 tsp dijon mustard

15 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

45 ml best olive oil you can get

salt and pepper

Put garlic, parsley, anchovies and salt in the blender and mix. Add lemon juice and mustard - blend again. At low speed, pour the olive oil in a bit at a time. Add pepper last.

This salsa verde would be great with pasta, the way Gioia served it, or on beef tenderloin and/or roast beef sandwiches.

Buon Appetito from Buon Gioia!

Spicy Filets & Cool Mint

Coffee rubbed filets- YUM


In my 4th of July post, I talked about how it was worth it to smell up your small apartment for some good grill marks. I have finally decided that without a fan or outdoor bbq, grilling recipes are a big commitment....to having a smoky apartment for 2 days. With that being said, I have been experimenting. I made Bobby Flay's coffee rubbed steak last night after picking up 1 lb of beautiful beef tenderloin from Citarella.
Instead of grilling ribeyes, I roasted 2 filets for 25 minutes at 425 degrees until they were medium rare. Not only does my apartment not smell, the result was exponentially better! Once you make the spice rub once, you have leftovers for 2 more times, I will definitely be making these juicy filets for guests, Lee told me it was one of the best meals I have ever made him- restaurant quality! What a charmer :)

NOTE 12/24/06: Since I originally posted this, I have tried this recipe again with filets from other grocery stores. Here's my learning: the reason the beef from Citarella tasted better was cause it was center cut USDA Prime...I am no meat expert, but much to my surprise, the taste difference is undeniable. As Ruth Reichl writes in the book I am reading now, "Garlic and Sapphires", "great steak is bought, not cooked". This recipe was case in point.

I also made Geneve's Moroccan chicken. Instead of grilling it like I did last week, I baked it in the oven. It tasted great as well. With the baked Moroccan chicken, I made a yogurt mint sauce that cools down the spicy bite of the chicken. I got the idea from a recipe card I picked up @ Williams Sonoma. Try this easy & healthy yogurt mint sauce with chicken or the spice rubbed beef:

Low Fat Yogurt Mint Sauce (adapted from a Williams Sonoma recipe card)

1 cup of fat free Greek Yogurt (I use Fage 0%)
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp of lemon juice

Feasting Before the Fast

Before the Yom Kippur fast on Sunday night, Lee and I hosted a feast for 3 of our close friends, Mark, Naomi and Dave....all lonely Canadians who couldn't make it back home for this 24 hour holiday.

One of the highlights of the feast was my mom's sweet and sour meatballs. I grew up with these meatballs and am delighted to keep the family tradition going! These meatballs exemplify "comfort food" at its very best and they are served to accolades everytime!

Mom's Sweet and Sour Meat Balls (serves 6)

2 lbs minced meat
2 eggs
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp fresh garlic
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp bread crumbs
20 oz tin tomato juice
1 cup or less of ketchup
1/2 cup or less of sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine meat, eggs, seasonings, water and breadcrumbs and mix well/ Form tiny balls. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Add meatballs one by one. Once you have covered the bottom of the saucepan with the first layer of meatballs, make sure the first meatballs are greyish and do not burn before adding the rest of the meatballs to the pot. Cover and simmer for 1 hr and 15 minutes. Remove cover and simmer 15 minutes longer.

I cook the meatballs in a dutch oven and put them in the fridge after I finish making them. They're perfect for the holidays cause they can be made in advance. An hour before you're ready to entertain, simmer them on the stovetop.

The rest of the menu was walnut and panko crusted chicken, kasha and bowties and caramelized butternut squash. For dessert, we enjoyed Ina Garten's fabulous apple crostata...I also enjoyed it last night...again :) and chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from another blogger at the Canadian Baker!

Mama's Meat sauce: In Honor of Italia!

Growing up, I looked forward to the nights when my mom make spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner, it was the best! In honor of Italy's World Cup victory this evening, I decided to celebrate by making mama's meat sauce! When Lee took his first bite (with 7 more to follow over the stove in about 10 seconds), he said: "this meatsauce make ah mama proud !!" and that I could "proudly serve this to his friend, Tommy Cosenza"...that is a compliment!

This recipe has no exact measurements. I usually feel glued to my cookbook, following it to the tee! Creativity rewards itself with this dish. I don't even know where the recipe comes from, but it doesn't matter, it's MAMA's ! If you have a dutch oven, this is a perfect recipe to use it for.

Lisa Braude's Meat Sauce

2 lb minced meat
mushrooms, 2 yellow onions, 1 red pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes (14 oz can)
1 can tomato sauce (small tin of Hunt's)
1 small can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
crushed peppers or cayenne (whatever you prefer, less than an 1/8 tsp)
paprika
s&p

1. Brown vegetables & garlic
2. Break up minced meat and add. Toss around until meat loses pink color.
3. Add paprika, salt and pepper and crushed peppers
4. Add tins of tomatoes, sauce and paste. Stir.
5. Cover pot & let simmer for an hour.

After watching Giada this week, I learned the way to boil noodles properly.
1. Bring water with some salt to a boil
2. Add pasta with a bit of olive oil (so noodles don't clump together)
3. Cook until al dente

*I use whole wheat linguini on a regular night. For entertaining, whip out the white pasta !!

4th of July BBQ on a cast iron pan in a 750 sq feet apartment

Lee and I enjoy watching Bobby Flays' "Boy Meets Grill" & I had printed a recipe called "Coffee Rubbed Rib-Eye" from one of his episodes back in November. Usually, I flip right over his recipes because they call for ingredients that are not always easy to find. As my mother would say, his recipes are a bit of a "patchke", which is yiddish for "a pain in the ass"! After a full day of doing nothing on 4th of July, I was feeling ambitious (and hungry!) and called Whole Foods Union Square to find out if 1) they were open and 2) they had the rare spices I was looking for....Off to a good start.

Coffee Rubbed Rib-eyes call for ancho chile powder (a staple in Flay's recipes), ground espresso, chili de arbol powder and spanish paprika....they were all at Whole Foods ! The rest of the spices were the common ones: ginger, oregano, coriander, salt, pepper...

Here is the link for the recipe on Food TV: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32295,00.html
It takes a commitment to find the ingredients (or just Whole Foods on a lucky day).

We only got 1 inch thick ribeyes, the recipe calls for 2 inches, but what are we monsters?
We have physiques to maintain!

We smoked up the 700 sq ft apartment we call home real nice! I don't notice it anymore cause it's the "Beni Hana" effect...you go there, it's amazing and you realize it smells...the longer you stay, you don't notice the smell, then you go meet people who were not at dinner with you and they are like "UCH, you smell like a hibachi grill!".

With the coffee rubbed rib-eyes, I made roasted sweet potatoes with cumin and cilantro.
They were super easy & called for staple ingredients ! YUM....another hit from Williams-Sonoma's "Essentials of Healthful Cooking".

Roasted Sweet Potato Fries with Cumin and Cilantro

2 yams
2 Tbsp fresh minced cilantro
1 tsp cumin
olive oil
s & p

Preheat the oven to 400. Peel and wash the yams. Cut into strips and mix with cumin, olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Place potatoes on baking sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes, flipping them every 10 minutes.

Roasted Asparagus
We also roasted asparagus for 20 minutes at 425 with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and a minced garlic clove.

You can make all 3 dishes together and keep the oven temperature consistent!

We had our first dinner of the season on the balcony. After dinner, I watched the Macy's fireworks. Lee doesn't do fireworks, he thinks they are just lights, "you see one, you see them all". Leave it to me, the lone Canadian, to watch the fireworks and show patriotism for my American husband! He did wave affectionately through the window from the couch!

Happy 4th! See pics on my next entry!

Everyone needs the Sake beef

This Sake glazed beef was made with Kara and Danna in mind. If anyone likes the beef, it's these two. Adosh. Don't try to understand, you won't.

"Sake Steak and Rice" (serves 2)
2- 5 oz filets
1 cup basmati rice
2 cardamom pods
1-2 tbsp fresh cilantro to serve

For the marinade:
1 tsp english mustard
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic or chili oil (I just mixed some fresh garlic with a tbsp of olive oil)

For the sauce:
1/4 cup sake
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp nam pla (aka fish sauce) - get it at any grocery store near the kikkoman soy sauce!
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp english mustard

In a plastic freezer bag, combine marinade ingredients and add the steaks. Leave to marinate for a few hours or up to 2 days. The longer, the better ! Bring steaks to room temperature before cooking. Heat a grill pan/griddle and then give the steaks, out of their marinade, 2 minutes on each side. Remove steaks and double wrap in foil. Let them rest for 10 minutes on a wooden board or pile of newspapers (I couldn't find a Times, so I skipped this !)

Bring sake to boil in a small sauce pan. Take pan off the heat and add other sauce ingredients. Unwrap the steaks, removing them to a wooden board for carving and pour the red juices from the foil into the saucepan. Put steak on rice (sliced on the diagonal) and garnish with cilantro.

To make this healthier, I made broccoli and roasted mushrooms with thyme, garlic, olive oil and worcestershire sauce. Quite honestly, the rice would be amazing with it to soak up the steak juices and sauce. I didn't slice either.....

This recipe is great cause it's made for two....no complicated math at the end of a long day :)
and you marinate for 2 days, so it doesn't take long to make when you get home.

In the words of my almost husband, Lee, the beef was "succulent", the way Danna and Kara like it !