Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged about these hamburgers before.  There is nothing special about them.  They are easy.  They are based on a recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.  I first had them years ago at a friend’s house.  She was working full time as a teacher and had two kids under three.  Preparing company meals was not a high priority.  But that did not stop Janice from inviting us to dinner and serving a meal that was tres chic.  With the French hamburgers she served rice pilaf, petite peas (from a frozen box), and bakery croissants.  We drank a very good jug wine.  We felt festive and pampered.

I made the French hamburgers for us last week for dinner.  I was getting ready for company for bike week and wanted an easy meal.  But this time I used a good red wine, choppped shallots instead of onions and a good quality ground round.  I could have simply made Uncle Ben’s rice (the wine sauce is good on the rice), but I had just seen a recipe on Pinterest for Muffin Tin Onion Gruyere Potato Stacks and wanted to try them.  Thinly sliced potatoes, onions and Gruyere are stacked in muffin tin cups and baked.  They are so delicious.

With the meal I served a simple succotash from a freezer bag.  Sometimes simplicity is the key to a great meal.

The only thing missing was the croissant.

Here are some pictures taken during bike week.  The first has nothing to do with bike week.

Our friends brought us berets to take with us on our trip to France in June.

We enjoyed some great riding and people watching during bike week.  But frankly I think I will have more fun in Paris.  Enjoy this (loosely) inspired meal from France.

FRENCH HAMBURGERS

1 pound ground beef round
1 onion chopped, or three chopped shallots
Salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 cup red wine

Form ground round into three patties.  Heat an iron skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot add hamburger patties, season, and cook until browned on both sides.  Remove from pan and let rest on a plate.  Reduce heat in skillet and add onion or shallots to pan.  Cook until onions are softened.  Add wine and cook for about 5 minutes to reduce slightly.  Return hamburgers to pan and cook to desired doneness.  Serve topped with wine and onion sauce.

Serves 2.

MUFFIN TIN ONION GRUYERE POTATO STACKS (From Stonegable’s Kitchen)

5 Baking Potatoes
2 onions, chopped
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups grated cheese, Gruyere or cheddar
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heavy cream or half and half
Cooking spray
Thyme sprigs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Thinly slice raw potatoes.  You can use a mandolin or slice them by hand 1/8th inch thick.  Set aside.  Melt about 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet and saute onion over a low heat until traslucent and slightly golden.  Add 2 more tablespoons butter to pan and let melt.  Set aside.

Spray all twelve muffin cups of a regular size muffin pan.

Add 1 slice of potato to the bottom of each muffin cup. Salt and pepper.  Add 1 more slice of potato to each.  Top each potato evenly with 1/2 of onion butter mixture.  Add 2 more potato slices to each muffin cup.  Sprinkle 1/2 of the grated cheese evenly over potatoes.  Add 1 more potato slice to each and salt and pepper.  Add another potato slice and evenly add the remaining onion and butter mixture.  Add an additional 1 to 2 potato slices and top evely with remaining cheese.

Pour 1 tablespoon cream over each potato stack.

Bake for 35 minutes until potaotes are tender.  Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

Run a sharp knife around the edges of each muffin cup and pop each stack out with a fork.

Garnish with thyme.

Printable recipe French Hamburgers

Printable recipe Muffin Tin Potatoes

Do you have a favorite meatloaf recipe?  Most people do.  I do not.  I guess it’s because I can never leave well enough alone.  I am always looking for that elusive “best” combination.  This recipe comes pretty close to being in that category.  It helps that it was first published in Gourmet Magazine,  I have found that their recipes are almost always outstanding.

Some say that for a meatloaf to be great it has to have a combination of ground beef, veal and pork.  The supermarkets even sell a combination of meats for meatloaf.  I have made meatloaf with all ground beef, ground turkey and with various combinations.  This meatloaf adds ground pork to the ground beef mixture and it enhances the flavor.

But what sets this recipe apart is the addition of dried cherries and bacon.  You can use any dried fruit that you like, but I like the cherries.  Three strips of raw bacon and the cherries are ground together in a food processor and added to the meat mixture.  It adds a nice sweet and smoky flavor to the meatloaf.  The carrots, celery and onions also contribute to the texture.

Give this a try for dinner.  If you have a meatloaf that you love and would like to share it, email me with the recipe.  My quest is ongoing.

GOURMET MEATLOAF

1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/3 cup milk
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium celery rib, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries or pitted prunes, chopped
1 1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground pork (not lean)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.  Cover skillet and reduce heat to low, then cook until carrot is tender, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper.  Add to bread crumb mixture.

Finely chop bacon and cherries or prunes in a food processor, then add to onion mixture along with beef, pork, eggs, and parsley and mix together with your hands.

Pack mixture together into a loaf and place in a shallow baking dish.  Spread ketchup over top and bake for approximately 1 1/4 hours.

Printable recipe

I have blogged about this recipe before, but since it is one of my favorites and because I am always changing recipes to improve them, I thought it would be a good idea to update it.  Lots of people make short ribs on the bone.  Although I love the flavor that the bones impart to a slow roasted dish it does make it harder to cut and eat.  When you are feeding a crowd I prefer boneless, succulent, fall apart beef short ribs.

Variations of this beef casserole have become popular at our large family celebrations.  But it occurred to me that it would also make a great alternative to steak for that Valentine dinner for two.  Just cut the recipe in half.

The ingredients combine to produce a very unique flavor.  Along with the wine and beef broth the sauce is flavored with orange zest strips, dried ancho chile for heat, cinnamon for a hit of spice and chocolate for a smooth lusciousness.  The vegetables are added, not only for their flavor, but for their thickening quality when the sauce is pureed.  Best of all,  the short ribs can be prepared and assembled in advance, giving you more time to make that decadent chocolate mousse for your special Valentine.

SPICED CABERNET BONELESS SHORT RIBS

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds Boneless Beef Short Ribs (about 14)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, cut into small chunks
2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfindal
1 cinnamon stick
1 dried Ancho Chile, stemmed and halved
2 cups beef broth
The zest of one orange, cut into thick strips
1 ounce good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Season short ribs with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven.  Saute short ribs in batches.  Remove them to a plate when they are browned.  Add additional olive oil to Dutch oven if necessary.  Add chopped vegetables and saute until onion is softened.

Deglaze the pan with the wine.  Add the cinnamon stick, Ancho chile, and orange zest strips.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the wine is reduced by half.  Add the chocolate.  Stir to incorporate.  Return the ribs to the pan and add enough beef broth to just cover.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and place in the oven.  Bake for 3 hours.

Remove meat from pot and place in serving casserole.  Strain the sauce, discard the cinnamon stick and puree the strained vegetables, chili and orange zest.  Bring the liquid to a boil and cook for 5 minutes to reduce it slightly.  Add the pureed vegetables and stir to combine and thicken the sauce.  Pour sauce over short ribs and serve.

Printable recipe

As much as I love beef stroganoff, it seems I never have enough sauce for the noodles.  It occured to me that I could actually turn all of the ingredients into a soup.  It is a creative cooking adventure to deconstruct a recipe and turn it into something else.  Rachel Ray is always doing this with her stoups.  I wonder if she has done it with beef stroganoff?  I haven’t looked.

We have had a constant house party here at the lake this September.  It has been fun, but cooking for two again is relaxing.  The weather has cooled and I have the last load of beach towels in the dryer ready to be folded and stored for the season.  The light on the lake has lengthened and mornings are crisp and clear.  It is soup time.

The beef stroganoff recipe came about because it was what I had on hand.  There was a top sirloin steak in the freezer, beef broth and noodles in the pantry, and heavy cream and sour cream in the fridge.  It would have been good with mushrooms if I had them but the lack of them did not change the goodness of the soup.

A quick word about photography and my blog makeover.  The above picture was taken at my kitchen window which receives morning light.  The shadow that you see on the plate could be easily eliminated.   Cristobal told me that by using a white core board in front of the soup the light from the window would be reflected back on the food.  Here is an example of what I am talking about from expert photographer and blogger Helene of  Tartlette.  Notice the white board in her fourth picture.  I just need to get one for myself.  My new blog look is still in the works.  Son Michael is doing it in his spare time, so I will have to be patient. 

But you don’t have to be patient waiting for this soup to cook.  It comes together quickly and tastes like it cooked for hours.

BEEF STROGANOFF SOUP

1 1/2 to 2 pounds top sirlion steak or roast cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 to 3 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 to 2 cups medium egg noodles
1/2 cup heavy cream
Sour cream and snipped chives for garnish

Melt butter and oil in heavy soup pot.  Add beef cubes in two batches and cook until nicely browned.  Add the chopped onion when you add the second batch of beef.  Return reserved beef to pot and add the sherry to the mixture.  Stir to deglaze the pan and cook over medium high heat until the sherry has reduced.  Salt and pepper the beef to taste.  Add the beef broth, water and Worcestershire sauce to pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until beef is tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.  Add the noodles to the pot and simmer until they are cooked through.  Add the cream to the mixture and stir and cook until it is warmed through.  Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and snipped chives.

Printable recipe

  

This has got to be one of the best sandwiches I have ever made.  It may become my signature sandwich, if there is such a thing.  It all started when I was contemplating entering a contest at one of my new favorite  websites, Food52.  The contest this week is “Your best flank steak”.  I was looking to do a little something different than just grill a marinated flank steak, but decided that could be my jumping off point.  I love onions and have been making a red onion marmalade to accompany my pork tenderloin for years.  For the sandwich I decided to do sliced sweet Vidalia onions and cooked them with sugar and vinegar to give them a sweet and sour taste.  In an old Gourmet magazine there was a recipe for a pear and horseradish mustard that has always intrigued me.  I fiddled with the recipe, changed some of the ingredients and finally got a condiment that is way better than either mustard or mayonnaise.  It has a little kick from the horseradish and sweetness from the pears, steeped in cinnamon, bay and peppercorns.  Wow!

With ingredients this good, I needed a bread that would compliment the flavors but not overpower them.  I love ciabatta rolls.  They have a great texture and a mild taste.  I browned the split ciabatta rolls in a little olive oil in a large skillet and they had a nice crunch to them.  They were just perfect for the melting steak slices and sauteed onions.  But the star of this show is the pear horseradish mustard.  It makes a lot and keeps in the refrigerator for up to a month.  So you can enjoy it on many different sandwiches.  As for me, I think I will be grilling a lot of flank steaks.

Comments on the entries in the contest are important.  I would appreciate it if you would comment on my entry.  Just go to Food52 and tell me what you think.  Thank you!

GRILLED FLANK STEAK SANDWICH WITH SWEET ONION MARMALADE AND PEAR HORSERADISH MUSTARD

Serves 4

For the Flank Steak and Sweet Onion Marmalade:

1 Flank Steak, 1 1/2 to 2 lbs
5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
5 tablespoons Ketchup
5 teaspoons Brown sugar
1/2 cup Red Wine

2 Large Vidalia onions, halved and sliced
3 tablespoons Canola oil
3 tablespoons Sugar
3 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Water

1.Marinate the flank steak in the Worcestershire, ketchup, brown sugar and red wine in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

2.While steak is marinating, heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced onions and cook over moderate heat until the onions become soft. Add the sugar and cook stirring for a few minutes. Add the vinegar and turn the heat to low and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Add the water and simmer, stirring, until mixture is slightly thickened and onions are very tender, about 10 minutes. 

3.Prepare grill. Remove steak from marinade and grill it over hot coals turning once until it reaches your desired doneness. Medium rare to medium works best. Remove steak and let rest before slicing it into thin strips. 

For the Pear Horseradish Mustard and Final Assembly:

4 Ripe Pears, peeled and chopped
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Red Wine
1 10 ounce bottle of Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons Creamy Horseradish
4 Ciabatta rolls, split and cut side browned in an oiled pan
Chopped lettuce for garnish

1.Wrap the cinnamon stick, bay leaf and peppercorns in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen string. Add the chopped pears and cheesecloth bag to a large saucepan with the red wine vinegar and wine. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced. Cool slightly and remove cheesecloth bag. Puree the mixture in a food processor. Add the pear puree to a large bowl along with the Dijon mustard and the horseradish. Stir to combine. The pear horseradish mustard keeps, covered and chilled for 1 month. 

2.Assemble the sandwiches. Spread the split and toasted ciabatta rolls with 1 tablespoon pear horseradish mustard per side (or to taste). Add the sliced steak and the onion marmalade. Garnish with lettuce. Enjoy
 
Printable recipe