Sweet and Sour Beef Brisket - 100th Post!

Happy 100th post to us!  We've been through our ups and downs with this blog over the years but Mostly Soup is still kicking.  Thanks to all those who read our stuff.  We like keeping this blog up for a reference journal of our own accord and those who follow along are icing on the cake.  So raise a glass to you - THANK YOU!

I made this classic beef brisket when the rain first started in and paired with some red wine and a warm fire it was just the trick for coziness.  It would be the perfect dish to make for a stay at home New Years Eve celebration.  It feels decadent and rich but is really hands off and easy.  I didn't feel the need to make any sort of adjustments to this recipe; it was great just the way it is.  Just a heads up that you do need to start this recipe the night before you plan to serve it, or in the morning time so you have the whole day to rest it.

I roasted up some carrot and potato "coins" to go along with it.  If you have the Smitten Kitchen cookbook this recipe is in there but it's as easy as cutting up the potatoes and carrots in coin shapes and roasting until done with your favorite seasonings.

In any case I hope you get to try this out before winter is over.  Have a very happy New Years (with or without this brisket)!!

Sweet and Sour Beef Brisket
not adapted at all from Smitten Kitchen cookbook

•  4-to-5-pound (1¾ to 2¼ kg) piece beef brisket
•  1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for initial seasoning of meat
•  Freshly ground black pepper
•  1 cup (235ml) beef stock
•  3 tablespoons (50 grams) tomato paste
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar, light or dark
•  4 teaspoons paprika
•  2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
•  1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes
•  1 teaspoon garlic powder
•  2 tablespoons (15 grams) onion powder

Season the meat generously on both sides with salt and pepper.  Whisk all of the remaining ingredients together in a bowl.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place the meat in a dutch oven (or any other sturdy pot with a lid) and pour the sauce over it.  Put the lid on and roast for 3 hours, or tender enough to pull apart with a fork.

Chill the entire dish in the fridge for several hours or up to one day.  This resting time will enhance the flavor and texture of the meat.  An hour before you are ready to serve it heat the oven to 300 degrees and remove the dish from the fridge.  Skim off any fat that has congealed at the top of the meat.  You can leave some if you like but I skimmed it all for a less oily finish.  Remove the meat and slice into 1/4-1/2 inch slices and put back into the sauce in the pan.  Replace the lid and put into the pre-heated oven.  Reheat until the sauce is bubbly around the edges.  Serve immediately with sauce on the side to pour or spoon over meat.

Savoy Cabbage Soup with Meatballs

Meatballs! I love them so much. I used to buy a bag of frozen meatballs at Ikea on every visit but then sometime in the last couple years they started to seem different, different texture or something. I stopped buying them but I never bothered to figure out a replacement to the handy little dinner-savers! Sunset saved me!

This soup was delicious, but I am super excited about the meatballs included in the soup!  They are pretty dang close to those Swedish meatballs I miss so much and I highly recommend doubling the meatball portion of this recipe and freezing them for later (you better believe that I did)!  Throw them into a soup or warm them up in the oven to have with roast veggies, or with mashed potatoes, gravy, and lingonberries!

Okay but back to the soup.  This was in the December issue of Sunset, in a feature that was singing the praises of the under appreciated Savoy Cabbage.  I fixated on the meatballs and decided to make this immediately.  Requiring few ingredients (even the meatballs are simple) and a super satisfying end result, I will be making this again for sure.

This recipe does make a lot of soup so you could freeze half (like I did) or just cut it in half. I made the full amount but doubled the meatballs.  Here is the original proportioned recipe.

Savoy Cabbage Soup with Meatballs
From December 2014 Sunset
Serves 8-10

1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs 
1/4 cup milk (I used half and half)
3/4 teaspoon salt divided
3/4 teaspoon pepper divided
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
5 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium carrots, sliced into half-moons to make 1 cup
2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), trimmed, halved lengthwise, rinsed well, and sliced into half-moons
1 head savoy cabbage (about 1.5 - 2 lb), quartered, cored and thinly sliced
7 cups chicken broth (reduced-sodium if store-bought)
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

First things first, make the meatballs!! Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a medium bowl, stir together bread crumbs and milk. Add 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1 Tbsp. parsley, the pork, and the beef. Mix gently but thoroughly with your hands. Scoop mixture by slightly rounded teaspoons and roll into small balls, plopping them onto a cookie sheet as you go, about an inch or so apart.  Cook in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until internal temp is 160. (Double this part if you want to stockpile them in your freezer!)

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add carrots and leeks and cook, stirring, until leeks are soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in cabbage and remaining 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper and cook until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes.  (It looks like way too much cabbage, but it shrinks down I promise.)

Add broth, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let simmer until cabbage is quite tender, about 20 minutes.

Gently stir browned meatballs into soup and cook, stirring occasionally, until meatballs are warmed up and flavors are blended, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream, 3 tbsp. parsley, and remaining 1/8 tsp. nutmeg (take a microplaner to a whole nutmeg if you want an extra flavor boost!) and ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp. parsley. 

Yum!!!

Chinese Style One Pot Beef Stew

Being in the mood for stew a lot recently is sometimes tough.  Tough in that it can often take forever to get that fall apart texture to your meat when it's a week night and you just don't have all day to make it.  I live for that meat texture - it's definitely my favorite when the meat seems to melt away.  This Chinese style one pot meal makes for a good rendition of a week night stew recipe.

It doesn't take too long, the meat texture was good, and there's minimal chopping which seems to get your meat a-stewin' quicker. I also liked doing something a little off the beaten path as far as flavor profile. The shot of greenery in the form bok choi is also a nice touch and I think broccoli would work just as well.  Hope you enjoy!

Chinese Style One Pot Beef Stew
from BBC's goodfood blog

• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch green onions
• good thumb size piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 red chili, seeded and thinly sliced (I used a jalapeno since I couldn't find a red pepper)
• 3 1/5 lbs stew beef, cut into large pieces (I used
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon chinese five spice powder
• 2 star anise 
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons dry white wine or cooking sherry
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 bunch bok choi, chopped and steamed

1.  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in large dutch oven or stock pot.  Sautee the garlic, onions, ginger and chili until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Put onto a large plate.  Toss the beef in the flour and salt and pepper generously.  Add 1 more tbsp of oil to the pot and brown the meat in two batches, adding the last tbsp of oil in between batches.  Put on the plate with the garlic sautee mixture.

2.  Add the five spice and the anise to the pot, fry for 30 seconds, then add the sugar.  Keep the heat high and add the wine or sherry, scraping up any meaty bits.  Put the meat and garlic sautee mixture back in the pot, add the stock and soy sauce (it won't cover the meat completely), and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is very soft and sinewy bits have melted away.

3.  When the stew is close to finished, steam your bok choi and make some rice to serve stew over.  Add the bok choi to the plate with stew and rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

Soup of the Bakony Outlaws

First things first, this soup has an outstanding name that comes not from the bacon in it, but from a region of Hungary called Bakony.  I picture a bunch of rough looking dudes eating this feast around a campfire in the mountains after just having stolen the bacon that's used in it. Besides that, the ingredient list is a lot of my favorite things all piled into one very rich, hearty, comforting soup. Not the most "springy" soup, but it sure did hit the spot on a cozy Friday night spent at home.  If you like Hungarian Mushroom soup and if you like bacon, you will most definitely enjoy this soup. 

One important aspect of making this soup (and most soups) is that the vegetables are cooked perfectly. Not too mushy, not too hard, but just perfect. Chopping them up small and consistent in size (before you begin making the soup), as the recipe indicates, helps with this and also keep an eye on your pot to make sure it doesn't boil too heavily but stays at a low simmer.  I felt a little guilty chopping up the gorgeous beef tenderloin to put in this soup forgot all about it once I tasted those tender little chunks in the finished soup.  This soup takes a lot of chopping but believe me, it is worth the effort.  I will definitely be making this again on a cold winter's night in the future.

Soup of the Bakony Outlaws 
Adapted from Fine Cooking and I made very few changes. 

Serves 6 +

• 3 Tbs. oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, cut in 1/4-inch dice
• 3 slices thick cut bacon, about 1/4 lb or slightly les, cut in 1/4-inch dice
• 2 Tbs. sweet paprika
• 8 oz. beef tenderloin, cut in 1/4-inch dice (the original recipe calls for veal) 
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 skinny carrots, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch dice 
• 2 medium turnips, cut in 1/4-inch dice
• 8 oz. mushrooms, cut in 1/4-inch dice (I used cremini but a fancier variety would be swell)
• 2 medium red potatoes, cut in 1/4-inch dice (medium=about three inch diameter)
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded, and cut in 1/4-inch dice  (a can of diced would also work well)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 1 bunch of swiss chard, ribs removed, sliced into ribbons (optional)
• 3 Tbs. chopped fresh dill

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven and cook the onions and bacon over medium heat until the onions start to color, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the paprika and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes to release and develop its flavor. Add the beef and just enough stock to cover it. Cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the chopped carrots, turnips, mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, and enough stock to cover the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, another 20 minutes. Add a little more stock if the soup looks too dry during cooking, bearing in mind that more liquid will be added later. (I did not need to add more stick, used 3 cups total.)

Put the sour cream and cream in a small bowl and stir in the flour with a fork or whisk.  Pour this into the pot and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in the chopped chard and fresh dill and dish it up!

We ate this with a seedy baguette and could not stop oohing and aahing! It is extremely rich and I think the amount of cream/sour cream could be reduced in half and still be just as inspiring. 



P.S. This soup tastes about a zillion times better than it photographs!

Beef Stew

Beef stew, a classic!

I have made beef stew multiple times, always different variations and methods, but this was by far the best beef stew I have made.

Browning the meat is the thing that takes the longest hands on time and makes this recipe seem a lot more daunting than it is. It does take time, but if you can be patient with the searing of the meat (not a strong suit of mine!), you will be rewarded with the most flavorful broth and you will not believe you haven't been doing it this way all along. I know that throwing the ingredients into a crockpot seems so much simpler but really, you are missing out!  Make this on a weekend when you can take a little extra time. Trust me.



I used this recipe from The Kitchn to make the most flavorful, rich, hearty, and comforting bowl of beef stew ever, and here is the recipe as I made it:

Classic Beef Stew
Serves 6-8
Total time: about 3 to 4 hours.



Ingredients:
4 pounds beef chuck roast
1-3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 medium onions, diced 
3 celery stalks, diced
 3 cloves garlic, minced 
2 tablespoons tomato paste
 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, divided 
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
1 cup red wine, plus extra to finish 
3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried) 
1 bay leaf 
4 cups chicken stock 
3 carrots, diced 
1 ½ pounds red potatoes, cubed 
1 cup frozen peas 
Salt and pepper



Instructions:
1.  Trim off any large pieces of fat from the outside of the roast, and cut it up into relatively even bite-sized cubes.  Use a sharp knife and if you are having trouble, freeze the meat for just a little while to make it less jiggly. 

2. Set a large dutch oven over medium-high heat (on the hotter side of medium hot) and pour in enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  When the oil is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles when it hits the oil, it's ready.  Add a single layer of beef cubes to the pan and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper.  (Do not overcrowd the pan! I did about 6 batches of searing.)  Let the beef cook without touching it for about 5 minutes, until the bottom sides develop a dark brown crust and come away from the pan easily, without forcing it.  Flip them and let them cook again undisturbed for about 5 minutes.  If the pan is a little dry, add a little more oil.  Once seared, remove to a plate and repeat this process until all of the beef is beautifully brown on the outside. Don't forget to salt and pepper each batch!  This process took me probably an hour.

3.  An important step to this stew is the development of the "fond", a sticky dark glaze that forms on the bottom of the pan.  It may look gross but it is just delicious flavor!  Don't worry about it unless it starts smoking or smells like burning.  If this happens, add a little bit of water to dissolve it and then pour that liquid over the cooked beef. 

4.  Once the beef is all seared and sitting aside on it's plate, turn down your burner to medium and give it a chance to cool down a little (I removed my pot for about 5 minutes for this to happen with my electric stove). Put the pot back on the burner and add another tablespoon of oil.  Add the onions and celery, cooking until the onions are softened and translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the tomato paste, salt, and one tablespoon of the Worcestershire sauce and stir it around so it is all mixed in.

5. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture and stir until there is no more visible flour and everything is coated in flour and looks mushy.

6.  Raise the heat back up to medium-high and pour in the wine.  It will bubble and smell delicious.  Stir and scrape the sticky fond coating from the bottom of the pan and keep stirring until the fond is all dissolved and the wine has reduced and thickened slightly.

7.  Return the seared beef to the pan along with the broth, whole thyme sprigs, and a bay leaf.  Stir to combine.

8.  Bring the pot to a low boil, and reduce heat to low.  Cover the pot and let it cook for 1 and 1/2 hours.  Stir occasionally and make sure the stew stays at a very low simmer. 

9.  Add the potatoes and carrots to the stew.  Cover the pot again and continue simmering for another 45 to 60 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and the meat is very tender, falling apart easily. 

10.  Add the peas along with the remaining tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a splash of red wine.  Remove the thyme stems and the bay leaf.  Taste at this point and add any additional salt, pepper, or anything else you might like in your stew. Paprika would be nice, or maybe more garlic?  I didn't add anything but salt and pepper and I am glad I kept it simple.  Serve with a nice loaf of bread and a salad if you are being good.

Note: This stew freezes beautifully so don't be alarmed by how much it makes!  Freeze your leftovers for a rainy day!

Watch me make this soup:

Slow Cooker Beef and Mushroom Stew

I have said it before, and I will say it again: I love mushrooms. LOVE.

This stew is very beefy but also has a ton of mushrooms and is quite a crowd pleaser. I made this for Matthew and my 3rd annual Christmas Party as a step up from the Hungarian mushroom soup I made the prior two years. I wanted to make something I didn't have to hover over while getting ready for the party! I forgot to take pictures the first time but luckily I had a special request to make it again recently and made sure to document thoroughly. The recipe makes a ton of food, so serve it for a dinner party!

The recipe I used is from Sunset magazine and I found it on MyRecipes.com. I didn't follow the instructions to a T, mainly because I am a pretty lazy cook and look for shortcuts wherever I can.

This is a little more work than a normal slow cooker recipe, simply because you make a sauce to pour over the meat and cook the mushrooms separately. But don't be discouraged! The stew is definitely worth it. To make it easy on myself this last time, I made the sauce and poured it over the meat the night before and let it marinate all night in the refrigerator. In the morning before work, I turned the slow cooker on and when I got home from work I cooked the mushrooms. It worked out perfectly and made it seem like less work.


Here is the recipe as I made it:

Ingredients:
-3 pounds boned, fat-trimmed beef chuck
-1 orange (2 1/2 in. wide), rinsed
-1 onion (about 8 oz.), peeled and finely chopped
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
-About 1 cup beef or chicken broth
-1 cup red wine
-1/2 cup port
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-2 tablespoons soy sauce
-1 teaspoon dried thyme
-5 very thin slices of peeled fresh ginger (quarter size)
-2 pounds mushrooms
-3 tablespoons butter
-1/4 cup flour
-Salt and (lots of) pepper

Preparation:
1. Rinse meat; cut into 3 to 4 inch lengths (for chuck, about 1 inch thick and 1 1/2 inches wide) and place in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker.


2. With a vegetable peeler, pare orange part of peel from orange and sliver it; save orange for other uses.


3. In a 2-quart sauce pan, combine orange peel slivers, chopped onion, 1 cup broth, wine, port, vinegar, soy sauce, thyme, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat.


4. Pour liquid over meat. Turn slow cooker to low.


5. Put cover on slow cooker and cook on low until meat is very tender when pierced, 6 to 7 hours.

6. Rinse and drain mushrooms; trim off and discard stem ends. Cut mushrooms into quarters and place in a 12 inch frying pan with butter.


7. Skim off and discard fat from liquid in slow cooker. Ladle 1 cup of liquid from slow cooker into pan with mushrooms. Stir mushrooms often over high heat until liquid has evaporated and mushrooms are lightly browned, 13 to 17 minutes.


8. When your mushrooms are almost finished (liquid almost evaporated), eyeball the remaining liquid in the slow cooker. There should be plenty of liquid covering the meat, about 2 cups. If you think you don't have enough liquid, add some broth. You want the meat to still be covered with liquid. (Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this!)

9. Add the cooked mushrooms to the slow-cooker.

10. In a small bowl, mix flour with about a cup of the hot liquid from the slow cooker. Whisk vigorously until flour is dissolved. Pour evenly over meat and mix gently to blend with liquid still in slow cooker, trying not to break up the meat too much. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let the mushrooms and meat mingle together for about 20 minutes in slow cooker.

11. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice! (I prefer potatoes to rice, and haven't tried egg noodles but think it would be delicious!)

Beef and Sweet Potato Stew

The lovely and generous V gave me a crock pot! It was my turn to host Mad Men Monday so I decided to use my new slow cooker to make a hearty beef stew. The only thing I had made in a crock pot prior to this was pot roast, so making a stew was kind of new and I was a little unsure about seasonings, etc.

I searched the internet high and low and found this recipe on Taste As You Go. I liked the idea of using sweet potatoes and made a few modifications. Here is the recipe as I made the stew:

2 pounds stew beef, cut in 1-inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
olive oil
1 large white onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 14.5-ounce can beef broth
1/2 cup beer
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon dry nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 cup frozen green beans
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Brown beef on all sides, working in batches if necessary.

Place sweet potatoes in the base of a preheated 4-5-quart slow-cooker. Layer on the browned beef, onions, garlic and ginger. Pour in beef broth, beer, and Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle in nutmeg and thyme.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove about cup of the broth and place in a bowl. Whisk in heaping teaspoon of flour until there are no more lumps. Add the broth and flour mixture back to the slow-cooker. Add frozen green beans and cook the stew for an additional 15-20 minutes.



I served with cous cous, but bread would have been better. The sweet potato didn't come through as much as I would have liked, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it! Definitely was a satisfyingly hearty cold evening meal.

"Best stroganoff I've had all month."

This isn't exactly a soup, but no posts for a month is just out of control. So here we go. Last week I made Beef Stroganoff. I have made stroganoff before, but i couldnt find the other recipe I made so I went looking for a new one. I forget where I found this one (sorry!) but it sounded a little different, not quite traditional, but still tasty.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 pound beef sirloin, cut into 2x1x1/8-inch strips
* salt and pepper to taste
* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 12 ounces button mushrooms, quartered (I used a mixture of crimini and button, probably more than 12 ounces, I love mushrooms.)
* 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 cups beef broth
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I left this out because I forgot to get it at the store. Don't think it was needed though.)
* 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves (instead of parsley I used fresh dill.)

For noodles:

* Kosher salt
* One 12-ounce package wide egg noodles
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I didn't use this)
* Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Raise the heat to high and heat 1 tablespoon oil. Season half the beef with salt and pepper, add to the skillet, arranging it in a single layer, and saute, without stirring, until well-browned and still pinkish inside, about 1 to 2 minutes. (It is key to only partially cook the meat at this stage, since it will be finish cooking later in the sauce.) Transfer to a large plate and set aside. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef. Discard any excess oil.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and, when the foaming begins to subside, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until well-browned, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the plate with the beef.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter and, just as the foaming begins to subside, add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and, whisking constantly, bring to a full boil. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the sour cream, mustard, and lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Set the sauce aside covered.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and cook the noodles until tender but not mushy. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the butter and season with pepper to taste. (I didn't butter the noodles, seemed a little excessive.)

Add the beef and any juices, mushrooms, and parsley (or dill or both!) to the sauce and reheat over medium heat until just hot. (Do not boil.) Divide the noodles among 4 plates and top with the stroganoff. Serve immediately.



This stroganoff was extremely delicious, but it reminded me more of this hungarian mushroom soup recipe that I love (recipe coming soon!) rather than stroganoff. My boyfriend proclaimed it as the best stroganoff he had eaten all month, and he had actually had stroganoff earlier in the month! I count that as a win. I would definitely make this again. The only thing I changed was adding dill instead of parsley because I just really like dill. I think I used slighly more sour cream than called for also. This made a ton of food, probably about 6-8 serviings. Not traditional though, the paprika and tomato paste I guess are what makes it different. And it tasted pretty light considering how much sour cream and butter was used in the making of the sauce!

Enjoy!