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I made this last night and it turned out fantastically - I wasn't going to post it since it was a bit improvised, but we haven't had a post in a while. I was going for a cross between (American) Chinese and Korean flavors. This is really easy to make, and doesn't even involve chopping an onion. It's pretty similar to galbi jjim in some ways, but again, a lot easier. Ingredients 1 large (2-3#) beef roast, preferably something with a bit of fat (I used bottom round) 4 carrots, cut into thick circles 1 medium purple turnip, peeled and cut into medium chunks. Daikon radish would work just fine too, it's harder to get around here. Sauce: 3/4 c. soy sauce 1/4 c. water 4 cloves garlic 1-2" of ginger root, peeled and sliced 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon rice wine/dry sherry 1 tsp sesame oil 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar 1 tsp (or more) ground black pepper dried chinese chilis to taste (...

I wanted to make something that was very Autumnal and so I started looking up pork and apple recipes. Almost all of them called for cinnamon and sounded foul, so I came up with this which I wanted to be more balanced. It turned out better than expected so I figured I'd write it up. I made it in the slow cooker, but you could probably use the oven also if you're a masochist.  Ingredients 2# pork tenderloin 1 onion, cut into thin strips 2-3 cloves garlic, cut into large chunks 1/2 c. white wine 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1/2 water or chicken broth 1/2 tsp white pepper 1 tsp mustard powder Salt 1 6" sprig fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stem, or equivalent dried, but fresh is way better 3-4 cooking apples, cored and cut into chunks (they'll melt, no need to stress over this) Instructions Carmelize the onions in a heavy skillet. Salt the pork tenderloin on both sides. Put onions in slow cooker, add oil and brown the tenderloin. Once brown, add ...

This is a really easy slow cooker pot roast that doesn't take much time to prepare, and is easy to get going when you leave to work. The most labor intensive part is skinning the onions, but our local grocery store often has them pre-skinned. Ingredients 2-3 pound beef roast (we like London broil a lot) 1-1.5 pound small mushrooms (our store sells them bulk, so its easy to pick out the small ones) 1 pound pearl onions, tops bottoms and skins removed 1/2 bottle brown ale (preferably malty, low bitterness) 1/2 c. water or broth 1 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp (or less) dried rosemary S and P If time allows, brown meat, them combine remaining ingredients in slow cooker, and cook until you get home from work. Serve with mashed, baked or roasted potatoes, or add potatoes directly to the pot for a one dish meal. The juice is pretty flavorful, but if you like you can reduce it. I recommend drinking one of the beer's brethren alongside the meal. I prepare this the night befo...

My goal in making this recipe was to explore Asian recipes that would translate well into American holidays. I think this would be a great recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas, as it has a rich, special-occasion quality to it, as well as spices such as cinnamon which are traditional at the holidays. It turned out great, and really wasn't that difficult. Maybe not an everyday meal, but certainly worth making a few times a year. The pork becomes glazed with a sweet, flavorful sauce, and the meat is fall apart tender, with the fat completely melting in your mouth. There are many versions online, and mine is primarily based on this video . You can add puffed tofu or hard boiled eggs at the end for more variety in texture. Finished product, with stir fried Chinese broccoli and scallion pancake. Towards the end of the cooking time, before you add the sugar and cook down to create the final glaze. The assembled ingredients. The pork has already been blanched and is ready fo...

My wonderful siblings got me a cookbook in Morocco that is both inspiring and idiosyncratically translated. The quantities are along the lines of "heaping coffeespoonful" and "one teaglassful". Many of the dishes have combinations of sweet and savory, fruit and meat, which intimidate me. I should try out more of these recipes than I do, but I thought this relatively simple one would be a good start. Moroccans must be quite fertile, as these recipes often begin with "take 2 whole chickens, add 11 pounds of tomatoes...", so I scaled this one back for our 2-person family. The result was a deeply hearty, warming, satisfying stew, and I am finally reconsidering my dislike of sweetened meat dishes. A thoughtful gift from Alex and Melanie for a food-obsessed person like me! This dish has a wonderfully mellow, warming character. Almonds are supposed to be whole and blanched, but I couldn't find those. 1 whole cut-up chicken 1 stick butter 1 ...

I've been debating whether I should post some of these more niche recipes--now that we have a steam oven and a high powered stove, I am making recipes that not everyone can reproduce with other equipment. I've decided to post some of them 1) for my own records, and 2) because there are very few recipes available online for these devices (especially the steam oven). Perhaps these recipes will be of use to others. I don't have a photo for this one because I decided to post the recipe after the fact. 3-5 lb pork shoulder roast (~3 lb without bone, ~5 lb with) 1 large white onion, 1/4" slices 1 Tbsp. butter 1 chicken boullion cube 1 c. water 2 tsp. dried thyme 1 tsp. dried sage 1 tsp. whole coriander 1 Tbsp. coarse ground salt 1 Tbsp. brown sugar 1 tsp. dry mustard 1 tsp. white pepper 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. cayenne 1/4 tsp. allspice 1/4 tsp. celery seed Saute the onions in the butter in a saute pan over medium for 10 min until the onions are somewha...

Sometimes you just want a pile of hot beef, and you don't want to chew. This is the recipe for you. It can be made in the pressure cooker or slow cooked. The onions, carrot, and celery cook down and make a delicious gravy, which you could blend if you want it to be smooth. Fortunately, my cooking is much better than my photography. This is the short ribs served over potato gnocchi, with a side of turnip greens. I kept the onion/meat juice mixture chunky and used it as a sauce for the gnocchi. 3 lbs short ribs 1 large onion, minced 3 stalks celery, minced 2 carrots, grated 3-5 shallots, minced 2 Tbsp. tomato paste 1/3 c. dry sherry or 1 c. dry red wine 1 large bundle fresh thyme, or 1 tbsp. dried 1 pkg French onion soup mix Salt and fresh ground black pepper 1/4 c. cooking oil ~3 c. water Sprinkle the short ribs with salt and black pepper. Heat the oil until very hot and brown the short ribs in a few batches, to avoid overcrowding the pot. Do this in the base of ...

I finally figured out the key to good crockpot pulled pork--ignore 90% of the recipes out there and don't add the BBQ sauce until the end. In fact, doing it this way you could go full Southern style and not add BBQ sauce at all. If you add the sauce at the beginning it winds up watery and thin and doesn't let the meat or the sauce really shine. If you wanted it to be smoky & spicy you could substitute canned chipotle peppers for the paprika and cayenne. I used Sweet Baby Ray's on this last batch and it was too sweet for me. Try to find a BBQ sauce that suits your taste. I am a crockpot skeptic, but this recipe really works! Picnics are way more fun as a grown-up...even when it's -11 outside! 1 large 3+ lb. pork shoulder or Boston butt 2 medium onions, sliced 1-2 c. water 1 chicken boullion cube 2 bay leaves 1 Tbsp. paprika 1/2 tsp. allspice 1 pinch cayenne salt and pepper 1 jug BBQ sauce buns Rub the spices onto the pork. You don't actuall...

I adapted this recipe from Hazans' "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking." I got the cookbook a couple months ago, expecting to find more warm-weather food, but she tends towards comfort foods so I've been waiting for it to get cool enough to make this recipe. It turned out extremely well - the flavor is much deeper than you expect to be, and the chicken picks up the sweetness of the cabbage splendidly. I highly recommend serving it with something with a bit of mouth feel - it was brilliant with homemade egg noodles , and I imagine it would be good with roasted brown rice also. Ingredients 1 onion, sliced very thin 2-4 cloves garlic, quartered 1/4 c. olive oil + 1 Tbsp. 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded 1 Tbsp kosher salt 1 cut up chicken 1/2 c. dry red wine 1 Tbsp. dry sherry (optional) Preparation Combine onion, garlic and 1/4 c. olive oil in a heavy bottomed high sided pan, like a dutch oven, or in a very large saute pan, like the one y...

I've been finding Moroccan style sausage at many different meat shops lately. This was made with goat merguez sausage from Clancey's, which had really good flavor. I used a spice blend, but I'm sure you could use fresh spices and add some more ingredients (like dried fruit), but it turned out tasty when made this simple way. 4 links Merguez sausage, sliced 1 large onion, chopped coarsely 2 carrots, in large chunks 2 c. small cauliflower florets 2 Tbsp. tomato paste 3 Tbsp. Moroccan spice blend (ras al-hanout) 1 Tbsp. minced ginger 1 can chickpeas 1.5 c. chicken broth 6 Tbsp. butter Use a heavy bottomed pot to heat 4 Tbsp. of butter. Add the onions and saute until soft and starting to caramelize. Add the sausage and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes until the liquid cooks off and everything starts to sizzle. Add the tomato paste and stir so it is well distributed. Stir in the spice blend and ginger. Add the carrots and 1 c. chicken broth and cover, simmering for 20...

It's our 200th recipe! (Or at least the 200th post). Things have slowed down a bit since our family doesn't have as much free time at the moment, but I think that with the winter weather the blog posts will pick up again. Here's an easy, flavorful, and inexpensive recipe that deserves to be part of our family's canon. This is Filipino dish based on soy- and vinegar- and garlic-marinated meat (not the Mexican seasoning blend also known as 'adobo'). You can use any meat you like and it works especially well with cheaper cuts, like chicken leg pieces or pork shoulder. You can also alter your technique for how much time and patience you have--it's kind of like choose-your-own-adventure. 3-4 lbs of meat (bone-in chicken or pork chunks work well) 1 c. light soy sauce 1/2-1 c. water 1/2 c. white vinegar 1 entire BULB garlic, chopped 3 bay leaves 2 Tbsp. ground black pepper 2 Tbsp. salt Combine all the ingredients in a shallow dish. If the marinade doe...

This recipe is for 6 chicken breast halves, which will make good planned-overs, but you can scale it back for 2-4 breasts. 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves Stuffing: 1 large onion, minced 2 ribs celery, minced 2 medium carrots, minced 3 c. cooked wild rice 10 mushrooms, chopped (optional) 1/4 c. roasted sunflower seeds (optional) 4 Tbsp. butter 1 Tbsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. thyme 1 tsp. rosemary 1/2 tsp. sage 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley additional salt and pepper Gravy: 1 can Cream of Something soup 1 can milk or water 1/4 c. dry sherry or vermouth Pat the breasts dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 350. In a skillet, cook the onions, celery, and carrots in 2 Tbsp. butter until the onions are translucent and begin to brown. If you are using mushrooms, add them and cook them until tender. Add the seasonings and cook 1 minute. Stir in the wild rice and sunflower seeds (if using) until it is well combined with the other ingredients. Check the seasonings and then allow the...

All the recipes I've found for this claim it's a standard American recipe--perfect for when you're rummaging around for an idea and don't have much on hand. I guess it didn't make it into our family, because I don't remember having it. It's basically a paprika-heavy chicken fricassee--perfect week-night comfort food. You could probably use any cut of chicken, including bone-in, but breast fillets are very easy to use. 3-4 chicken breasts 1-2 onions, diced 2 bell peppers, ideally red ones, diced ~1 can low-sodium chicken broth 1/4 c. white wine or vermouth 2 Tbsp. tomato paste (and red pepper paste, if you have it) 2-3 Tbsp. sweet Hungarian paprika 1/2 c. sour cream 2 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. oil 2 Tbsp. flour or cornstarch 1 tsp. marjoram 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes salt & pepper pinch sugar fresh parsley (optional) Cut the chicken into 2-3 mini cutlets per breast, but slicing them into 3/4" thick diagonals. Pound with something heavy to flatten to a uni...

Here are some tasty meaty bits prepared via my favorite method: braising. Quick recap: this means browning in a heavy pan at very high heat to get a tasy sear, then covering the meat about halfway with a flavorful liquid, sealing the pan as airtight as possible, and baking it at a relatively very low temperature (~225 degrees) for 2+ hours. In this case, the tasty liquid was about 2 parts red wine, 1 part water. I sprinkled the meat with salt and pepper first, but otherwise there was no seasoning. You want the liquid to be gently bubbling, but not at a rolling boil; this is difficult to gauge since you must seal the container, but using tinfoil makes it pretty easy to replace the lid. Or, if your oven's thermostat is pretty accurate, just aim at a little over the boiling point (212). The heaviest pot you have is important, but cast iron or other reactive materials will change the color of the sauce (although with a red wine sauce it wont be too noticeable). When they're done (a...