One of the reasons we are able to cook as often during the week as we do is that we try to cook a protein that we can use in another dish later in the week — two meals out of one.  I have mentioned before that I’m not a fan of leftovers, so transmogrifying the remaining protein into a different meal is my thing.  As you may have seen, we recently made a delicious pot roast. It was a lot of beef for two people, so we needed a recipe for the leftover meat. I found one that was perfect for a weeknight and had the additional benefit of being reminiscent of a dish my Grandma used to make — Beef and Noodles. Grandma’s Beef and Noodles is not something we’ve ever attempted to make, and I’m not even sure an actual recipe exits.  It’s one of those magical meals that the creator just knows how to make, and hopefully someone has been able to witness it enough times to re-create it.   My mom watched and learned, but only makes it for special occasions because the men in our family have been known to gorge on it to the point of near-sickness. It’s seriously that good.  This stroganoff recipe is a close enough second that it brought up many fond memories of Grandma (yet not SO good that Dan ate himself sick.)  We’ll work on learning Grandma’s Beef and Noodles, but in the meantime, this stroganoff is a decent substitute and a great use of leftover pot roast.

Continue reading “Beef Stroganoff (with leftover beef)”

Whenever we have an exceptional and memorable meal at a restaurant, we like to attempt to recreate the dish at home.  This recipe is one of our most successful attempts thus far.  We discovered the dish at Vic and Anthony’s Steakhouse in Houston.  Pretty much every summer for the past several years, we travel to Houston to attend what we affectionately dubbed the “Baseball Extravaganza” weekend with my parents, who are huge Astros fans.  The Extravaganza involves a night game on Saturday and day game on Sunday, with two nights lodging at a wonderful hotel — the baseball-themed, but still-surprisingly-classy Inn at the Ballpark, which is located right across the street from Vic and Anthony’s.  For many years, the steakhouse was not open on Sunday nights, so we would longingly pass it on our way to other restaurants downtown after the Sunday games.  But the planets aligned for us a couple of Extravaganzas ago and we found ourselves lucky to finally be enjoying a meal at this elegant dining establishment.  (FYI, their website now indicates they are open on Sundays, so this year’s Extravaganza will most likely include a visit.)  It was a memorable meal — or at least mine was, to me — I don’t remember what anyone else had to eat, but my “veal chop milanese” was amazing.  It was one of those dishes that is so good you insist everyone else at the table have a taste (but not too big of a bite!)  So I was absolutely thrilled when Dan found a similar recipe in his Michael Symon cookbook.  Symon’s recipe is a little more complex than the average weeknight dish, but it’s worth it on a weekend or weeknight when you are craving a unique presentation of baby cow.

Continue reading “Veal Chop Milanese with Arugula Salad”

We’re not sure why, but pot roast is not something we cook very often.  In fact, this may be the first time we’ve ever made it.  Maybe it’s because we don’t eat a lot of red meat.  Or because I never thought I really liked pot roast (turns out I do.)  But I happened to catch an episode of the Barefoot Contessa’s cooking show when she made her “Company Pot Roast,” and I was intrigued.  It seemed like a pretty easy recipe that would be perfect for a Sunday evening.  We didn’t have any company to share the pot roast with us on the night we made it, so I thought the leftover beef would be good in another dish later that week (turns out I was right.)  Hint:  the dish involves beef, noodles and creamy sauce — stay tuned for the post later this week! Continue reading “Company Pot Roast”

Dan has been interested in molecular gastronomy for a while.  Who knows, maybe the science part of it appeals to the patent lawyer in him.  Or it’s the prospect of new cooking tools.  Or perhaps some combination of both. . . . He has particularly been wanting to try sous vide, which is a method of cooking food sealed in an airtight plastic bag in a water bath at a precise, low temperature for a long time.  Part of the reason he is into this technique is because it is and has been used by up-and-coming chefs, and was recently translated to the home chef via a relatively new cooking toy tool.  So I decided to surprise Dan with a sous vide machine for his birthday this year.  For the inaugural use, Dan chose top round roast.  It turned out great, and Dan looks forward to much more experimenting with his b-day gift.   In case anyone is curious, I’m really interested in jewelry featuring various precious gems, and my birthday is in May. Continue reading “Top Round Roast – Sous Vide Style”

Several years ago, Dan and I were lucky enough to take an amazing trip to Italy with my parents, who were lucky enough to have been there a couple of times prior to our trip, and graciously showed us the ropes.  One of my parents’ favorite destinations in Italy (and now our favorite as well) is the Island of Capri.   Capri is an amazing place, and we strongly suggest you go there if you get the opportunity.  If you do find yourself so fortunate to be on Capri, we highly recommend the restaurant  Villa Verde , which provided the inspiration for this dish.  We had a version of lemon veal at Villa Verde on our first night in Italy, and it was heaven on a plate.  Exhaustion from our travels and giddiness about actually being in Italy may have factored into our fondness for Villa Verde and this dish, but we love our home-cooked version just as much.  This year, for the first time ever, we were able to make our Lemon Veal with our own homegrown lemon, which made it even more special. Continue reading “Lemon Veal”

Veal saltimbocca is an Italian dish consisting of thinly-pounded veal scallopine sandwiched with sage leaves and proscuitto, sauteed in a pan with a white wine sauce.  Classic veal saltimbocca can be a bit of a challenge to prepare at home, as it involves whole pieces of veal layered with the other ingredients and cooked very gently so it doesn’t fall apart in the pan.  We came across a much simpler version and liked it so much that we may never do it the old-fashioned way again!  Continue reading “Easy Veal Saltimbocca”

Tri-tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin that became popular as a local specialty in Santa Maria, California (according to Wikipedia).  According to us, it is really good, quality steak.  We grilled it this night by adapting the recipe “Smoked Santa Maria Tri-Tip” from one of our favorite grilling cookbooks.  Adding hickory smoke while the beef grills is a great way to layer another level of flavor to the dish.  The garnish of fresh salsa with tomato, green chiles, green onions, cilantro, etc. adds even more flavor. Continue reading “Grilled Smoked Tri-Tip”

Breakfast for dinner can be a creative way to use steak leftover from earlier in the week.  On this night, we decided to use our leftover steak to make “migas,” which is Tex-Mex Speak for scrambled eggs with beef, chiles (or peppers) and onion wrapped in a flour tortilla. Continue reading “Migas (with leftover steak)”

We’re going to be participating in a chili cook-off at the beginning of October, so we decided to fine tune our chili recipe.  We’re fans of Texas-style chili, which means no beans, but plenty of beef.  We made our own chili powder from dried red chiles, added onion, jalapenos and a dark beer, then simmered.  The end result was outstanding.  We’re ready for October! Continue reading “Chili”