beef

chunky beef and bean chili

Ugh this weather.

Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold. Sunshine. Snowfall. Short sleeves. Heavy coats.

I know that I’ve whined about New York’s weird weather before, last week in fact, but oh lord is it annoying. I’ve lived in New York State for my entire existence so I suppose I should be used to it by now, but I’m not okay?
Every spring I get the itch to get outdoors and when that shady bitch Mother Nature dangles 70 degree temperatures in front of my face and a few days later tosses a little snow storm my way I start to get cranky.

After last week’s unusual heatwave, we had snow over the weekend.

My first instinct was to stand in the window shaking my first (There may have also been a few “why I oughta”s thrown in), but I got tired (and cold) after a while so I decided to take my pity party into the kitchen and see what I could do to make myself feel better.

Full disclosure:
I’ve posted this recipe, or at least a version of it, before.

This is one of my absolute favorite cold weather recipes and I’ve made it countless times since I first posted it. Since then I’ve made some changes to streamline some steps and make a few little improvements.

Another moment of full disclosure:
I like my chili with big chunks of meat, a bit like a stew, rather than ground beef.
I also like lots of beans in my chili.

I realize my Texas friends are probably rolling their eyes and/or recoiling in horror right about now, but I’m a Northeasterner through and through. This is not “Texas Chili” and I make no qualms about this being an “authentic” recipe.

This is just how I like it. It’s freaking delicious. So deal with it.

There’s a very good reason that I wanted to try this chili again and re-post the recipe for you. A while back I read an article on thekitchn that said a great way to ensure tender slow cooked meat in stew is to wait a bit before adding acidic ingredients like wine or tomatoes. While acidic ingredients can help tenderize meats in marinades, they can have the opposite effect and actually prevent or prolong tenderizing in braised dishes. Instead, they suggest that you make your stew (or chili in this case) without the acid, let the meat loosen up and get a head start on tenderization, and then add your acidic ingredients and continue to cook just long enough that they no longer taste “raw”.

I said before that I’ve made this recipe countless times with countless variations, but as soon as I read this tip I just had to try it with my chili. I gave it a go and was floored by how well it came out so I HAD to share the results with y’all.

Okay one last bit of full disclosure:
I’m a big fan of heat and bold flavors so I tend to go a little overboard with the jalapeños, cayenne, and chili powder.

In the recipe below, the ingredients listed have ranges for those three ingredients. When making this for myself I used the maximum amount of spice listed on all three counts and I thought it was absolutely perfect. Russell however, complained (multiple times) that it was too spicy and said that I should reduce the heat for y’all.
So, if you like the heat feel free to go crazy and use the full amounts listed below. If you like things on the milder side, use caution and stick to the minimums. If you’re somewhere in between, stay somewhere in between.

When it comes to the meat, I usually like to buy a small chuck roast and cut it up into chunks myself. I find that A) this method is cheaper, and B) I know exactly what cut of meat I’m getting rather than the “grab bag” of leftovers they package as stew meat at the grocery store. I also find that the stew meat at my local grocery stores is usually cut too large to actually eat in one bite, and I always need to cut it up smaller myself anyway.

Either way you go, this chili is insanely good. Thick and rich and tomatoey with a great flavor and as much heat as you like. Fall-apart tender chunks of beef mixed with hearty veggies and plenty of beans make this chili feel incredibly hearty and filling. Perfect for a chilly spring day.

If you do go a little overboard with the spice, a heaping dollop of sour cream, a handful of grated cheddar, and some rich and creamy sliced avocado can go a long way to tame that heat.

Servings: about 6
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adapted from my own recipe

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 pounds beef chuck or beef stew meat, cut into 1″ cubes
2 tablespoons masa corn flour (or all-purpose)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse Kosher salt (maybe more as necessary)
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (maybe more as necessary)
1/4 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/4 cup good Ale or dark beer, divided
2 medium onions, chopped
2 red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 to 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced (depending on how spicy you like it)
5 to 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
3 cups beef stock
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
15 oz can red kidney beans
15 oz can black beans

Optional garnishes:
grated cheddar cheese
sour cream
torn cilantro leaves
sliced avocado

If using pre-cut stew meat, you may need to cut it smaller to get 1″ pieces. Toss beef in salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, chili powder, & masa to evenly coat.
In a large heavy bottom dutch oven or stockpot, heat about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Brown the meat in batches for 5 to 6 minutes, turning each piece about half way through to brown multiple sides. Do not overcrowd the pan or the meat will steam, not brown. Transfer browned beef to a bowl to rest while you brown the next batch, and repeat until all meat is browned. Add more oil between batches if necessary.

Once you’ve removed the last batch of meat, deglaze the pan with about 1/4 cup of the beer. Scrape up any stuck bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Reduce beer to almost dry. Add another tablespoon of oil and, once the oil is hot, sauté the onions for a minute or two. Add bell peppers, jalapeños, and garlic and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Add beef stock, remaining beer, and browned beef cubes to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for one and a half hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer for one half hour more. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and beans. Continue to simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes more or until the beef is fork tender and the liquid is slightly reduced and nicely thickened.
Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if necessary. If the chili is too thin, continue to simmer uncovered until it’s thick enough. If too thick, thin it out with additional beef stock, about 1/4 cup at a time.

Garnish with grated cheese, sour cream, torn cilantro leaves, and/or avocado. Serve with warm cornbread if desired.

classic pot roast with sweet potato parsnip mash

Being raised by a single parent meant that my sister and I shared in a lot of the household responsibilities.

It was a different time, we lived in a safe neighborhood, and my grandma lived next door. When we’d get home from school mom would still be at work and we’d have the house to ourselves. Every day we’d be met at the door with a long list of chores taped to the newel post at the foot of the stairs. The list changed daily and was usually pretty substantial, at least long enough to keep us out of trouble until mom got home. Chores didn’t just include vacuuming or washing the dishes either, we were in charge of serious cleaning jobs like vacuuming out heating vents and scrubbing the bathroom tile surround.

At the time, I don’t think it would have been humanly possible (if you consider pre-teens human) for us to hate our chores any more than we did, but looking back on it I’m incredibly grateful. After living with countless roommates through college and until meeting Russell, I now realize that beyond keeping a tidy house, mom was also teaching us valuable life skills that many of my friends and neighbors weren’t learning. I know all sorts of things about not living like a slob that many of my peers don’t, like how to wash dishes and actually get them clean. I can remember the specific moment in college when I realized I no longer wanted to fight with my roommate about who’s turn it was to do the dishes, because whenever she did them I’d end up wanting to wash them again anyway.

Another item that was usually on the list was making dinner. Working later in the day meant mom wouldn’t always have time to get dinner on the table after she got home, so she taught me a few simple recipes I could make on my own. Cooking dinner was one of the chores that I actually enjoyed doing and as time went on I started teaching myself new dishes all the time.

Pot roast was one of my old standbys, but back then I didn’t really know the “rules” when it came to braising and roasting, so to be honest my roasts weren’t very good. At the time I don’t think I even realized it, and mom never complained, but I hold myself to much higher standards nowadays. I was probably using the wrong cuts of meat, or cooking them at too high a temperature too quickly. I may have even been undercooking them, or at least not cooking them long enough to melt the collagen and make them tender. Either way, they were often as rubbery as shoe leather and flavored with little more than dried onion flakes, so as I got older I decided I didn’t really like pot roast.

Unfortunately I was a vegetarian in college, so even though I took several culinary courses, at the time I didn’t really feel the need to pay much attention during the meat classes.

If I could turn back time…
If I could find a way…

It was only a few years ago that I finally decided to give pot roast another go around, and that’s when I looked to the internet to show me the way. I tried a few recipes that came out okay; certainly better than what I made when I was 12, but not really good enough to make me want to bookmark any of them to make again.

Then, one day, I discovered the Cook’s Illustrated pot roast recipe.

Game-changing. Mind-blowing. Life-altering.
Etc.

Seriously. Their method makes, hands down, the best pot roast I’ve ever tasted in my entire life.

It is a little more work than some of the other recipes I’ve tried, but it is WELL worth it. It’s important to find the right cut of meat, and to speed up the collagen melting you’ll need to do some butchering of your own. You’ll also need to tie the meat up with cooking twine so it doesn’t fall apart in the pot, and to promote even cooking you have to flip it half way through cooking. Then the sauce for the meat is made by pureeing the vegetables from the roasting pan with broth and red wine for texture and flavor. This makes it a bit more involved than the set-it-and-forget-it style recipes prominent on Pinterest, but you guys, I swear. You’ll never want to make pot roast any other way.

Because I don’t know how to leave well enough alone, I did go ahead and make a few changes to their recipe to make it my own. The cooking method is exactly the same though, and produces the same mouthwatering, fork tender, practically falling apart results. Beyond the traditional red wine, the sauce benefits from a bit of acid and the original recipe calls for balsamic vinegar to be added at the end. Instead, I added apple cider (and a bit of chopped apple) to the cooking liquid. I thought this could be a fun seasonal twist and would add a subtle sweetness. It really works and makes this roast the perfect dish for welcoming fall weather.

Instead of roasting large chunks of potatoes and carrots to serve with the roast, I decided that I wanted to serve it over a bed of mashed sweet potatoes and parsnips. I think the slight sweetness and bright color pairs perfectly with the subtle apple flavor in the sauce.

I know I already said this, but hello fall flavors. You couldn’t ask for a more perfect dish to celebrate the change of seasons. A word of warning though, the house will smell unbelievable for up to four hours and your mouth will be watering constantly.

The flavor of this meat is just so…. meaty, and you won’t believe how tender it comes out. No knife required.
The pureed veggies in the sauce add a great rich and roasty flavor, and gives the sauce a nice thickness without having to make a roux for gravy.
Adding parsnips to the mashed sweet potatoes really helps balance their sweetness and adds a depth of flavor. Taking the time to brown the butter gives them an extra richness, and helps them feel well paired with the roasted meat.

Go make this.
Now.

Classic Pot Roast with Sweet Potato Parsnip Mash

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

3 1/2- to 4-pound boneless beef chuck-eye roast
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium (or 1 large) onions, halved and sliced thin (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, chopped medium (about 1 cup)
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped medium (about 3/4 cup)
2 celery ribs, chopped medium (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 firm tart apple (I used Braeburn), peeled cored and chopped medium (about 1/2 cup)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or crushed (about 2 teaspoons)
1 cup beef broth, plus more for sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine, plus another 1/4 cup for sauce
1/2 cup fresh apple cider
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 large sprig plus 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
Ground black pepper
chopped fresh parsley for garnish, if desired

Sweet Potato Parsnip Mash:
3/4 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 tablespoons butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Pull your chuck roast into two pieces at the natural seam, and trim off any large layers and knobs of fat. Sprinkle both pieces of meat with 1 tablespoon salt (1½ teaspoons if using table salt), place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Adjust your oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat butter in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add carrot, parsnip, celery, and apple; and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Stir in 1 cup of broth, ½ cup wine, apple cider, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme sprig; and bring to simmer.

Pat the roasts dry with paper towels and generously season on all sides with pepper. Use kitchen twine to tie each piece of meat into a loaf shape for even cooking and prevent it from falling apart.

Nestle the meat on top of the vegetables. Cover pot with a tight fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Cook beef for three hours, flipping halfway through. Check and, if necessary, continue cooking until beef is completely tender and sharp knife easily slips in and out, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. This extra time is best used to start your sweet potato parsnip mash, recipe below.

Once fully cooked, transfer roasts to cutting board and loosely tent with foil. Strain liquid through mesh strainer into a large liquid measuring cup. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Transfer cooked vegetables to blender jar. Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then skim any fat off surface. Add beef broth as necessary to bring liquid amount to 3 cups. Place liquid in blender with vegetables and blend until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium saucepan, add remaining wine and chopped thyme, and bring to simmer over medium heat. If sauce is too thick it can be thinned out with more beef stock. If too thin let it reduce to the desired consistency. Once reduced taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

While sauce heats and reduces, remove twine from roast and slice against grain into ½-inch-thick slices.

Sweet Potato Parsnip Mash:
Place sweet potatoes and parsnips in a large stockpot, cover with salted water, and bring to a boil. The parsnips can take longer to cook than the sweet potatoes, so it’s important that they’re in smaller pieces. Once the pot comes to a boil reduce the heat to medium and cook until vegetables are fork tender. This should take about 15 or 20 minutes, but can vary depending on the size of the pieces.

Once tender, transfer sweet potatoes and parsnips to a colander to drain. In the same pot heat the butter over medium heat just until it begins to brown. Stir occasionally and watch it closely or it can burn. Remove from heat. You can either push the drained sweet potatoes and parsnips through a potato ricer or food mill and add them back into the pot, or add them to the pot first and mash them with a potato masher. Stir in milk, a little at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Add nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Serve the meat on top of the mash and top with sauce and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

steak topped carrot and mango salad with chili lime dressing

Okay so the holidays are fast approaching and we are all surrounded by sweets and cookies and cakes and rich hearty indulgences.

With all the temptations at your fingertips this time of year, it’s easy to go overboard, and as much as I love to indulge, after a while your body just craves something fresh and bright and healthy. Of course, it’s also important to maintain a balance in your diet, to keep your ticker ticking and all. The thing about writing a food blog though, is that you tend to want to write about beautiful foods that make your mouth water just looking at them. While a lot of healthy foods certainly can taste great, “health food” ain’t sexy.

We tend to eat a lot of salads at home, though from what I post here you might not know it. Most of our dinner salads are a kitchen sink of whatever produce we can find in the fridge, and while they’re usually delicious, they’re not all that photogenic or imaginative. For that reason, they don’t often make it to the pages of Brooklyn Homemaker.

This salad though, is different. This salad isn’t just sexy, it’s seductive.

To get those super long, super thin, super sexy julienned strips of carrot and mango, I used a julienne peeler. In a pinch you could also use a standard box grater, but the results won’t be nearly as long or thin, and if your mango isn’t super firm I fear that it might just turn to mush. I think that getting those perfect thin strands of vegetables makes salads look so much more delicious and interesting and makes you want to just dive right in. These peelers are also really really easy to use, so if you’re looking for a fun and affordable new tool for your kitchen, or a great stocking stuffer for the cook in your life, I’d highly recommend picking one up!

To finish the salad and make it feel even more substantial and filling, I added some seared London broil, sliced ultra thin. If you’re not a steak fan though you can use whatever protein you like. I think the steak works really well with the dressing, but sliced chicken breast would be great here too. You could even go for some fresh juicy shrimp, seared salmon fillets, or even some decadent confit duck leg. Or, for that matter, skip the protein altogether. There is such a wide variety of flavors and textures going on that this salad is pretty amazing all on it’s own.

While it certainly is good for you, the last word that comes to mind when you eat this salad is healthy. It’s bursting with so much flavor and offers such a variety of textures that you won’t be thinking about anything else. The carrots and mango are crunchy and fresh, and every bite is permeated with the sweet, bright, and spicy dressing. The crunchy cashews taste almost buttery against the sweet acidity of the rest of the salad, the cilantro is fresh and green and summery, and the sliced steak stands in soft and tender contrast to all that crispness and crunch.

Steak Topped Carrot and Mango Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

Servings: 3 to 4
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Dressing:
zest and juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a dressing bottle or measuring cup and whisk or shake vigorously.

Salad:
6 medium carrots, julienned or grated (about 4 cups)
1 firm (or slightly under-ripe) mango, peeled and julienned or grated (about 2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1/2 cup torn cilantro leaves
1 cup unsalted roasted cashews
12 to 16 oz London Broil (or other lean boneless steak), optional
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

Julienne carrots using a julienne peeler (I LOVE this one), or grate them with a box grater. Peel the mango and julienne it, stopping where you feel the pit beneath the flesh. You can also slice the mango off the pit and grate it with a box grater. Combine the carrots, mango, sliced shallot, and chili lime dressing in a large bowl and toss well to combine.

At this point you could finish the salad and eat it as is, but I think it really benefits from at least an hour’s rest covered in the refrigerator.
So, if you have time, cover and refrigerate from 1 to 24 hours to let the flavors mingle. Just before serving, add the cashews and cilantro and toss until well combined.

Generously season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Preheat a large heavy bottom skillet (not non-stick) over high heat. Once the pan is good and super hot, add butter or oil, and sear the steak for 3-6 minutes on either side, flipping only once. This will depend on the thickness of the steak, but 3 minutes per side should get you to about medium rare, and 6 should get you closer to medium well. Remove steak to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing against the grain of the meat, into super thin slices with a very sharp knife.

While steak is resting, toss the salad again to redistribute the dressing. Plate the salad and top with slices of steak.

summery steak salad with chili lime dressing

OMG it’s actually summer now!

It’s already felt like summer for weeks, but according to the dates on the calendar, it’s official now. Summer, with it’s long days and sunshine, picnics and parties, and farm stands and markets filled with fresh produce. Bright, vibrant, sweet, crunchy, juicy, wonderful, delicious produce.

I know it’s not really corn season just yet here in New York, but real fresh sweet corn is starting to show up in the grocery store and that’s good enough for me. I seriously LOVE the first sweet corn of the season. It’s just so much sweeter and crunchier than the frozen bagged corn I’ve been eating all winter. I know the local stuff will be even fresher, sweeter, and more delicious, but it’s not time yet and I need my fix.

I’m not ashamed to admit that after slicing off the kernels, I was standing alone in the kitchen nibbling away at the ears to get at those last juicy little golden bits.

When corn is fresh and ripe, it’s sweet and crunchy enough to go straight into the salad raw, right off the ear. For an extra layer of flavor though, I tossed the corn into a screaming hot cast iron pan for a couple minutes to roast the kernels just a bit.

Along with the corn, I added crisp sweet slices of red bell pepper, romaine lettuce for body and crunch, red onion for bite, and big chunks of ripe avocados for their soft creamy texture. Then the cherry on top of it all was thinly sliced tender juicy steak.

I think London Broil is perfect for this salad. It’s not too fatty, with nice even marbling, and free of any gristle or nastiness. Flank steak would work really well too. Either way, it’s best if you slice it super thin with a very sharp knife. Russell likes his more cooked than I do, so I sliced the steak in half and put his on a few minutes before mine. If everyone likes it the same way though, there’s no need. Generously season your steak, get your pan screaming hot, and let it go for a few minutes on either side. It really just takes a few minutes. You can cook it as much as you like, but it’ll be more tender, and better for a salad, at about medium rare or medium.

Quick side note, don’t attempt searing your steak on a non-stick pan. The high heat will ruin the surface. It’s best to use a cast iron or stainless steel skillet, but if you don’t have one you can put your steak under the broiler or on the grill instead.

To pair with the sweet crisp veggies in the salad, I wanted a bright acidic dressing with a bit of spice. I chose to go for little more than a couple freshly squeezed limes with their zest, some good extra virgin olive oil, a touch of honey, and a bit of cayenne pepper and chili powder for spice. The dressing is really quick to throw together, and it really is the perfect compliment to all the other elements of this salad. Tangy, crisp, sweet, and acidic, with just a hint of heat.

Summery Steak Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

Servings: 4-ish
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Dressing:
zest and juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (if desired)

Combine all ingredients in a dressing bottle or measuring cup and whisk or shake vigorously.

Salad:
1 lb london broil
1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)
1 large head romaine lettuce
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 ears sweet corn
1/2 medium red onion, sliced into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 avocado, cut into large bite-sized chunks

Season steak on both sides with salt, pepper, chili powder, and cayenne, and set aside to rest. Shuck the corn and slice the kernels off the ear using a sharp knife. I hold the ear straight up and down with the butt end on a board, and shave down with my knife. Add 1/2 the tablespoon of olive oil to a preheated skillet and roast kernels over high heat for about 4 or 5 minutes, stirring infrequently, until they just begin to brown. Set aside, wipe out the skillet, and add remaining olive oil. Sear your steak for 3-6 minutes on either side, flipping only once. Depending on the thickness of the steak, 3 minutes per side should get you to about medium rare, and 6 should get you closer to medium well. Remove steak to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 5 minutes while you prepare the rest of the salad. Chop, wash, and dry romaine and add to a large bowl with roasted corn, red onion, bell pepper, and avocado. Top with dressing and toss until well combined. Plate your tossed salad and top with steak sliced into super thin strips.