Day Seventy-One

She Said:

Another tired day but we need to stop eating the fast food and get back to some healthy eating. So, we cooked last night. It was another dish that counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project and it was from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

This meal was dynamite! A one-dish affair that made me ask He to go make it again as soon as I was done eating it the first time. Absolutely delicious!

Chinese Beef and Broccoli

1 pound beef, preferably flank steak or top sirloin roast, cut into matchsticks (we used buffalo flank steak from the farmer's market and the strips were a bit larger than matchsticks - see prior mention of being tired)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry, divided (we used sherry)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large heads broccoli (2 pounds), stems sliced and florets roughly chopped (12 cups)
⅓ cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
Hot cooked white rice

1. Combine the beef, oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the wine, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside to marinate.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch for 3 minutes, until the broccoli is barely tender and bright green. Drain, plunge into cold water to stop the cooking, and set aside to drain. (This last step seems to be important because we skipped it and we got broccoli mush.)

3. To make the sauce, combine the broth, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, remaining 1 tablespoon wine, and cornstarch. Whisk until thoroughly combined.

4. Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until very hot. Add half the beef and marinade and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to scrape the beef into a medium bowl and keep warm. Return the wok to high heat. Repeat with another 1 tablespoon of the oil and the remaining beef and marinade. Transfer the beef and marinade to the bowl and wipe out the wok. (We found this to be impossible because the marinade contains sugar and the wok could not simply be wiped out. For one thing, it was REALLY hot. For another, the sugar had begun to burn, so we let it cool down for a little while and then washed and dried it.)

5. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over high heat until very hot. Add the broccoli and stir-fry, stirring constantly, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Push the broccoli to the sides of the pan and add the ginger and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Toss with the broccoli.

6. Return the beef to the wok. Whisk the sauce and pour into the wok. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened and evenly coats the beef and broccoli, about 1 minute.

7. Serve immediately with the hot rice.

Seriously delicious meal!

Day 71/375:Recipe 36/175

Day Thirty-Five

She Said:

We had a nice dinner last night but it wasn't knock-your-socks-off, like I'd hoped. We had filet mignon, which is always great, but we made a shallot-anchovy-butter sauce for it and that was sort of meh. We also had roasted potatoes (a little olive oil, salt and pepper) and they were also just meh. The star of the show was the vegetable. And it also counts toward our own Julie/Julia Project, which is sweet!

This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Sauteéd Broccoli

3 head broccoli (2-3½ pounds), trimmed and cut into long spears
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli and boil until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process. (I didn't plunge.)

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant and pale gold, about 1 minute. Add the broccoli and parsley and sauté just until the broccoli is heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

Simple and really delicious! I will make this again and again. (Plus, I really love broccoli so it's special to find yet another way to prepare it.)

Day 35/365:Recipe 24/175

Day Sixteen

She Said:

We finally got our internet back again - yay!! So now I can tell you about what came next in our own Julie/Julia Project.

This is from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman.

Chicken and Broccoli in Mornay Sauce

3 large heads (1½ pounds) broccoli, stems sliced and florets broken into small pieces (12 cups)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
¾ cup grated Gruyère cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well. Transfer the broccoli to a clean towel and pat dry.

2. Put ¾ cup of the flour in a shallow bowl. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour and add to the skillet in a single layer. Sauté the chicken on both sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the chicken to a bowl to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

4. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the garlic. Sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup flour and whisk until smooth. Stir in the broth and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup of the cheese. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.

5. To assemble the casserole, arrange the broccoli in the baking dish. Pour half the sauce over the broccoli. Arrange the chicken on top. Cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup cheese over all.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbling and browned.

7. Serve hot.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
¾ cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cover the potatoes and garlic with cold salted water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Partially remove the lid and boil until the potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan until steaming.

2. Drain the potatoes. Mash the potatoes in a mixing bowl or pass through a potato ricer into a mixing bowl. Beat the potatoes as you pour in the heated milk mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

This was a relatively easy meal to make and it was quite tasty. We even have leftover mashed potatoes to go with tonight's meal!

Day 16/365:Recipes 11 and 12/175

Disappointing Day Three

She Said:

Well, we made two recipes for dinner last night and didn't particularly care for either of them. I think it may have been the cilantro (not really a fan) but I don't know. I'll put the recipes here in case anyone would ever want to try them. When you read the recipes, you'll think that they should be fabulous but it just didn't work out that way.

These are both from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman and are part of our own Julie/Julia Project.

Day Three

Oven-Steamed Chinese-Style Fish With Scallions

6-8 scallions, julienned
1 piece fresh ginger, 2 inches long, julienned
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine (I misread this before I went shopping and thought it said rice wine vinegar, so we used mirin since we didn't have rice wine)
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2-2 pounds firm white fish fillets, such as cod, halibut, tilapia (we used tilapia)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 450℉.

2. Scatter half the scallions, ginger, and garlic in a shallow roasting pan.

3. Stir together the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour half into the roasting pan.

4. Arrange the fish fillets in the pan. Cover with the remaining scallions, ginger, and garlic. Pour the remaining steaming liquid over the top. Seal the pan with aluminum foil.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the fish flakes readily with a fork.

6. Scatter the cilantro on top and serve hot.

Sesame Broccoli Noodle Salad

Salad
1 pound fresh Chinese noodles or 3/4 pound angel-hair pasta (we used dried Chinese noodles)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 pound broccoli (1 large head), stem peeled and diced and florets broken into small pieces (about 6 cups)
1 cup julienned baby carrots or 1 red bell pepper, julienned (we chose the pepper)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Sweet Soy Dressing
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sherry or Chinese rice wine (we used sherry)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1. To make the salad, cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until just done. Drain and rinse well to cool. Transfer the noodles to a large salad bowl and toss with the sesame oil.

2. Steam the broccoli over boiling water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain, plunge into cold water to stop the cooking, and drain again.

3. Add the broccoli and carrots (or pepper) to the noodles and toss again.

4. To make the dressing, combine the vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sherry, cilantro, if using, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk in the sesame oil until well combined.

5. Pour the dressing over the noodles and vegetables and toss. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the salad and serve.

The fish cooked quite nicely by using this method and I don't think it's a bad technique to have in your back pocket. But the flavors just didn't mesh well. I'm not quite ready to give up on the noodles yet. They were cold - VERY cold. I think I would have liked them better if they were warm. And, since we have about a ton left over, I'm going to try heating them up for lunch and see how that goes.

But these are two recipes we probably won't be making again, sadly.

Day 3/365:Recipes 3 and 4/175

One Local Summer, Week 3

Tonight's meal was not so good.  I may try it again some time with a few modifications.  But it qualifies for the One Local Summer challenge and that's good.

Onion and Pepper Turkey Sausage with Braised Broccoli - find the post on Flickr here.

For some reason, the picture won't upload so you'll have to see it over on Flickr.