Category: Meat

Chocolate Chili Tacos by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

I made a pot of ground beef chili with the usual ingredients: green and jalapeno peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, a variety of spices and beans (red kidney & black beans). After simmering for about 30 minutes, I tasted it and thought a bit of dark chocolate would meld all these flavors together. And it worked!
Small chunks of dark chocolate (67-72% cacao), melted into the chili, pulled all the flavors together into one ‘happy-on-the-tongue’ melody. My batch of chili was rather thick after chilling it overnight, so I decided that it would make a great taco filling. But feel free to enjoy it as a ‘bowl of chili’, knowing that you may need to thin it out with a bit of broth or water upon re-heating. Also, I garnished with a small handful of Lesser Evil popcorn, for crunch and whimsy. (BTW, Lesser Evil, which we offer at Foodie’s is a fantastic-tasting popcorn!)

A French Hamburger: with Caramelized Onions & Brie on Brioche by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan.

I recently watched a very old episode of Julia Child on WGBH in which she made French hamburgers and proclaimed that the French were equally fond of hamburgers (‘bifteck hache’). In her version diced onions, egg and dried Italian (I know - Italian!) herbs were mixed into the ground beef and the patties were lightly floured and pan-seared. In my version, there’s slow-cooked caramelized onions, classic mushroom duxelles (‘mushroom
hash’), Dijon mustard and Brie cheese; classic French flavors that are very reminiscent of French Onion Soup.
Note: In the picture, I stacked two finished burgers on top of each other…just for effect!!

French Onion Brisket by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

NEWS  FLASH !!  

Braised Beef Brisket meets French Onion Soup.  One pot.  Makes its own Sauce.  Delicious and Easy.

(The work is in slicing the onions and in being patient enough to let them caramelize slowly to their full browned glory.)

Beef, Bean & Sweet Potato Enchiladas by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This is a straightforward enchilada recipe with a bit of a twist:  I’ve used sweet potato puree to replace some of the cheese (reducing some saturated fat and increasing the fiber content).   The sweet potato can be roasted ahead of time.  I roasted it the day before, peeled the skin away, mashed it with a fork and refrigerated it.  Doing this step ahead will definitely save some ‘day-of’ prep time.

Corned Beef Hash with Taste & Texture-Enhancing ‘Hacks’ by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

What to do with those corned beef dinner leftovers? Make hash, of course.
My mother always put aside some of the corned beef dinner fixings’ just for this purpose, and she would crank it through the meat grinder, that cast-aluminum model that got clamped to the table.
Truth be told, this was my job…the vegetables and meat would squish out through the small holes of the attached die-piece.
As much fun as this process was, it did render ALL the ingredients to a bit of a wet-homogenous pile.
As I thought about my mother’s technique, I realized that some chef-style improvements could be brought to bear on the process:
1.) Draining the meat and cabbage on paper towels overnight in the fridge would remove excess moisture and yield a firmer finished product.
2.) Cooking a new batch of carrots and potatoes would add flavor & texture. (The potatoes & carrots that cooked together with the corned beef have given up both their texture and flavor to the cooking broth.)
3.) Adding prepared sauerkraut to the hash adds piquancy and texture to the finished dish, and it’s not detectable as a strong sauerkraut flavor; it gives nuance and crunch to the dish. (I continue to experiment with our new line of Cleveland Kraut. Choose your favorite flavor.)

Tacos al Beef Barbacoa by Chef Laura Brennan

Lately I’ve been spotting random recipes for “Beef Barbacoa” and wondered if it was a Mexican barbecue technique…and it is…kind of.

“Barbacoa” may be the precursor to the word “Barbecue”; they sound similar, right?   But all the “Barbacoa” recipes I’ve read have instructed the cook to both grill and continue cooking in some liquid; which is braising. Grilling the meat and onions before braising adds another layer of flavor, so I have combined both grilling and low-and-slow in-the-oven braising techniques in this recipe to create a tender, highly flavored ‘pull-apart’ meat, ready to stuff into taco shells (or burrito wraps).

“FRENCH ONION SOUP” Inspired PIZZA By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This recipe sprang from a desire to eat a glorious, steaming bowl of French Onion Soup with grilled crusty bread and gooey Swiss cheese.
But I was more than reluctant to invest the hours it would take to make an excellent beef broth; and anything less than an excellent broth would not be satisfying. Hence, this is how the ingredients of a classic French Onion Soup ‘shape-shifted’ their way into a pizza topping.

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Stuffed mushrooms…..I remember my mother making these for the BIG football games; my father loved them stuffed with sausage and cheese. In a nod to our improved diets, I offer a vegetarian version.   I have up-graded the technique a bit by pre-roasting them until they begin to exude liquid and then stuffing and baking a second time.  I think it reduces the ‘squeak-on-the teeth’ factor. I also don’t chop up the stems to use in the stuffing; half the stem is tough and the other half is dirt-caked.  Instead, wash the stems and make broth with them and chop up fresh mushroom caps to add to the stuffing mix.

SPICED ‘SMOTHERED’ CABBAGE and APPLES by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

I don’t know when, where or how I started using ‘smothered’ as a cooking technique.  I know that I didn’t invent it.  So, I ‘Googled’ it:  Lo and behold it is a bona fide cooking technique with roots deep in Southern cuisine.  It is defined as covered, slow cooking with minimal added liquid.  I ‘smothered’ the red cabbage by slow cooking it, covered, in the oven, in apple cider vinegar and its own juices released during the cooking process.  The result is a silky, deeply flavored side dish worthy of your holiday table. I am going to serve it alongside a Crown Roast of Pork!

Pork Milanese with Roasted Butternut Squash and Fig-Balsamic Glaze By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

“Milanese”: in the style of Milan. It’s the technique of breading and pan-frying (aka sautéeing) a cutlet of thinly sliced veal, chicken or pork. The results are crispy, moist and irresistible.
There are a couple of “chef hacks” that can help you in your quest for excellent results.
First, start with ½ inch (or thinner) cutlets. Lay them flat on your cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Using your closed fist, gently pound each piece a bit flatter. Resist the urge to pound them super-flat with a meat bat or rolling pin. While it may be cathartic after a long day, it pounds the juices out of the meat and it’s too thin to get a good solid bite of crispy meat in the finished product.