Slow Cooker Red Wine Beef Stew

It blessedly dropped into the 60s for two days last week (before jumping back to the 80s), so on Sunday I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather and make this hearty slow cooked red wine beef stew. It was super simple to make, very comforting, and very wine-y!

Hearty Beef and Bean Chili with Cornbread

The weather is finally cooling down a bit in Los Angeles (though it's supposed to be back in the 80's by Sunday!), which has left me frantically cooking as many warm-weather dishes as possible before it heats up again. 

Beef Roulade with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Tapenade

I made this rather fancy dish on a whim. I had a big piece of discount beef (yum?) and a bunch of leftovers from Tapas Sunday, and I decided that beef stuffed with tapenade, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, and lots of garlic actually sounded really good.

BBQ: Orange-Ginger Marinated Chicken and Honey-Soy Marinated Steak

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I am kind of obsessed with barbecuing. Nate and I don't have a grill, but the state parks here have small grills that anyone can use, provided you bring your own charcoal. We went to the Santa Monica Airport Park after a long day of lounging at the beach and to our surprise there were open grills - that were clean! Usually the grills are caked with charred food remains and various debris, so it felt like quite the treat to not have to spend the first 15 minutes scraping and brushing it clean.

Chopped: Chiles de Arbol, Kumquat, Nopales, Sage, Ice Cream Cone, and Marshmallow!

Chopped round 2 was so much better than Chopped round 1!

Nate chose 6 secret ingredients this time, although I think 4 is what they usually do on the show. I had to talk him out of including a jar of green been pickles I made months ago, and some plum-vanilla brandy that is still steeping in a jar in the cupboard.

The Chopped ingredients were:

 Stale gluten-free marshmallows and stale ice cream cones from the cupboard:

Kumquats:

Nopales, aka diced cactus paddle:

Dried Chiles de Arbol:

And a bunch of fresh sage.

I knew that the kumquat and chiles would go together well, but I was honestly just pissed off about the marshmallows. They were stale and gross and sickly sweet, and I didn't want their flavor to taint anything! But rules are rules.

I immediately knew that I would throw the ice cream cones into the blender and use them as a crunchy crust for some beef we had in the fridge. I toasted them up a bit (which consisted of me putting them in the toaster over, looking in with dismay to see that they had started melting, then letting them cool until they were extremely crispy) then blended them to a coarse meal, and set aside.

I wanted to make an Asian-flavored dipping sauce for the beef tenders, so I minced some garlic and ginger and threw it into a sauce pan with about 5 Chiles de Arbol and a dash of canola and sesame oil. I then added about 10 thinly sliced kumquats, 2 TBSP of peach-jalapeno jam, about 1/4 cup soy sauce, and a splash of white wine, and brought to a simmer. I cooked until the flavors had melded and the sauce was slightly thickened. It had a great salty, garlicky, sweet and spicy flavor. 

In the mean time, I needed to do something with the nopales! Nopales are sort of acidic in flavor. The thing that makes them really challenging to cook with is that they are mucilaginous, like okra or aloe. I blanched the nopales in boiling water, then rinsed with cold water. 

I decided to make a light, refreshing salad, since the tempura was all fried and heavy. I added a few tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar to a bowl, then added the nopales, a cucumber cut into chunks, some diced yellow bell pepper, some sliced kumquats, 2 sliced scallions, and about 1 T chopped fresh sage. I mixed it all together, then put it into the fridge so the flavors could meld while I worked on the other ingredients.

I had gotten some asparagus, purple "green beans", and yellow bell pepper at the farmers market. I decided to make some tempura to go along with the dipping sauce. 

Ready for the batter...

The tempura batter consisted of 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 cups sparkling water, and 1 TBSP cornstarch. Super simple, the batter makes for an ultra light, crispy crust. 

I sliced up some chicken, then in batches, dipped the veggies/chicken in tempura batter and fried in about 1-2" canola oil, turning once, until crispy and slightly golden. I drained them over some metal cooling racks that I usually use for cookies. 

Then I salted and peppered the sliced beef, dredged it in a beaten egg, and coated it in ground ice cream cone. I fried the beef in oil until crispy on both sides, then drained over a cooling rack.

With all of the secret ingredients used up except the marshmallow. I knew what I had to do...I threw the marshmallows in what was left of the tempura batter, then fried them on either side for about 30 seconds. 

Deep fried marshmallows..."YUM".... :(

The Results

With the exception of the sickly sweet, oily marshmallows (part of your balanced American diet), the rest of the meal was pretty good!

I would definitely make the dipping sauce again, and the tempura batter worked perfectly. The only problem was that a lot of it was cold by the time we ate, since I had to fry everything in very small batches thanks to my teeny tiny stove. Surprisingly though, the batter was still crispy once cold!

Dipping Sauce

Tempura! Chicken, purple green beans, yellow pepper, and asparagus.

I would make the refreshing side salad again too, only without the nopales. Their texture is just too funky for me... I would sub in some green bell pepper. Apparently nopales are used in a lot of soups/stews, where their mucilaginous qualities melt into the broth and help thicken it. In the salad, they were just kind of gooey and unappetizing, although their tangy citrus-like flavor worked well with the rest of the ingredients. The chopped sage actually complemented the other ingredients in the salad perfectly - it has a sort of bitter, piney flavor that helped tone down the acidity of the kumquat and nopales. 

For Nate, the real stand out was the ice cream cone crusted beef. The sweetness of the cone complemented the beef nicely, and it had a nice crispy crunch to it. 

Ice cream cone beef tenders...who knew!

When all is said and done, Chopped is super fun and I can't wait to do it again! There's something so satisfying about taking a random group of ingredients...

And turning them into a tasty meal!

(again, fried marshmallows not withstanding!) 

The Best Meatloaf Ever — With Roasted Purple Carrots

I never thought I would choose to start my blog with something like a recipe for meatloaf. Growing up I hated meatloaf, and I haven't had it in years, or made it...ever. But it all makes sense when you hear why I chose to make it: 90% lean ground beef was REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE at the grocery store, priced right at $1/lb. $1 for a dinner for two, with leftovers for at least two lunches, is an unbeatable deal...but what to make? I almost always choose ground turkey over ground beef, and often chickpeas over turkey, so I wasn't sure what to do. But fate had it's own plans and tonight I stumbled across what may or may not be...

The Best Meatloaf Ever! with Roasted Organic Purple Carrots on the side

(Scroll past photos for full recipe. Meatloaf recipe adapted from Cooking Light)

What makes this meatloaf the best ever? It is a wonderfully crumbly, moist loaf full of savory umami flavors and a lovely contrasting sweetness from the carrots and the glaze.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

First, prep the carrots. You will need 1 bunch of (preferably purple!) carrots.

How are purple carrots different from regular carrots, you ask?

Well...they're prettier, for one!

Remove the tops from the carrots.

Purple carrots have a thicker skin than regular carrots - almost like the skin of a beet. They're a lot... hairier, too. Peel off any bits that are covered in fuzzy roots, and give all of the carrots a good scrub to remove any dirt.

Set two fully peeled carrots aside for the meatloaf. Then, cut the carrots into even pieces - about three inches long by a half inch wide.

Toss the carrots in a small roasting pan with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Ready for the oven!

Add a heaping half cup of breadcrumbs to the loaf pan you will be using for the meatloaf, and put it in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.

Dice two slices of bacon (to make it easier, cut the slices so they are half as long, then stack). Place in saute pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fat has rendered out and meat is becoming crispy.  Dice the two carrots you set aside and add them to the pan. Add one half of a diced yellow onion, and three minced cloves of garlic.

Season with pepper and just a wee pinch of salt. Saute for 8-10 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Add 1 TBSP tomato paste and raise heat to medium-high. Cook 1-2 minutes, then add about 1/2 cup wine and deglaze the pan. I used Sauvignon Blanc, which was probably whack, but it ended up tasting good so who cares! Cook until liquid has evaporated and turn off the heat.

In the meantime, remove the toasted breadcrumbs from the oven and place them in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add 1/4 C milk, 1 lightly beaten egg, 2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley, and 1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme.

Add 1 LB ground beef, bacon/onion/carrot mixture, 1/2 tsp dried basil (fresh if you have it on hand), salt and pepper.

Mix lightly — you want the mixture to be fully combined, but NOT stirred into a mush. A picture would be helpful here, no? Yeah. well....I forgot to take one. It's a lot easier to remember to take pictures of pretty purple carrots than a bowl of raw meat. 

Loosely place the ground beef mixture into a non-stick loaf pan. Don't smash it down and pack it in! Keep the mixture loose and light in the pan for optimal texture once it's been cooked. 

Prepare a glaze. I sort of wung it (winged it?!?) and mixed about 1/3 C organic ketchup, 2 TBSP brown sugar, 1/4 tsp dried mustard, and 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar, but feel free to play around with the flavors until you get something tangy, savory, and sweet. 

Spread glaze evenly over meatloaf.

Then place meatloaf, and roasting pan of carrots, into the oven.

Cook for 35 minutes, turning carrots half way. 

Add 1/4 cup of water to the carrots, cover, and cook both dishes for 10-15 more minutes, or until carrots are tender. 

Let the meatloaf sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with the roasted purple carrots and a handful of mixed baby greens (I used a spicy mix of two kinds of organic baby kale and wild arugula.) 

Now ENJOY what is, in my mind, the BEST MEATLOAF EVER!

Full Recipes

For the Meatloaf:

1/2 C bread crumbs, heaping

2 slices of bacon, diced

2 carrots, diced

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 TBSP tomato paste

1/2 C wine

1/4 C milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 LB 90% lean ground beef

Salt and Pepper, to taste

glaze:

1/3 C organic ketchup 

2 TBSP brown sugar 

1/4 tsp dried mustard

1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

For the carrots:

1 bunch purple carrots

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1 TBSP olive oil

1/4 C water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Place 1/2 C breadcrumbs into a loaf pan and place in oven. Cook 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and remove from oven. Set aside.

Add diced bacon to medium saute pan. Cook over medium heat until fat is rendered out and meat is getting crispy at the edges. Add diced carrots to the pan and cook 1-2 minutes, then add onion and garlic. Season with pepper and a tiny bit of salt, then saute 8-10 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Add 1 TBSP tomato paste and raise heat. Cook 1-2 minute, then add 1/2 C wine and deglaze pan. Continue cooking until all liquid is absorbed, then remove pan from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, add toasted breadcrumbs, 1/4 C milk, 1 lightly beaten egg, parsley, thyme, basil, the sauteed mixture, and 1 lb ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Mix gently until combined. The key is to keep the mixture light, not dense and sticky. 

Place beef mixture into loaf pan. 

Create a glaze by mixing 1/3 C organic ketchup, 2 TBSP brown sugar, 1/4 tsp dried mustard, and 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar in a dish, then spread over meatloaf.

In the meantime, cut washed and peeled carrots into evenly sized sticks about 3 inches long by 1/2 inch wide. Toss in a small roasting pan with 1 TBSP olive oil, 1 tsp thyme, salt, and pepper. 

Bake meatloaf 45-50 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 F. Let sit 10 minutes before slicing. 

Cook carrots for 35 minutes, add 1/4 cup water, then cover and cook until tender, about 10 more minutes.

Serve with mixed baby greens.