Beef

Mole Chili con Carne

May 20, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I enjoyed the pork mole negro I made a while ago I thought I would try it in a chili. Originally I started with a basic recipe for meat chili and it eventually evolved into both a mole and a chili recipe. I’ve always thought the flavors in mole would go well in a chili and it turns out I was right because this was very tasty! The flavors of the chili were multi-layered and complex (probably because of the 20+ ingredients in it). This recipe is ideal for a large slow cooker but a sauce pot on low heat would work fine too.

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Kare Udon (Japanese Curry Soup)

May 12, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Kare Udon is a Japanese curry soup made with a simple broth, curry roux, and udon noodles. I have tried Moroccan, Indian, and Thai curries but I have never tried a Japanese curry. The broth is called Dashi, which can be made all sorts of ways but at its most basic is boiled kelp and water. I couldn’t find Dashi anywhere, not even at the local Asian market, so I had to substitute vegetable broth for it. I was excited to find the curry roux and udon at the grocery store. The curry turned out great. I made a full curry with potatoes, carrots, and beef and it was very tasty.

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"Philly" Cheese Steak Sandwich

March 12, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I have been looking around for more good sandwich recipes and I decided to try a Philly cheese steak. Since I never actually had a Philly cheese steak, I picked a recipe from the internet that looked good without thinking much about it. I then ran the ingredients by John who has had a real Philly from one of the cult places in Philadelphia. He was a little surprised when I told him there would be green peppers and provolone in the sandwich. He was also pretty weirded out that I was using neither rib-eye steak or “steak-ums” (whatever that is).

Basically none of the ingredients were “right,” except maybe the sourdough roll. Cheese steak challenges aside, I thought the sandwich turned out great. The peppers, onions, and steak were good together.B Next time I might try making a more traditional Philly. I just don’t think I can ever go there with that cheese-wiz stuff.

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Reuben Sandwich

February 7, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I have been craving some hot sandwiches, John recommended that we try Reubens. Then he told me that sauerkraut was involved and I got worried. The smell of sauerkraut is kind of intimidating. Then I tried it out of the jar and it wasn’t too good. John just spoons it out throws it on a hot dog and i’m just like ‘wow’.

I have also never tried pastrami before so this definitely was a whole group of new flavors. I like trying unfamiliar foods though so I decided to keep my mind open. The sauerkraut tasted a lot better after it had been drained and sauteed. It was actually really tasty on the sandwich since the dressing, rye, cheese, and meat were enhanced by its flavor. So, I will be using kraut again on reuben sandwiches for sure–but hot dogs? Noo way.

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Beef and Barley Stew

November 10, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

Believe it or not, Californians experience winter too (relatively). It’s gotten colder and rainier now that it’s November, and i’ve been wanting to make a nice, hearty stew. I was excited to try this recipeB because I remember my mom’s beef barley stew from the crock pot. This recipe turned out a lot more savory and different than my mom’s, but it was still very good. I have a modern crock pot that is um, very efficient at cooking (which kind of defeats the purpose of a slow cooker, but whatever). Anyways, I have to be very careful to not over cook meats. A recipe might say to leave everything in for 6-7B hours on low and with my cooker the meat is done in 90 minutes and everything else is raw. This has caused some problems in the past. In order to compensate (since I do really like my crock pot), I have resorted to taking the meat ingredients out and cooking the rest for several more hours. I have a large, 6 quart cooker so if you have a smaller one make sure to use less of everything.

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