Main courses

December in the kitchen – Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce
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December in the kitchen – Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce

Ok, I give up; the red wine pickle brine has won! Inspired by Mr. Fitz’s hanger steak and the beet pickle brine that was tossed down the sink, I purchased skirt steak at the butchers.

Then I got curious about the difference between skirt steak and hanger steak, were they the same? I thought so, but I was wrong. A little searching turned up the answer. There are four cuts which are very similar in looks but come from different places on the cow; the skirt, flatiron, hanger, and flank steaks. Isn’t the Internet amazing? You can find out anything with just a few clicks. Following is a quick map of where you will those various steaks:

cow

Skirt steak, it turns out, is actually the cow’s diaphragm muscle, it’s chewy but tender if cooked quickly and left quite rare. It has quite a lot of marbling and is very flavorful. It’s a long and narrow piece of meat, as much as a few feet in length. It takes well to marinades or dry rubs. It’s one of my favorite cuts and has been discovered in recent years. At my butchers it was more expensive per pound than a T-bone steak!

Flank steak comes from the belly area near a cow’s back legs. It’s much leaner than the skirt steak and takes well to marinades and grilling. Flank should be sliced against the grain for serving.

Hanger steak comes from deep inside the loin, encircled by the rib cake. It’s relatively tender compared to skirt and flank steaks (and more expensive since there is only one per cow). The French call this cut an onglet; it’s frequently seen on menus in bistros accompanied by pomme frites.

A flatiron steak comes from the front shoulder of the cow; it’s sometimes called a top blade or petite tender.

I’d recommend cooking all of them to rare to medium rare.

This post should probably be titled “Skirt steak marinated in red wine pickle brine with chimichurri sauce”, but that’s a bit of a mouthful! Chimichurri sauce is a green herb sauce originally from Argentina; there it’s commonly paired with steak.

Red wine marinade

Red wine pickling brine and marinade

Red wine and vinegar marinade

  • 2 cups of red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup of red wine
  • ½ cup of water
  • ¼ cup of honey
  • 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
  • 16 sprigs of fresh thyme (8 for heating with marinade)
  • 8 sprigs of fresh rosemary (4 for heating with marinade)
  1. Combine the red wine vinegar, red wine, water, honey, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, 8 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 4 sprigs of rosemary in a saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat and allow the herbs to infuse the marinade as it cools.
  2. Once cool remove the thyme and rosemary.
  3. Pour the marinade over the steaks, adding the other fresh herbs.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, overnight would be ok.
  5. Pat dry before grilling (we used the BBQ) or cooking on a stove top grill. Since a single steak will vary in thickness you will have a range of “rareness”. We cooked on fairly high heat for 3 minutes a side.
skirt steak

Skirt steak

Marinating skirt steak

Marinating skirt steak

Chimichurri sauce

chimichurri sauce

Chimichurri sauce

  • 1 cup of fresh parsley leaves, stalks removed
  • ¼ cup of fresh oregano
  • ¼ cup of fresh mint
  • 3-5 cloves of garlic
  • 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons of shallots
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
  • ½ teaspoon of chili flakes (less if you do not want spicy)
  • ¾ cup of olive oil
  1. Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor. Process until finely chopped by turning off and on, scrape down the sides as needed.
  2. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until an emulsion is formed. Scrape down the sides as needed.
  3. Pour into a container and refrigerate. This will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce

Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce

Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce

Skirt steak with chimichurri sauce

I served this with an adaptation of the spiced cauliflower “couscous” recipe from Giramuk’s Kitchen. It was a big hit!

 

December in the kitchen – Pickle marinated chicken leg quarters
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December in the kitchen – Pickle marinated chicken leg quarters

I have to admit it; I am still kicking myself over the loss of that pickling brine from the red beets. Do you remember, I poured the extra brine down the sink just as the deliciousness of it sunk in?! I cannot seem to get it out of my head. Would you say my brain is pickled? Maybe if you know me!

So, when we recently finished a jar of pickled asparagus, I didn’t make the same mistake. I saved it. Pickled asparagus is delicious with softly scrambled eggs and goat cheese, that’s how we finished off the jar last weekend. The big asparagus season comes in March and April here in California, but there have been some tiny thin ones in the store. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised as it has been sprouting in my garden as well. I usually pass by the thin ones, preferring the larger and more flavorful stalks. But, asparagus pickle juice and fresh asparagus hmm; the combination caught my imagination.

Pickle brine

Pickle brine

“Bon appetite” had an article for pickle brine marinated fried chicken a few months ago. I don’t do a lot of frying but thought I could use that idea for some roast chicken thighs. The asparagus could roast at the same temperature, maybe some sweet potatoes as well. They would add a sweet note to the sharpness of vinegar.

I made a simple version of a blender mayonnaise to go with the chicken and asparagus.

I was very happy with the results.

Pickle brine marinated chicken thighs

  • 4 chicken leg quarters
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups of left over pickle brine (mine was asparagus brine, recipe below)
  • Olive oil
Pickle brined chicken leg quarters

Pickle brined chicken leg quarters

  1. Pat the chicken pieces dry and place in a large bowl. Add the pickle brine, it should cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours.
  2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F
  3. At the end of the brining, pat the chicken dry and put in a roasting pan, skin side up.
  4. Place into the preheated oven. You can add the sweet potatoes at this same time if you are baking them to go with the chicken.
  5. Roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until brown and juices run clear. You will put the asparagus into bake at the 1 hour mark.
  6. Trim and the asparagus, put into a baking pan in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and grated parmesan. Place in the oven for the last 15 minutes (if your asparagus is thicker, it could need 20 minutes).
asparagus

Roast asparagus

Asparagus sauce – blender mayonnaise with pickled vegetables

Blender mayonnaise with pickles

Blender mayonnaise with pickles

  • 1 cup of salad oil, I used ½ cup canola and ½ cup olive
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon dry powdered mustard
  • 2 tablespoons of pickle brine
  • 4 tablespoons of chopped pickles (asparagus, green beans, golden beets, cucumber pickles). Same as were in the brine.
  1. Into the container of a blender put the egg, mustard, pickle brine, and ¼ cup of the oil.
  2. Cover the container and blend at low speed.
  3. Immediately uncover and add the remaining oil in a steady stream (try to do this in about seconds).
  4. Switch the blender to high for 5 seconds.
  5. Add the chopped pickles and blend until a smooth puree.
  6. Serve with the chicken and roast asparagus.
roast chicken quarters with asparagus and sweet potato

roast chicken quarters with asparagus and sweet potato

You could use brind from any kind of pickle although I’m not sure about sweet ones. Let me know if anyone tries it.

Brine from Pickled Asparagus with Tarragon and Garlic (from Saving the Season by Kevin West).

  • 1 1/2 cups white-wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked
  • 2 allspice berries, crushed
  • 1/2 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • six 4 inch sprigs of tarragon
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  1. Bring all the ingredients to a boil, remove from the heat and steep for 15 minutes.
  2. Cool if using as a marinade.

If you are interested in the full pickle recipe, I can send it to you.

I’ll be taking this to Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen, Full Plate Thursday.

November in the kitchen – Not Just Any Pickled Beets
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November in the kitchen – Not Just Any Pickled Beets

You’ve had pickled beets before, right? What did you think? I haven’t found them that tasty, not up till now anyway. The pickling brine in commercial pickled beets overpowers the taste of the beets. All I taste is vinegar (and usually not very good vinegar either). The following beets are a horse of an entirely different color!

Sandra from the blog “Please Save the Recipe” mentioned pickled beets in her November posting of “In the kitchen“. It got me thinking and when I saw the stalls full of root vegetables at our local farmer’s market, I couldn’t resist buying several large bunches of deep ruby red beets and a couple of smaller ones of golden beets to pickle.

The following recipe for Red Wine Pickled Beets came from “The Preservation Kitchen” by Paul Virant. I didn’t want to pickle the golden beets in red wine, so adapted the recipe for them with white wine and white wine vinegar.

I’m not going to give detailed instructions here about hot water baths and preparing your jars. If you are not familiar with the steps, please read this article on the Food Network “How to sterilize jars for canning jam” for more details. The instructions are the same whether you are pickling, canning, or making jam.

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Red Wine Pickled Beets (makes 4 pints)

  • 3 lbs. of beets (about 6 ¼ cups roasted, peeled and sliced)
  • Olive oil
  • 2 cups of red wine vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
  • 1 cup of red wine (I used the remains of a Syrah we’d had with dinner the night before)
  • ½ cup of water
  • ¼ cup of honey
  • 1/3 cup of packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
  • 8 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
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Beets in foil, ready for roasting

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Trim the beet greens from the beets and reserve for later if they look fresh.
  2. Place the beets in a baking pan and coat with a spoonful of olive oil. Cover tightly with aluminum foil (or make a package of foil to contain them). Roast until the beets were tender, for larger ones it could be more than an hour. You should be able to pierce them easily with the tip of a knife.
  3. Cool, and then skin them (it should slip off easily). Slice the beets or cut them into wedges.
  4. Bring the water in a canning or large pot to a boil and scald 4 pint canning jars with new lids.

Prepare the pickling brine:

  1. In another pot, bring the vinegar, wine, water, honey, sugar, and salt to a boil. Keep hot.
  2. Right before filling, put the jars on the counter. Add ½ teaspoon of peppercorns, 2 thyme sprigs, and 1 rosemary sprig to each jar, then pack in the beets.
  3. Transfer the brine into a heatproof pitcher or measuring cup and pour over the beets to about ½ inch from the top. Check for air pockets with a skewer or knife and add more pickling brine if necessary.
  4. Wipe the tops of the jars with a clean cloth or paper towel, place a warm lid on top, screw on the band until snug but not tight.
  5. Carefully place jars in your canning pot, the boiling water should come and inch over the lids. Bring the water back to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Once the timing is done, turn off the heat and let the jars sit in the pot for a couple of minutes.
  6. Remove the jars onto a dishtowel and let cool. Once completely cool, tighten the lids if necessary.

At the end, I did something stupid! I had leftover red wine brine. I stuck my finger in the pot to taste it at the same time I was pouring it down the sink. STOP my brain said (it was delicious!), but too late. Have you ever done that? Brain and body did not connect in time. Don’t make my mistake. Save any leftover brine for marinating or using in your salad dressings.

I processed the golden beets the exact same way, substituting white wine for red and white wine vinegar for the red wine vinegar. They were small so I cut them into wedges instead of slices. And, since I didn’t have as many golden beets, I cut the brine recipe in half…resulting in 2 pints.

Beets have an affinity for goat cheese and eggs. You frequently see them paired with goat cheese in a salad, blue cheese seems to go quite well as well. In Australia I’ve heard that pickled beets often turn up on a hamburger, I’ll have to try that one.

Pickled beets on toast with a fried egg and chives

Pickled beets on toast with a fried egg and chives

One of my personal favorites is a mixture of freshly roasted asparagus and pickled asparagus with softly poached eggs. The creaminess of the soft yolk, richness of the roast asparagus, and tartness of the pickled asparagus are fantastic together.

Or what about pickled beets in a goat cheese sandwich? This was a delicious, pre-Thanksgiving lunch.

Pickled beets and goat cheese

Pickled beets and goat cheese

Pickled beet and goat cheese sandwich with arugula

Pickled beet and goat cheese sandwich with arugula

Don’t forget the beet greens, reserve them if they are fresh. I sliced the stems, washed them, then sautéed them in olive oil with a couple of minced garlic cloves, a little salt, and a pinch of chili flakes. Once the stems softened, I added the washed and sliced stems. A couple of tablespoons of water steamed them all to finish. It only took a few minutes. They are a wonderful side for grilled meat, and full of vitamins.

Beet Greens

Beet Greens

Let the beets cure in their brine for a week to get optimal flavor, if you can wait that long!

November in the kitchen – Cooking For Leftovers
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November in the kitchen – Cooking For Leftovers

I love leftovers; they might be my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. Don’t misunderstand, I enjoy Thanksgiving, but what I really love about that day are the people. Our family lives some distance away, so our Thanksgiving get-together has always involved wonderful friends and their family. After so many years they have become my family as well. I am so grateful for their open arms and hospitality.

Leftovers have endless possibilities. In contrast to the meal on Thanksgiving, which is fairly traditional in most homes, leftovers let your creativity take flight. For example, in her book “The Complete Turkey Cookbook” (now out of print) published in 1971, S.I. Reese describes “The Soup”. The Soup consists of turkey stock (made from the carcass), leftover gravy, leftover creamed onions, leftover stuffing, chestnuts (if you have them), plus sautéed fresh celery and mushrooms. I’ve made a much simpler version for my family. The trick is using leftover stuffing to thicken the soup. This is a “stand your spoon up” soup, filling comforting, and warming.

I start thinking about leftovers even before the turkey goes in the oven. What is your favorite way to use them?

What about a stuffing Panini? Use a mild cheese such as Muenster, mozzarella or Monterey jack; I added a little thinly sliced red onion and some cranberry sauce. You could, of course, add some leftover turkey as well. I’m continuing in the loaded carb tradtion of Thanksgiving.

Panini with stuffing, mozzarella cheese, and cranberry sauce

Panini with stuffing, mozzarella cheese, and cranberry sauce

Panini with stuffing

Stuffing Panini

Stuffing Panini

Stuffing Panini

In case you are curious, my stuffing contains raisins and cornbread in addition to the usual sausage, onions, celery, and bread. The originial recipe came from my ex-mother-in-law who was from Germantown, Wisconsin. It’s changed over the years, but the raisins are always an essential ingredient.

Leftover pie for breakfast is always a winner. I’m usually too full by the end of Thanksgiving dinner to really enjoy it. But, the next morning with coffee it gets my full attention.

Salads are welcome after the day of feasting. Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salad is easily adapted to suit whatever leftovers you have on hand. Brussels sprouts, leftover bread turned into croutons, turkey, chopped veggies from the raw vegetable plate, some pickles, cranberry sauce stirred into the dressing, what about a few raisins or grapes or chopped apple or candied nuts? Endless possibilities!

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I’ve seen recipes for turnovers made with chopped turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, and leftover cooked vegetables. Even simpler, what about old-fashioned turkey croquettes? They were one of my mother’s ways of using up leftover turkey. They consist of chopped turkey and mashed potatoes mixed together, well-seasoned, formed into patties, dipped in egg then breadcrumbs, and fried in butter. They were yummy! I remember them as soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. A simple salad completed the meal. They would be even better with a poached egg on top! I think I’ve talked myself into making them…stay tuned for a future post.

I’ll be sharing my leftovers with at Angie’s Fiesta Friday party at the Novice Gardener. Come join the fun and see what others are cooking.

fiesta-friday-badge-button-i-party-1

November in the kitchen – Pasta Puttanesca
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November in the kitchen – Pasta Puttanesca

When my husband and I were first dating we had a favorite Italian restaurant in Berkeley called Café Venezia. It was a tiny place with murals on the walls, laundry hanging from the ceiling, and Italian opera singing in the background. They didn’t take reservations and there was always a line out the door, or scrunched in the tiny entryway (if it was cold and wet). We had a trick for bypassing the line. They had a sister restaurant called Restaurant Venezia across the street; it was much fancier with white tablecloths, live music, and a bar. We would put our name on the list for the tiny Café, take a large card with a number on it, go across the street to the bar in the restaurant, and have a glass of wine. When our table was ready, the cafe would post a matching card in their window (we could see it sitting in the bar). The remainder of our wine (if there was any) was poured into a paper cup, and we crossed the street to dinner.

Do you have a favorite menu item with wonderful memories?

We were very sad when that café and restaurant closed. They made the best Pasta Puttanesca we have ever tasted. My husband still orders the Puttanesca when we go out, and is almost always disappointed. So, since he requests this for every birthday dinner, I set about creating a recipe for Puttanesca like the one from Café Venezia. It took a few dozen tries to get the right balance of ingredients, but I think I have it (he agrees).

It’s his birthday this weekend and I will be making this pasta dish for him.

There are at least two stories about how this pasta dish came about. Both involve ‘ladies of the night’. In one story this a quick pasta dish to put together between customers, in another the smell of the sauce is supposed to draw in customers. It’s convievable that both are correct! This dish is vegetarian and vegan without the anchovies or cheese.

Pasta Puttanesca (serves 2-4)

  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • 1 28 oz. can Italian chopped tomatoes
  • 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 4 tablespoons of capers, rinsed
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon of dried oregano
  • 15 black kalamata olives, cut in half
  • 1 small can of anchovies, about 10, chopped, save the oil
  • ½ lb. of fettuccini or linguini
  • For serving: grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled fresh goat cheese

Sauce

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, medium heat.
  2. Add the garlic and turn the heat to medium-low. Cook until soft but not browned, about 3 minutes. Watch your skillet (every stove is different) carefully, you want to cook the garlic till is is honey colored or light brown. If it burns it will turn bitter.
  3. Add the tomatoes, capers, oregano, chili flakes, and olives.
  4. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
  5. After the time is up, add the chopped anchovies and the reserved olive oil from the can to your sauce.
  6. Keep the sauce on low heat while the pasta is cooking.
Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta

  1. While the sauce is simmering for the 20 minutes, start the pasta.
  2. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (the water should taste like the sea).
  3. Add your pasta to the boiling water, bring it back to the boil and cook for the time suggested on the package.
  4. When cooked, reserve about ½ cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain your pasta. Do not rinse.
  5. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet with the sauce and reheat all.
  6. Add the pasta water by tablespoons if it seems too dry.
  7. Taste carefully for salt, it probably won’t need any since it contains so many salty things.

Grate fresh Parmesan over each serving, or top with crumbled goat cheese.

Pasta Puttanesca

Pasta Puttanesca

We think the trick is the last minute addition of the oil from the anchovies.

I like mine with goat cheese.

Pasta Puttanesca with Goat cheese

Pasta Puttanesca with Goat Cheese