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For the wine aficionados out there, this wine presents with flavors of black berry, black cherry, pepper and currants. On a more direct level, it matches up with a good steak, burger or roast beautifully.
Also a great wine for many cheeses (see the Cheese & Wine page).
Recipes (click on any link to see recipe)
Beef Stroganoff
Bistro Cheeseburgers
Pot Roast
Chili Beef Express
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
Beef Stroganoff
Cut: Tenderloin Steak/Filet Mignon
Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Main Ingredients:
1 pound beef tenderloin tips
1 1/2 cups uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta
Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 pound mushrooms, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/3 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 to 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3/4 cup ready-to-serve beef broth
1 Tbs. sliced green onion
1/4 cup dairy sour cream
Directions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Keep warm. Meanwhile
trim fat from beef; cut into 1 x 1/2 inch pieces. Spray large nonstick skillet
with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add beef (half
at a time) and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until outside surface is no longer
pink. Remove from skillet; keep warm. Season with salt and pepper. In same
skillet, cook mushrooms and onion in oil 2 minutes or until tender; stir in
flour. Gradually add broth, stirring until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and
stir 2 minutes. Return beef to skillet; heat through. Serve beef mixture over
pasta. Sprinkle with green onion; pass sour cream to dollop on top. Recipe Tips:
One pound boneless beef tip sirloin steak, cut 3/4 inch thick, may be
substituted for beef tenderloin tips. Cut steak lengthwise in half and then
crosswise into 1/4 inch thick strips.
Special thanks to:
http://www.beeftips.com/bdisplay.php?Rec_id=234
Bistro Cheeseburgers
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
4 slices sweet onion (1/2-inch)
Vegetable oil
8 slices Swiss process cheese food
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted
Romaine lettuce, tomato slices
Instructions:
1. Lightly shape ground beef into four 3/4-inch thick patties. Brush onion with
oil. Place patties in center of grid over medium, ash-covered coals; arrange
onion around patties. Grill, uncovered, 13 to 15 minutes to medium (160°F)
doneness, until patties are not pink in center and juices show no pink color and
onions are tender, turning occasionally. Season with salt and pepper after
turning. About 1 minute before patties are done, top each with 2 cheese slices.
2. Combine mayonnaise and mustard; spread on top halves of rolls. Serve burgers
and onion in rolls with lettuce and tomato.
Makes 4 servings.
Special thanks to:
http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/recipes/rcp_00174_00.asp
Pot Roast
Cut: Chuck / Shoulder Roast
Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours
Main Ingredients:
3-4 lb. boneless beef chuck pot roast
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
3/4 c. water
1 TBS. vegetable oil
2 carrots, cut into 2 1/2-inch long pieces
2 parsnips, cut into 2 1/2-inch long pieces
8 small new red potatoes, cut in half
2 small leeks, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1 TBS. water
Directions:
1. Combine garlic, oregano, lemon pepper and salt. Press into surface of beef
pot roast. In Dutch oven (or large pot), heat oil over medium-high heat until
hot. Add beef; brown evenly. Add water. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to
low. Cover tightly; simmer 1 3/4 hours.
2. Add vegetables to pan; cover and continue cooking 30 minutes or until beef
and vegetables are tender. Remove beef and vegetables; keep warm.
3. Strain cooking liquid; skim off fat. Return 1 c. cooking liquid to same pan.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch mixture; cook and stir 1
minute or until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Serve with pot roast and
vegetables. Makes 8 servings.
Recipe Tips:
* Any combination of vegetables will work. For something different try brussel
sprouts, chunked white potatoes, sweet potatoes or celery.
* For a taste variation, substitute 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning mix for the
dry spices.
* Olive oil or lemon pepper infused oil would be a tasty alternative.
Special thanks to:
http://www.beeftips.com/bdisplay.php?Rec_id=106
Chili Beef Express
Ingredients:
1 pound 95% lean ground beef
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (15-1/2 ounces) chili beans in chili sauce, undrained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chili-style chunky tomatoes, undrained
1 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions:
1. Brown ground beef in large nonstick skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes
or until beef is not pink, breaking up into 3/4-inch crumbles. Pour off
drippings; season with salt and pepper.
2. Stir in beans, tomatoes and corn; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and
simmer 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.
Makes 4 servings (about 1-1/4 cups each).
Nutrition information per serving: 331 calories; 8 g fat (3 g saturated fat; 3 g
monounsaturated fat); 76 mg cholesterol; 1164 mg sodium; 33 g carbohydrate; 7.9
g fiber; 32 g protein; 6.9 mg niacin; 0.4 mg vitamin B6; 2.3 mcg vitamin B12;
4.6 mg iron; 18.3 mcg selenium; 6.3 mg zinc.
Special Thanks to:
http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/recipes/rcp_00273_00.asp
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
"This is an easy tasty meatloaf. It tastes as good as it smells!"
PREP TIME 20 Min
COOK TIME 1 Hr
READY IN 1 Hr 30 Min
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf
pan.
Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the
ketchup over the sugar.
In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a
loaf. Place on top of the ketchup.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.
Special Thanks to:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brown-sugar-meatloaf/detail.aspx?lnkid=561
Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
Homemade vegetable beef soup just can’t be beat on a cold winter evening. Heck.
It’s hard to top homemade soup any time of the year. When I hear someone say
that he or she doesn’t like soup, then I’m pretty sure that person has only
tried soup from a can. I eat canned soup, but it’s sure not as tasty as scratch
soup. Now, it is easier to open a can. That’s true. But, it’s not terribly hard
to make home cooked soup. It just takes a little time.
Vegetable Beef Soup Ingredients
I won’t give exact amounts here. Soup making is not a science. It’s an art.
Still, you need to have a few items on hand to make a batch.
Stew beef
A little vegetable oil (if searing the meat)
Potatoes
Onion
Canned tomatoes (petite diced preferred)
Favorite vegetables (canned or frozen)
Salt
Pepper
Favorite seasonings (parsley is always a good one)
First Cook the Stew Beef
Start off with the meat if you’re using meat. You can leave that out if you’re
vegetarian or want low fat soup. You’ll need a pack of stew beef. Those are the
little chunks of meat packaged at the grocery. An alternative is to use leftover
roast beef if you’ve had roast during the week.
There are several ways to prepare the meat. The key is to cook it low and slow
so that it is very tender. Tough meat in soup is not very tasty.
Here are three ways to prep the beef for the soup:
1. Put a thin layer of oil in a frying pan. Sear the meat. In other words, brown
it. That seals in flavor. Then put the meat in a pot of water and cook for an
hour or more. I like to have the meat fork tender.
2. Roll the beef chunks in seasoned flour. Just add salt, pepper and any
seasonings to some flour and roll the meat in the flour mix or put the flour mix
in a bag and shake the meat. Again, you want to brown the meat. When it’s
browned, put it in a sauce pan with water and simmer until tender.
3. The most basic way to cook the beef is to just put it right in a pan of water
and cook until tender. If I’m really busy, that’s what I do.
Once the beef is tender, pour off the cooking water but save 2 to 4 cups of the
meat cooking water. Get the stock water under the fat at the top. You can use
all the meat water as a base, but you really won’t miss that fat.
Potatoes and Onions Come Next
Get a second sauce pan. Cut up potatoes and an onion. Cover with water. Bring to
a boil. Reduce heat and cook until the potatoes and onion are tender. Don’t
overcook, since the potatoes and onions cook a bit more once the soup is put
together.
If you have kids who say, “Oh yuck onions,” then don’t cut up the onion. Peel
off the skin and put that in whole. You can fish out the onion before making the
soup. You get the flavor but don’t have bites of onion in the vegetable beef
soup.
Drain the water off the potatoes and onion once they’re done and get ready to
assemble the soup.
The Soup Base is Ready
At this point you have tender beef, some stock, and potatoes and onion (or onion
flavor).
The beef, stock and potatoes go into a pot. You can use either of the dirty
cooking pots you’ve been using. The beef pot often has a film around the edge
which doesn’t look too pretty. I’m more likely to use the potato pot, but either
one is fine. If you love to wash dishes, you can just get out yet another pot.
Have the beef, stock, and potatoes in one pot - the final soup pot. Add a can of
diced tomatoes. Pour in some extra water. The amount of water can vary. Don’t
put in too much, or you won’t have room to add the vegetables.
That’s the base. You could eat the soup, but it’s much better when you add
vegetables to the pot.
Doctoring Up the Soup
You want the base on low heat at this point.
Pick some cans of favorite vegetables or packs of frozen favorites. If you’re
using canned, drain off the packing water. That usually has a lot of salt. The
packing water also tends to be off in color when adding various vegetables
together in one pot.
Some people go with a Veg-All can mix of veggies. I prefer not to do that. They
cut all the vegetables in little squares. OK. Maybe not the peas. But, you get
the idea. The homemade soup looks like canned soup instead of homemade when you
throw in Veg-All.
One tip I’d note here is that you can save all those little portions of
vegetables from meals in small freezer containers or zip lock bags. Then you
don’t have to open fresh cans or get out frozen packs for the soup. You just use
your various leftovers. This means a very low cost meal which is always great.
The key, at this point, is to have pre-cooked vegetables or quick cook
vegetables. Let’s say you want carrots. You either need to back up and cook
those with the hard vegetables (potatoes and onions), or you need carrots
already cooked. This stage is heating and not really cooking.
Some of our favorite canned or frozen vegetables to add are:
Corn
Green beans (not French cut – too mushy)
Peas
Limas
Any vegetable you like or have on hand is just fine. Just be sure the ones you
pick are at the heat-and-eat stage when you load up the soup stock with the
extras.
As you pour the vegetables in the soup pot, check the water level. You may have
to add water depending on how many vegetables you add. You know what soup should
look like. Let your eye be your guide.
Once the pot is full of your favorite vegetable picks, let the soup simmer on
low until everything is hot. I usually let it sit on the stove for a half hour
or more. The soup is cooked, but the flavors blend with the low heat resting
time.
Seasoning Soup
Different folks like different flavors when it comes to seasonings. With a basic
vegetable beef soup, I tend to be conservative on the seasoning. Everyone can
add favorite seasonings after the soup is served up in bowls.
I generally add a little table or sea salt but not a lot. For a southern chick,
I’m not a big salt eater.
I also put in some fresh ground pepper. I go easy on that too. I adore pepper,
but if I make the soup too spicy, some family members won’t eat it. I pepper it
up in my own bowl.
Generally I sprinkle in a bit of parsley – fresh or flakes. Parsley is mild and
adds a little color.
Another season I add is a bay leaf. Yum. That gives a touch of subtle flavor. I
do take the bay leaf out before serving. Bay leaves are not meant to be
consumed. Also, one of the relatives told my sister I somehow got a leaf in
something I cooked. He’d never heard of bay leaves and must have thought I
cooked outside or that my house is REALLY dirty. Anyway, I fish out the bay leaf
now before calling the pot "ready."
On all these seasonings, I’m talking about perhaps a teaspoon. If it’s a really
big pot of soup, then I might be leaning toward 2 teaspoons. It’s far better to
be a little under-seasoned and let everyone add than to overdo it and then have
folks sitting around hungry, because they can’t handle the soup. I still
remember how the soup tasted on a Scout trip when someone went wild with the hot
sauce. Ugh. That was NOT good soup.
Soup’s Done
Those are the basics for making homemade vegetable beef soup. You really can
tailor this soup recipe to suit your fancy and to the amounts that work for your
family. I generally make a big pot, and then we can have soup several times from
one pot. It warms up fine in the microwave. I don’t suggest freezing. The
potatoes in particular do not hold up well, and the thawed soup just tastes kind
of stale and mushy.
Special Thanks to Cyndi Allison at
http://www.gardenandhearth.com/Southern-Cooking/Vegetable-Beef-Soup.htm