Category: Beef

Osso Bucco in A Rich Tomato Red Wine Sauce & Creamy Parmesan Polenta

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IMG_9684-1-1

Being pregnant, I cook according to what I crave these days, or some might like to say, according to what the baby wants! hehe To be honest, most of the things I cook are food I miss from home, but currently, my daily cravings are anything tomatoey and cheesy! Mmmmm (: How can that go wrong?

Taylors Estate Pinot Noir

It is the time of the month again when I’m so lucky to receive a couple of bottles of Taylors Wines! I know, I know. Please do not worry, I’m not drinking! I also make sure that I cook it long enough to get all the alcohol content out of the dish, leaving just the intense flavour of the wine. hehe So you can take a deep breath! hehe I decided to ask for Taylors Estate 2012 Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. This medium bodied wine has flavours of ripe cherry and the freshness of berries. It’s soft on your palate and has tones of subtle spiciness. I knew immediately what it would be great for – Osso Bucco!

Tomato and red wine cooked osso bucco with creamy parmesan polenta

This was one perfect dish for satisfying my pregnancy cravings! Melt-in-the-mouth beef pieces cooked in a thick, luscious tomato and red wine sauce and served on a creamy parmesan polenta! I’m not a huge fan of marrow, but the mr is, so it was also a winner with him! hehe

So here’s the recipe, hope you will enjoy it as much as I did! (:

Osso Bucco in a Rich Tomato & Red Wine Sauce with Creamy Parmesan Polenta (serves 6-8)

For Osso Bucco :

8 pieces of osso bucco

salt & pepper, to season and to taste

hot paprika, to season

plain flour, to season

4 tbs olive oil

2 red onions, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds

2 stalks of celery, finely sliced

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 large chilles, deseeded and thinly sliced

2 anchovy fillets

1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)

1 cup passata

1 cup Pinot Noir

1 cup beef stock

aromatics chopped up

For creamy parmesan polenta :

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup finely grated Parmesan

2 tbs unsalted butter

1/4 cup thickened cream

Salt & ground black pepper, to season

For Anchovy Gremolata (optional)

4 tbs flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

9 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

Steps :

1) For the osso bucco : In a heavy based frying pan, add the olive oil and heat it on medium heat. Season the osso bucco pieces with salt, black pepper, hot paprika and flour on both sides. Fry and seal the osso bucco and place it on the plate, set it aside while preparing the sauce.

Season the osso bucco

Sealing the osso bucco

sealed osso buccos

2) Add the red onion, carrots, celery, chilli and garlic into the pan and fry till soft and fragrant.

Frying the ingredients till fragrant

3)  Add the red wine and allow that to reduce till 1/4 left.

adding the red wine

4) Once the red wine is reduced, add the tinned chopped tomatoes, passata, anchovies and beef stock. Allow the mixture to come to a boil then carefully add the osso bucco.

Slow cooking the osso bucco

5) Cover and allow it simmer on low heat for 2-31/2 hours. The meat should separate from the bone.  Give the pan a shake every 30 mins, to make sure it’s not stuck /burnt at the bottom.

6) For the polenta : In a medium sized pot, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Reduce to medium heat, and slowly add the cornmeal, whisking continuously with a whisk to prevent lumps. Switch to a wooden spoon and continue stirring until the mixture thickens (about 10 mins), season with salt and black pepper. Make sure you scrape the bottom to make sure nothing burns or stick. Take it off the heat and add the parmesan, butter and thickened cream.

7) For the anchovy gremolata : Mix the chopped parsley and anchovy until well combined.

8) To serve : Place the osso bucco on top of a bed of creamy parmesan polenta and top with more tomato and red wine sauce. Scatter the anchovy gremolata on the osso bucco and ENJOY! (:

Osso bucco served

Thank you Taylors Wines once again for the beautiful Pinot Noir, and although I can’t have a glass (or two), I’m so happy I’m still able to have them in my food! hehe Have a great mid week everyone! Remember to always cook and bake with love! Till the next post, xx

Slow Cooked Shiraz Beef Ribs

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slow cooked shiraz beef ribs

Good afternoon dear readers, I hope you’re having a great weekend so far. I definitely am! Wish I could sleep in more and how I wish we had an extra day of weekend just to anything we love. How good would that be? Any who! It’s the weekend should we should all just embrace it! hehe I’ve got some exciting news to share! Remember the Taylors Wine giveaway I did a few months back? They decided to send me a different type of wine each month to come up with a dish and share the recipe! This month, I chose their Taylors Estate 2010 Clare Valley Shiraz.

Taylors Wine Clare Valley 2010 Shiraz

Before the wines even arrived, I already had a few ideas in my head. But after reading the palate notes, there was only one dish that came to my mind : beef ribs ! The wine was really smooth and robust, with notes of plum, blackcurrant and dark cherries! Yum! I am by no means an expert on wines, but it is really easy to drink, and not too dry!

slow cooked shiraz beef ribs

What I love is the intensity of the colour of the ribs and sauce! A deep red colour especially after it’s been cooking and reducing in the oven. And what’s better than tender, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of meat? Absolutely nothing! hehe

slow cooked shiraz beef ribs with cauliflower puree and cauliflower florets & hazelnuts

And I was debating if I should make a creamy mash to go with it, but because I’m in a current cauliflower phase (check out the cauliflower rice that I’m addicted to!), I decided to make some cauliflower puree which paired perfectly with the ribs! Plus it’s like killing two birds with one stone, cause I didn’t need to make a side of greens! hehe But just to make the dish have some kind of crunch, I sauteed some cauliflower florets with toasted hazelnuts. AMAZING!

So go get yourself a bottle of Taylors Wine Clare Valley Shiraz and give this a shot! You won’t regret it, my tummy assures you! (:

Slow Cooked Shiraz Beef Ribs (A Food Made With Love Original)

2 kg beef short ribs

500ml Shiraz

500ml beef stock

1 heap tbs tomato paste

2 tbs olive oil, extra for sealing the ribs)

2 tbs passata

1 bulb garlic, cut into half

2 large chillies, deseeded and roughly sliced

salt and ground black pepper, to season

garlic cut into half

Steps :

1) Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celcius. Season the beef ribs generously with salt and ground black pepper. Heat a heavy based pot (I used my cast iron pot) on high and add some olive oil. Seal the ribs on all sides and set aside.

beef ribs

Searing the ribs

Seared beef ribs

2) In the same pot, add the tomato paste, passata, garlic, chilli and the shiraz. Bring it to a boil and allow it to reduce by half.

Bringing the wine mixture to a boil and reducing it

3) Return the beef ribs into the pot and add the beef stock, making sure it covers at least 3/4 of the ribs.

After adding the beed stock

4) Bring it to a boil, then cover and place the pot into the preheated oven and allow it to cook for at least 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bones, and the liquid has reduced to a sticky and thicker consistency. The colour of the gravy has also become an intense red!

5) To serve, place the beef ribs on the cauliflower puree (recipe to follow) or a rich and velvety smooth mash, top with the cauliflower florets and hazelnut and drizzle the thick and luscious gravy. DIG IN!

Final dish

Cauliflower Puree (recipe from Manu’s French Bistro)

500g cauliflower florets

200ml milk

50g unsalted butter

sea salt and ground black pepper

Steps : 

1) Place the cauliflower and milk in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender, then drain and discard the milk.

cauliflower puree

2) Place the cauliflower, butter, salt & pepper in a food processor and process still you get a smooth puree. Transfer to a clean saucepan and keep warm.

Cauliflower Florets & Hazelnuts Mixture (Recipe from Manu’s French Bistro)

50g hazelnuts

200g cauliflower, cut into small florets

50g unsalted butter, cubed

Steps :

1) In a small frying pan, toast the hazelnuts until golden brown. Place them in a clean tea towel and remove the skins by giving it a rub. Place them in a plastic bag, crush them slightly, using a rolling pin. Set aside.

2) In a larger frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the cauliflower florets and cook for 5-6 minutes or until golden and tender. Add the hazelnuts and stir to combine. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.

cauliflower florets with hazelnuts

So go grab yourself a bottle of Taylors Clare Valley Shiraz and give this a try! (: Thank you Taylors Wines once again for the beautiful bottles of wine and the opportunity to come up with a recipe with it! Have a great week ahead everyone! Remember to always cook and bake with love!

Till the next post, x

Pho Hung Vuong Saigon Springvale

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Winter just means one thing. Soup. and lots of it, just to keep out tummies warm and fuzzy! One thing we do love is a good pho. Before we moved, we used to always head to Footscray to have a nice big bowl (well small for me) of pho because it’s just around the corner. Now, thankfully Springvale is a 10 minutes drive away! Phew!

 I have to admit, we haven’t had the chance to explore the different shops in Springvale. Not as much as I would like to! You know sometimes when you’re nearer to a particular suburb, you tend to not explore it as much? Sadly, we kinda took the distance for granted. It is currently just a place I go to do my grocery shopping. We had to extend out (food) knowledge and we decided to head there last weekend with a mission : to find a place that sells pho as good as the one back at Footscray (Hung Vuong Saigon)! To my surprise, I actually found a Pho Hung Vuong Saigon here at Springvale as well! So of course we decided to give it a go.

Pho Hung Vuong Saigon Springvale

Address : Shop 2/15 Balmoral Avenue, Springvale Vic 3171

Telephone : 03 95585147

It was really packed though it was about 3pm in the afternoon. But the wait staff were really friendly and asked us politely to wait for just a few minutes before we could get a table. So we were more than willing to wait. In less than 10 minutes, our tables were ready for us! Talk about quick!

We sat down, and were asked almost immediately for our orders! I was a little shocked, but I think cause they have been around for 20 years, they reckon we have been there before and would know what we wanted! They had menus on their walls, but were either in mandarin or in vietnamese so we had no clue what they had! haha I shyly asked the wait staff if they had an english menu and he quickly got us some. Thank goodness! Their menu is slightly different from the one at Footscray. They specialise with pho. There wasn’t anything else on the menu. Short and sweet, it was. So we made our decisions and waited for our bowl of hot deliciousness to arrive.

I had the beef and beef brisket pho, as I always do. Love the thin and raw slices of beef that would just cook instantly when pushed into the hot soup! The first thing I always do is to take a spoonful of soup and slurp it! haha Sorry I know it sounds rude, but the soup is a crucial component of a good pho! It. was. incredible! The soup was clear and super tasty! Absolutely made my cold afternoon! I just wanted more after each mouthful. Plus, they were super generous with the beef and brisket! Both of which were so tender! Was a clear winner to me. I’ve found my new favourite place for pho! HAPPY!

The mr ordered the chicken special which had a whole load of chicken breast fillets, chicken sausage, chicken blood, giblets and a  pasteurized egg yolk. Now, that a lot of ingredients! And how clear is that bowl of soup? I had a taste of his soup and it was really tasty as well though it more delicate and sweet when compared to the beef one. The mr did enjoy it quite a bit! We did wish that they had the fried spring rolls though! Wanted some crunch! hehe

We left the place super stuffed and satisfied! Definitely heading back there, knowing that my craving for pho will be satisfied for sure! (: Where have you had the best pho? Do share! Have a good week ahead everyone!

Pho Hung Vuong on Urbanspoon

Beef Onion and Guinness Pies

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Have you been watching Masterchef Australia? Cause I have! I’ve been watching religiously. hehe And loving it! Friday’s Masterclass is the day I will never miss and even if I do, I will catch up on it online. It is during this time when I get inspired and motivated to try making completely new things. I love the fact that they post their recipes on the masterchef australia website too! Makes it so much easier when trying new dishes!

The Friday that we saw Gary made his beef onion & guinness pie, the mr immediately asked me to make it for dinner the next day! I was very hesistant to make pastry from scratch cos the first time I made a pie/tart base, it failed miserably! So I had a back-up plan, if the pie case failed, I would mash potatoes and turn it into a cottage pie instead! So with a back-up plan in mind, I went all out! So much so I invited friends who were in Melbourne for a visit over for dinner! Haha. I wasn’t too sure what got into my head.

Thank goodness the pie was a big hit! The pastry was buttery and flaky. We could just have it on it’s own (and we did for the left over pastry haha)! I couldn’t really believe how easy it was to make it and I had alot of fun rolling it out and cutting it to fit the baking tin as well! hehe And the best way to have the pie? With a whole heap of tomato sauce of course! YUMMY!

This is definitely a pastry I can see myself making very very often in the future for either sweet or savoury dishes!

And the beef. Where can I begin? It melts in your mouth. Pity I couldn’t cook it for slightly longer cause I already made my guests wait for 1 hour (lucky thing I had Running Man on so they were entertained! hehe) and so I just really needed to get it in the pastry cases, baked and served!

Remember my back-up plan? I had to use it anyway because I had so much beef left, it was a great way to serve them – with creamy parmesan mash! To complete the meal, I made a bowl of salad and viola! (: Was a perfect night with good company!

Beef Onion and Guinness Pies (Adapted from Masterchef Australia)

Filling

3 kg chuck steak, cut into 5cm pieces

150ml olive oil

6 onions, sliced

8 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

5 dried bay leaves

4 tbs plain flour

salt and freshly ground black pepper, for season

2 carrots, cut into large chunks

600ml Guinness

1.5 litres beef stock

1 egg, beaten

Tomato sauce, to serve

Maggie Beer’s Sour Cream Pastry

200g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

250g plain flour, extra for dusting

pinch of salt

1/2 cup sour cream

Steps : 

1) Season the beef generously with salt and black pepper. Heat a non-stick frying pan with 100ml of olive oil on high heat, and cook the beef in a few batches until all sides are well browned.  Add the carrot and cook for 5-6 minutes until golden. Set aside.

2) In a large pot, add the rest of the 50ml of olive oil and heat over low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, stirring continuously. This will take around 40 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the bay leaves and cook until a slightly darker brown, without burning it. Add the flour and stir till there is no visible flour left.

3) Add the beef and carrots into the pot and pour 1/2 of the Guinness into the pan to de-glaze, scraping all the brown bits on the bottom. Pour that and the remaining Guinness into the pot. Add the beef stock and make sure there is enough liquid to cover all the beef. Bring it to a boil.

4) Partially cover the pot with the lid and lower the heat to low. Allow that to simmer fir at least 2 1/2 hours or until tender. Set aside and allow it to cool until the pastry is ready. This could also be made in advance and kept in a fridge for up to 3 days.

5) To make the pastry : In an electric mixer, blend the butter and flour and a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles large bread crumbs. Slowly add the sour cream and mix until it comes together to form a dough. Shape it into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

6) Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius. Grease 12 holes in a cupcake baking tin with butter (or 6 in a muffin tin). Roll out the pastry to 3-5mm, using a little extra flour for dusting. Cut out 12 rounds about 4 cm bigger than the cupcake holes and another 12 rounds that are about 2 cm larger for the lids.

7) Place a pie base in each hole, then press in lightly with your fingers. Make sure there is about 1 cm left above the mould. Fill each hole with some beef mixture and top each with a pastry lid and crimp the edges to seal in the filling. Brush each pastry top with the beaten egg, and cut a small hole in the center of each pie for steam to escape.

8) Bake the pies for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Turn out and serve with tomato sauce.

ENJOY! (:

PS : I made much more than the 12 pies needed, so like I mentioned before, I topped the leftover beef filling with a creamy parmesan mash. You could easily make another batch of pastry and make more pies! (: Or just cut the recipe into half! 

Lemongrass Beef Rice Vermicelli Salad

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As you all know, the holidays are here and because of that I get to spend more time with the hubs and also have more time and energy to spend making things in the kitchen! And I have to admit, I’m loving it! (: Not needing to rush the cooking process to get food on the table after work and cooking the same dishes over and over again. No more clock-work, not for the next 2 and a half weeks anyways!

Remember the lemongrass beef vermicelli salad we had at MissChu’s a few days back? The mr loved it so much, he asked me to try and make him some for dinner a few nights back. And so I did! Looking for recipes to help me make some lemongrass beef and off to the market I went and straight back into the kitchen.

So glad I did give this a shot. It was so so good, the Mr said he doesn’t mind having it every day! hehe I decided to just make up my own dressing for the salad, according to what I thought I tasted. haha Thankfully, it turned out really well. Sour, sweet and just a tad bit of spicy! So do give it a try! It’s really something I wouldn’t mind having every day and you could easily change the protein! I’ve tried it with chicken and it was super yums as well! Might try it with prawns or a firm fish as well. hehe but if you like red meat, can never really go wrong with beef! (:

This was the chicken thigh fillet version. Works equally well! (:

Lemongrass Beef Rice Vermicelli Salad

For marinade (adapted from epicurious.com)

1 stalk fresh lemongrass, finely chop the tender part (about 6-inches of the bottom)

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs light soy sauce

3 tsp caster sugar

2 tbs vegetable oil

1/2 tsp sesame oil

500g beef scotch fillet (or other proteins you like)

Preparation :

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and marinade the steaks in a large ziplock bag or container. Place it in the fridge and allow it to marinade for at least 2 hours. The longer you marinade, the tastier it gets!

For the dressing :

4 tbs sweet chilli sauce

2 tbs white wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tbs fish sauce

For the salad :

150g dried rice vermicelli (the thicker ones)

25g bean shoots/sprouts (blanched and cooled)

150g mixed salad leaves (washed and spun dry)

1/4 cup coriander (wash well and spun dry)

1 lebanese cucumber (deseeded and thinly sliced diagonally)

2 tbs fried shallots, for garnish

Steps :

1) In a large bowl, soak the noodles in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain noodles and blanch it in hot water. Careful not to leave it too long in the boiling water, as it will turn too soft (1 min max). Still want the noodles to have a bit of a bounce. Run the noodles under cold water to stop them from cooking further. Set aside while preparing the beef.

2) Preheat the oven at 200 degrees celcius. Heat a non-stick pan on high heat and sear both sides of the scotch fillets. Place them on a baking rack and bake them for 10 minutes. While waiting, prepare the salad dressing.

3) For the dressing : Mix all the ingredients together until well combined and sugar has dissolved completely. Taste it and you can adjust the amounts of vinegar or sugar depending on your personal taste.

4) Take the beef out and place it on a chopping board and let it stand for 3-4 minutes. Slice diagonally.

5) Plating up : Place the salad leaves and half of the coriander at the bottom of the bowl. Then pour the dressing a tablespoon at a time, mixing and coating the salad leaves well (about 1-2 tbs). Top the salad leaves with the noodles and the sliced cucumber. Place the beef on top of the noodles, garnishing with the rest of the coriander and the fried shallots. Drizzle another tablespoon of dressing over the top and serve.

ENJOY! (:

The Mr definitely enjoyed his salad, look how clean it is! hehe (:

So here you go, an asian spin to the usual salad just so you got more options now! hehe Hope you all will like it as much as we do!

Let’s Celebrate!

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There are many ways to celebrate but for this household, the way to celebrate is cooking up a good meal and enjoying it together! (:

And the things to celebrate about might be something as small as doing well for a piece of assignment; or as big as getting a job. But tonight, we celebrated 2 things : the start of my school holidays and the mr coming back to melbourne! hehe Actually I think it’s just an excuse for me to get back in the kitchen (my comfort zone) and cook up something yummy for everyone. (: And so I did!

Went to Footscray market this morning, without having a clue about what I wanted to cook for dinner. This often happens to me haha. Getting inspiration by walking up and down the meats and seafood aisle. and I saw these gorgeous osso buccos that I just had to get them.

These gorgeous things are huge! haha So I bought 2 big ones for the boys and 1 small for me! Personally, I love to cook this over a low heat for at least 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone. I think any longer than that, you would actually lose the marrow which the mr would be quite disappointed about. So I say, 2 hours tops!

Let’s do this!

Osso Bucco With Pasta (A Food Made With Love Original)

Ingredients :

3 beef/veal osso buccos

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, fine chopped

1 tbs plain flour, and extra to dust

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tbs tomato paste

1 can (400g) of tinned chopped tomatoes

2 cups beef stock

1/2 cup white wine

2 tsp dried mix herbs

4 tbs of olive oil, and extra to coat

salt and pepper, for seasoning and taste

Pasta, cooked according to the directions on the packet and drained

Steps :

1. Season the osso buccos with salt, pepper and chilli powder. Rub a bit of olive oil on the meat and coat with plain flour.

2. Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a deep pan on medium-high heat and sear the meat for 2-3 minutes on each side till nice and brown. Take them off the heat, and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining 2 tbs of oil, and add the onion and garlic and cook till soft and fragrant. Add the carrots and celery and cook for a further 5 mins. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and stir till well combined.

4. Add the flour and the mixed herbs and make sure you stir till there are no lumps. Add the tinned tomatoes and the wine and allow it to reduce by 1/4 before adding the beef stock. Bring to boil and reduce to low heat. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Place the osso buccos back into the pan and cover to allow it to simmer for 1 hour. Remove the cover and continue to cook it over low heat for another hour (uncovered). The meat should be falling off the bone at this point.

6. Remove the osso buccos and place the cooked pasta in the pan and toss it to coat.

7. Plate  it as you like it! I prefer to have my pasta at the bottom and finish the dish with the osso buccos on top! (: of course, don’t forget the thick yummy gravy!

ENJOY!

PS: Remember to cook this with enough time to spare, so that your family or loved ones wouldn’t have to wait too long for dinner!

Bon Appetite! (: My mr. enjoying the marrows. hee

So how do you celebrate with your loved ones and friends? SHARE please! Would love to hear about it!

A Keeper : Beef Stout Stew

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Remember the post I did a couple of days ago on Yorkshire pudding? I knew after posting that I had to post the recipe of my favourite stew to have the pud with. I’ve made a few stews but I feel that this one is definitely a keeper.

I don’t know if it’s the stout, but somehow. It does make the stew yummier. Might be in my head. haha (My Mr loves stout!) In saying that, I’m sure it will be fine if you leave the stout out and just use more stock. It’s just one of those stews that you can put all your favourite ingredients in it and it will turn out great! Although it takes a really long time to cook, it is crucial just so the flavours will develop and you will get the thick and lucious gravy! The waiting time is worth it!

There are many things you could have with a stew. Besides the yorkshire pudding, one of my other favourite sides to go with a stew is a good mash. I made parmesan mash with this beef stew. And it was P-E-R-F-E-C-T! (:

So what is the favourite thing you like to go with your stew? SHARE! (:

Beef Stout Stew (Serves 6 or freezes well)

Ingredients :

1.2kg gravy beef, cut into 3cm pieces (can use chuck as well)

1/4 cup plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

2 celery stalks, cut into chunks

3 carrots, cut into chunks

1 big onion, cut into wedges

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

6 small eschalots

8 mushrooms, cut into quarters

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cups beef stock

1 cup stout

2 bay leaves

Steps :

1. Lightly dust the meat with the flour, shake off and reserve the excess. Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a casserole dish/claypot on medium-high heat and pan dry the beef in batches until browned all over. Remove and set aside.

2. Reduce heat to medium and heat the rest of the oil, adding the onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Cook, stirring for 3-4minutes until tender. Add the tomato paste and the rest of the flour and stir for a further minute.

3. Add the stout, beef stock and bay leaves and stir till well combined. Bring to a simmer, cover and allow it to cook over low heat for 1hr. (Stirring every half hour just to make sure nothing is stuck at the bottom)

4. Add the mushrooms and eschalots and cover and cook for a further 1 1/2hrs or until the meat is soft and tender and the sauce is rich and thick. (Stirring every 30mins)

Serve with a side of your choice! (: ENJOY!

My Mr’s Special : Roasted Beef Ribs

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Ever had something that was so good, you had to try to make it at home?

We did. We had the best beef short ribs at Pancake On The Rocks in Sydney and we couldn’t stop talking about it. To the point where the mr had to go buy short ribs and make it back at home! (:

And boy did the mr do an awesome job! He made his own bbq sauce and the beef ribs were nice, succulent and yummy!

Doesn’t it look absolutely mouth-watering? hehe

The good thing about this recipe is you just need to make the marinade and allow it to take in all the yummy flavours; the bad thing is you would need to allow it to marinade for a whole day to get maximum flavour. so YOU GOTTA WAIT! haha as the saying goes “good thing comes to those who wait!“

And these babies would go well with anything and everything! You could cut it up and put it on pizzas (which is what we did the next day with the left overs), you could have it with salad, you could have it with chips. For that night, we had it with a side of salad, baked portobello mushrooms, and buns with homemade eggplant dip! (:

It was a super yummy and, not to mention, filling dinner! (: So here’s the recipe the mr adapted to create this yummos dinner! Give it a shot!

Ingredients (Adapted from Food.com)

1 (14 ounce) bottle ketchup1/2 cup honey3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce1 tablespoon Dijon mustard1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
3 finely chopped green onions1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon all spice1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 dash tabasco
2 kg meaty beef ribs (or short ribs)

Steps :

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, except the beef, and adjust seasonings to taste (the sauce should have a good balance of sweet and savory flavors).
2. Place the ribs in a large bowl, and coat with the sauce.
3. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours or as long as 48 hours, turning the ribs every so often. (I would say the longer the better!)
4. Preheat the oven to 165°C. Drain the ribs (reserving the sauce), and place them in a large roasting pan, bone-side down.
5. Brush with sauce, and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, and turn the ribs over, brush with additional sauce, bake for another 30 minutes.
7. Turn one more time, brush with the remaining sauce, and bake for another 35-40 minutes, or until ribs are tender, basting every so often.
ENJOY!! (:
On a side note, since it is the mister who cooked this dish. I would like to congratulate him on making the Fresh Press page of WordPress! (: All your hard work has paid off sweetie! Keep up the good work! And for all you guys who would like to get more exercise tips, head over to his website and educate yourself! Exercise Yourself Healthy! WOO!

Beef fillet with Gratin of Mushrooms

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I’m back! (: Sorry for the long long long long break! Had a crazy few weeks with uni! Got lots to update so give me a little time! (:

So let me ask you, what is your ultimate indulgence?

For me, it’s steak. and not just any cut of the steak, specifically, the eye fillet. It just melts in your mouth with every bite you take. I normally do prefer my steak medium, but just for the eye fillet, I like mine medium rare. hehe (:

I had a couple of close friends over on a Saturday night, and their only request is to have MEAT. haha. So, almost immediately, eye fillet popped into my tiny head. I have been dying to try this recipe of Gordan Ramsay’s and this would be the best opportunity to do so!

Eye fillet topping it with a gratin of mushroom and baking it just for 5 mins to get a nice crunchie outer layer of the gratin. The creaminess of the gratin just goes so well with the beautiful cut of the steak. This dish was to die for, and this recipe is definitely a keeper! (:

(Adapted from The F Word)

Ingredients :

Beef Fillet

  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster), roughly chopped
  • 100g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp double cream
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 4 fillet steaks, about 180g and 4cm thick
  • 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220°C/Gas 7.

2. To prepare the topping, gently sauté the shallot and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for about 5 minutes until nicely softened. Add a further 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms over a high heat, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes until browned and cooked. The mixture should be quite dry. If necessary, tip it into a sieve to drain off any remaining liquid. Remove the garlic clove and transfer the mushrooms to a bowl, allow to cool.

3. Whip the cream until softly stiff. Fold in the mushrooms along with the egg yolk, herbs and a tablespoon of the grated Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Season the steaks all over with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan until you can feel a strong heat rising. Cook the steaks for about 2-3 minutes, turning them to seal all over. Remove from the pan.

4. Put the steaks on a shallow baking tray. Pile the mushroom mixture on top of the steaks and dust with the remaining parmesan. Cook in the oven uncovered, for about 5-7 minutes until the topping is bubbling and golden.

So, trust me. Try this recipe, I guarantee you will love it! (: Have it with mash or golden baked potatoes and ENJOY!

so tell me dear readers, what is your ultimate indulgence?

Beef Stroganoff : Masterchef Recipe

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Sorry for the lack of posts! Uni just started for me, and the amount of readings I have to do is unbelievable! Haven’t had much chance to cook or bake. But yes! I’m back!

Have you been catch Masterchef when it was on tv? I have! I caught as many episodes I could when I’m home and if I missed one, I would load it on the Masterchef website and watch it at my own free time! (: One dish that caught my eye and tummy was the beef stroganoff! the orangy creamy texture of the dish, topped on pasta, I think it’s a match-made in heaven.

so I got down to business. I didn’t have creme friache or the usual substitute of sour cream, so I “cleaverly” used thickened cream which wasn’t too good an idea, cause it became very starchy. But other than that, the flavours were really yummy and my baby really enjoyed it! (:

so here’s the recipe that is from this Masterchef series

Ingredients :

2 tbs sweet paprika
100g flour
500g piece beef eye fillet (from the tail end), sliced into strips
¼ cup olive oil
40g butter, plus extra to serve
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 eschalots, finely diced
2 tbs tomato paste
½ cup brandy
1 cup beef stock
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 cup crème fraiche (or light sour cream)
2 tbs extra virgin oil, to serve
baby parsley, to garnish

Steps :

1. For the beef stroganoff, combine paprika, flour and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl. Toss beef in the mixture to coat.

2) Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan over high heat and sear the beef for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Remove and set aside.

3) Reduce heat to medium-high; add half the butter and remaining the olive oil. Cook the mushrooms until caramelised. Reduce the heat to medium, add remaining butter, eschalots and cook for a few minutes until softened.

4) Add the tomato paste, brandy, stock, Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium, stir in crème fraiche, reserved beef and juices, then season with salt and pepper.

5) Serve with either rice or pasta. DONE! (: