Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen (33 page)

3.
Without cleaning it, return the skillet to medium-high heat, and immediately add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. After about 30 seconds, swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion, bell peppers, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the onion is golden brown.

4.
Reduce the heat to medium, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked potatoes and the sausage rounds, and cook, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until everything is heated through. If the mixture looks dry, stir in a tablespoon or two of water and heat briefly.

5.
Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper (depending on how spicy the sausage is), and serve hot or warm.

stir-fried broccoli beef

Makes 4 servings

R
eal Chinese restaurant food can be yours at home—from your own pan on your own stove, made by you. The trick, as with all stir-fries worth their salt, is to have all the ingredients ready and lined up near the stove, so you can work ultra-fast (and that means having the rice cooked, too—see Chapter 7: Sides). Notice how short the cooking time is in this recipe: 30 seconds here, 1 minute there. Take that timing literally, as a few seconds can make the difference between bright green, crisp, radiant broccoli with mouthwateringly tender, pink-in-the-middle beef…and depressing, faded broccoli mush with beef jerky (and not in a good way). So be organized, swift, and attentive, and reap the benefits. Make sure you use seasoned, not plain, rice vinegar.

1.
Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside.

2.
Slice the steak into ¼-inch-thick strips, cutting crosswise, against the grain.

3.
Place a large (10-to 12-inch) heavy skillet (or a medium-large wok) over medium heat. After about a minute, add about half of the oil (approximately 1½ tablespoons) and swirl to coat the pan. Turn up the heat to medium-high, and wait another 30 seconds for the oil to get very hot, then add the steak strips in a single layer. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and 1 tablespoon each of the garlic and ginger.

4.
Wait for 1 minute. Then, as quickly and deftly as possible, use tongs to turn over each strip of steak and cook for 1 minute on the second side.
(This will yield medium-rare strips. If you prefer your meat to be more thoroughly cooked, give them up to 2 minutes on the second side.)

5.
Scoop up the cooked steak with tongs or a spoon, and transfer it to a bowl. Include all the cooking juices.

6.
Keeping the pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining oil. Wait for 30 seconds, and then swirl to coat the pan. Toss in the broccoli, and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Turn the heat to high, and stir-fry the broccoli for 1 minute.

7.
Sprinkle in the remaining garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for another minute.

8.
Pour in the reserved soy sauce mixture, and keep the heat high as you stir-fry for 30 seconds. Toss in the cooked meat plus all its juices, and toss briefly to combine. Remove from the heat, and serve right away.

old-fashioned beef stew

Makes 6 to 8 servings

P
ure tradition here: an honest bowlful of fork-tender beef, potatoes, onions, and carrots that have created their own rich-tasting sauce. This stew takes up to 3 hours to make, but for most of that time it cooks on its own in the oven, while you’re free to do other things. So plan to make this on a day when you’re going to be home anyway. Because it keeps and reheats so well, consider making it on a weekend for eating throughout the week. You can save a step by buying pre-cut cubes of stew meat, but I recommend going with larger pieces of chuck (so you know what you’re getting) and cutting them up yourself. Look for very small red potatoes, 1½ inches in diameter (sometimes called “creamers”), which need only to be cut in half.

Beef stew keeps well in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to a week. Or you can freeze it in individual portions in resealable bags for up to 2 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator or at the “defrost” power in a microwave oven before gently reheating—either over low heat in a saucepan (stirring occasionally) or in a microwave, in individual bowls or a serving bowl.

1.
Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 325°F.

2.
Pat the beef dry with paper towels and put it on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to trim off and discard any visible outer fat, then cut the meat into a couple of large pieces where it naturally seems to be separating. Cut these larger chunks into 1½-inch cubes (no smaller—if you make them too small, they will cook too quickly and toughen). Sprinkle the meat with the salt and a liberal amount of pepper.

3.
Place an ovenproof soup pot or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. After about a minute, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Carefully add half of the beef cubes, and cook, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes. (If you crowd the pan with all of the meat, it will steam in its own juices instead of browning.) You will know it is browned properly when it no longer seems to stick to the pan when you nudge a cube with tongs.

4.
Use tongs to carefully turn the cubes to another side and continue browning for about 8 minutes, turning the pieces as they cook until they’re deep golden brown on all sides. Transfer the browned meat to a medium-large bowl and set aside. If the pan looks dry and the bits left on the surface seem to be burning, add a little more olive oil to the pan. You want a thin film over the entire surface. Add the remaining meat and brown as described. Transfer to the bowl and set aside.

5.
Without cleaning the pan, pour in a little more olive oil (just enough to coat the bottom). Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to soften.

6.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then slowly whisk in 3 cups of the broth. (It will make a thick sauce for a moment before thinning out.)

7.
Whisk in the tomato paste, garlic, and thyme, and add the bay leaves. Return the browned beef to the pot and check to see that the liquid reaches the top of the meat. If not, add a bit more broth or bouillon. Bring to a boil over high heat.

8.
As soon as the liquid reaches the boiling point, turn off the heat. Cover the pot tightly with foil and cover that with a lid, too, if you have one that fits tightly. (You want to capture all the steam as the meat cooks.) Transfer the pot to the oven and cook, undisturbed, for 1 hour.

9.
Carefully open the pot (to avoid getting burned by the steam that will escape), and stir in the potatoes and carrots. Cover again with the foil and lid, and return the pot to the oven for another 1 hour of cooking.

10.
Remove the pot from the oven and let the stew sit, still covered, for 10 minutes before serving. Remove the bay leaves. Serve hot or warm.

grandma betty’s brisket

Makes 4 to 6 servings

M
y esteemed mother, Betty, has the right idea: succulent roasted brisket smothered with onions, which melt and mellow during the slow cooking process, flavoring and glazing the meat. Use a heavy pot with a tight-fitting ovenproof lid for this—ideally, one that’s not too much larger in diameter than the meat so that the onions remain moist and don’t burn. The labor for this is minimal but the oven time is long, so plan to make brisket at a time when you’ll be home. It’s great the second day, so if you’re going to have people over, you can make it well in advance.

The recipe makes enough for a few nights’ dinners. Whatever you don’t eat, leave unsliced and refrigerate in a resealable plastic bag. You’ll find it’s even easier to slice when it’s cold. You can use the slices for sandwiches or reheat them in the microwave, in a skillet with a few drops of water to moisten them, or in a 325°F oven.