Some days are just nicer than others. In my opinion it doesn’t get much nicer than having a package full of yummy goodness delivered to your door from a company that would like you to try out their newest products and let people know what you think of them. Last Tuesday was just such a day and the contents of the package were absolutely delish!

After answering the surprise ring of my doorbell I was greeted by a rather chipper UPS driver with a large package marked perishable. I signed for it and ran to the dining table to discover what treasures might lay inside.  To my very real delight the package contained two flavors of Philadelphia flavored cream cheese and two boxes of crackers.

The first flavor we dug into was the spinach and artichoke cream cheese. I thought of making something tempting out of that particular spread, but unfortunately it’s just so darned good on a Triscuit that my wife and I devoured the entire container at one sitting and were still wanting more. Yup, it’s that good.

I couldn’t resist the urge to make something more substantial out of the second flavor included.  for me Sun Dried tomato and basil just screamed beef and since I’ve still got some smoked brisket hanging around from the smoke fest of last week I knew I was going to make some sort of a wrap.

The idea to make a “taco” came about simply because the only tortillas I had in the house just weren’t big enough to make a full-fledged wrap. Stuffing them like soft tacos just made more sense to me at the time, and I’m glad that I went that way with it.  The combination of beef, creamy cheese and the peppery bite of the arugula in the spring greens mix was absolutely perfect.  Without a doubt this is something I’ll be making again.

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When the weather turns chill and you’re looking for something to warm you from the inside out, a good braised dish is the perfect choice.  Today was that day.  We woke this morning with snow on the ground and a bitter chill in the air that really didn’t get a whole lot beter as the day went on, though it was hard to notice the cold weather with the aroma of this dish permeating the house all day.

I decided to braise beef in tomatoes early on in the day.  I had originally thought of serving the dish with pasta or plain old white rice, but a quick trip to the pantry convinced me otherwise.  Sitting forlorn and lonely at the back of the shelf that holds both my rice and “enriched macaroni products” I found a small bag of brown rice and an even smaller bag of pearled barley. The combination sounded so perfect that I immediately shifted gears in that direction and I couldn’t be happier that I did.

The result was a warm and completely satisfying meal that did not leave room for dessert, but did leave more than enough leftovers for beef and barley soup tomorrow and most likely some other concoction the day after.  There really isn’t much that makes me happier than a meal that does double or triple duty and this one fits the bill perfectly.

This recipe is a keeper.  I hope that at least one of you gives it a try and then lets us all know what you think of it in the comments.  I can’t tell you how strongly I feel that this dish should be made in every home in America when the weather is horrid.  It’s just that good.

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Who says meat and potatoes has to be boring?  With just a little thought and a touch or two, the basic american plate of beef and starch can become something exciting.  It becomes an experience, rather than just something you eat.  That’s what good food is all about and I think that this dish qualifies nicely as an adventure in cooking, even though each part of the dish is utter simplicity to prepare.

The petit fillet is not a very tender cut, so either marinade well, cook rare (as we did) or braise for preparation. I use it not only because it’s inexpensive, but because it has a ton of flavor that some better cuts of beef simply can’t compare to.  Since we prefer our meats under the medium mark, just a few minutes sitting in seasoning was enough.  Had I been shooting for medium rare or above I would have marinated the cut for at least two hours.  If you’re still a bit frightened of this cut, try switching it out for a more tender chuck cut or new york strip, but stay away from mild cuts like fillet mignon, as the sauce will overpower the beef.

Add some roasted potatoes and greens of your choice and this is a complete meal in the greatest of American tradition.  My presentation is obviously a more refined take, but there’s nothing wrong with just plopping everything on a plate and drizzling with sauce before going wild with it.

Hey, it’s your kitchen and your family. Do it your way. It will taste just as good no matter how it’s plated.

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It was a beautiful, slightly overcast Saturday morning.  An absolutely perfect day for an adventure in all things Americana, and after much nudging and canoodling from friends and co-workers, we had finally decided to take a trip to Meers, OK to sample what Bon Appétit magazine had dubbed the third best burger in America.

The plan was simple.  Drive North through Lawton, OK. Just past Fort Sill, hang a left and go up US 115 until we hit the joint and try what everyone in this part of the country (and other places around the globe) are raving about.  The trip would take about 45 minutes, so no major planning needed.  Just grab a printout from MapQuest, pack a diaper bag, secure the kiddo, buy some jerky and we were off.

At least that’s how it was supposed to go. but most good things result from plans that went terribly, horribly wrong, and this tale is no exception.

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I may not have been born Texan, but Texas is where I call home these days and proudly so at that. Texas has been good to both my wife and I from the day we set foot here and even though we’re sure to leave her eventually, for now I’m Texan, and a piece of my heart will always be in the Lone Star State. A part of me will always be Texan. The place is just like that, it can’t help itself.

Having said that, you might be able to surmise how tickled I was to get a message from the Texas Beef Council asking me to help spread the word about Texas Beef.   We really don’t need to go into all the yelling and carrying on that happened on this end of that conversation, so let’s just say I was happy to accept shall we? The nice folks over at Texas Beef sent me a few recipes and a $25.00 prepaid card to buy whatever ingredients I’d need for the party, which was nice of them since I would have done it on my own dime anyway.

After looking over our choices, my wife and I decided on the Gazpacho Steak Salad. It looked pretty refreshing for days still well into the 90′s with an average 45% humidity and it sounded a bit different from the dishes we’d been having over the past few weeks, which would make for an interesting change of pace, so I set off for the store to get what I needed and got to work.

Of course I couldn’t follow the directions 100%, could I? That’s not in my nature unless bread making is involved. (which is why I leave that up to my wife when possible).  Not only did I forget I’d used up one of the ingredients, but I managed to misread the recipe in the process of making the dish, though neither change was that large a departure from the original.

My thoughts?  Well, you’ll have to read through my version of the recipe to get those.  I wouldn’t want to give everything away at the very beginning of the story.

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I couldn’t exactly throw up a recipe on Independence Day without that dish being grilled, now could I?  So here you have it, my prerequisite grilled Fourth of July dish and my entry for the fourth Frugal Fridays Food Event, Korean-Style Short Ribs.

Korean style ribs are also called flanken style ribs, and are cut in thin strips across the bone rather than along the bone as in your “Standard American” beef rib. I’ve been itchin’ to cook something with these ribs since the first time I saw them, but it wasn’t until this week that I finally grabbed a package and gave it a go. Let me tell you folks, I’m extremely glad that I did!

The Marinade recipe is adapted from one I found on epicurious, with modifications to suit my tastes and the amount of ribs I was using. (Their recipe called for 5 pounds of ribs and I was feeding 2 people, so I halved everything.)

If you’re wondering why there are only four ribs in this photo, it has nothing to do with portioning. The carnage at the scene of the grill was something any horror film director would have been proud of.  The ribs never stood a chance.  I almost feel sorry for them, or I would have if I hadn’t fallen fairly quickly into a food induced coma.

I can’t recommend this marinade highly enough. The ribs were moist, packed with flavor and succulent beyond belief. The slight char (seen above) that was caused by a hot-spot flare up on the grill only served to make the few ribs that got singed even better than they were before…  I swear, I HAVE to make these again…  Often.

Now, as for how this qualifies as Frugal Fridays material..  A quick breakdown goes like this …

Most ingredients were left over portions from other FF meals. Total cost… $0.00 for this round. The ribs totalled in at $4.50.  The rice we had on the side, maybe 40 cents, including the green onions. So in reality, I could have fed close to eight people for just a dollar or two more and one more inexpensive side dish, all for well under $10.00.

Now go make these ribs…  Right now…  Yes, YOU!  Go.  You’ll thank me for it.

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(You could also call it a California Steak Salad, but I hate branding a thing “Californian” just because it uses Avocado and Sprouts.)

It was all about a quick and healthy lunch.  I had a basic idea of combining a few Asian flavors with some darned good fruits and veggies I’d found at the market.  For the protein, some beautiful beef top chuck blade steaks.  For the fruit, a nice avocado. And for the veggies, some of the freshest alfalfa sprouts I’ve seen since moving to Texas.  The dressing was pretty simple to figure out as well, since stone fruit is to beef what apples are to pork and citrus is to chicken, I’d just use a little plum sauce to make a vinaigrette and call it fantastic.

Fantastic isn’t even close.  Not by a long shot.

I have a new go-to meal.  The flavors, the textures, the aromas…  All of them make me a bit woozy in their perfection and balance.  Just the right amount of sweetness from the dressing, tanginess from the vinegar and the succulence of the avocado and beef paired with the bitter crunch of the scallions and alfalfa sprouts sing a kind of symphony of wondrous voices.  It’s truly a thing of beauty, and one I highly recommend to anyone.  The fat lady has sung.  It was perfection.

If you only ever make one of my more California inspired dishes, make this one!

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Making Asian inspired dishes should not be daunting. While it’s true that there are a lot of very complicated recipes for Oriental cuisine, there are likewise a ton of simple recipes you can experiment with while you master the techniques. The trick is to play with the flavors available in your local ethnic aisle and find what you like. Before you know it, your friends will be calling you for take-out orders!

I created this dish for my wife, who has issues with spicy foods (and therefore most off the shelf Asian sauces and glazes.) Plum sauce is very mildly spiced and lends not only a wonderful flavor, but a rather intense glaze to this simple stir fried beef. The ingredient list can be found at any Mega-Mart, prep time is only a few minutes and cook time is nearly instant. This one will Wow you, I promise!

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What do you do with a few pounds of leftover brisket? That depends. If you’re cooing for several people there alre a lot of things you could do with it, from noodle toppings to sammiches. When you’re cooking for one grumpy foodie with a sinus infection coming on… Well, you do whatever makes him happy, and that’s exactly what I did.

To be honest, I didn’t know I was ill at the time. I knew that I had a craving for surf and turf, but that I had a slight headache and not much of an appetite. I did a quick search for shrimp recipes, came across a whole bunch for bacon wrapped shrimp and since I didn’t happen to have any bacon on hand, the inspiration for this dish was born.

My reasoning? Well, bacon is smoked, salted and cured. The brisket I had made two days before was smoked and well spiced, it was refrigerated and so could be cut paper thin if desired and it had the basic shape I was after… It all sounded right somehow.

And it was… Oh, It Was!

I’m not saying that this requires a barbecued brisket. I think this recipe would work just as well with a marinated flank steak, a skirt steak or even a New York strip. Because this is a sauteed shrimp, just be sure that whatever beef you choose has already been cooked, and preferably refrigerated well before you get started or you’ll risk rubbery shrimp… Not something I look forward to.

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This sauce was originally inspired by the classic Italian Bolognese sauce with a dash of my mother’s own ragu from my childhood. the result is neither one or the other, but has become my own unique creation over the years. For me this thick, deep and ever-so-rich meat sauce is one of the ultimate comfort foods, one I will pass on to my children and the powers that be willing, their children as well.

Just the smell of this sauce cooking is enough to give my wife hunger pains. While not as intensive as the classic 7 hour Bolognese, the simmer time of just about 2 1/2 to 3 hours is more than long enough to fill our entire home with the aromas of tomato, basil, oregano and thyme. Just after that the sausage begins to give off the wonderful scent of fennel, all in a wondrous symphony for the senses, and the resulting sauce does not dissapoint.

I prefer to cut links of sausage into roughly 1/2 slices for this dish rather than crumble it in. This gives the meat a bit more tooth, somewhat like tiny meat balls rather than just using meat as a component. Vegetarians may of course substitute an equal amount of cooked bulgar or mushrooms for the meat and use vegetable stock or mushroom stock instead of the chicken stock. I’ve made this combination and it works wonderfully.

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