Ropa Vieja in Carolina Red Rice (SP)

• 2 pounds flank steak, cut into 4-inch-wide sections against the grain [$14.99/pound at Whole Foods versus $5.99 at Mckinnons?  It's a no brainer.]
• 4 cups beef or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (with the seeds) [I swore I bought one and am more or less certain that I managed to get him home with me.  But I couldn't find it.]
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups Carolina rice [I'm not about to special order this, but Edward Lee Jr says any long-grain rice is fine and that doesn't mean you should be using arborio rice here, dummy.  Maybe I was being kind of a dummy for using brown basmati rather than the white Jasmine I have around.]
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes [I used diced tomatoes because I couldn't find a small can of crushed tomatoes.  Although when I went to the new Whole Foods on Beacon St in Inman they had smallish aseptic San Marzanos.]
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced into ribbons
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley [Nope]
• Kosher salt [Everyone's got their own opinion on the proper salt to use and Lee Jr's being pretty straight-forward about his choice.  As for me I'll leave it in the cupboard and use the grey sea salt I've been using since I read Michael Chiarello.] and freshly ground black pepper

This version has quite a bit more depth than Mark Bittman's take on this.  I cooked that version in early May I presume.  Late April, who knows what my posting habits were like.

Throw everything up to the freshly ground pepper in a pot and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.  Uncover and simmer for another 40 minutes.

Transfer meat to bowl, cool for twenty minutes, and then shred into bite pieces.  Pour over the cooking liquid and vegetables.

Home stretch mise en place.  I did this the second day.  If I hadn't used brown rice, this probably would've taken a lot less time.

Toast rice in butter for two minutes.  I had already added the water by this point.

But everything but the Parmesan was going to make it in.  Mark Bittman's recipe: no Parmesan, no rice...

The rice suggested in the recipe was supposed to cook through in 12 minutes which seems kind of crazy to me.  It took me a good amount longer than that.

Add meat and vegetables to the rice.  Stir in Parmesan and that green stuff people use sometimes in cooking...

Really, really satisfying dish.  At least at first kiss; I can't say it was the same experience after taking a trip in the microwave in subsequent days, but not every dish makes it.
You guys should compare the ingredients list between this and the Bittman dish.  It's also a full dish with the added grains instead of being served on top of rice.

The Never-Ending-Chicago-Winter Beef Stew

from Stephanie Izard's Girl in the Kitchen

• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 3 pounds beef, cubed
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pineapple, finely diced
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 1 pear, peeled anddiced
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 quart chicken broth
• One 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cup fich sauce
• 3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard [Oops, mine expired]
• 1 tablespoon sambal paste
  

Cutting a pineapple for the first time. Hardly a perfect spiral but a good first attempt.


Mise.


Browning the beef.


It would've been painstaking to brown the beef well (and the recipe didn't call for it anyway). I knew the recipe would have a 4 hour braise.


Sweat the onion and garlic.


Stir in the fruit and wine and decrease the liquid by half.


Add back the beef and everything else.


The flavors were definitely a nice blend of serious Southeast Asian flavors and more European ones, but I wouldn't quite call it a beef stew.
I'm thinking that maybe the family will get a kick out of it for Thanksgiving though Ropa Vieja would be a sure hit.

Ropa Vieja (BRW)

Shredded Stewed Beef from Cuba.  Ropa Vieja is Spanish for old clothes.

• 2 tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil
• 2 to 3 pounds flak steaks, split in half lengthwise (with the knife held parallel to the cutting board)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 yellow onion, halved (unpeeled), each half stuck with a clove
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large yellow or white onions, thinly sliced
• 1 or 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seed, and cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 4 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, or one 8-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 3 tablespoons capers, soaked if salted, drained if in vinegar
• Lime wedges for serving
• Tabasco or other hot sauce for serving

 

Mise en place.

Onions stuck with cloves.

Onions thinly sliced on the mandoline and the ground cinnamon.

Browning the steaks.

Braised for 2 hours.

Setting them aside to build the sauce in the pan.

Cook the garlic paste and cumin seeds until fragrant and lightly colored.  Then add the onions and cook until they are deeply golden.

The cinnamon stick is added with the first group of ingredients and the ground cinnamon with the latter.

Add the bell pepper and cook until they soften slightly.

Add the strained braising liquid and tomatoes and reduce.

Shredded beef.

Beef warmed through in sauce and served over brown rice.  The capers were a very nice touch.