Stir-Fried Thai-Style Beef with Chiles and Shallots (MBR)

BEEF AND MARINADE

• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 pounds blade steaks, trimmed

STIR-FRY

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili-garlic paste
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minces or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 serrano or jalapeno chiles, halved, seeds and ribs removed, chiles cut crosswise 1/8 inch thick
• 3 medium shallots, quartered lengthwise, and layers separated
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, large leave torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves [Bought parsley by mistake and used some Thai basil instead.]
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped roasted unsalted peanuts
• Line wedges, for serving

Mise en place.  Steak is marinating.  Sauce ingredients stir together until sugar dissolves.

Browning the beef in batches over high heat.  I got away for a pretty long time without setting the fire alarm, but alas, eventually I lost the war.

Used home-grown and fairly mild Hungarian wax pepper here.  Sauteed with shallots until beginning to soften.

Push everything aside and stir garlic mixed with 1 teaspoon oil in center until fragrant.

Cook everything together until sauce is thickened.

The recipe suggests that half the herbs be stirred in and half used as garnish, but as I was only going to eat this one bowl at a time, I just stirred it all in.
Pretty decent stir-fry.

Savory + Aromatic Swedish Meatballs, Kind Of (TTH)

• 5 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon umami paste or anchovy paste
• 2 slices stale white sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
• 4 ounces pork fatback, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill [Though it would work well in this, one tablespoon isn't enough to justify buying a bunch of dill]
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons store-bought low-sodium broth
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum or cornstarch (Missed my golden opportunity to buy xanthan gum for the first time]
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Lingonberry jam (from iKEA or elsewhere) for serving [Nope]

Mise en place for the meatballs themselves.  Decidedly more than the number of ingredients in your average Swedish Meatball recipe and with different spices.  Apparently the traditional spices are nutmeg and allspice.  Forget fresh herbs, anchovies, and fatback; even onion and garlic.

Oh, by the way, you shred the white bread into tiny pieces and pour the milk over it.  It's like a panade?

Which seemingly isn't a popular enough usage of the term to have a page on wikipedia.  Interesting.

Cook onion, garlic, and salt until the onion softens.

Add spices and cook for another two minutes.  Add umami paste (Eh, just minced some anchovies even though that's not even the same thing as anchovy paste) and stir until combined.

Let cool.

Mix mixture with lamb and panade with a wooden spoon until roughly combined.

Add herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Overmixing is apparently an issue, but I made sure to season aggressively and yet avoid overdoing it while searing off pieces in a pan.

I did a good job.

Final mise en place.  The meatballs don't exactly stay spherical like that.

One is supposed to sear the meatballs just lightly until they begin to brown, but I wasn't paying as much attention as necessary on the first batch.  Didn't ruin it, but I learned my lesson.

 
Transfer the meatballs to a plate.  Add sherry and deglaze.  Cook until nearly evaporated.
Add meatballs back to the pot along with 3/4 cup of chicken broth.  Simmer until cooked through.
Mix xanthan gum (Damn, I should have totally bought some) with remaining 2 tablespoons chicken stock.  Push meatballs to one side of pan and whisk mixture into bubbling liquid.  Stir the meatballs back in and cook until sauced has thickened.

Season with sherry vinegar (I think it only needed that 1 tablespoon), lemon zest, salt and black pepper and...  It was awesome.  The most complex succulent Swedish meatballs I've ever had though there's not much to compare these to except Stouffer's and one trip to Ikea.  Dill makes so much sense, but it was still totally good without it.

Potato Chip Omelet (TTH)

• 12 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
• 6 cups plain kettle-cooked potato chips
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegetable oil

Mix everything except butter together.  Let sit until it softens a bit.

Heat butter over medium-heat in oven-safe skillet until melted.  Swirl to cover bottom and pour potato chip mixture pan.  Spread evenly.

Cook over low for 15 minutes until set and bottom is golden-brown.  If the latter is true but not the former, bake in a 375 degree over for a few minutes.

Invert onto a large plate and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Dotted with ketchup and served alongside some microwave garlic cauliflower (I could've chosen something more assertive) and skillet toast.  Yeah this seems like it would totally be a great last minute brunch dish.