Meat

Roast Beef

4-pound cross rib roast

Salt

Pepper

Garlic, chopped

Thyme

Dry the roast with paper towels. Rub it with salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and thyme. Place it in a small roasting pan lined with tin foil (for easier cleaning). Roast for 2 hours in 325°.

Marinated Tri-Tip Steaks

1 tri-tip roast

Marinade:
3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, pressed

The juice of half a lemon
Freshly ground black pepper (and some rosemary or oregano)

Slice the roast cross-grain into one-inch steaks and place into a glass dish. Combine the marinade ingredients and pour over steaks, turning the steaks so the marinade coats them all. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably more. Grill over a hot fire to desired degree of red/pink.

Broiled Chateaubriand

1 Chateaubriand, trimmed of visible blobs of fat

Marinade:
3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic, pressed

The juice of half a lemon
Freshly ground black pepper (and some rosemary or oregano)

Marinate the steak for at least an hour. Preheat the grill. Place steak under the grill for 8 minutes per side, then let sit for a while before slicing gross-grain into serving pieces. (These instructions are for broiling in a gas oven. Grilling outdoors on coals, the timing may be different. Watch the color and test by cutting into the meat.)

Meat Loaf

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 cup half-half (or milk)

2/3 cup bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/2 onion, grated or very finely chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Mix all ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on the lowest speed for three minutes, or whip well with a sturdy wooden spoon until smooth and airy. With wet hands, shape into two loaves and place into a buttered casserole. Dot with butter. Bake for one hour in 375°.
Use the same mixture to make meatballs: Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Wet your hands and shape the meat mixture into balls. You can place them close to each other on the baking sheet because they shrink as they cook. Bake about 45 minutes in 375. Two pounds makes 35 meat balls. - One pound makes 30 small meat balls.

Beef Stroganoff My Way

1 tablespoon butter and a splash of olive oil

1 onion, sliced thinly

Sauté onions for about 1/2 hour, until translucent and nicely browned.

1 tablespoon butter and a splash of olive oil

Black trumpet, maitake, porcini mushrooms (dried), and fresh mushrooms

Sauté fresh mushrooms, then add the reconstituted dried mushrooms and sauté briefly. Combine with the onions.

1 cup beef broth

3/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Add to onion/mushroom mixture and simmer a few minutes, until the sauce is bubbling, checking the thickness of the sauce. If needed, add broth and sour cream. Keep until the last step. OK to keep in fridge overnight.

1 pound beef, cut into strips

1 tablespoon butter and a splash of olive oil

Sauté beef quickly in a very hot cast iron pan until brown on all sides. Pour the mushroom sauce into the pan with the meat, stir well, and keep, covered, until serving. (I did this about an hour before the guests were expected.)

16 ounces wide egg noodles

Boil the noodles, drain, toss with a little oil and keep, covered, while reheating the sauce.

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

To serve, spoon noodles on plates, beef sauce in the middle, topped with a small handful of dill. Garnish on the side with sliced pickled beets and pickles.

This method was excellent for entertaining, because the labor intensive prep could be done the day before. Browning the meat took only a few minutes, and the sauce with the meat in it kept well. I served salad while the noodles were cooking, and plated in the kitchen. No fuss, no muss.

Pot Roast

1 boneless chuck roast

Olive oil, butter

1 large onion, sliced

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup bouillon

1 cup wine or more bouillon

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 small can tomato paste

Best made two days before serving.
Brown the roast well on both sides in a mixture of oil and butter and place in a casserole. Brown onion in remaining fat, adding a little butter if needed. Add the tomato paste and stir until well blended and the paste has slightly lightened in color. Add the flour, stir until blended, and cook another minute or so. Add the broth and vinegar, stir well, and pour over the meat. Cover and bake in 350° for 2-3 hours, or in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours. Cool and refrigerate overnight. Next day, remove any large pieces of fat and slice the meat against the grain. Smooth the sauce with an immersion blender or food processor. Place sliced meat in a clean casserole, cover with the sauce, and refrigerate again. Next day, reheat and serve with buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, or twice-baked potatoes. I like to serve mushroom salad on the side.

Lamb Shanks

4 meaty lamb shanks

1 t. salt

1/2 t. ground black pepper

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. sweet or hot paprika

2 T. olive oil

2 onions, halved and sliced

2 T. chopped garlic

1 t. dried mint

1 t. sweet or hot paprika

1 t. ground coriander

1 t. ground cumin (or seeds)

1/2 t. ground black pepper

1/4 t. ground ginger

Pinch of ground allspice

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup tomato purée

Preheat oven to 300. Best when baking is done the day before.
Trim most of the external fat off the shanks. Season with a mixture of salt, pepper, ginger, and paprika, and brown on all sides in heated oil. Put the shanks in an ovenproof casserole and keep warm. Add onions and garlic into the frying pan and cook, stirring often until the onions are quite soft.
Sprinkle the onions with the second set of spices, and stir well to coat. Add stock, wine, and tomato purée. Bring to boil; then pour over the shanks in the casserole. Cover tightly and bake until the meat is almost falling off the bone, at least 2-3 hrs. (Refrigerate overnight.)
Skim off the (solid) fat from the (cold) casserole. (Reheat until sauce is liquid.) Remove the shanks, strain the sauce, and put the shanks and sauce back in the casserole. Pick out any bones that have fallen off the meat. Before serving, reheat till the sauce is bubbling.

Basil Beef (Thai)

Chopped garlic

Thinly sliced flank steak

Oyster sauce

Onion, chopped

Red pepper, chopped

Chili pepper, minced

Fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce

Fresh basil

Stir-fry the garlic in smoking hot oil. Add the beef and continue frying until the meat is half browned. Add onion and peppers and fry a little more. Add a splash of fish sauce and black soy sauce, and a pinch of sugar. Fry until the onion no longer tastes raw but is still crunchy. Add fresh basil and toss until it is wilted. Remove the dish to a platter. Serve with steamed rice.

Lamb Stew with Dill Sauce

2 lbs. lamb from the shoulder

Water to cover

1/2- 1 teaspoon salt

1 onion, peeled and quartered

A few whole cloves, peppercorns, and whole allspice

1 bay leaf

Dill sprigs

Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 cups lamb broth

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Place the meat in a saucepan with water barely to cover and bring to boil over high heat. Skim off the froth as it rises to the surface. Add the salr, onion, cloves, peppercorns, allspice, bay leaf, and a few dill sprigs, and simmer the meat for two hours or more, until it is render and falls off the bone. Drain the meat, saving the broth. Keep warm while making the sauce.
For the sauce: Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour, and cook briefly. Whisk in the lamb stock and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir ion the vinegar and sugar, and let simmer a few minutes more. Add the chopped dill, season to taste,, pour over the lamb, and serve with new potatoes.

Spring Lamb Stew

2 lbs. lamb from the shoulder

8 shallots, peeled

10 small new potatoes

Salt and pepper

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 cup green peas (frozen OK)

8 scallions, sliced

1/2 cup snipped fresh dill

Lemon wedges

This is really yummy!
Put cubed lamb in a casserole over high heat and sear for 2 minutes, tossing with a wooden spoon. Add shallots and potatoes and cook a few minutes longer. Add salt, pepper, and a cup of water. Stir, scraping the bottom. Cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add carrots, stir, and let simmer another 10 minutes, or until lamb and potatoes are tender. Add the peas and scallions. Raise heat to boil away some of the excess liquid. Taste and adjust seasoning. Toss with most of the dill. Turn into a serving dish and garnish with the rest of the dill and a few lemon wedges.

Red Lamb Stew (Iraqi)

4 lbs. lamb shoulder, cut into cubes

4-6 tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 lbs. beets, peeled and cubed

Juice of one lemon

Cooked rice

In a heavy saucepan, put lamb cubes, tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, turmeric, and sugar. Cook on high flame, stirring, until the meat is brown. Then simmer on top of the stove for about 2 hours, watching the liquid. - Meanwhile, peel and roast the beets. Add them to the stew and simmer 20 more minutes. Just before serving, add the lemon juice and adjust the seasonings. Serve with rice.

Finnish Country Christmas Ham
8 kg ham (abt. 17 lbs.)
Rye flour and water for the crust
Mustard
Brown sugar
Egg white
Breadcrumbs
Whole cloves

Preparation:
Cover the bottom and sides of your roasting pan with a double layer of heavy foil. Rinse the ham, dry it well, and place on top of the foil. Mix the rye flour and water to form a soft dough, roll out in sections, fit over the  ham with your hands. Cover the ham completely with the crust - top and sides only, not the bottom - smoothing the dough well over the ham with moist hands. Add a cup of water to the pan, and check it periodically during the cooking, adding when necessary. If using a thermometer, place it in the thickest part of the ham.

Cooking Time:
1 1/2 hrs. for the first kilo, then 1/2 hrs for each subsequent kilo.
For a ham weighing about 8 kg (17 lbs.), the total cooking time will be about 5 hrs, or until the internal temperature reaches 160F.

Cooking Temperature:
425F for the first 1/2 hour, then 375F for the rest of the time.

Finishing Touches:
Let the ham cool a bit, then remove the rye crust and skin and most of the fat. Leave just a thin layer of fat. Mix a little mustard, brown sugar, and a slightly beaten egg white together, and spread over the ham. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Insert some whole cloves into the meat. Brown for 15 minutes in 450F, covering the exposed edge of the meat with foil so it won't burn.

Notes:
- The ham should stand in room temperature for an hour before serving.
- Decorate the bone end with tin foil. (This also creates a place to put your hands when you are cutting the meat.) If you have a red apple and a few prunes, they add a nice touch to the platter.
- The final check for the doneness is when you take the rye crust off. The meat should start coming off the bone. If it doesn't, put the crust back on and cook a little longer.