Anzac Biscuits

Happy Australia Day!  Anzac biscuits (history, recipe) are a classic Australia Day treat, with their origins (like the day itself) in the WWI era, when there was a need to send a tasty treat on a long sea voyage, and also one that did not require eggs as Australia's typically-bellicose dairy farmers were fightin' round the world.


Recipe

1 c quick cooking oats
1 c flour
1 c sugar
3/4 c coconut flakes
1/2 c butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix up the dry ingredients (oats, flour, sugar, coconut).  Melt the butter and mix in the syrup.  Mix the baking soda and boiling water, then add to butter, then add all that to the dry ingredients.  Spoon onto a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Notes

I'm not much of a baker, so this first batch was a bit of a learning experience.  Still, not too difficult.  I used honey instead of "golden syrup."  I had to split the batch between two trays, and the one closer to the burner got a little overdone.  In retrospect, I should have pulled them out once they looked done; they were very soft, but toughened up a bit as they cooled.  Overall, plenty of tasty biscuits.  And as another plus, your kitchen will smell like delicious baked goods and/or melted butter.

Beer Bread

I haven't been much inclined toward baking, but I also kind of hate buying a whole loaf of bread that I'll use sporadically and then throw out half.  So why not try my hand at something more interesting that I'll actually want to use?  This just looked so simple it was worth a shot.

Recipe

2 1/2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 12 oz beer

Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine dry ingredients, and slowly mix in the beer.  Get the dough nice and even, put into a *greased* loaf pan, and bake about 45 minutes.

Notes

I understand none of the chemistry of how this works, but whatever. Having tried it twice with very positive results, I think if beer wasn't a major component, this would be the recipe you have your kids bake you.

The recipe also promises to be easily customizable, whatever you want or have on hand in terms of flour, sweetener (except I will save you the Googling - baking powder and baking soda are not substitutes).  I fully encourage experimentation, with corresponding labels such as "honey-lager bread" or such.

Steak alla Pizziaola

This recipe came from the folks at Lodge, makers of fine cast-iron cookware.  And lovers of good meat and veggies:

Recipe

Meat
4 strip steaks

Plant (& Fungi) I
1 onion, sliced
3 red bliss potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp capers

Plant II
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
3 sprigs thyme
a sprinkle (or a few) of red pepper flakes

salt, pepper, olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 and your (Lodge, of course) skillet medium-high with some olive oil.  Sprinkle the steaks with salt & pepper (or Montreal seasoning), and brown about five minutes per side.  Set the steaks aside, replenish the olive oil in the skillet, and in goes the first batch of plant (and fungi).  Saute for about 7 minutes, then add the second batch, stir up, and cook a few more minutes.  Put the steaks on top and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Notes

There's a ton of chopping (you want the potatoes small so they soften; at least you don't have to dice the garlic), but well worth it - chop everything in group I into a big, beautiful bowl of plant (and fungi) parts before you get started.  The small-ish steaks I used came out pretty well done, but still delicious!  Make as much as your skillet can hold (OK, so about as prescribed) because it's good left over

Beer-Glazed Chicken

...a.k.a Commander Roostro's revenge - unsuccessful, of course, but a close call...  Originally from Rachael Ray online.

Recipe

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup light beer (e.g., lager)
3-4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
"evoo" salt & pepper

Heat some evoo in a large skillet medium-high.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear until golden-brown, a few minutes per side.  Then add the beer, honey, and thyme.  Bring to a bubble and let the chicken cook/sauce thicken for about 5 minutes/until cooked through.

Notes

I loved boneless, skinless thighs that my old Morton-Williams carried.  Unfortunately Key Foods' best dark meat option was the full thigh, which was not nearly cooked through by the end.  The sauce was delicious, at least.  Worth trying again and getting right.

Quick Pork Chili

Chili.  Some people get very intense about their recipes and traditions.  Recipes usually take hours to let the elements mingle.  But you don't always have the time or energy for that.  So I gave one of Rachael Ray's recipes a try.  I don't know if it really lives up to her 30-minute claim, but it's pretty tasty for the amount of time and effort that goes in!

Recipe

1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
4 shakes hot sauce
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 bottle of beer
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped (optional)
chopped cilantro (optional)
grated cheese (optional)
salt & pepper

Heat a pot high and brown the meat, seasoning with the chili, cumin, and hot sauce (and salt & pepper, if you want to do that here).  Then add the onion, pepper(s), garlic, celery, etc., and cook 3-5 minutes.  Pour in the beer and scrape up the bottom of the pot, then add your tomatoes (and cilantro).  Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper if you haven't already, and serve (with cheese).

Notes

I made this with a few differences from dear Rachael's prescription.  First, only in typing this up now did I realize that I used teaspoons of seasoning, not tablespoons.  Rookie mistake, but it didn't really taste under-seasoned...  I also used veal instead of pork as a special birthday treat/because Key Foods didn't have ground pork.  She also recommends half each of a red and green bell pepper.  I think not.  I used a whole red one.  If you're simplifying your purchases too, maybe go with green so it stands out more from the tomato?  No big deal, though.  She also didn't include the jalapeno; I added that in, and ignored the celery and cilantro.  Also, Rachael doesn't address over-sensitive smoke detectors, but I preemptively deactivated mine.  Hmm, think that's about it.  Turned out pretty good!

Paleo Steak Marinade

What's more paleo than a raw hunk of cow?  Well, there's nothing wrong with giving it a little (or a massive) jolt of flavor.  There are a bunch of pointers and formulas for marinating meat here.  I've only tried one pretty straightforward one, but it's a good one:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp salt, dissolved in 2 oz water
4 scallions, cut in half
2 big cloves of garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp honey

Mix everything up in a Ziploc bag, add in your hunk of meat.  The recipe recommends skirt steak or any other thin cut.  Make sure your steak is well-coated, and leave in the refrigerator for (at least) an hour.

What happens next is up to you!  Grilling is probably best, but since that's not an option for me, I've done it a few times in the cast-iron skillet.  The key there is to wait (and bear the smoke) for as long as you can - the outside looks well done about when the inside is perfect!  For instance, this:

...was not quite long enough :(  Those mushrooms and onions were awesome, though :)

Crockpot Orange Beef Stew

I earmarked a couple crockpot recipes to try, and this is one of a few from the same post recommending some combinations you can make in a big batch and freeze into a few different bags for convenient use later.  I didn't bother with that part and just cooked this one on its own; other ones worth trying there too...

Recipe

3 lbs beef roast (don't think it matters if it's whole or cubed)
1 sweet potato, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion, roughly chopped (not in original recipe but why not?)
1/2 to 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 cup orange juice
1 cup beef or veggie broth
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp flour

Mix it all in the crockpot and cook low for 8 hours or high for 4.

Notes

At first nothing really stood out other than the sweet potatoes, which were soft and mushy, and had a nice citrus tang to them.  It's a nice hearty stew though!  But the best part was when I was scooping leftovers and all that was left in the pot were the dregs of the broth.  Leave room just to slurp spoonfuls of that stuff - tiny bits of beef, sweet potato, and scallion in a rich citrusy broth...