Category — Beef + Lamb Recipes

It’s cold and rainy outside, and there is really only one thing I want to eat: this chili made with butternut squash, beef short ribs, and black beans. The flavors are complex, with a hint of cocoa powder and just the right amount of heat. Top it with fresh cilantro, some crumbled Mexican queso fresco, and some fresh slices of avocado, and the winter blues will melt away.

[Read more →]

Sloppy Joes + Korean BBQ – how could I possibly resist making this recipe? Answer: I couldn’t. For once, I actually followed a recipe to the letter. The marinade mixture reminded me of my favorite short rib recipe, so I decided it was worth a try as is. Result: perfection on a bun.

A few notes to make your life easier: since you are supposed to puree the Asian pear, you might as well take advantage of the food processor for other parts of the prep. So I used the shredding blade to julienne the onions, carrot, and garlic first, then dumped those out and switched to the normal blade to puree the pear. This cut down significantly on prep time. The brisket can be tough to slice but it’s easier if you stick it in the freezer for about 30 minutes and sharpen your butcher knife well. And do make sure you get really good-quality buns.

[Read more →]

After a week of glorious sun and 80+ degree weather, a spate of drizzly, gray, and decidedly autumnal days are upon us. The upside of this dreary weather is that warm, rich, comforting dishes like these short ribs are welcome on the table once again.

I absolutely love flavorful, slow-cooked, melting-off-the-bone short ribs, and have tried several recipes (including the Thomas Keller version, which paled in comparison to these.) This recipe has been adapted, over five years or so, from a recipe that David Chang supplied to the New York Times several years ago, pre-Momofuku fame and fortune. To my mind, they are the best short ribs I have ever eaten.

[Read more →]

There is great food to be had all over Syria, but the far northern Syrian city of Aleppo is the one that’s known throughout the Middle East for its refined cuisine and innovative use of flavors and spices. Kebab Karaz, an unusual and unexpectedly tasty combination of lamb meatballs with cherries, pomegranate, and pine nuts, is one of the signature dishes of the region. The flavor combination is unusual but wonderfully balances the richness of the lamb with the sweet and sour notes in the sauce.

[Read more →]

Is there anything more satisfying than a perfectly seasoned steak cooked to your exact liking? For a meat-lover like me, there is not. Unfortunately it can be hard to get that steakhouse taste at home, unless you know a couple of culinary secrets. Here is my tried and true method for cooking steaks. Once you start making them this way, you will never go back to your old habits!

[Read more →]

For about 4 years, I have been using a recipe adapted from David Chang’s recipe for short ribs that was printed in the New York Times. (This was in 2006, before David Chang and Momofuku were super famous–at that time I didn’t even know who he was.) It is one of my favorite recipes for a dinner party and everyone loves it, but I felt like I was in a bit of a rut. I needed something spectacular to christen my new and much improved kitchen, so I decided to go with a Thomas Keller recipe for short ribs.

[Read more →]

My dad got a tagine from Williams-Sonoma for Christmas so this was supposed to be in a tagine, but then I read that a ceramic tagine cracks on a gas flame (!?!?!?) so you’re not really supposed to use them. Thanks a lot, Williams-Sonoma. That is completely idiotic. So, hey, you know what, I decided to just make this in a pot. But in my heart, it’s a tagine. Also, it’s delicious. It goes wonderfully with couscous and a side of plain yogurt.

[Read more →]

Got leftover steaks and baked potatoes from last night’s dinner? Turn them into breakfast GOLD by making an easy, delicious hash.

Here’s the how to: Chop potatoes and steak (or chicken, pork chop, meat loaf, whatev) into roughly equal size cubes (1/2 inch-ish). Chop a couple shallots or onions finely. If you’re like me, then for some odd reason your leftovers also fortuitously include a ziploc containing 5 cooked bacon slices and you should definitely chop those up as well. If you’re lucky enough to own a vegetable, like a bell pepper or broccoli or something, well then your fridge is better stocked than mine. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, then give that the chop chop as well.

[Read more →]

I was bizarrely having a spaghetti and meatballs craving, which is probably, oh, the first time EVER that I have had one (and no, I am not secretly pregnant.) So without further ado, I present an extremely satisfying down-home meal that will compel your guests to ask if you learned all your secrets from a fabled Italian nonna. Although to be fair, it helps if you ply your guests with a couple bottles of wine and maybe a few shots of tequila before sitting down for dinner, which may or may not have happened before I served this meal. I’m just sayin’.

[Read more →]

I made this recipe off of the always informative Doesn’t TaZte Like Chicken. Although it’s called a tomato cream sauce, it has meat in it so to me it’s more like a creamy tomato bolognese. I put it over gnocchi. Yum!

The sauce comes out incredibly rich and flavorful, as well as very ORANGE. While I absolutely loved the taste and texture and everything else, Ross kept saying “this dinner is so ORANGE. Great, but, like, really ORANGE.” And it is. It kind of looked like the color of liquid Doritos. Not that that’s a bad thing. I love Doritos, and this sauce. (Objects in pictures may look less orange than they appear in real life.)

Find the recipe here and enjoy!