The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a savory recipe. The original recipe given called for chicken, I used beef, and I substituted heavy cream in place of milk.

1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
24 ounces beef, cubed or diced
Salt to taste

Spice Blend:
1.5 tablespoons (20 ml) garam masala seasoning
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) black pepper

Sauce:
4 tablespoons (60 ml) butter
1 large onion, cut in half pole to pole
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce/425 g) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup (80 ml) almond butter
1/2 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
½ to ¾ cup (120 to 180 ml) chicken broth or water, more as needed
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

Mix together almond butter and heavy cream in a food processor or blender (or whisk until smooth). Set aside.

Stir garam masala, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.

If desired, pound meat to ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness to promote even cooking. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Heat 1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the meat; sauté 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Cook the meat in 2 batches, adding more oil if needed for second batch. Set aside on clean plate and keep warm.

Melt the butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook gently for several minutes to infuse the butter with onion flavor. Keep the heat low to avoid burning the butter; a little color is fine. Add the spice blend and garlic and cook for 1 minute or till fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the tomato sauce, stir well, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Whisk in almond cream until thoroughly combined with tomato sauce. Return to simmer. Add broth (or water) to sauce to reach desired consistency; return to simmer. Add more broth (or water) as needed to thin sauce as desired.

Transfer sliced meat to sauce. Simmer gently for a few minutes until meat is heated through.

Serve meat and sauce over rice. Garnish with chopped parsley and/or sliced almonds if desired.

As this is, I couldn’t possibly label it as Indian, but it definitely has an Indian flavor to it. So if you’re looking for something reminiscent of Indian food, and you’re not a fan of cumin or fenugreek, this is definitely a winner.

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a savory recipe.

1 pound sliced beef
14 ounces (1 can) coconut milk
2/3 cup peanut butter or other nut butter*
1 carrot, sliced or julienned
1/2 bushel of fresh spinach, rinsed well
1/4 cup Thai red curry paste or more to taste
1/4 cup soy sauce (or 2 Tbsp fish sauce)
1/4 cup loose (not packed) brown sugar
1 Tbsp chopped onions (optional)
1 Tbsp vegetable or other oil

* To make your own nut butter, process in a food processor an amount of nuts equal to double what the recipe requires. In this case, I used 1.5 cups of salted, unshelled peanuts, and processed until a smooth paste formed. Some nut butter might require oil (to process and make smooth) and salt (to taste).

This is a stirring-constantly stir fry.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high. Add onions (it should sizzle) and cook until clear or golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Add sliced beef and cook until brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes. Add curry paste and mix well until all pieces of meat are coated.

Add carrots, coconut milk (remember to shake it before opening it!), and peanut butter. Stir well. Add soy sauce and brown sugar, mix well, and cook until it just starts to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking until the carrots are tender or desired doneness, 5-10 minutes. If you like your carrots firm, skip the reduction.

Add spinach and stir well until the spinach wilts and is completely covered in sauce.

Serves 4-6.

This is a little more sauce than there is food to coat, so if you have more vegetables, you should probably add them.

The flavor of your red curry paste will vary, so use caution if you don’t like a lot of heat. I never put seafood anything in my curry paste, and I always use the full amount of peppers, because you never know if you’ll get “lame duck” peppers instead of the good hot kind you really want.

1/2 pound thinly sliced beef, cooked
1 cup shredded cheese
2 Tbsp cream cheese
1 large jalapeno, minced
half batch of Empanada Dough III or other pastry dough

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix together cheeses and jalapeno until somewhat smooth (about 40 times around the bowl).

Add meat and mix well.

If using the empanada dough or pastry dough, separate out into 8 equal parts. Roll nearly flat. Place a heaping tablespoon of meat mixture into the center. Fold over and press close.

Bake on 425 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

As I was rolling out the dough, I was thinking, “man, this would be a lot faster if I’d just used bread and made sandwiches in my sandwich maker”. Oh well, next time.

After doing the pork satay for the January DC Challenge, I thought I’d give this book another go. Adapted from Five-spice Lamb in 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp ginger root, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp five-spice powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of chopped vegetables (optional)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 dollop of tahini paste (optional)

Preheat oven to 325.

Brown beef in a large skillet. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Maintain the grease in the pan to saute onions, garlic and ginger root. Cook on medium-high heat until onions turn translucent or even golden.

Add the meat back to the pan, as well as tomatoes, stock, hoisin, soy sauce, and five-spice. Mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to a casserole dish and bake, covered, for 60 minutes. If you’re using the optional vegetables, bake for 45 minutes, stir in vegetables, then bake for another 15 minutes.

Stir in cilantro and tahini just before serving.

The original recipe calls for minced lamb and lamb stock, as well as toasted sesame seeds instead of tahini.

I skipped the vegetables and served this (with a full 1/2 cup of cilantro) as a bolognese sauce on top of Elise’s Spanish rice. I think it would have tasted great on top of soba noodles… maybe next time.

1 lb beef, cubed
1 medium onion, sliced or diced
1 medium-large potato, cubed and cooked (about 1 cup)
1 carrot, sliced or diced (optional)
1/2 cup of peas (optional)
1 1/2 cups beef broth (about 1 can)
3 T olive oil
3 T flour
1 T seasonings (3 tsps, any way you like it)*
Empanada Dough or other savory pastry dough

In a small dish or plastic bag, mix flour and seasonings. Coat beef cubes in flour mixture.

In a skillet, cook beef and onion in oil until beef is browned and onion is tender. Add broth to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Uncover; stir in any remaining vegetables. Cook until heated through.

Spoon meat mixture into a greased 9-in. pie plate or 4-cup baking dish and cover with pastry dough. Be sure to make a slit in the top to release steam. OR – Spread half your pastry dough across a pie plate for the bottom crust, spoon mix on top, and cover with remaining dough (or cheese or mashed potatoes or breadcrumbs or crackers).

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned on edges.  If you’re doing a bottom crust and a top crust (pot pie!), increase bake time to 1 hour.

Let cool 10-20 minutes before serving.

* Today I’m using Durkee chicken seasonings. If you don’t already have a “mixed” seasoning, you could try salt (1 tsp), black pepper (1 tsp), paprika (1/2 tsp), garlic powder (1/2 tsp). Or make up your own; you just want a 1:3 ratio of seasoning to flour.

4 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 lbs Round Steak, Chopped/Cubed
8 Slices of Bacon (Thick cut)
1 Large Onion, Chopped Finely
Mushrooms (as much as you want!)
Peas & Carrots (optional)
1 Dill Pickle, sliced & diced
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil (We like EVOO)
3 Cups Beef Broth
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup water

Cook steak, mushrooms, onions, peas & carrots in oil till cooked and sauteed.  Cook bacon in seperate pan till crispy; crumble the bacon and add to meat mixture.  Simmer for about 5 minutes; drain if applicable.  Add mustard till dissolved.  Place mixture in crock pot, add broth and cook on high for 6 hours (or 10-12 on low).  Once done, mix flour and water until smooth, then slowly add to thicken mixture. 

Best served over Egg noodles… mmmmm

No longer on the menu at Olive Garden® is my absolute favorite entree from this restaurant. Lucky for all of us, Olive Garden® has always been happy to share their recipes for everything. This was pulled from their website before the menu item was removed!

Menu Description: Grilled beef medallions drizzled with balsamic glaze, served over fettuccine tossed with spinach and gorgonzola-alfredo sauce.

Serves 4
Cook time 10 minutes (depending on doneness of steak)
Prep time 30 minutes

Ingredients

2.5 pounds marinated steak (recipe follows)
1 pound uncooked pasta
16 fl oz spinach gorgonzola sauce (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic glaze (recipe follows)

1. Grill steak to preferred doneness.
2. Cook 1 pound pasta according to the directions.
3. Place drained pasta in saute pan with heated sauce.
4. Toss pasta with sauce and place on a large platter.
5. Place grilled beef on pasta and sauce.
6. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, and sprinkle gorgonzola cheese and sun dried tomatoes.

Steak marinade
1.5 cups Italian dressing
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Cut beef into 1 inch cubes and set aside
2. Mix the dressing, rosemary and lemon juice together
3. Add the marinade to the beef, toss, and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Spinach Gorgonzola Sauce
16 fl oz Alfredo sauce*
4 cups chopped spinach
½ cup chopped green onion
3 tablespoons gorgonzola cheese crumbled

1. Heat Alfredo sauce in a large saute pan.
2. Add onion, spinach and gorgonzola cheese.

Olive Garden® Alfredo Sauce

1 1/2 cup(s) White Milk
1 1/2 cup(s) Heavy Cream
1/2 cup(s) Imported Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 cup(s) Imported Romano Cheese, grated
6 Egg yolks, fresh jumbo eggs
Salt and black pepper

BALSAMIC GLAZE #1
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Simmer until thickened, cool to room temperature.

BALSAMIC GLAZE #2
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced

Mix together ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly and becomes syrupy, whisking often, about 15 minutes.

Pick your glaze or make a combination of both. We skipped this altogether when we made it the first time. We also used our own alfredo sauce.

1/2 pound ground beef
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 Tbsp sage
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp ground mustard

2/3 c ricotta cheese
4 oz cream cheese
4 Tbsp heavy cream, divided in half
4 eggs
pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Brown hamburger with onions, then stir in seasoning. Remove from heat. While that’s cooling, mix together your cheeses and 2 T of the heavy cream. In a separate bowl, mix together your eggs and remaining 2 Tbsp heavy cream.

Spread the meat mixture across the bottom of the pie crust. Dollop and then spread the cheese mixture on top of the meat. Pour the eggs and cream evenly across the top of it all.

Bake approximately 45-50 minutes or until eggs are set. (May take up to an hour.)

If you read it, you might recognize my seasoning blend from the Un-Sausage Cheesy Meat Wad recipe. It makes the hamburger taste remarkably similar to sausage. You can, of course, replace the meat and seasonings with sausage.

For my pie crust, I used half the recipe for Empanada Dough I. It was a perfect fit, and I could pull little pieces off and “reseal” anything that broke.

1/2 pound ground beef (optional)
4 cups cooked rice
2 cups broccoli florets and/or parts
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of milk
1 1/2 cups shredded or 1 cup coarsely chopped cheese
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
salt and pepper to taste
Ritz crackers (optional)

Brown hamburger, garlic, and onions in a large skillet on medium heat. Add soup and milk, stirring constantly. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add broccoli and cook on medium 3-5 minutes or until soup begins to boil. Add rice and stir stir stir.

Top with crushed Ritz crackers and cheese before serving.

This filled up my frying pan and served three. Hooray for one-dish meals! Try it with any meat or no meat at all. Try it with any vegetable or no vegetables at all.

Cheesy meatloaves with the flavor of sausage. A great appetizer or finger-food dinner! (Name courtesy of JB.)

There’s no pork in this recipe!

2 cups Baking Mix
1/2 pound hamburger
3 cups shredded cheese
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp sage
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp ground mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add hamburger, cheese, and milk, mix well.

Shape mixture into one-inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes (I did exactly 20, and got some nice, soft, moist biscuity yumminess). Refrigerate unused portions.

Taste familiar? You can substitute 1/2 a package of flavored sausage in place of the hamburger and all those seasonings and get almost the exact same result! Or skip the hamburger entirely and make yourself a vegetarian dish.

Remember: The fattier your meat and cheese, the more oil you will have on your cookie sheet. I only buy 80/20 hamburger and Tillamook Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, so mine came out how some people would say “greasy“, and I would say “wonderful”. I used the above recipe, and since I can’t measure an “inch” to save my life, I made 30 cheese balls that flattened slightly to make “wads”.

We dipped them in Yogurt Dill Dip. We’re thinking they might taste good in a pita with cucumbers and tomatoes.