With wedding planning over and most food groups reincorporated into my diet, I’ve returned to the kitchen inspired by a boatload of new kitchen gadgets and cookware from our fabulous wedding guests and a desire to improve my rusty cooking skills. The first major dish I made was a beef stew based on Alice Water’s recipe in The Art of Simple Food. I spent a Sunday afternoon chopping carrots and potatoes, browning beef, and taking swigs of the red wine that would be used to deglaze the bottom of the pan. The apartment was filled with the glorious smell of slow-cooking meat and I was reminded of everything I’d been missing for the past few months.

Beef Stew (adapted from The Art of Simple Food)

• 2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2 -inch cubes
• Salt
• Fresh-ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 onions, peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 large Russet potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• A few peppercorns
• 1 3/4 cups good red wine
• 12 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 small head of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 thin strip orange zest
• 2 cups beef broth

Equipment:

• Large Dutch oven or other heavy pot with a lid
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Peeler
• Can opener
• Tongs
• Wooden spoon with slats
• Two large bowls

1. Season the beef with salt and pepper a day before you plan to start cooking. If you don’t have time, a few hours before is fine.

2. Heat the butter and oil in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.

3. Add the meat and brown on all sides using tongs or a wooden spoon to turn the pieces as needed. You’ll need to add the meat in batches to make sure there’s plenty of room between each piece. Place the browned meat in a bowl and set aside.

4. Once the meat is done, drain most of the fat from the pot and add the onions (with the whole cloves stuck into them), carrots, potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns.

5. Cook until slightly browned, about eight minutes. Pour the cooked vegetables into another bowl and set aside.

6. Carefully add the red wine to the empty pot (don’t set anything on fire!) and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot using a wooden spoon. Cook the wine until it’s reduced by two thirds.

7. Return the beef and vegetables to the pan and stir to combine. Make sure they get a good coating of the wine. Then, add the tomatoes, garlic, a thin strip of orange zest, and two cups of beef stock. (The orange zest may sound strange, but don’t skip it. It adds a great flavor to the stew.) The liquid should cover at least three-quarters of the beef cubes. If not, add more stock.

8. Cover the pot and simmer lightly for two to three hours. Check every half hour to make sure the liquid isn’t boiling or running low. When the meat is tender, remove the pot from the heat and let stand for ten minutes. Skim the fat using shallow spoon. Discard the bay leaf, cloves, and peppercorns.

9. Serve with a piece of a fresh baguette and a glass of the leftover red wine (if you haven’t finished it already).

The Brooklyn Museum of Art has a free admission night on the first Saturday of every month. It’s a great opportunity to see all of their exhibits for free, enjoy live music, assess large landscape paintings, and watch Ramsey eat Dippin’ Dots in front of expensive sculptures. In addition to tasting the future this past weekend, Ramsey also had a sandwich from the mini-cafe the museum set up that involved a combination of ingredients I’d never had before: roast beef with red onion compote, spinach, and an herb cheese spread. It was so good that decided to create my own version earlier this week.

This recipe can be made vegetarian by switching out the beef for grilled mushrooms.

Roast Beef Sandwich with Red Onion Compote
-Soft kaiser roll or other bread
Layers of:
-Roast beef
-Washed spinach leaves
-Herb cheese spread, such as Boursin
-Red onion compote

Red Onion Compote
-2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
-1 tbs. unsalted butter
-2 tbs. sugar
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-Salt and pepper to taste

1) Melt the butter in a large skillet

2) Add red onions and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until tender, stirring often.

3) Add sugar and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.

4) Add vinegar, salt, and pepper and cook for a final 5 minutes, (wait for it…you guessed it) stirring often. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

5) Spread a layer of herb cheese on the bottom half of the bread. Then layer on the spinach, roast beef, and top with the red onion compote. Slice in half and serve.

Remember the classic children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, about a town where food falls from the sky for each meal? I found out recently that they’re turning it into a computer animated movie. Although the creators of “Clone High” have written and directed it, I highly doubt it will satisfy a generation for whom the book carries such strong feelings of nostalgia. I don’t know about you, but for me the book inspired many crayon drawings of houses and trees covered in a variety of foodstuffs. (I also understand they’re aiming for the twelve and under set rather than the jaded twenty-somethings in my peer group. The studios are betting we’ll all just go see the film version of Where the Wild Things Are, drawn in by a Dave Eggers screenplay, Spike Jonze’s direction, and a trailer that includes an Arcade Fire song. They’re betting right in my case, but such is life [link probably NSFW].)

Looking up information on a movie about meatballs falling from the sky naturally led me making meatballs in my kitchen. I’ve made meatballs only once before and while they turned out okay, they were far from great. After seeing a number of recipes around the web that combined ground beef with a number of other meats, I decided to try mixing ground beef and pork to create a more flavorful meatball. An additional twist was my use of whole wheat breadcrumbs instead of the traditional Italian breadcrumbs, which I believe added a very subtle nutty and sweet flavor. The recipe and more photos after the jump. Warning to vegetarian/vegan readers: raw meat photos ahead.

Basic Meatballs
-1/2 lb. ground beef
-1/2 lb. ground pork
-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
-1 cup homemade whole wheat bread crumbs (white bread is also fine)
-2 tbs. fresh parsley, chopped
-2 tsp. dried oregano
-1 tsp. garlic salt
-1 tsp. kosher salt
-1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
-1 egg, lightly beaten
-2 tbs. olive oil

1. Mix together all of the ingredients except the olive oil together in a medium bowl. Use your hands to create the meatballs, making them just a bit larger than a ping pong ball.

2. Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan over medium heat. You’ll use this pan later to create the sauce and simmer the meatballs, so make sure the sides are tall and that it has a cover. Carefully place the first batch meatballs in the pan using a set of tongs or long wooden spoon, leaving ample room around each meatball. Turn each meatball every few minutes, or until fully browned, for a total of approximately 10 minutes. Place the cooked meatballs on a plate covered with a paper towel.

3. Once all of the meatballs are cooked, pour out the oil, but don’t clean the bottom of the pan. Start the sauce.

Sauce
-2 tbs. olive oil
-1 small yellow onion, diced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-12 oz can pureed tomatoes
-12 oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
-4 tbs. fresh parsley, chopped (2 for sauce, 2 for garnish)
-1 tsp. kosher salt
-1 tsp. black pepper
-sprinkling of red pepper flakes
-dash of sugar (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the onion. Saute until translucent (about 5 minutes), then add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

2. Add the can of whole tomatoes with their juice and mash them in the pan using a wooden spoon or potato masher. Mix in the pureed tomatoes, parsley, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and sugar (if desired), and bring to a boil.

3. Add the meatballs to the sauce, gently stir to coat them, and turn down the heat to a bare simmer. Cover and cook for 25 minutes.

Pasta
-1 lb. spaghetti

1. While the meatballs are cooking, make the spaghetti according to package directions.

2. Serve the meatballs and spaghetti topped with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Much to the dismay of my Irish ancestors, I made meat and mushroom lasagna on St. Patrick’s Day instead of a hearty stew or potato-based dish. I watched a bit of the parade and had an Irish coffee, but I was really just in the mood for Italian. Lasagna also meant that dinner the following night could be leftovers, meaning no prep and only a few dishes to wash. It seems to always taste better on the second day too.

If you’re a vegetarian, you can easily substitute the meat with more mushrooms, roasted eggplant, and zucchini, and still have a very hearty lasagna.

Meat and Mushroom Lasagna
For an 8×8 baking dish. Serves 4.
-12 lasagna noodles (you’ll only need 9, but it’s good to have back-up)
- 3/4 lb. ground beef
-1 small yellow onion, diced
- 5 oz. chopped mushrooms, white or crimini
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (set aside 3/4 cup for coating the bottom of the baking dish)
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
- dash of cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 egg
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese for sprinkling
- Salt & black pepper to taste

1) Put a large pot of water on to boil with for the noodles. Make sure to add a teaspoon or two of salt. While the water is heating, brown the ground beef in a deep, straight sided skillet (if you have one. If not, just use a large, wide saucepan). Once browned, remove the beef using a slotted spoon to drain the grease, place in a bowl, and set aside.

2) If the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain the water and set the noodles aside in a bowl, adding a splash of olive oil to help keep them separated.

3) Drain the fat from the skillet, rinse, and dry. Place back on the heat with 2 tbs. olive oil and coat the bottom of the pan. Brown the onion for about 5 minutes over medium heat, then add the mushrooms (you may need to add another splash of olive oil).

4) Once the mushrooms are almost tender, add the garlic and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds), then pour in the can of crushed tomatoes (make sure to set aside that 3/4 cup). Add basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, sugar, and cinnamon and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, add the beef back to the pan, and simmer for an additional 3 minutes. Remove from heat

5) Mix ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and parsley in a small bowl and add salt and black pepper to taste.

6) Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Coat the bottom of the 8×8 baking dish with 1/2 cup of the crushed tomato. Cut 9 lasagna noodles to fit the width of the dish and get ready to create your layers:
-3 lasagna noodles
-Meat and mushroom sauce
-Ricotta cheese mixture
-Sprinkle of mozzarella cheese

Complete this layering twice, then finish with a final layer of noodles. Top with a bit of sauce and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese.

7) Tent the lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.