Beef 360, the Science of Steak

Both of us love a good steak and we are in the process of learning how to cook the perfect steak. So i was pretty much looking forward to the Beef 360, the science of steak event hosted by Simply Beef and Lamb, the home of Red Tractor and Quality Standard beef and lamb. On a warm day when the Tube strike was creating havoc in the city, I took off to Le Meridien in Piccadilly Circus to spend an evening learning all about beef.

The evening started off with an introduction to what makes quality beef, and how high standards are followed to ensure a good quality of meat is delivered every time, by putting it through rigorous procedures. Dr Phil Hadley, who is an expert in the field, took us through an intense session explaining what ingredients make different steaks from around the country unique- precisely- how feed, age and breed type make for quality beef.

We blind tasted a wide variety of beef- from grass fed to grain fed, ones aged for different periods of time and so much more, that at the end of it all we were in a beef coma, not one that we complained about though. We then sat down to a fabulous meal put together by the talented Denise and also got to catch up with fellow foodies. We then packed away gorgeous chunks of beef to work on back home and also got tips on how to make a perfect steak by expert Hugh Judd

I froze the beef soon after and put it to good use a couple of weeks later by making the Coronation Steak, radish and pea salad that was served on the day, and was one of my favourites. Ro cooked the steak to perfection, i think this is the first time he's got it spot on, and it tasted delicious. Medium rare, just the way we like it. The salad recipe is pretty straightforward. Cook the steak as per your preference (rare, medium, well done), cover and leave side till you get the other things going.. Toss together the rest of the salad ingredients like lettuce, radish and defrosted peas and arrange on a large plate (or a bowl). The dressing is the best bit and I'll give you the exact recipe as provided by The Meat Elite.

Coronation steak salad (dressing) adapted from Simply Beef and Lamb

Curry powder- 2 tsp

Mayonnaise- 3 tbsp

Cold water- 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp

Place all these ingredients in a bowl and mix together till well combined.

Slice the steak into strips and arrange on the plate, along with any of the juices.

Spoon the delicious dressing over the beef and serve with crusty bread.

And that's exactly what we had, and also some gorgeous red wine.

There was still some leftover steak and I made a quick Philly Cheese Steak for lunch the next day. I followed this recipe to the T and its a keeper. I agree it does take a bit of time, because everything needs to be made separately. But trust me, it tasted so darn good. 

The session that evening did open my eyes to a lot of aspects and I'm now aware of the Quality Standard Mark Scheme that provides the highest level of independently-inspected quality assurance for meat in the UK. It cares for the environment, animal welfare and food safety which i believe makes a difference.

With thanks to The Meat Elite for inviting me to the event. 

Minced beef kebabs- Summer BBQ with Waitrose

Summer has been fab, like really fab. I also say it 'has' been because, its gone back to sunless, chilly days and cardi's and jeans. I've also been so busy the past 2 months, this is the first weekend off after ages and i wanted to just vegetate on the sofa. Of course after about 2 hours catching up on Pretty Little Liars and Orange is the New Black, i started getting withdrawals. I realised that I actually like being busy, but not so busy it messes up with my mind.

This year BBQ parties have been scarce, with me working on weekends and with our favourite BBQ couple off on holiday. We still managed a few, and we also did our first BBQ at home as well, thanks to Waitrose. The deal was to get some food recipe inspiration from celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, do a twist on it and serve it at your BBQ. I scouted around Heston's Ultimate BBQ page and wanted to make almost everything there. My first option was the Asian style ribs, closely followed by the steak and parsley sauce. But after some brainstorming (read arguing) with the husband, we finally decided on Hestons beef kebab. A quick shopping spree on Waitrose online, and we had kick started our BBQ weekend.

I did my own (no fuss) version of it, slightly Indian seekh kebab in nature, and served it with a side of pickled onions, cucumber and tomato salad, asparagus wrapped in parma ham, cous cous, pita bread, a yoghurt sauce and some Indian style corn on the cob. I also made a pitcher of raspberry vodka spritzer and for dessert, a meringue roulade with strawberry coulis. I invited some friends over and held the BBQ party in our common park next door. It was a laid back evening with great company, good food and fab weather.

Summer is still not over, so if you are looking for inspiration to whip up a BBQ feast, then you know where to look.

Serves 4

Beef mince- 400 gms

Onion- 1 small, finely chopped

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Green chilli-  2, finely chopped (adjust according to preference)

Almond powder- 20 gms

Coriander leaves- a handful, finely chopped

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Ground cinnamon- a generous pinch

Egg- 1 small, lightly whisked

Salt and pepper- to taste

Oil- 3 tbsp

Wooden skewers- 1o to 12, soaked in water for abut 2 to 3 hours

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients until well combined.

make sure you break down the beef mince and nicely incorporate all the masalas and ingredients into the meat, mixing with your hands if possible.

If you think the mix appears to be a bit loose, add some more almond powder.

take small portions of the meat in your hand and press on to the skewers, binding well.

make sure you don't use too much meat on the skewer, or else the weight would make it fall off.

Fire up your bbq and place them on the hot grill, rotating them every couple of minutes.

They should be done in about 10 minutes. Do a check by slicing off a bit and if you don't see any pink meat, you're good to go.

Remove from heat and serve warm.

I wrapped my kebabs in a pita bread along with cous cous and salad and doused some yoghurt sauce on top whereas the husband kept dunking his kebab in the sauce, which he said brought out the flavours much better.

Recipe for the Meringue Roulade can be found here

With thanks to Waitrose for the bbq grill and the voucher for the food and ingredients. 

Grilled chicken wings in a chilli garlic sauce for 'A Pinch of Love'

I stumbled upon Ananda's blog 'A pinch of Love' quite by chance and if I'm not mistaken she had just started her food blog. The pictures made me go back again and again and soon we were exchanging comments on each others' blogs. Then I guess it was the power of Facebook that eventually brought her into my friends circle and there was no looking back. I love the way she pens down her thoughts on her blog and the pics are to die for. If I let you in on a little secret- i sometimes head to her blog and take a peek at the gorgeous salmon soup pics taken in the beautiful snowy setting. There is something about that picture that screams out warmth and cosiness. I am so happy that Ananda asked me to do a guest post on her blog and I hope I have done justice to it with these spicy chicken wings in a chilli garlic sauce.

The recipe was the aftermath of a chicken wing obsession which i have been  am still going through. Once i discovered skinless and cleaned chicken wings, there was no looking back. I love how easy it is to cook with them- marinate, grill and if I feel like it, make a sauce and serve. Since the supermarket stocks only a couple of these at a time, when I find them, I go ballistic and stock at least 2 packs in my freezer, scared they would suddenly stop stocking them or something. Yeah totally weird behaviour if you ask me. I have become a lunatic when it comes to storing some stuff like this (I'll leave the story of the frozen Swedish meatballs for a later time). Sadly my freezer has not much space (which Ro thinks is good, because one day he opened the middle rack to find about 10 to 15 packets of frozen chapatis and freaked out). I mean who does things like that? Well me for sure because, believe it or not, I don't know how to make chapathis. So in fear of them stopping the manufacture of these chapatis, whenever i find them i stock them to hearts content.

Anyways, we are not here to talk about my pitfalls are we?. I'm sure you'd like to know more, but let me not steal the limelight from the chicken wings. So these are so damn easy to make and taste amazing with some chilled beer or cider. The best part- you don't need to have a BBQ grill or any such fancy schmancy appliance. Just your oven grill would do. The marinade is a mixture of all sorts of sauces (from various countries that too) and like Ro says, is slightly confused as to which ethnicity it belongs to. But who cares when it tastes so darn yummilicious? 

So while I head down to the coast for a short holiday, head over to A Pinch of Love and check out the recipe. Once again a big thank you to Ananda for the wonderful opportunity to kick start the guest post series. :)

Satay & Sangria

...is a weird combination, I know! But with the grilling season fast approaching I couldn't help but give this a go over the weekend. Sangria is my all time favourite drink and with a never ending supply of wine at home, I kinda whip up this cocktail ever so often.

I always went for the traditional sangria using red wine whenever I made it at home, but this time I thought of trying out the white sangria or the Sangria Blanca using white wine. The fruits used can be anything, but because of previous not-so-pleasing outcomes, I decided to go all citrussy. I have used apples, peaches, nectarines, blue berries etc. before, but the problem is, after they stay in the liquid for a while, it kinda ferments and the taste sucks. So what I'd suggest is..make them a wee bit before you want to serve, so it can chill for a while in the refrigerator and try and finish it all at one go (oh yes we were super drunk by the end of the meal), so you don't have to drink fermented and slightly horrid tasting sangria later on. And since you'd put so much effort (and alcohol) into it, you don't want to pour it down the drain as well. It works best if you are serving this at a brunch or BBQ party, cos then you have made just enough for everyone to have a glass or two max.

Satay on the other hand is making its way through to my kitchen for the first time. Although I've had them plenty of times at Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants, I have never tried them at home thinking its quite a tedious task. It was at the back of my mind to try it out some time, but wasn't breaking my head over it.

That's when one of Ro's cousins, a brilliant cook from what I hear, passed on a satay recipe which he said he'd perfected while he was in Louisiana for 2 months on work. He had an outdoor grill at his hotel and after playing around with the recipe he finally settled on this one. Good for me I should say, cos I didn't have to waste my time googling for recipes...which incidentally takes more time for me, than making any dish. He was so clear with his recipe that I didn't even harass him with doubts. He even gave substitutes which was great because I would have wasted significant amount of time researching. He's tried to be as close to the authentic as possible and I have tried to stay as close to the recipe as possible.

Ajoy's Satay recipe

Chicken boneless breasts- 2 pounds or approx 900gms to 1 kg

Wooden/ metal skewers- about 10 to 12, soaked in water for at least an hour

Marinade:

Shallots- 1/3 cup finely minced (I kinda chopped it finely)

Minced lemon grass- 1/3 cup (I bought lemon grass paste from the store)

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp or 1 to 2 inch ginger piece minced

Garlic- 1/2 tbsp or about 3 cloves, minced

Cumin powder- 3/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Oyster sauce- 1 1/2 tbsp

Soy sauce- 1 1/2 tbsp

Fish sauce- 1 tbsp

Molasses- 2 1/2 tbsp (I used brown sugar)

Rice vinegar- 2 1/2 tbsp (use tamarind paste mixed with water as substitute)

Cooking oil- 2 tbsp (use peanut oil for a more authentic taste)

Sambal chilli paste- as per taste (I used 1 tsp of red chilli powder). Substitute with paprika or chilli flakes

Wine or sherry- 1 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Salt- add only if needed

Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise, about 1 inch wide. My chicken breasts were really thick, so I placed them on a cling film, wrapped it up and pounded with a mallet to thin it out a bit.

Mix/ blend together all the ingredients under the 'marinade' section.

Mix the meat with the marinade making sure they are all evenly coated. Marinate overnight for best results or at least for 2 to 3 hours.

Thread each marinated strip on to the skewer, leaving about 2 to 3 inches at the top and bottom of the skewer free. I gave the job to Ro to thread the meat so he managed to do about two strips on to one skewer.

Pre-heat the grill for about 10 minutes and line a roasting pan, that can hold the skewer vertically, with a silver foil.

Place the chicken skewers vertically on the roasting pan, so that the skewer edges rest on the pan edges and the juices from the chicken get collected in the pan. You can also just place it on a normal baking pan, but this way its easier to turn them over without a mess.

Cook each side for 4 to 5 minutes, basting them in between if you have left over marinade.

Serve with some peanut sauce (recipe follows).

Dipping sauce:

Chunky peanut butter- 3 tbsp

Thick coconut cream/ milk- 1/2 cup or as required (blend in equal parts with peanut butter to get thick gravy-like consistency

Honey- 1 to 2 tbsp, depending on how sweet you want it to be

Thai green chilli- 1, chopped fine or to taste

Shallots- 2 tbsp, minced

Garlic- 2 tbsp, minced

Salt- to taste

Blend together all the ingredients together and serve with satay and wedges of lime.

Notes: You can use thin cut boneless pork cut against the grain at 1 inch width or even beef skirt steak cut against the grain at the same width. Both need to be pounded to about 1/4 inch thickness.

This is best cooked on a BBQ grill, but I did it in my oven in the grill mode and it turned out fine. I'm thinking an electric grill like a George Foreman would also do the trick. Ajoy also says it can be broiled.
I didn't make the peanut sauce, but since I had the recipe I thought I should post it.

Sangria Blanca (serves about 10 to 12 glasses, adapted from here)

Sugar- 1/2 cup

Orange juice- 1 cup

Vodka- 1/2 cup

Brandy- 1/2 cup

Dry white wine- 1 bottle (750ml) I used a Chardonnay 

Lemonade- 350 ml

Lime- 1 half, thinly sliced

Orange- 1half, thinly sliced

Lemon- 1 half, thinly sliced

In a glass pitcher stir together the sugar, orange juice, vodka and brandy till the sugar has dissolved.

Add the white wine and throw in sliced lime, lemon and orange.

Just before serving top with the lemonade and serve cold. Add ice cubes if required.

Notes: You can do a non alcoholic version of this using white grape juice. 

Like I mentioned before, you can throw in apples, peaches, apricots, blue berries, strawberries etc.


Sending the Sangria Blanca to Radhika's Fun n Sun event over at Tickling Palates.

Spanish- style prawn and chorizo skewers

We have a George Foreman Grill which we put to continuous use...especially to grill burger patties and now, we even make pancakes in them. Since the weather in this part of the world is quite unpredictable, and since we've had bad luck with bbq's all the time, we have to depend on indoor grills like these to feel all summery. 

What i love about this grill is, how everything gets cooked so fast. I would also have to agree its a much healthier option, since the oil drips down. It has indeed made us highly fond of grilling and this prawn and chorizo on skewer is such an easy bbq/ grill idea that the whole thing is ready in a matter of 15 minutes, i.e, if you are really not keen on a half hour marinating period (like us) 

All said and done, George Foreman Grill or not, these can be whipped up in the oven or on stove top as well. So the next time you have a bbq planned, make sure this is def. on your menu.

King Prawns- 250 grams or about 25 to 30, deveined but preferably with tail on.

Mild paprika- 1 tsp

Lemon juice- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic cloves- 2, lightly crushed

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Chorizo sausages- about 15 to 16 small slices

Chopped parsley- 2 tsp (I used about 1 tbsp dried parsley)

Pepper powder- to taste

Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Wooden skewers- 8, soaked in cold water for atleast 1/2 an hour

Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl and marinate the prawns and chorizo in it for half an hour or more. I didnt have the patience, so i used it immediately and it tasted just fine.

Thread the prawns and chorizo, alternating, on to each skewer.

If using an electric grill or bbq cook for about 3 to 4 minutes max on each side.

If using the grill mode in the oven, then preheat the oven to 175C and grill for about 6 to 7 minutes, each side..the oil from the chorizo oozes out, so keep a baking paper on a tray and do the needful.

On stove top, heat a large enough frying pan or griddle pan and do the 3 minute on each side cooking method...again loads of oil will ooze out of the chorizo. Drain on paper towels if necessary.

You can squeeze a lime on top if needed...season with more pepper and serve as an appetizer.

Notes: Chorizo can be replaced with veggies as well..peppers, zucchini, onions etc.

I had guests waiting to dig in and so couldn't take pics of the end result.

Thin Cut Beef Steak with Herby Potato Wedges

We got some brilliant thin cut steak from the butcher and so decided to grill it. Added some blanched string beans, grilled courgettes and potato wedges and it was a wholesome meal. I didn't take pics of the final meal because the steaks smoked up and caused my smoke alarm to go off. I, as usual, panicked and then Ro had to turn it off. By then I lost my appetite and was in no mood to style it.

Thin Cut Beef Steak Marinade (for about 6 to 8 thin cut steaks)

Worcestershire Sauce- 3 tbsp

Soy Sauce- 3 tbsp

Chopped Coriander Leaves- 1 tbsp

Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp

Pepper Powder- 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Salt- only if required

Place the steak slices in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper, on both sides. Mix all of the above ingredients and pour over the steak slices. Cover with a cling film and marinate for a minimum of 3 hours in the refrigerator. Bring it back to room temperature before you grill it. Heat a grilling pan and cook the beef, about 2 minutes on each side, for medium rare (which is what we prefer) and since the slices were thin cut, it cooked really fast. If you want it well done, keep it on for a lil more time.

Herby Potato Wedges

Baby Potatoes- 6

Rosemary- 1/2 tsp (i used dry)

Thyme- 1/2 tsp (dry)

Garlic- 4 pods, roughly chopped

Shallots- 2, roughly chopped

Dry red chilli- 4. crushed

Salt- to taste

Oilive oil- 1 tsp

Boil the potatoes with enough water in a saucepan and cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes or till they are just about cooked, but not mashable consistency. Take off flame, keep it to cool and cut into wedges. Alternatives, place the potatoes in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for about 8 to 10 minutes.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the shallots, garlic and chilli flakes till lightly brown. Add the potato wedges, herbs, season with salt and sauté well for another 4 to 5 minutes..or till the potato skin becomes lightly brown and crunchy.

You can mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, marinate the potato wedges in it and bake in a preheated oven (170C) for about 20 to 25 minutes, if you have lodsa time.

Chicken Quesadillas- la magia de México

If you ask me what my favourite cuisine is...id have to admit its Mexican. The ribs, enchiladas, fajitas, buffalo wings and of course Quesadillas which i can have at any given time. London has a lot of fancy restaurants, i admit, but i just haven't found one single decent Mexican joint other than Chiquito which is nowhere nearby. The American chain Chili's shut down their UK restaurants when recession hit and so now I have to make these at home to quench my craving. I still remember the Southwestern Egg Rolls from Chili's, which for some strange reason wasn't on the menu in any of the UK Chili's, but were a favourite among a lot of my cousins and friends back in US.

I was doing an impromptu grocery stop at Tesco and saw a Mexican dip platter with Sour Cream, Salsa and Guacamole. That aggravated my craving and so decided to make Quesadillas that night for dinner. The original Quesadilla recipe doesn't involve any of the dips, but i just couldn't resist it. Pair it with a chilled glass of margarita and you have the perfect BBQ dish.

Flour tortillas- 4, or if you are using chapathi's, about 6

Boneless chicken breasts- 250 to 300 gms, cut into bite size pieces

Onions- 1, sliced lengthwise

Any brand Fajita/Enchilada spice mix- 3 tsp (can be substituted with a mix of chilli pwd, pepper pwd, paprika, cumin pwd and salt)

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp (optional)

Cheddar or any grated cheese- 1 cup or more if you are not so concerned about your waist line

Pickled Jalapenos- 2 or 3 per Quesadilla as they are quite spicy (optional)

Oil- 1 tbs

Salt- to taste (if required)

Marinate the chicken pieces with the fajita spice mix and Ggp. Keep aside.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and sautee onions till they become glazed. To this add the chicken pieces and fry it well. Chicken should be lightly brown. You can add more salt and spice if its not enough, at this stage. Transfer to a dish and keep ready.

Set the oven to the grill mode and preheat to about 170C. Line an oven proof pan with baking paper and keep it ready. Place the tortillas/chapathis on a plate and generously spread the sour cream, salsa and guacamole. Layer the chicken pieces on top, sprinkle some cheese and jalapenos, cover with another tortilla/chapathi and press a bit to make it like a sandwich. Repeat with the second set, place them on the pan and into the oven for about 5 minutes or maybe even less depending on the oven. Its just to melt the cheese and heat the tortillas/chapathis. Serve with rest of the dips.

Notes: This is a perfect dish if you have left over chicken breasts and even chapathis. You can replace the chicken with sausages, bacon etc.

If you do not get the ready-made dips, then mayo or thick yogurt is good enough, or you can chuck that altogether and go on a healthy regime.