Get Cooking_ 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen - Mollie Katzen [77]
5. Scoop up the cooked steak with tongs or a spoon, and transfer it to a bowl. Include all the cooking juices.
6. Keeping the pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining oil. Wait for 30 seconds, and then swirl to coat the pan. Toss in the broccoli, and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Turn the heat to high, and stir-fry the broccoli for 1 minute.
7. Sprinkle in the remaining garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for another minute.
8. Pour in the reserved soy sauce mixture, and keep the heat high as you stir-fry for 30 seconds. Toss in the cooked meat plus all its juices, and toss briefly to combine. Remove from the heat, and serve right away.
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GET CREATIVE
Add big pinches of red pepper flakes when you salt both the steak and the broccoli.
Top with toasted peanuts, cashews, or almonds.
Pass shaker bottles of chile oil and toasted sesame oil at the table, for people to drizzle on top.
This can also be made with asparagus, or with a combination of broccoli and asparagus.
Add some diagonally cut carrots and/or strips of red bell pepper along with the broccoli for a touch of color.
For a bit of extra-intense flavor, add up to a tablespoon of oyster sauce to the soy sauce mixture.
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old-fashioned beef stew
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Pure tradition here: an honest bowlful of fork-tender beef, potatoes, onions, and carrots that have created their own rich-tasting sauce. This stew takes up to 3 hours to make, but for most of that time it cooks on its own in the oven, while you’re free to do other things. So plan to make this on a day when you’re going to be home anyway. Because it keeps and reheats so well, consider making it on a weekend for eating throughout the week. You can save a step by buying pre-cut cubes of stew meat, but I recommend going with larger pieces of chuck (so you know what you’re getting) and cutting them up yourself. Look for very small red potatoes, 1½ inches in diameter (sometimes called “creamers”), which need only to be cut in half.
Beef stew keeps well in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to a week. Or you can freeze it in individual portions in resealable bags for up to 2 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator or at the “defrost” power in a microwave oven before gently reheating—either over low heat in a saucepan (stirring occasionally) or in a microwave, in individual bowls or a serving bowl.
3 pounds boneless beef chuck
¾ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil (possibly a little more)
2 medium red or yellow onions, chopped
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 to 4 cups beef broth (boxed, canned, or reconstituted from bouillon)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 good-sized cloves)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 pound (about 15) red creamer potatoes, halved
1 pound baby carrots, left whole
1. Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and put it on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to trim off and discard any visible outer fat, then cut the meat into a couple of large pieces where it naturally seems to be separating. Cut these larger chunks into 1½-inch cubes (no smaller—if you make them too small, they will cook too quickly and toughen). Sprinkle the meat with the salt and a liberal amount of pepper.
3. Place an ovenproof soup pot or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. After about a minute, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Carefully add half of the beef cubes, and cook, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes. (If you crowd the pan with all of the meat, it will steam in its own juices instead of browning.) You will know it is browned properly when it no longer seems to stick to the