Potted Beef With Pears And Cipollini Onions And Horseradish Cream Food

PERFECT POT ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
• Combine the salt, pepper, and ground fennel in a small bowl. Generously season the roast with the spice mixture.
• Add enough oil to a large Dutch oven to coat the bottom. Heat it over medium-high heat, add the roast, and sear 8 to 10 minutes total, turning to brown all sides. Transfer the roast to a bowl.
• Add the carrots, onions, and garlic and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté the vegetables until browned, 5 to 8 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Remove the vegetables and place in a clean bowl.
• Deglaze the pot with 1 cup of the cider. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up any brown bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Add 2 cups of the broth and bring it to a boil again.
• Add 4 sprigs of the thyme, the rosemary, bay leaf, and roast to the pot (reserving the vegetables in the bowl). Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
• Cover the pot, place it in the oven, and roast for 2 hours. Add the reserved vegetables and roast for 1 more hour, until the roast is fork-tender but not mushy.
• Remove the roast and vegetables to a large bowl or platter and cover to keep warm. Let the braising liquid cool slightly, then strain the liquid into a bowl (discard the solids).
• Skim off any fat that has risen to the top.
• Purée the braising liquid in a blender.
• To make the sauce, heat 2 tablespoons oil in the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine with the oil. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup cider and the tomato paste and mix well.
• Return the braising liquid to the pot along with the remaining 1 1/2 cups beef broth and the remaining 2 thyme sprigs. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is thickened.
• Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the thyme sprigs.
• To serve, slice the pot roast, arrange the vegetables around it, and pour the sauce over the top.
• Variations: Tipsy Pot Roast
• In many pot roast recipes, there is an element of alcohol. In mine, I use hard cider, but you can also try red wine, a heavy beer, or-for your Irish friends-Guinness. The booze gives the meat an extra dimension but won't get the family hammered.

POTTED BEEF AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the dried mushrooms in a small pot and cover with half the beef stock. Bring to boil and simmer until very tender and liquids reduce by one-third, 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile heat the olive oil, a couple turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and brown half the meat until evenly crusted all over. Remove the browned meat to a plate. Repeat for the remaining meat, using more oil as needed.
• Add the butter to the meat drippings and melt. Add the thyme and portabellas, cook until well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the garlic and onions and cook 5 minutes more. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Chop and add the porcinis and their liquids, the remaining 2 cups of stock and Worcestershire. Cover and roast until tender, 2 hours. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat in 325 degrees F oven until heated through, or on the stovetop, partially covered, over a medium flame. Toss the parsley and celery with the lemon juice, EVOO and some salt and pepper, then mix in the cheese. Garnish the stew with the celery salad on top.

CIPOLLINI ONION AND FENNEL POT ROAST

Steps:

• For the rub: In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, thyme, oil, salt, and pepper until smooth.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and rub on all sides with the herb rub. In a heavy 6-quart pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes. Remove the beef and set aside.
• Add the remaining oil, onions, carrots, and fennel to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until aromatic. Add the sherry and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the broth and bay leaves. Return the beef and any juices to the pot and bring the liquids to a boil. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the beef is fork-tender, about 4 hours, turning the beef over halfway through and adding extra broth, as needed, to keep the beef halfway covered in liquid.
• Transfer the beef to a cutting board. Tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes. Spoon any excess fat off the top of the pan juices. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Using an immersion blender, blend the vegetables and cooking juices together until smooth. (The vegetables can also be pureed in a blender). Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm over low heat.
• Cut the beef into 1-inch pieces and place on a platter. Spoon some of the sauce over the meat and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

PEPPERED BEEF AND CARAMELIZED ONION CROSTINI WITH A HORSERADISH

Steps:

• Lets start with all the components and make them one at a time.
• Horseradish Cream -- Just mix the sour cream, prepared horseradish (not creamy), vinegar, and season with a little salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use. The chives should be added right before serving.
• Onions -- To a medium to large sauce pan, add the butter and olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add the onions and slowly begin to caramelize them - don't rush this. It will take a good thirty minutes, but it isn't hard. After 5 minutes add a pinch of salt and sugar and continue to stir now and then. After 15 minutes the moisture (water) from the onions will start to evaporate and the onions begin to caramelize. Once they get golden brown, remove, let cool and refrigerate until you are ready to use them. They can be reheated in the microwave in just a minute when you are ready to make the crostini.
• Garlic Oil -- In a small sauce pan on medium heat, add the oil and garlic. Cook for just a minute on medium and then reduce to medium low and simmer for about 20 minutes until the garlic is golden brown. Remove the garlic and you have wonderful garlic oil. You can always buy a bottle which is expensive, and not nearly as good.
• Beef -- Add the beef broth and marsala to a small bowl to a small pan and heat until warm. Add in the beef slices and cook just a minute or two until the beef is warm. You don't want to over cook it, it doesn't take long.
• Crostini -- Slice and grill or broil just until golden brown on each side. Remove and brush each slice with some of the garlic oil.
• Onions -- As the bread is toasting and the beef warming up - heat up your onions for just 1 minute in the microwave, they are all done you just want them warm.
• Horseradish Cream -- Don't forget to stir in the chives right before you are ready to serve.
• Toppings -- Top each garlic crostini with some of the warmed caramelized onions, then a slice or two of beef, then a little of the horseradish cream.
• ENJOY!

POTTED BEEF

Steps:

• In a heavy medium saucepan, simmer the beef in 1/4 inch of water. Stew until very tender, about 2 to 3 hours, replacing water as necessary. Drain, reserving the liquid.
• Pass the cooked stew meat through a meat grinder twice, until it is the consistency of a thick, stringy paste.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Filter the melted butter through clean muslin (cheese cloth), to remove the milk solids.
• In a medium bowl, mix the cooked meat with 3/4 of the strained, melted butter. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg to taste. Stir in desired amount of reserved cooking liquid to moisten.
• Transfer the mixture to sterile containers and top with remaining butter. Seal and chill in the refrigerator until serving.