Do you love Thai food? This recipe is an ode to the Kang Ped Phed I used to eat at a local Thai restaurant. The Thai basil is the star of this show and I can’t get enough. Don’t worry though, it’s only a little spicy.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs peanut oil
1 lb round steak, sliced thinly into bite sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1-1/4 cup water
1 Tbs + 1 tsp honey
1/16 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 cup red grapes
1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves

Directions:
1. Heat peanut oil over medium high heat in large skillet.
2. Place steak into skillet and add salt.
3. Sauté until browned and the liquid from the meat has caramelized onto the bottom of the pan. See this image.
4. Add water and scrape all the brown off the bottom and sides of the pan. Don’t miss any as this is the beef flavor. Do it right and it will look like this.
5. Mix honey and cayenne into broth.
6. Add grapes and Thai basil and continue cooking for 3 minutes.
7. Serve in a bowl with some broth as the broth holds a lot of the flavor.

Notes:
Thai basil has a distinct licorice component so if you can’t get it, you could try licorice basil. If the basil leaves are large, you can chop them up a little.
If memory serves me, you should be able to eat Thai food without needing a knife. Keep that in mind when you’re slicing the beef.

Simple is beautiful. Thanks to my wife for this excellent appetizer idea. Try it at your next party.

Ingredients:
Roast beef, sliced thin. Here’s the recipe.
Green guac – just make this recipe, but omit the tomatoes.

Directions:
1. Smear green guac on slices of roast beef and roll up.
2. Arrange tastefully on fancy plate.
3. Be sure to eat one every so often just to assure quality.
4. Sit back and enjoy compliments from your guests.

A simple recipe that yields great results. Wonderful on its own or great for making green guac roast rolls.

Ingredients:
4 pound boneless beef roast (see note on cuts below)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 tablespoons walnut or other high smoke point oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Trim roast of excess fat and liberally season all sides with salt and pepper.
3. Place a heavy, oven-proof dutch oven the stovetop over medium heat for 6 minutes.
4. Add oil to pot and sear each side of roast for 4 minutes or until browned.
5. Place temperature probe into the center of the thickest part of the roast.
6. Place dutch oven with roast and probe into hot oven.
7. Roast until temperature reads 115 degrees on probe, about 1 hour.
8. Raise oven temperature to 500 degrees F and continue roasting until probe reads 135 degrees F.
9. Remove pan from oven and place roast on cutting board.
10. Let roast rest for 20-30 minutes before carving and serving.

Notes:
The cut of beef you use is important to the taste and tenderness of your roast. Some good cuts are blade chuck, top sirloin and top round. Cuts to avoid are shoulder, bottom round and cone-shaped cuts.

This will freeze well if wrapped well.

A digital temperature probe with a temperature alarm is really handy.

See this page for a file of the smoke points of oil. Even with a high smoke point oil, you may still get some smoking. I like walnut oil. It has a good smoke point and a light flavor.

When searing roast, do not cover pan as this will ruin the browning process. If necessary use a splatter screen to control splatter.

The resting period after cooking is extremely important. If you carve your roast too soon, it will loose all of it’s juices. Letting it rest allows the meat to hold the moisture better when you carve.

Take care when reheating leftover roast. The microwave can make it tough. If you are finding this to be true, use your oven to reheat roast in a covered dish with a little bit of water for good measure.

This spicy treat gives you a little bit of your breakfast back. Try it with eggs and banana pancakes and you’ll think it’s the old days when you ate with wild abandon.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. ground chuck beef
1 tsp ground anise seed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp ground mustard
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3/4 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (see this video for easy peeling)
1/2 white onion, finely minced
1 large egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well. Get yourself some rubber gloves and dive right in.
2. Form thin patties or link shapes.
3. Fry on medium heat for 5-7 minutes per side.

Notes:
Try other meats or add some pork to this recipe if you like.
The egg makes for a more tender sausage, but can be eliminated if necessary.
Fry this up as crumbles instead of patties or links for use in other recipes like pizza or spaghetti sauce (I’d eliminate the egg for this purpose).
Make a bunch and freeze in serving portions for a quick fix.

Butter is the key to making this soup rich, warm and comforting. The tiny bits of spices add a complexity and earthiness that round out the feel good factor.

Ingredients:
1 lb. stew beef (my butcher regularly has this cut-up convenience ready to go)
1 lb. carrots, cut about 1/3 inch thick (or use baby carrots)
3/4 yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 quart hot water.
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed (see this video for easy peeling)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/8 tsp. ground mustard
1/16 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/16 tsp. ground clove
1/2 tsp. dried parsley

Preparation:
Before you begin, Set a quart of water on to boil (I use a tea kettle). If it boils before you are ready to use it, turn off the heat and leave it covered.

Instructions:

1. In a dutch oven over medium high heat, saute the carrots and onions in 4 Tbsps. butter for 5-10 minutes or until they begin to brown.
2. Remove carrots and onions from pan to a covered bowl.
3. Saute beef for 3-5 minutes, until it begins to brown. Turn once and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
4. Remove beef from pan and put with carrots and onions in covered bowl.
5. Add about 1/8 inch of water to pan, scraping bottom of pan to release all the brownings. This is where your soup gets much of it’s flavor and all of it’s color so do a good job.
6. Add garlic and spices to pan and cook for another minute. Don’t let pan go dry!
7. Return carrots, onion and beef to pan and cover with 1 quart of hot water.
8. Simmer on medium for 35 minutes or until carrots and beef are done.
9. Taste soup and salt to taste. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter into soup.

Notes:
Yields about 6 cups.
Additional vegetables can be added such as mushroom. Just follow the same sauteing procedure.
Freezes well.

The carrots add mellowness and color while the raisins are a nice blast of sweetness in an otherwise spicy dish.

Ingredients:
2 TB unsalted butter
about 2lbs beef, cubed about 1 inch
1/2 lb finely grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp homemade garlic powder OR 4 fresh cloves, finely diced or pressed (see this video for easy peeling)
2 tsp ginger powder OR 2 Tbsp fresh root, finely minced
2 tsp black cumin seed (kala jeera)
3 tsp homemade garam masala
1 tsp homemade chili powder
1 cup rich yoghurt
1/2 cup water

Directions:
1. Melt butter in large pan over medium high heat.
2. Sautee beef cubes till browned, remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add all spices to pan and cook for 2 minutes to release flavors.
4. Add a little water to pan to de-glaze and scrape up pan brownings well.
5. Return beef to pan and add remaining ingredients.
6. Allow to come back to a simmer and reduce heat.
7. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until beef is cooked through.
8. Adjust salt to taste.

Note: Like all Indian dishes, this one will improve over time. The flavors will develop in your fridge over night and be even better the next day.

All the taco goodness without the corn. The Napa cabbage provides the alternate crunch and makes it easy to handle.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chuck
1 tsp salt
2-1/2 tsp homemade chili powder for mild, 1-1/2 T for hotter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (see this video for easy peeling)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
Napa Cabbage

Directions:
1. Brown beef and onions then drain excess fat.
2. Add salt, chili powder and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes, adding a little water if necessary to incorporate spices.
3. Serve on Napa cabbage leaves with your choice of toppings. The Napa cabbage is sturdy enough to pick up the taco and not fall apart.

Toppings:
Rich yoghurt (in place of sour cream)
Cheddar cheese
Chili Sauce
A Fresher Salsa
Cilantro
Slices of avocado
A Fresher Guacamole
Tabasco sauce (only the original red – read the labels)

Might I suggest some refried beans to go with that?

The meat freezes well.

The spices and long cooking combine to create a tender beef with a complex flavor not too unlike a mild barbecue sauce. This is definitely a comfort food.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
3 lb. chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
1 lb. carrots, sliced
1 onion, sliced
3/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, pressed (see this video for easy peeling)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried tarragon
1 Tbs. dried oregano
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1 quart home-canned tomatoes OR two pounds fresh, cored and skinned
salt

Directions:
1. Liberally season trimmed roast with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Heat olive oil in dutch oven over medium high heat until it shimmers.
3. Sear roast for about 8 minutes each side, or until it’s well browned.
4. Remove roast from pan and let stand.
5. Add carrots and onions to pan and sauté until browned, stirring once or twice.
6. Add water to pan to deglaze. Scrape bottom of pan to get all brownings up.
7. Add garlic, bay leaf, tarragon, oregano, parsley and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add tomato to pan and bring to a strong simmer.
9. Return roast to pan and reduce to a medium simmer.
10. Simmer covered for 3-4 hours or until meat shreds easily.
11. Spoon tomato sauce over meat each hour to keep it moist.
12. Taste sauce after 3 hours and adjust salt to suit your taste.
13. Remove bay leaf.

Freezes well.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. flank steak, cut into thin strips, about 1/8 inch thick. (see note below)
Marinade
2 tsp liquid smoke (see note below)

Marinade:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup pineapple juice (see notes below)
2 tsp toasted sesame oil (dark color)
2 Tbsp honey
6 cloves garlic, flattened (see this video for easy peeling)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp salt
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tsp ginger, ground
1/8 tsp cloves, ground

Directions:
1. Combine marinade ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, add 2-1/2 cups of cold water and liquid smoke.
3. Cool marinade completely before adding to meat in a 1 gallon freezer zip bag.
4. Remove as much air as possible from bag before sealing.
5. Refrigerate for 2-3 days before drying, kneading the bag once or twice a day.
6. Drain the meat in a colander for about 5 minutes.
7. Dry for 6-8 hours in your dehydrator on the meat setting.
8. Let cool completely then store in airtight container.

Will keep at room temperature for weeks.

Notes:
It is important to use the leanest meat possible as fat can lead to spoilage. Trim as much fat from your meat as possible before cutting into strips.

If you don’t drain your meat before putting it in the dehydrator, you will end up with a mess under your dehydrator as it drys.

Regarding pineapple juice: Commercial pineapple juice used to be legal, but is no longer so. See this post. Either make your own pineapple juice, substitute fresh orange juice or eliminate all together.

Regarding liquid smoke: I covered this somewhat controversial topic in my Barbecue Sauce #2 recipe notes. Be sure to review.