Author: admin

ok, made tacos tonight; kept track of ratios.
i used 2.4lb gr. beef. i recommend 2-2 1/2 lbs. if you don’t eat it all, grat leftovers, taco salad, sloppy joe, omlet.
then one can of tomato paste and 3-4 cans of water is good.
cumin:salt ratio is 2:1. so i used 4 tbl cumin to 2 tnl salt.
saute beef, drain,
stir in t paste/water, smush it around until combined.
add cumin/salt…stir well, let it simmer until it is good consistency.

ours were wonderful; a home grown tomato, ripe avocado, sharp chedder, lettuce, onion, salsa…yum! l, m

Grilled Tuna
Published: May 1, 1998
Serves 4

It is difficult to avoid cooking tuna steaks thinner than 3/4-inch to medium because the interior cooks almost as quickly as the surface. For 3/4-inch steaks, follow steps 1-3; for 1 to 1 1/2 inch tuna steaks, use variation described in steps 4 – 6. Piquant sauces and fresh salsas are natural partners for either thin or thick grilled tuna steaks (see related recipes for suggestions).
INGREDIENTS
4 tuna steaks (about 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Table salt and ground black pepper
1. For 3/4-inch Tuna Steaks: Place tuna and oil in gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag; seal bag and refrigerate until fish has marinated fully, at least 1 and up to 24 hours.
2. Meanwhile, spread one large chimney’s worth, about 5 quarts, hardwood charcoal or charcoal briquettes over 2/3 of grill bottom. Refill chimney with charcoal, position on charcoal layer in grill, and ignite. Burn until charcoal in chimney is blazing, 5 to 8 minutes. Dump burning coals onto unlit charcoal, position grill rack over fire, and burn until all charcoal is completely covered with thin coating of light gray ash and fire is very hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill surface for 1 to 2 seconds), 20 to 30 minutes more.
3. Remove tuna from bag; season both sides of each steak with salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat until well seared and grill marks appear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip steaks over and grill on second side until fish is cooked to medium (opaque throughout, yet translucent at very center when checked with point of paring knife), 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
4. For 1- to 1 1/2-inch Tuna Steaks: Whereas thinner tuna steaks cook to medium before you know it, thicker 1- to 1 1/2-inch steaks can easily be cooked to rare or medium-rare. In addition, you need only to brush thick steaks with olive oil rather than to marinate them, because they are less likely to dry out during cooking.
5. Spread one large chimney’s worth, about 5 quarts, hardwood charcoal or charcoal briquettes over 2/3 of grill bottom. Refill chimney with charcoal, position on charcoal layer in grill, and ignite. Burn until charcoal in chimney is blazing, 5 to 8 minutes. Dump burning coals onto unlit charcoal, position grill rack over fire, and burn until all charcoal is completely covered with thin coating of light gray ash and fire is very hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill surface for 1 to 2 seconds), 20 to 30 minutes more.
6. Brush both sides of each tuna steak with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill steaks 2 1/2 minutes on first side and 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 minutes on second side for rare (opaque near surfaces and still red and translucent at center when checked with point of paring knife) or 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on first side and 3 to 4 minutes on second side for medium-rare (just opaque throughout, yet still pink at very center when checked with point of paring knife); serve immediately.

This is from a guy named Lou (surprise!) on the Cook’s Illustrated forums.

24 oz freshly ground chuck
4 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Gently mix meat, salt, pepper, W. sauce in a bowl.

Make eight thin patties.

Evenly divide the toppings among four patties.

Add another plain patty on top of each and gently seal edges.

Grill to your content, I like 3-4 minutes per side.

This is one of my family’s favorite special occasion meals. The technique is from Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here For The Food.

Bone-in ribeye roast, first cut
2 cloves garlic, slivered
Olive oil
kosher salt
pepper

With a paring knife make 12-24 shallow cuts under the fat layer and insert slivers of garlic. Rub roast with oil. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Insert a probe thermometer.

It’s easier to carve if you cut the bones off (in one piece) and tie them back on. I carve with an electric knife so it doesn’t make much difference and I don’t bother, unless the butcher has already done it for me.

Preheat oven to 250F. (You want the roast at room temperature for an hour before cooking, so heat the oven after doing the prep work.)

Place the meat in a roasting pan, bones down. If it’s boneless, use a roasting rack.

Cook at 250F to an internal temperature of 120F.

How long will this take? Good question. The good news is you can let it rest before the final browning for a while to let the side dishes catch up, if necessary. The total time depends on the starting temperature, the weight, and whether it’s boneless. I’ve made notes the last few times I’ve made it, and a 3.7 lb bone-in roast took 2:15 to go from 42F to 120F, while a 6.3 lb boneless roast took 2:55. Take from that what you will. Remember that the temperature’s the important thing, the times are very very general guidelines.

Remove from the oven and tent with foil. Turn the oven up to 450F. Once the oven is up to temperature remove the foil and thermometer (unless yours is okay at high heat) and return the roast to the oven. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and delicious.

Rest under foil for 15 minutes, carve, and serve with Yorkshire pudding.

Brown Sugar – Ketchup Glaze
1/2 cup ketchup or chili sauce
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons cider vinegar or white vinegar

Meat Loaf
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion , chopped medium
2 medium cloves garlic , minced
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup whole milk or plain yogurt
1 pound ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
2/3 cup Saltine crackers , crushed (about 16), or quick oatmeal, or 1 1/3 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
6 – 8 ounces bacon , thin sliced (8 to 12 slices, depending on loaf shape)

See Illustrations Below: Forming the Loaf

1. For the glaze: Mix all ingredients in small saucepan; set aside.
2. For the meat loaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.
3. Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and milk or yogurt. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk or yogurt, a couple tablespoons at a time until mix no longer sticks.)
4. Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into approximately 9-by-5-inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf, (see illustration 1, below).
5. Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool at least 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.