Sirloin Tip Roast as Steak Tips in Mushroom Wine Sauce

March 21, 2015March 21, 2015 | Julie Yates

For a short time this fall, a very nice friend hired me to cook a couple dinners a week for their family. I needed to supplement my daughter Allison’s meager earnings as an English teacher in Spain, so she could afford a plane ticket to come home for Christmas. It was a fun experience; my friend would text me what she was craving for dinner. I’d scramble around to find recipes and run to the grocery store to get the ingredients. One day she wanted, “Pieces of steak in a mushroom sauce that could be put over mashed potatoes”, and this recipe was born. Since then, we have had it at our house several times and it’s always a hit. The trick is to make sure the whisk is employed. If it is diligently used and a little elbow grease is applied, the luxurious velvety mushroom sauce is well worth the effort!

Ingredients for Four Servings:

1 1/2 pound sirloin tip roast

1 carton of mushrooms

1 shallot

1 garlic clove

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups beef broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash, rinse, and slice mushrooms. Cut meat into 2 inch wide strips and set it aside.

Peel and chop shallot. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in skillet and saute mushrooms and shallot until tender. Peel and mince garlic clove. Add to mushroom mixture and saute for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mixture into a baking dish, leaving the pan drippings still in the skillet.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the same pan. Allow butter to melt, then over medium heat, brown both sides of the meat pieces. It will have to be done in two batches so the pan isn’t too crowded and the meat strips have a chance to brown – about three to four minutes a side. When the meat is done, add to the mushrooms in the baking dish.

Put the skillet back on the heat and pour the 1/2 cup of wine in. Bring the wine up to a boil and scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to medium.

Sprinkle the flour over the wine and whisk it in; it will be thick and pasty. Then, a bit at a time, gradually add the beef broth while whisking constantly until the liquid is smooth. Add in the salt, pepper, and thyme. Keeping it over medium heat and whisking often, cook until the mixture thickens up. This will take about 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meat and mushrooms in the baking dish and give it a stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or wide noodles.

Scallops En Papillote for Your Sweetie

February 11, 2015February 22, 2015 | Julie Yates

Apparently, scallops are a very romantic food. It seems that in every painting of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, there is a scallop shell somewhere. Here in the Midwest, scallops are a splurge and usually on the menu at expensive restaurants. All this makes it the perfect thing to serve on Valentine’s Day when an exceptional meal made at home sure beats fighting the crowds at some fancy establishment. The dish posted here has a touch of elegance since cooking “en papillote” or in parchment paper is a classic French technique. Actually lots cultures wrap food in a material which allow the ingredients inside to be steamed when the package is exposed to heat . For instance, tamales are wrapped in corn husks and in Asia, banana and cassava leaves are similarly employed. Here in the United States, foil along with a campfire is used: (Click HERE). However, the French are so romantic that they actually cut the parchment paper into a heart before putting yummy things on one side and then close it up to make a cute little bundle of deliciousness. So have fun cutting out Valentine hearts and then enjoy a fabulous meal!

Ingredients for Four Servings:

1 pound jumbo scallops (about 12), rinsed and drained

4 (15 x 15 inch) squares parchment paper

1 cup beluga (black) lentils

1 carrot, peeled and cut in half

1 small bunch celery leaves or small stalk

4 shallots

8 to 12 stalks of asparagus

1 small bunch fresh cilantro (1/4 cup chopped)

1 lemon (to make 1/4 cup juice)

1 tablespoon garam masala or curry powder

1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil for brushing

Directions:

The lentils need to be partially cooked before they are put in the parchment bundle or either they will turn out crunchy because they didn’t have enough time to get done, or the scallops will be rubbery for too long a cooking time. So, first rinse them in a fine mesh colander and look them over to remove any foreign objects. Peel and cut in half one of the shallots. Add the rinsed lentils, the halved shallot, the peeled carrot, and the celery leaves to a pot along with 2 cups of water. Bring the pot up to a boil, then turn down the heat, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

While the lentils are simmering, cut out the parchment hearts. Cut off 4 squares of parchment paper. Mine shown here are 15 inches by 15 inches.

Next, fold each square in half and trace half a heart.

Now, cut out along the tracing marks and open each heart up. Set the parchment hearts aside for later.

Wash the asparagus stalks,cut off the tough ends, and cut in half. If they are thick, cut them in half down the middle.

By this time the lentils should be done with their partial cooking. Remove the carrot and celery from the lentils and discard. Turn the oven on and let it preheat to 425 degrees. Peel and dice the remaining 3 shallots to make 1/4 cup chopped. Juice the lemon to make 1/4 cup juice. Chop the cilantro to make 1/4 cup. Add the shallots, lemon juice, cilantro, and the 1/2 teaspoon salt to the lentils and combine. Set aside for just a moment. Also, mix the garam masala with the 1 teaspoon of salt and set that mixture aside for a moment as well.

Brush both sides of the parchment paper heart with a little of the olive oil.

Place 1/2 cup of the lentil mixture in the middle of one side of each heart.

Lay the cut asparagus piece in a nice pattern on top of the lentil mixture.

Place three to four scallops on top of the asparagus and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the garam masala mixture over the top.

Place 1 tablespoon of butter over the middle scallop.

Close up the parchment packet by making a series of overlapping folds – almost like crimping a pie crust.

Place the packets on a baking sheet and put it in the preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Place each packet on individual serving plates. With a sharp knife cut an “X” in the top of each packet. Pull the paper aside and smell the delicious aroma! The meal can be eaten right from the parchment or if desired be removed from the paper and placed on a separate dish. Happy Valentines Day! Enjoy!

Copy Cat Recipe for True Food Kitchen’s “Inside Out (Quinoa) Burger”

January 27, 2015July 2, 2017 | Julie Yates

My friend Marina is all about healthy eating. She makes it a point to be up to date on all the latest research and is a mini-encyclopedia of knowledge on what foods benefit the body and which ones to avoid. However, she is a great cook and loves delicious recipes. I got a call from her a couple months back, right after she had returned from a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona. All I can say is that she was very enthusiastic: “Julie!, Julie! – you’ve got to figure out how to make these dishes we had at this restaurant. It’s called True Food Kitchen and it’s fantastic!” I knew what she was talking about because Jenn and I had eaten in a True Food Kitchen restaurant when I visited her in California. We both fell in love with it and I posted a copy cat recipe for their Autumn Salad HERE. The True Food Kitchen restaurant chain was started by a doctor, Andrew Weil, who developed an anti-inflammatory diet. The thing is – everything was scrumptious – it sure didn’t taste like health food. At any rate, I was more than happy to experiment and figure out how to duplicate their “Inside Out Burger”. I looked up the menu on line and even found a photo without a recipe on Pinterest. The hummus recipe posted here is from the 2012 True Food Cookbook by Dr. Weil, but the quinoa burger is a hopeful duplicate. When I ate at the restaurant, I didn’t order it, so this is a stab in the dark. What I do know is the combination of this quinoa burger with the tzatziki sauce, humus, and veggies is nothing short of magical!

Ingredients for the Quinoa Burgers:

1 (15 oz,) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3 cups cooked* multi-colored quinoa, divided into 2 cups and 1 cup

1 egg (or substitute 1/4 cup almond milk)

1/4 cup flour (rice or garbanzo bean flour can be substituted)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

1 teaspoon of light soy sauce (Maggi or Bragg’s sauce can be substituted)

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

*The quinoa is a lot more flavorful if cooked in broth (vegetable or chicken).

Additional Ingredients Needed to Serve:

Lettuce

Avocado slices

Red onion slices

Tomato slices

Feta cheese (optional)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Using a food processor, combine the garbanzo beans, 2 cups quinoa, egg, flour, cilantro, tahini, soy sauce, thyme, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, coriander, salt, and pepper. Place the mixture in a bowl and stir in 1 cup of quinoa. Cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour. (This step can be skipped, it just makes it a bit easier to handle.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use about a 1/2 cup of the “dough” to form 6 patties or about 1/3 of a cup for 8 smaller ones. Place each patty on the baking sheet. To give them an even more uniform shape, put a ball jar lid ring over the top of each patty and using a rubber spatula, smooth out the top. Then, carefully remove the ring. Use the pint sized for the larger patties and the 8 oz. cup ones if making smaller patties. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, gently turning once at 15 minutes.

While they are baking make the hummus and tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 medium cucumber

2 garlic gloves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons dried dill

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Put the Greek yogurt in a mixing bowl. Slice the end off the cucumber, cut into fourths lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Grate the cucumber pieces, skin and all, and add them to the yogurt. Put the peel the garlic cloves and put them through a press. Then add the garlic, lemon juice, dill, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Combine well, transfer to a serving bowl, and refrigerate until serving time.

Ingredients for the Hummus from True Food by Andrew Weil, MD:

2 (15 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 large garlic clove, put through a press

1 small jalapeno chile, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 scant teaspoon agave nectar syrup (optional)

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

Combine the beans, garlic, jalapeno, chili, tahini, lemon juice, lime juice, agave nectar, cilantro, cumin, cayenne, and salt in a food processor and blend well. Slowly pour in the olive oil as the mixture is processing until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with the hummus, tzatziki sauce, lettuce, avocado slices, tomato slices, red onion and crumbled feta cheese. These can be eaten just like a burger with a bun, or presented as the top and bottom buns with the lettuce, avocado, and red onion in the middle as True Food Kitchen does. Just put 2 tablespoons hummus on the bottom patty, then veggies in the middle, cover with 2 tablespoons tzatziki sauce, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons crumbled feta, and top with a second patty.

**Related Recipe: Copy Cat True Food Autumn Ingredient Salad**

Cranberry Bliss Sponge Cake Roll

December 17, 2014November 10, 2016 | Julie Yates

I love Starbuck’s Cranberry Bliss Bars. Let’s face it, they are composed of the best seasonal flavors ever. So, because I’ve been experimenting with sponge cake rolls (see this wonderful version with dulce de leche on Yates Yummies HERE), I decided to make a cranberry bliss sponge cake roll. Close to a traditional buche noel or yule log, this dessert isn’t chocolate cake covered with icing,but is like a sponge cake blondie brownie with a cranberry cream cheese filling. It’s great with a cup of tea or coffee and it looks impressive enough to serve at the end of a holiday meal.

Ingredients:

6 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries, roughly chopped and divided

1 (8 oz.) brick cream cheese

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Also needed:

Parchment paper and 1 teaspoon butter

1 clean dish towel and 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Small wire mesh strainer and 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Smear the parchment paper with the butter. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the brown sugar and the egg yolks and beat just until mixed in.

Now add the flour and beat that just until mixed.

Stir in 1/4 cup of the dried cranberries.

Pour the mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet and use a rubber spatula to smooth the batter out evenly from end to end. Bake for 12 minutes. The sponge cake is done when it will be just starting to brown and will spring back when touched.

Immediately evenly sprinkle the clean dish towel with 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar. Invert the baking sheet onto the the dish towel and remove it, leaving the parchment paper covered sponge cake behind. Gently peel the parchment paper away from the cake. Don’t worry if the edges tear a bit; it will be hidden when the cake is rolled up.

Starting from one end, roll the sponge cake up, towel and all.

Place the cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl.

Cream all the ingredients with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Wait for the cake to completely cool, then gently unroll it. The surface of the cake may try to cling to the towel, but just carefully “peel” it away; any splits or tears won’t be noticeable once it’s rolled up again with filling. Gently spread the cream cheese mixture over the sponge cake, covering it from edge to edge.

Sprinkle the cranberries and white chocolate chips over the top.

Roll the sponge cake up again, this time without the towel 🙂 If it tries to stick to the towel, just carefully pry it away.

Place on a serving platter. Put one tablespoon confectioner’s sugar in the small mesh strainer. Shake over the top.

Using a serrated knife, cut into one inch slices and serve.

Homemade Apple Sauce

November 21, 2014March 12, 2015 | Julie Yates

This fall Caroline and her boyfriend Adam came down for the weekend just to visit and touch base with some old friends. They had two brand new babies to see, a dinner out, and a brunch celebrating an anniversary, but still managed to spend a fun Saturday with us. Caroline wanted to do something that involved a pumpkin patch and picking apples so I got on the internet and found a place that had both. The first thing we did when we got there was pick out pumpkins, but after we stowed those in the car, we headed out to the apple orchard. We found the Jonathan grove and went to town. I ended up with over a bushel of the freshest apples ever and we had a scrumptious “Tree to Table” or “Orchard to Oven” apple crisp that night. A link to the recipe for this simple yet so yummy crisp can be found by clicking HERE . Later that week, I took the remaining apples to Aunt Robin’s house and we spent the whole day making and canning apple sauce. She uses a pressure cooker, which I don’t have any experience with, to make it go faster. For a link to making applesauce via a pressure cooker, click HERE. The most time consuming part was peeling the apples, but once we did that the rest was smooth sailing. After the apples were sauce, Robin showed me how to water bath process them in order to preserve them them for months to come. This post will only include a recipe for a small batch, but click HERE for steps on canning applesauce.

Homemade Apple Sauce – Makes three cups

Ingredients:

12 to 14 apples – enough to make 12 cups once they are peeled, cored, and sliced

1/4 cup sugar – more or less according to the tartness of the apples you are using

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon of lemon – more or less according to the tartness of the apples you are using

Directions:

Peel, core, and slice the apples

Place the apples, sugar, cinnamon, water, and lemon juice into a large pan. Combine the mixture and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat down and let everything simmer for 25 minutes or until the apples are soft. Give it a good stir to break the apples apart, yet letting the applesauce maintain a chunky texture. At this point, many people put applesauce through a food sieve or blend it in a food processor until it’s totally smooth, but I enjoy the texture!

Spoon it into containers or jars. It will keep in the refrigerator for a week or process it as Aunt Robin does. It can also be frozen. On the Ball Mason Jar website cited above, it stated that it was alright to freeze the pint jars, but not recommended for the quart sized ones. However, the best thing to do is eat it right away while it is still warm! It is also great over ice cream. Allison always loved it heated up in the microwave and spooned over ice cream – Yum!