Skillet Steak Fajitas for an Easy Holiday Entertaining #SundaySupper with @Beef

Skillet Steak Fajitas for an Easy Holiday Entertaining #SundaySupper with @Beef

There seems to be a certain theme in my dishes recently. Namely, a mad scramble to find an alternate dish because I wasn't able to prepare my original idea. Such was the case last Sunday and it repeats its ugly head again today. The dish I wanted to prepare originally utilized the oven which is not available to me at the time of this writing. I do live in an apartment and the matter is being addressed by the maintenance staff but it requires an order for a replacement part and am at the mercy of the manufacturer and the shipping company, so I am too.

This dish isn't the first one thought of when discussing Holiday dishes, but I must ask, why not? The dish could easily be prepared on a weeknight and if presented buffet-style would be perfect for a potluck style Holiday celebration. In fact, beef can be much more versatile during this time of year than a roast (but that always works well too!) To learn more about the adaptabililty of beef, I encourage you to review the Beef Checkoff website, 'Like' their facebook page, in addition to following them on their twitter and pinterest pages, but especially the #SundaySupper Beef pinterest board for more recipe ideas. This post is sponsored by The Beef Checkoff. All opinions are my own.

From the standpoint of the dish itself, long time readers of my site will remember that I profiled this dish two and a half years ago however I've done some additional research since then and have learned to fortify flavor of the dish.

The Challenge

Replicate a more flavorful version of a dish I profiled previously.

The Source

This dish has been inspired by Serious Eats and The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 flank steak, approximately 2 pounds
3 bell peppers, each a different color (red, green, orange, or yellow), coarsely julienned
1 large yellow onion, peeled, cut in half lengthwise (from root to stem), then sliced thin crosswise
8 to 10 flour tortillas, warmed
Salsa, guacamole, sour cream and/or shredded cheeses, for serving

Method

1. Marinate the fajitas. Combine the first eight ingredients in a small bowl, then divide the marinade between two resealable plastic bags. Place the flank steak in one of the bags and the bell peppers with the onions into the second. Push any excess air out of the bags, seal and refrigerate for 3 hours.

2. Cook the fajitas. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon oil over medium high heat. While the pan is heating, remove the flank steak and the vegetables from their marinades and shake off any excess. Add the flank steak to the pan first, about 3 minutes per side or until medium rare. Remove from heat and set aside. Add the vegetables into the same skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, approximately 5 minutes.

3. To serve, slice the flank steak thinly across the grain and serve with warmed tortillas and your chosen condiments, such as salsa, guacamole, sour cream and/or cheeses.

Successful?

One of the things I liked about Ree's version in addition to Chef López-Alt's is the seasoning of the accompanying onions and peppers which don't receive as much attention as the beef in many recipes and a good example is the version I published previously.

Please check out other Beef dishes for this week's event:

Appetizers

• Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon by MealDiva
• Chipotle Beef Taco Bites by Feed Me, Seymour
• Mini Beef Wellingtons by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
• Pepper Steak in Wonton Cups by Flavor Mosaic
• Philly Cheesesteak Dip by Life Tastes Good

Brunch or Breakfast for a Crowd

• Beef Sausage, Egg and Cheese Roll Ups by Daily Dish Recipes
• Beef Tenderloin Benedict by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Chicken Fried Steak by kimchi MOM
• Potato Pancakes with Filet Mignon and Fried Eggs by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Steak and Egg Breakfast Braid by Curious Cuisiniere

Main Dish

• Awesome Avocado Steak Tacos by Cooking Chat
• Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Sauce by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Cider Beef Stew by Magnolia Days
• Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup by Shockingly Delicious
• Steak & Mushroom Pie by The Messy Baker

Potluck Style

• Beef and Bean Enchilada Bake by The Foodie Army Wife
• Braised Beef Ravioli by Family Foodie
• Mom's Lasagna by Alida's Kitchen
• Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs by Casa de Crews
• Skillet Steak Fajitas by Crazy Foodie Stunts

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Beer Braised Chicken Thighs

Beer Braised Chicken Thighs

I can almost see you rolling your eyes now. Another braised chicken dish? Shouldn't you be gearing up for grilling season? Aren't you bored with braising yet?

But wait! Don't leave yet...

It's no secret that I prepare a lot of skin-on bone-in chicken thighs. They're cheap; they're pretty versatile; and they're the perfect portion size for my soon-to-be kindergartner. However, lately I've been stuck in a rut so recently I went online and looked for some inspiration. I found it in a Rachael Ray recipe on fooodnetwork.com, however I was not inspired how you might expect.

The Challenge

I can see the appeal of Ms. Ray. Her dishes have approachable preparation methods for the home cook and she has the charisma to be relatable to a wide audience, but I believe that her lack of formal culinary training was exposed in this dish. I, too, have no formal training but I do have a lot of experience braising chicken and, hopefully, have applied it to produce a technically superior (which should result in a tastier) dish. I kept the ingredient amounts the same so instead of reviewing the method, please refer to the above link to note the changes I've made below.

Updates

1. I omitted scallions and hot sauce. It's a personal preference but I'm not a huge fan of spicy foods, but I enjoy milder spices to balance other sweet, salty and/or savory flavors in the dish. I also decided to garnish my dish differently. I also substituted a red bell pepper for a green one because I had a red one in my refrigerator.

2. One of the most creative ways I've seen to use bacon I profiled when I first prepared the coq au vin dish. Namely, rendering bacon pieces, removing them, then using the bacon grease to sauté the chicken. By doing this, the flavors of the bacon will infuse into the chicken. Chicken thighs also have a considerable amount of fat underneath their skin that can be rendered when seared which will assist with the mirepoix. Speaking of...

3. I used a full mirepoix, adding carrots to the onion, bell pepper and celery. I also seasoned the mirepoix with kosher salt and instead of sweating it, browned it to create some fond. I also decided to use a thyme bundle instead of chopping it. Lastly, I waited to add the garlic to an already browned mirepoix because burnt garlic has a bitter taste.

4. The instructions are inadequate, in that Ms. Ray doesn't specify how long to simmer the chicken but based upon past experience, I recommend 30 minutes over low to medium-low heat to ensure the highs are fully cooked through. I also omitted the flour because I've found thst reducing the braising fluid is more effective way to thicken the sauce because it concentrates the flavors.

Successful?

I believe so, but if you don't believe me, Mrs. Stuntman noted as she was eating, "I don't know what you did, but this dish tastes good!" However I have one final criticism of this dish because I feel it was improperly named. Yes, beer was in the braising fluid but the strongest flavor in the sauce was the tomatoes.

Pollo alla Cacciatore con Polenta

Pollo alla Cacciatore con Polenta

Since I published the dessert course of a dinner party I hosted earlier this week, I thought I'd also profile the entreé course. I also wanted to do so to show my appreciation to Kaitlin of I Can Cook That because I used recipes from the cookbook I won in her giveaway. I've prepared Michael Chiarello's chicken cacciatore recipe and his polenta recipe in the past, but have since learned Chef Chiarello uses some non-traditional ingredients and wanted to update it.

I also love that Chef Bastianich uses yellow corn meal in her polenta. I've used the stuff that is labeled 'polenta' at the grocery store but struggled to find a significant difference. At almost twice the price it was difficult to justify. Her method is also slightly altered from others I've seen.

The Challenge

Update a dish I profiled earlier with more authentic ingredients.

The Source

Adapted from pages 152 to 153 and 91 to 92 of Lidia's Favorite Recipes by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali.

Ingredients

8 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
8 ounces fresh white mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips
8 cups water, divided
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt, or as needed
1 1/2 cups yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine (for garnish)

Method

1. Season the chicken with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour coating them lightly. Heat th vegetable oil in a wide pan with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and add the chicken to brown. Cook in batches if all of the chicken doesn't fit into the pan at once. Once browned, remove from pan onto a plate.

2. Add the onion to the fat in the pan, stirring for 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and bring to a boil, cooking until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and oregano, lightly seasoning the fluid with salt and pepper. Add the chicken back to the pan, reducing to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

3. While the chicken simmers, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and peppers, tossing until the peppers are wilted but still crisp, seasoning with salt, about 8 minutes.

4. Add the vegetables to the chicken, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes, adding water to barely cover the chicken along the way if necessary.

5. While the vegetables sauté, bring 4 cups of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Cover and keep warm over medium-low heat. Combine the remaining water, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When boiling, add the olive oil.

6. Slowly add the corn meal to the larger saucepan a little at a time, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula. This should take approximately 5 minutes. Once all the corn meal has been added, the mixture should be thick, with large bubbles popping on the surface. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue stirring until it becomes so thick that your spoon cannot move easily, about 4 minutes.

7. Add 1 cup of the reserved water to restore the mixture to a smoother consistency and continue stirring until thick. Repeat this process (adding water to loosen and then stirring until thick) until the corn meal is tender, about 20 minutes. Continue stirring weithout the water additions until the corn meal is shiny and it is thick enough to stand a spoon in it. To serve, spoon some polenta on a plate, adding the braising fluid, then topping with the chicken. Garnish with parsley.

Successful?

I kept the polenta a little looser than the recipe suggests so I could present it differently. Most other recipes I've seen combined 1 part polenta with 4 parts liquid, then stirring continuously until thick, so Chef Bastianich alters this process slightly.

Ultimately, the extra effort was worth it as I enjoyed the flavors, but more importantly, my guests did too.