Recipe #320: Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

This recipe is perfect.  That's really all I have to say about it, because, I mean, look at that picture!  I served it over jasmine rice.  I found this recipe on bewitchingkitchen.com.

1 pound flank steak or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain (I used sirloin)
1 pound broccoli florets
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, cut in slices (I also added snow peas)
1 clove garlic, very finely minced
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the beef marinade1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
freshly ground black pepper

for the sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth (or water)

Start by marinating the beef: mix all ingredients in a bowl, add the pieces of beef and stir to coat the slices. Let it stand for 10 minutes, while you prepare the sauce and blanch the broccoli.

Make the sauce by mixing the oyster sauce, rice wine (or sherry), soy sauce, and chicken stock (or water) in a small bowl. Reserve.  Place the broccoli in boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain very well and reserve.

Now, the fun begins:  heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and instantly evaporates upon contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the yellow bell pepper and cook it for a couple of minutes until it begins to soften. Remove  and reserve.  Make sure the pan is again very hot, and add the slices of beef, spreading them out all over the surface of the wok or pan in a single layer (preferably not touching). Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic and reserved bell pepper to the pan and fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until the beef is cooked through.

Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, 30 seconds.

Recipe #319: Baked Paprika Chicken Thighs, Brussels Sprouts, and Potatoes

Yes, yes, I know.  I haven't posted since May.  That's a good sign though- I've been crazy busy this summer!  Yes, I have made a few new recipes, and it's time to go back through my Facebook pictures to see some of the shots I took of them so I can blog them properly.  Tonight I found a recipe on Eating Well that I adapted for what I had in the kitchen, and it's AMAZING, so I am kicking my blog back into gear with that one!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (or quartered if large)
• 1 pound redskin potatoes, quartered (or sixthed if large- is sixthed a word!?)
• 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, sliced, or lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, sweet or hot
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 large or 8 small bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds), skin removed

PREPARATION

1. Position rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F.
2. Combine Brussels sprouts, onion, potatoes and lemon with 2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper on a large rimmed baking sheet.
3. Mash garlic and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt with the side of a chef’s knife to form a paste. Combine the garlic paste with paprika, thyme and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over chicken. Nestle the chicken into the vegetables.
4. Roast on the lower rack until the vegetables are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken without touching bone registers 165°F, 25-30 minutes.

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