Beef on Weck

One of the best parts of travel is exploring local food specialties. On our first visit to see my older daughter, who now lives in Buffalo, NY, we got a chance to sample the second-most famous specialty of the city: Beef on Weck (the most famous is Buffalo Wings, naturally. According to my daughter A, "the third is chicken finger subs, and the fourth is Bison dip, not counting the dishes of the substantial Polish and Italian communities.")

Beef on Weck is a roast beef sandwich served on a very salty caraway seed hard roll with the roast's jus and some strong horseradish. To learn more about the history of the sandwich, look here or in the Wikipedia article here.

A few weeks ago I happened to be making a roast beef and kaiser rolls on the same day, and decided to try for homemade beef on weck sandwiches.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- the most distinctive thing about Beef on Weck is the roll, called "kummelweck." There are recipes for German-style weck rolls, such as this recipe, but instead I adapted the Kaiser Rolls from Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice, adding salt and caraway seeds, to approximate kummelweck. (My kaiser roll post is on my bread blog.)

- For horseradish sauce, I followed Thomas Keller's recipe from Ad Hoc at Home. This sauce is mostly horseradish mixed into whisked thickened cream - scroll down to the end for the recipe. I thought it was delicious just as written, but my husband added a ton more horseradish to his.

the verdict:

This was a fantastic sandwich. The juice, the soft inside of the roll, the salty outer crust, the tender roast beef and the sharp horseradish all combined for a marvelous taste combination. My sancwich brought me right back to my time in Buffalo!

Horseradish Cream Recipe

makes about 1 cup

Ingredients for Horseradish Cream

½ cup very cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
About ¼ cup drained prepared horseradish
½ teaspoon fleur de sel, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Directions for Horseradish Cream

This is a basic, and very easy, horseradish sauce—prepared horseradish and cream, seasoned with salt and pepper and a little bit of sherry vinegar. It goes especially well with grilled or roasted beef, like this prime rib roast, and the Peppercorn-Crusted Beef Tenderloin (page 47).

Put the heavy cream and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk until the cream holds a soft shape. Whisk in the horseradish, salt, and pepper.

Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 week.

Wild Mushroom and Green Peppercorn Meatloaf for Sputnik

I've been having such a good time trying out new recipes that I tend to forget about some of our longtime favorites. But forgetting about a recipe as fabulous as this Wild Mushroom and Green Peppercorn Meatloaf would be a huge mistake! It is - bar none - the best meatloaf that I've ever eaten, and is no more difficult to put together than the basic run-of-the-mill stuff. One taste and you will realize that it is in a completely different league from the standard ketchup-topped loaf. Even if you usually don't like meatloaf, I'll bet you'd love this one.


n.o.e.'s notes:

- This meatloaf has been part of my dinner repertory for so long that I've lost track of where I initially found the recipe. My hunch is the New York Times Magazine about 15 or so years ago, but it's really anybody's guess. For the recipe, scroll down to the end of this post.

- The original recipe called for ground beef. I've made it that way, and it is definitely tasty, but it's even better when made with a mixture of different ground meats. At various times I've used ground turkey, chicken, pork, veal, goat as well as beef. My usual blend is beef, pork and turkey (the regular not the white meat turkey), although I'm pretty sure I've made it with all turkey.

- Most often I make my own "fresh" breadcrumbs - stale bread pulsed in the food processor - but I've also used breadcrumbs that I toast and keep in the freezer.

- The dried green peppercorns are much better for this recipe than the ones that come in a jar of brine. They are the secret ingredient that makes this meatloaf so special.

- I usually buy a package of fresh mixed wild mushrooms in the produce department, but I've also chosen my own assortment of mushrooms. I've never tried reconstituted dried mushrooms, but I'm sure they would work. The mushrooms really boost the umami factor of this meatloaf.

- The recipe can be made in one large loaf pan, or in a few smaller ones. It freezers beautifully. I've served it to family and company alike.


Although this meatloaf is one of my top 5 favorite dinners, it was perhaps loved best by our Australian Shepherd, Sputnik, who was my first dog - first pet actually. We lost Sputnik in December, just a few days shy of his 13th birthday on Christmas. As a puppy, he was a feisty handful, but with a bit (well, a lot really) of hard work on the training front he turned into an amazing companion.

Sputnik's greatest joys in life were: bringing in the newspaper (for a treat), picking up things to hand to us when we dropped them (also for a reward), and licking any plate or cooking pot we were willing to give him. His favorite food was this peppercorn meatloaf; the first time my husband gave him a serving of it, he just closed his eyes and inhaled, smelling the fantastic aroma before he could bring himself to taste any.

I can think of no better tribute to Sputnik than that written by a former landlady of my husband's about her beloved English Bulldog, Winston:

"Born a dog, died a gentleman."

That, and remembering him every time we enjoy this meatloaf.


the recipe:

Wild Mushroom and Peppercorn Meatloaf

2 lbs ground meat (any combination of beef, veal, pork, turkey)
1 ½ c. seasoned bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 T. minced garlic
2 c. mixed wild mushrooms, chopped
1 ½ T olive oil
¾ c. yellow onions
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. pepper
1 ½ T. whole green peppercorns (the dry ones)

1. mix all ingredients, then press into loaf pan(s)
2. Bake at 350 degreed F for 1 hr 10 min

Braised Short Ribs with Gremolata

A while ago my farm box offered local organic beef short ribs. They sounded great to me, so I ordered a bunch, and froze them for when cooler weather arrived. Now that we're in Fall, I took some rainy weather as a great excuse to cook up the ribs (and clear a bunch of space in the freezer!)

I knew that Tyler Florence would be a great resource for cooking the ribs. After a bit of digging around, I decided to make his Osso Bucco recipe, substituting my short ribs for the veal shank.


n.o.e.'s notes:

- The osso bucco recipe made the perfect amount of sauce for cooking 7 lb of short ribs.

- I used a 4.5-5 qt stock pot, which was a great size for a single recipe of the osso bucco

- I didn't have any amarone, so just used a decent cabernet blend.

- The gremolata sounded a little odd - a mixture of pine nuts, dried cranberries, organge zest, garlic and parsley - but I mixed it up anyway to see how it would taste with the ribs


the verdict:

This was fantastic! The ribs were falling-off-the-bone tender and we loved the layers of flavor in the sauce. If you make this, do not skip the gremolata! It has a nice balance of sweet and savory ingredients and its freshness is the perfect complement to the warm richness of the sauce. Overall, these ribs tasted like more work than they really were. The modest investment of time in babysitting the pot paid off big dividends in the finished dish.

I'm sending this post to Tyler Florence Fridays, a weekly roundup of blog posts featuring Tyler's recipes. The group is in its final month, so check the site for a few more weeks of deliciousness.

Provencal Beef Daube

I have been making recipes from Cooking Light for more than 20 years. In fact before Cooking Light was a magazine it was a featured section of Southern Living Magazine, and I have some "Cooking Light" recipes that I tore out of Southern Living's pages. I don't subscribe to the magazine but I pick up an occasional issue in the grocery store. In the Fall of 2007 I came home with the 20th Anniversary issue of the magazine, which has turned out to be a veritable treasure-trove and has earned a permanent place on my cookbook shelves. (I've previously posted the Creamed Corn with Bacon and Leeks and the Penne with Vodka Cream Sauce, both from this issue. Edit: also Pasta with Prosciutto and Parmesan and Halibut with Bacon and Mushrooms) Another recipe in the issue that caught my eye was for Provencal Beef Daube, which was tagged as the "Best Beef Dish" in the magazine's history:

"It stands above all our other beef recipes because it offers the homey comfort and convenience of pot roast yet is versatile and sophisticated enough for entertaining."

Given this endorsement, I just had to try the dish for dinner guests. n.o.e.'s notes: I cut my own cubes from a wonderful beef chuck roast that I ordered through my farm box people. The roast was a tiny bit short of the specified 2 pounds, so I increased the carrots a little. As it turned out, the proportion was off - it really needed the full quantity of the meat and fewer carrots than I used. I browned the beef in two batches (in a 3 qt dutch oven, so the meat would brown rather than steam. This was the first time I used my new Lodge enameled cast iron - love the way it cooks. After starting the stew on the stove top, it finishes with 2 1/2 hours in the oven.

Ready to do time in the oven.

the verdict: I ladled the daube over buttered plain and spinach noodles. Although the recipe claims to yield 6 servings, we had just enough for 4 people. We really enjoyed this recipe (aside from wishing that I'd make it with the proper proportions of beef and carrots). All the flavors has mellowed richly during their long slow time in the over. It's as good as my go-to beef stew recipe, and more company-ready. Because it bakes in the oven rather than simmers on the stovetop, it needs less attention, leaving me do other things to prepare for company. Although it is a Cooking Light recipe, it is substantial and hearty - perfect for warming up on a gray, chilly day.

My very own Red Chili Throwdown: Bobby Flay vs America's Test Kitchen

Above: Bobby Flay
Below: America's Test Kitchen

I didn't set out to have a chili throwdown. Really, I didn't. Most accurately, this is an ex post factum match-up of two recipes that were in my draft folder.

I've cooked chili over the years, but I've never had a recipe for a good solid red chili. When we were in the mood for chili, most of the time we'd cracked open a bag of Carroll Shelby's chili mix. Just add 2 lbs of beef, a can of tomato sauce, and some water, and you've got chili in less than half an hour. You can customize your chili by adding as much or as little as you want of the included masa flour (thickening), salt, or cayenne pepper. Or you can get fancy and jazz it up, adding your own extra tomato, or onions, peppers, beans, cheese, etc. We've never had any complaints about good ole' Carroll Shelby's chili.


But I did want a standby chili recipe. As I've browsed the food blogisphere, I've planted various bookmarks, not to mention real paper bookmarks in some of the cookbooks on my shelves.

The one I decided to try was a Red Beef Chili recipe from the "Chili" episode of the Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay. It sounded delicious (and had a bunch of rave reviews), and might be a fantastic special-occasion chili (this is not a contradiction in terms!) I made the chili back in November, but in between my trip to Germany and the holiday crush I never got it posted.

Recently another red chili caught my eye: in my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook there's a recipe for Weeknight Slow Cooker Chili. It sounded easy (and good) so I cooked it right up to eat alongside the Extra Spicy Corn Muffins that I baked for TWD.

When I realized that I had these two separate draft posts about chili, I decided to combine them. In each recipe I used ground beef and pretty much the same combination of chili powders, so there is actually a decent base of comparison. Throwdown time!

I will describe and give a verdict for each of the chili recipes separately and then at the end of the post, I will give an overall verdict.

Bobby Flay Red Beef Chili
cook's notes:

- This recipe was more complicated than I'm usually willing to cook. It called for 4 kinds of chili powder alone. After running all around town, I had accumulated an assortment of chili powders - none of which really matched what he specified. I decided to add them in, and hope for the same complexity of flavor. (I haven't seen the TV episode with his chili, but I'm guessing I was supposed to grind my own from the different chiles? Or source them at some obscure online chili powder emporium?)

- The ingredient list also includes 5 different chile peppers including prepared ancho chiles (that had to be separately pureed). I had better luck locating the peppers.

Here are the many different peppers, all chopped up and ready for the pot

- I used a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes with mild green chiles, because I had one that I'd opened by mistake. I drained them and pureed them in the blender.

- I substituted ground beef for the cubes of bottom round beef. It was in the freezer. I debated buying new beef, but ultimately decided if I loved the chili's flavor then next time I'd go the extra mile with the beef.

- The chili was pretty thin so I sprinkled 1/8 c. masa flour to thicken the chili slightly


- The chili recipe doesn't call for any beans (Texas style), but we like them so I added some canned pinto beans.

the verdict - Bobby Flay's chili:

This recipe took a ton of time, and featured plenty of hard to find ingredients. We liked it but didn't love it. My husband said, "in the realm of all possible chili recipes this falls in the middle." Not enough of an endorsement for me to make it again!

It could be that I really missed out by not using Bobby's formula of magic special chili powders, but here's my opinion: If, after my best efforts at several specialty stores, and every pan in the kitchen dirty, I only end up with average chili, this is not the recipe for me.

America's Test Kitchen Weeknight Slow Cooker Chili

After Bobby Flay's fancy chili didn't pan out, I was back in the market for a chili recipe, preferably something just a tad easier. It took me a while before I could actually face cooking chili again, but when the savory corn muffins came up as a January TWD pick, I decided the time was right for more chili experimentation.


I figured if anyone was going to have a good, reliable chili recipe it would be the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. This 3-ring binder- style volume has got some great basic recipes, all backed by that exhaustive ATK testing.

The biggest draw? The recipe looked good, could be made in a crock pot, and was easy. Very easy. Already this recipe had an advantage over Bobby Flay! (In the Family Cookbook there's actually another slow cooker chili recipe that's an even closer match to Bobby Flay's, but I was in the market for simple this time)

cook's notes:

[edit: I just realized that I didn't give any info about the ATK recipe. Their recipes aren't generally available for free online, but here's a summary of ingredients: 2 T. vegetable oil, 2 chopped onions, 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 c. chili powder, 1 T. cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, salt, 6 minced cloves of garlic, 2 lb 85% lean ground beef, 1 28 oz can tomato puree, 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, 2 15 oz cans red kidney beans, rinsed. Everything gets cooked on the stovetop before being added to the slow cooker.]

- I made 1/2 recipe

- Again I decided to use beef from the freezer. This time I had just 3/4 lb 'chili ground' beef (instead of the 1 lb that I should have had for a half recipe). The recipe specifies no leaner than 85%, because the long cook in the crock pot would toughen a leaner grind of beef. I don't know the fat content of the beef I used, but I could tell from looking at it that it was plenty.

- I didn't have any bell pepper, so used a large jalapeno in place of the half bell pepper.

See the three different chili powders? Each had a distinctive flavor.

- I mixed 3 different kinds of chili powder - pretty much the same ones that I'd used for Bobby Flay's red chili:

Urban Accents Mesa Rosa Chipotle
Urban Accents Rio Grande Chili Blend
Whole Foods 365 Valle del Sol Chili Powder

- My pantry search netted tomato sauce but no puree. The internet informed me the two products are similar in texture and close to interchangeable, so interchange I did. Since I only had 3/4 of the meat, I reduced the tomato sauce a little bit.

- The chili cooked on high for 3 1/2 hrs and low for 1 hr.

- A full recipe would have filled my 4 quart slow cooker - maybe too full.

the verdict on America's Test Kitchen chili:

We found this to be a great basic red chili, and it will become my chili for everyday and for chili-type entertaining. It doesn't save any dishes, or really any prep time over most other chili recipes, but the slow cooker really does meld the flavors and smooth the textures, while providing an easy way to set up the food in advance and have a fabulous hot meal later.

Winner of the Throwdown:

The crock pot chili soundly whupped Bobby Flay's chili. It was easier, used far fewer dishes, and still benefited from the variety of flavors found in the three chili powders. Someday I'll grind all my own chiles, but until that time, this chili recipe will be a fantastic way to use up all that specialty chili powder that I bought! It's good with or without a corn muffin...