Korean-Style Filet Mignon

I know that many beef eaters believe that you only ruin a good cut of meat by seasoning it with anything more than salt & pepper, and by putting any kind of sauce on it. I do feel that a good cut of meat will be good with just salt & pepper, but I also think it can still be good prepared in other ways.


I don't cook beef very often (unless it's ground beef); we eat chicken more than anything else in our household. That's partly because we prefer to eat chicken, and partly because I don't really know how to cook beef very well. So I was pleasantly surprised when I made this Tyler Florence recipe and it turned out great.


You'll probably have to make this a few times to get your meat cooked just the way like - to get a feel for how hot your skillet and oven get. The first time I made these they were cooked a bit more than I would like for them to be, but it was still very good.


I would encourage you, if you're reluctant to try cooking your own filet at home, to give this a try. You'll be surprised at how easy it is, not to mention how much money you'll save. With the current state of the economy, many people are opting to stay in instead of dining out. If you're staying in for Valentine's Day this year, this would be a great way to enjoy that romantic dinner for two at home.

Korean-Style Filet Mignon
from Tyler Florence

Korean-style Glaze:
(I halved this recipe and still had plenty - you can save any leftover glaze in the refrigerator for up to 6 months)
1/2 cup turbinado (raw) sugar (I used regular sugar)
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha (hot) sauce
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

2 (5-ounce) filet mignon steaks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil



Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Begin by preparing the Korean-style glaze. Combine the glaze ingredients and simmer gently over low heat for approximately 3 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved.

Season both sides of the filet mignon generously with salt and pepper. In a large heavy, ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Place the steaks in the hot pan and cook until well seared on 1 side, about 3 minutes. Turn the steaks over; there should be a nice crust on top. Then transfer the pan to the oven. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes until the steaks are cooked medium-rare (add 4 more minutes for medium). With 1 minute to go, brush steaks with the glaze.

When done remove the steaks and brush again with remaining glaze. Transfer to a platter and cover loosely to let rest for 5 minutes and keep warm. (I like to serve the filet with a small bowl of the glaze as a dipping sauce.)

Super Bowl Appetizers

With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, I know that many are on the lookout for great appetizers and finger foods that they can serve up for the big game. Last year, I was able to feature a variety of recipes leading up to the big weekend. Unfortunately, time was not on my side this year, and I was unable to try out any new recipes.

Regardless, I'd still like to feature some great appetizer recipes. I hope that you'll give some of them a try and enjoy them during the big game this weekend! Not sure which one to try? I have to say that the most popular recipe (out of all the recipes, not just appetizer recipes) on my blog to date is the Sweet and Sour Meatballs recipe; the second most popular recipe is the Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Dip (aka Crack Dip)

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

Baked Zucchini Coins

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Spinach and Artichoke Dip


Chicken Satay

Bacon Pinwheels

Tex Mex Salsa with Homemade Tortilla Chips

Pan Fried Onion Dip

Sun Dried Tomato Basil Crostini

BBQ Baked Beans

Guacamole

Southwestern Wagon Wheel Pasta Salad

Baked Brie

Caramelized Onion Cranberry Cream Cheese Bites

Divine Rice with Prawns

I've always loved fried rice but have never made it. My mom is the master of throwing together all the leftovers in the fridge to make fried rice. This recipe can easily be adapted according to your tastes, or to whatever meat and veggies you might have on hand.


I usually keep two types of bagged frozen vegetables in my freezer at all times. One type includes red, green, and yellow bell pepper slices with onions. You can find all sorts of uses for these... from an Asian stir fry, to fried rice, to chili. You'll save a lot of money if you buy them frozen, as red and yellow bell peppers can cost a fortune. The other type of frozen veggie bag I usually keep on hand is the "stir fry" variety that contains snap peas, carrots, water chestnuts, etc. These are great for dishes like Orange Chicken.


When I saw this fried rice recipe on Cate's blog, it finally gave me the push I needed to make my own at home. I'm surprised I've never made fried rice before, especially since we eat so much rice in this household and always have leftover rice sitting in the fridge. If you haven't visited Fresh From Cate's Kitchen before, I encourage you do to so. She's got a lot of great recipes over there, and I've been dying to make the Char Siu Pork she posted.


The key to making good fried rice is a really hot wok (or skillet), and having all your ingredients ready ahead of time. Once you start making it, you don't really time in between each step to get things together. It's really nice, though, because it comes together in less than ten minutes, making it a great weeknight meal.

Divine Rice with Prawns
adapted from Fresh From Cate's Kitchen (who adapted it from Thai Cooking from the Siam Cuisine Restaurant)

12-15 prawns, pre-cooked
2 tsp canola oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup frozen stir fry vegetables, partially thawed (you can either use a bell pepper/onion stir fry or the ones that include snap peas)
2 eggs
3 cups cold cooked rice
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp chopped cilantro
6-8 basil leaves, chiffonade
juice of 1 fresh lime
cucumber slices (optional)


In a small bowl, mix together the fish sauce, sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce.

Heat a skillet over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onions. Stir-fry until light brown.

Crack the eggs into the pan and scramble, cooking for about 10 seconds.

Add the bell pepper and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

Add the rice and stir-fry, breaking up clumps of rice and egg.

Add your sauce mixture and stir fry for a few minutes.

Add the prawns and cook until they are heated through, throwing in the basil at the last minute.

Transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle the lime juice and cilantro over the top, then serve with cucumber slices on the side if desired.

Chicken Adobo

I've been posting a lot of sweet treats lately, and realized it was about time for some good eats! Work can often be fairly stressful, so I rarely feel like cooking when I get home from work. I do most of my cooking on the weekends, or on my days off (I get a weekday off every other week). I do, on occasion, cook on a weeknight when I'm working; but I'm much more inclined to do so if it's a quick and simple, but tasty, meal.


I got this recipe for Adobo from my friend Daphne. It is a Filipino dish that is usually cooked with either chicken or pork. I have to admit that I have never had chicken adobo anywhere else, so I have no idea how this compares to other recipes. All I know is that I love the simplicity of this, and the flavor is wonderful (though it's not the most photogenic dish). The recipe calls for cooking a whole chicken, but I don't eat dark meat (I know, my family says I'm crazy!) so I just use boneless skinless chicken breasts. I'm sure that the flavor would be even more amazing if you cooked this using a whole, skin on, chicken.


This is another great weeknight meal. You can prepare/marinate the chicken the day before, and then when you get home from work, all you have to do is pop it on the stove and simmer it. You need to cook it on the stove top for quite some time (approximately 1 hour), but it's something that doesn't require a lot of babysitting - you can get it started and then walk away from it. Sometimes you need that time to relax and unwind after a long day... I imagine that you could adapt this to become a slow cooker recipe, but I haven't gotten around to trying that yet.

Chicken Adobo
from Daphne's mom


1 cup white vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp black peppercorn (whole)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 bay leaves
1 whole chicken, cut up

Mix all the ingredients together and marinate at least one hour; overnight is best.

Add the chicken and marinade to a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for half an hour. Uncover and simmer an additional 20-30 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Bul-what?

Bulgogi is one of Korea's most popular beef dishes. It involves marinating beef in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and other ingredients that vary by region. I first heard about this dish on the Nest Hawaii board, where nestie MrsRollergirl had shared her recipe. Her husband is Korean, and this recipe is from his mother. I kept seeing post after post from various people raving about it! With so many great reviews, I knew I had to try it. When I asked MrsRollergirl how I could credit her mother-in-law for the recipe, I gave her a few ideas... I said she could post just her first name, or something like Mrs. S, if she didn't want both her first and last name posted. She told me to credit it to "Mrs. Sassy Pants" ;)


I have never had bulgogi anywhere else, so I really can't vouch for how 'authentic' this is; regardless, I love this dish :) I usually prepare it the day before and let it marinate in the fridge overnight, so it makes a great weeknight meal because all I have to do when I get home from work is throw some rice in the rice cooker and stir fry the meat. Be careful at the end when you are thickening up the sauce -- taste it as you go along (after it has heated through) because if you simmer it too long, the sauce will be way too salty!

*Edit: I used a petite sirloin for this recipe because that is what I had on hand (which is good but not great in terms of tenderness). If you like your beef very tender, use short loin cuts (porterhouse, T-bone, top loin, tenderloin). The most tender cuts will be your Chateaubriand or Filet, which are the best parts of the tenderloin.

Another thing to note is that if you are buying soy sauce, make sure you don't skimp. Authentic soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans. If you look closely on the labels, the cheaper brands contain "hydrolyzed soy protein" instead. That said, I haven't noticed much of a difference in flavor with the "less sodium" soy sauces, so I tend to use those instead. Make sure you also refrigerate your soy sauce after opening, otherwise it may become slightly bitter over time.

Bulgogi
from Mrs. Sassy Pants ;)

1 1/2 lb. top sirloin or other tender steak, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce (I used Kikkoman 37% less sodium soy sauce)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4-6 green onions
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp black pepper

Brown the sesame seeds lightly in a pan with a small amount of butter (I used 1/2 tbsp), stirring constantly; cool, then pulverize in a food processor (or crush inside a ziploc).

Combine the sesame seeds with the remaining six ingredients and mix well. Add beef and marinate at least 1 hour.

Remove meat from marinade and stir fry on high heat. Once cooked, transfer meat to a plate. Pour leftover marinade back into pan and simmer for about 10 minutes until sauce thickens. Add meat back to the sauce and cook until heated through. Serve on sticky rice.

No Takeout Tonight

This is a recipe I got from my friend Laura. It's from one of the Weight Watcher's cookbooks; unfortunately I'm not sure which one so I'm not able to site the exact source. The original recipe is for Spicy Orange Beef, however I usually substitute chicken instead. It's a great, healthier alternative to ordering takeout when you have a craving for Chinese food.


I make this dish all the time. It makes a great weeknight meal, as it does not require too much prepping. It's also very easy to adapt, depending on your tastes. This time, I used red and orange bell peppers with some onions, but that's just what I had on hand.

Spicy Orange Beef (Chicken)
from Weight Watcher's


3/4 lb beef top round, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into thin strips (I used 2 chicken breasts)
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp grated orange rind
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth (I used chicken broth)
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
4 tsp canola oil
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 lb green beans, halved crosswise (I omitted these)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips (I used 1 red and 1 orange bell pepper)
1 carrot, cut into thin match stick thin strips (I used 1/2 small onion, chopped)

Combine beef, 1 tbsp cornstarch, and orange rind in medium bowl; toss well to coat and set aside. Combine remaining 1 tbsp cornstarch, broth, orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, and chili garlic sauce in small bowl; set aside.

Heat nonstick wok or large, deep skilled over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Swirl in 2 tsp of oil, then add beef. Stir fry until cooked through, 2-3min; transfer to plate. Swirl remaining 2 tsp oil, then add ginger. Stir fry til fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add green beans, bell pepper, and carrot. Stir fry until crisp tender, 2-3 minutes. Add broth mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. Add beef and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

Makes 4 servings
1 serving = 1 cup = 227 cal, 8 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 16 g carb, 2g fiber, 22g protein