Beef, vegetables, and an amazing gravy topped with a generous helping of mashed potato. Traditional home cooking doesn't get any better.
Dan's Shepherds Pie
Ingredients
For the Filling
Ground Beef
Onion
Peas
Carrots
Corn
Mushrooms
Beef Gravy
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
For the Crust
Mashed Potato
Shredded Cheese
To Bring it Together
Prepare the Filling: Heat the oven to 400°F. Brown your ground beef in a skillet until done, season to taste, and line the bottom of your casserole dish with it. Make sure to drain off any unwanted fat before doing so. Now cook off your vegetables until they are just about to be done and still have a small bit of crunch to them. Add them to your casserole making a second layer, they will finish cooking in the oven. Either add your gravy on top of the vegetables or make your own by adding a cornstarch slurry to boiling beef broth and stirring until it thickens to your desired consistency.
Finishing the Pie: Top the pie with an even layer of mashed potato and place in the oven to nake for 30-45 minutes until the top of the potato starts to brown. Add a layer of shredded cheese in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking so that it can melt, then remove from the oven and let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.
Stir-frying is a fast and fresh way to cook. Simply toss and turn bite-sized pieces of food in a little hot oil in a wok over high heat, and in five minutes or less, the work is done. Vegetables emerge crisp and bright. Meats are flavorful, tender, and well seared. It is honestly one of the most simple and versatile ways to cook. Perfect for some good quick eats!
Dan's Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients
For the Sauce
Soy Sauce
Rice Wine
Sugar
Mirin if you have it and want to use it
Beef
Corn Starch
The Veggies
Bok Choy
Snap Peas
Onion
Carrot
Broccoli
Cabbage
To Bring it Together
Prepare the Beef: Whisk the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons rice wine in a medium bowl; add the beef, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Set aside for 15 minutes to lightly marinade.
Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot, roughly 1 minute. Add a few tablespoons of peanut oil and coat the pan. Add your aromatics to the hot oil and stir-fry until fragrant, this takes roughly another minute. Add the beef and cook, making sure to occassionally stir the contents of the pan. Again roughly 1 or 2 minutes. Now add the soy sauce to the pan making sure to coat the beef in it so it thickens. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and keep in a warm place.
Prepare the Veggies: If the pan is dry, add 1 tablespoon peanut oil, then add the onion and stir-fry until just soft, about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies along with the sugar; stir-fry until the veggies are done for your liking. The Bok Choy should be just wilted, after 1 to 2 minutes so add it last it's easy to over cook. Return the beef and any juices to the pan and stir to combine. Serve over the rice and accompaniment of your choice.
Chicken, vegetable, and an awesome sauce enclosed in a flaky pie crust. Good home cooking doesn't get any better.
Dan's Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
For the Filling
Chicken
Onion
Peas
Carrots
Green Beans
White Mushrooms
Cream of Mushroom
Milk
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Sage
Thyme
For the Crust
1 Batch of short crust pastry
To Bring it Together
Prepare the Filling: Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, 1/2 cup milk, vegetables, herbs, and chicken together until thoroughly mixed.
Finishing the Pies: Add the chicken and vegetable mixture into your prepared pie crusts or tins. Then top with a piece of pie crust, trim, and seal the edges of the crust. Cut slits in the top pie crust to allow steam to escape. Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown. Let stand 15-20 minutes before cutting and eating.
Short Crust Pastry is the go to dough for pie crusts, quiches, and tarts. This recipes is courtesy of Maggie Beer and the original recipe can be found here.
Short Crust Pastry
Ingredients
The Dough
250g (2cups) Plain Flour
200g (1/2lb ~ 2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
125ml (5/8 Cups) Sour Cream
To Bring it Together
Add the flour and butter to a food processor and blend until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Its very important you do this before you add the sour cream, as you want to make sure you get as much butter incorporated into that flour as you can. Once don't add the sour cream and pulse until the dough starts to form a ball. Dump the dough onto a floured surface compact into a ball or square. Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Roll out on a floured surface to a thickness of roughly 3mm and cut to the size of your pie tins.
Quesadillas have evolved over the years but one thing has never changed, they are a quick and easy substitution for a grilled cheese! Traditionally these are just a tortilla that has been filled with a mixture of ingredients and had cheese added to it to act as a binding agent. It is then folded and lightly cooked to a nice golden.
Dan's Quesadillas
Ingredients
For the Filling
Cheddar Cheese
Chili Powder
Chicken
To Bring it Together
Tortillas
Butter
Cooking Method
For the Filling:Add some butter to a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and chili powder and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Remove from skillet and turn off heat.
Finishing it off:Butter one side of a tortilla and place it butter side down on a nonstick skillet heated to medium heat. Spread a handful of cheese on half of a tortilla and top with the chicken. Fold the empty side over the filling to make a half moon shape and, press lightly. Cook two minutes per side, or until golden brown and lightly crisp. Repeat.
Grilled Cheese is easily a staple of everyone's childhood and makes a fine addition to a multitude of dishes. A slice or two of your favorite melting cheese wedged between two buttered pieces of your favorite bread and pan fried, takes the simple cheese sandwich to the next level. Here Dan shows you his favorite combinations.
Dan's Perfect Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
The Bread
2 slices of Multi-grain Bread (any will do)
Butter
For the Filling
Cheddar Cheese(any will do)
To Bring it Together
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spread some room temperature butter on both sides of the bread. Put both slices of bread in the heated pan and cook for roughly 2-3 minutes until the bottom of your bread is golden brown and then flip and repeat this process. After you flip your bread add cheese to one of the slices and let the cheese start to melt. Once both sides are golden brown remove the from the pan, place the piece of bread with no cheese on it on top of the piece with cheese to form the final product. Give the cheese some time to melt then plate up, and enjoy!
At its simplest an enchilada is a tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. You can fill them with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or whatever your heart desires. The sky is limit with this dish, but today we are going to keep things simple.
Dan's Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
For the Filling
Shredded Chicken
1 Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 Cup Sour Cream
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Chili Powder
For the Sauce
1 Can Tomato Sauce
1 Can Enchilada Sauce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
To Bring it Together
Tortillas
Enchiladas are very straightforward. Cook onion, garlic, pepper together. Add shredded or cubed chicken. Add chili powder, salt and pepper.
After chicken is cooked, add tomato sauce. In a casserole dish, take tortillas and fill with cooked chicken and veggies. Wrap the tortillas and top with cheese and enchilada sauce. Bake 20 mins in oven at 375
This recipe is a recipe by the chef Rick Bayless who specializes in Mexican dishes. You can find the original recipe for this dish here on his website.
Ingredients
For the Sauce
2 Poblano Chiles
1 Cup of Packed Chopped Spinach
2 Cups Milk
2 Cups Chicken Broth
6 Tablespoons Butter
3 Garlic Cloves
1/2 Cup Flour
Salt and Pepper
For the Filling
3 Cups Shredded Chicken (Cooked)
1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheese
Bringing it Together
Tortillas
Oil for Brushing
1 Cup Shredded Cheese
Cooking Instructions
For the Sauce: Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, turning every minute, until the skins have blistered and blackened on all side. This takes roughly 5 minutes for an open flame, and about 10 minutes under the broiler. Place in a bowl to cool and, when handleable, rub off the blackened skin, tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem. Rinse to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin. Roughly chop and put them into a blender along with the spinach.
Mix the Chicken Broth and the Milk in a medium sauce pan and heat until warm.
In a separate sauce pan melt your butter over medium heat and a the garlic cook for a minute. Add the flour and stir for a good minute doing your best to work out any lumps. Add the Broth and Milk Mixture to the flour mixture and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Make sure to whisk this mixture continuously until it boils. Once it has boiled, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes smoothing out any lumps that might be left. Add half of the sauce to your blender with the Poblanos and Spinach, then blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture from the blender into the remain sauce and mix until fully incorporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper to balance the flavors out.
Bringing it Together: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish, you just want a light coat on the bottom of the dish. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the chicken with some cheese. Lay half of the tortillas out on a baking sheet and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil; top each tortilla with another one and brush or spray those with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.
Working quickly so that the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken up in each tortilla, then line them all up in the baking dish(es). Douse evenly with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 20 minutes. Garnish with the cilantro and serve without hesitation.
Fish Tacos can be filled with either fried or grilled fish depending on how healthy you want to be, and are then topped with a tangy slaw and tasty aioli.
Ingredients
For the Fish
.5 lb White Fish such as Cod, Snapper, Tilapi, Mahi Mahi, or Cat Fish
Lime Juice
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
For the Aioli
.25 cup Plain Yogurt
1 Teaspoon of Cilantro Paste
2 Teaspoons of Lime Juice
1 Dash of Chili Powder
For the Filling
Shredded Cabbage or Radicchio
1 or 2 Tomatoes
4 sliced Green Onions
Shredded Cheese
To Bring it Together
Tortillas
Cooking Instructions
For the Fish: Remove the skin from the fish if you prefer. Make a rub out of Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Chili Powder then lightly apply it to the fish. Rub some lime juice over the rub to add some flavor. Heat a grill pan on medium-high heat and cook the fish for roughly 4 minutes a side until it is flaky. Once cooked remove from the heat and keep in a warm place.
For the Aioli: In a small mixing bowl add 1/4 cup of plain yogurt, 1 Teaspoon of Cilantro Paste, 2 Teaspoons of Lime Juice, and a dash of Chili Powder. Wisk until blended and check the flavor balance. Add more yogurt if needed to take the bite out of the lime juice.
Bringing it Together: Warm some Tortillas in a warm pan until pliable. Add the fish to the tortilla, top with some slaw, tomatoes, green onions, cheese, and dress with the aioli.
Today we will be featuring two Hawaiian Dishes known to locals as Loco Moco and Spam Musubi.
Loco Moco
Loco Moco is a contemporary Hawaiian dish that is consists of a bed of rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg or two, and some gravy. For today's dish we will be keeping is simple, but you can easily spice this simple dish up with some bacon, ham, or ropa vieja for a cuban twist.
Ingredients:
For the Rice:
2 Cups Rice
3.5 Cups Chicken Broth
For the Burgers:
1 Pound Ground Beef
1 Medium Onion Diced
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper
For the Egg:
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Butter
For the Gravy:
2 Cups Beef Broth
Salt and Pepper
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Butter
Recipe
For the Rice: Rinse rice under water until it runs clear. Add the rice and chicken broth to the rice cooker and turn it on. It should be ready in roughly 15-20 minutes depending on the make and model. Fluff with a fork and cover. Keep it warm until it's time to be used.
For the Burgers: Mix together the ground beef, diced onion, some salt and pepper, and an egg in a large mixing bowl. Form the meat into 4 equal patties. Heat a nonstick griddle to medium high heat and add the patties cooking for 3-4 minutes on the first side until its nicely browned. Flip the meat and continue to cook until the desired level of doneness, about 3 minutes should yield a medium-rare patty. Remove from the heat and rest in a warm place.
For the Gravy: Add 1 Tablespoon of Butter to the pan with the burger drippings. Add any remaining onions and saute until golden brown, roughly 5 minutes. Add the Beef Broth and bring to a boil then let it reduce for 2-3 mintues.
In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water, the colder the better, to make a slurry. Slowly add into the gravy, stirring constantly until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm until ready for use.
For the eggs: Add the remaining butter to a nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Crack in the eggs and cook sunny-side up, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and keep warm.
To serve: Place the cooked rice on a plate, place the burgers on top, then the eggs and finally the gravy.
Spam musubi is a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii composed of a slice of grilled Spam on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori dried seaweed in the tradition of Japanese omusubi.
Ingredients:
1 Can of Spam
.5 Cups Soy Sauce
5 - 6 Nori Sheets cut in half lengthwise
4 - 5 Cups of Cooked Calrose Rice
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
Recipe
Cut Spam into 10 slices. Fry until slightly crispy. Remove and drain on plate lined with paper towels. In another pan, combine soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low. Add Spam slices, coating them in the mixture. When mixture has thickened, remove Spam from pan.
Lay a sheet of nori lengthwise on a clean surface. Moisten lower half of musubi maker, and place in the middle of the nori sheet. Fill musubi maker with rice and press flat until the rice is 1/2-inch high, top with a slice of Spam, and then add another layer of rice on top and press to 1/2-inch thick again. Remove musubi maker and keep in a bowl of water to keep it clean and moist.
Starting at the bottom end towards you, fold nori over Spam and rice stack. Moisten the Nori with some water on the end to help it stick and then roll the top third toward you and press it on to the moistened nori sheet from the botton section. Slightly dampen the end of the nori to seal it. Repeat with the other nine Spam slices, making sure to rinse off musubi maker after each use to prevent it from getting too sticky.
Note: You can also use an empty Spam can that has been opened on both sides for the musubi mold, using a spoon to press down on the rice.
