Category: Recipes

Ruth Reichl is one of my cooking icons.  When Epicurious ended I was gutted. Was her career over, would she continue to write? She is incredibly inspirational to my own cooking style. The recipe I made tonight was inspired by her. She would collect ingredients in the street markets on her way home and make a dish.  I went walking through our little market at NCF and came up with dinner.

London Broil is Flank Steak’s big brother. Have a large crowd to please? Get a London Broil. Tonight’s dinner is an indulgence, the London Broil is $10 lb and then the grits have Skyr Tykke  $5 (goat sour cream) & Garbo goat cheese $5. Our goat cheese products come from Celebrity Goat Dairy. With the veggies and stone grits this meal runs around $45.  This was our big family dinner of the week. This meal can be broken up or served with other items. The grits are a heavenly meal all on their own. Luckily we have lots of grits left over and I’m eyeing them for breakfast. There are 3 separate recipes in this one blog post. Please be patient with me.

London Broil

• 2-3 lb London Broil
• 1 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/3 cup Lime juice
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder

1. Combine spices, herbs, lime juice, & soy sauce. Place London Broil in a 1 gallon zip top bag, pour marinade over, close & place in fridge for 8-12 hours.
2. Pull out 90 minutes prior to cooking. This is a very thick cut of meat that you want at room temp all the way through,
3. Line a jelly roll pan with foil, place a wire cooling rack on top on the jelly roll pan, place the London Broil in the center of the rack
4. PreHeat Broiler at 500
5. Place Broil under the Broil for 12 minutes flip then cook for another 12 minutes ( London Broil is typically served rare to mid rare, my family choose the rare option)
6. Rest Broil for 7 minutes slice thin and serve over Goaty Grits.

Peppers, Onions & Mushrooms

• 2 Bell Peppers any color other than green slice thinly
• 1 medium red onion sliced thinly
• 12 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TBSP Lime Juice
• Salt Pepper to taste

1. In a large heavy bottom skillet heat the EVOO over med heat
2. Add mushrooms and onions cook for 5 min turning frequently
3. When onions & mushrooms start browning add in the peppers cook for 2 min
4. Turn heat to high add lime juice let veggies caramelize getting a bit dark.
5. Serve immediately with London Broil

Goaty Grits

• 1 tub Garbo Goat Cheese
• 4 ounces Skyr Tykke
• 1 Cup water
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (In meals like this I prefer to count the loving smiles at my table not the calories)
• 1 Cup Stone Ground Yellow Grits
• 2 tsp salt

1. In a 6 quart pan bring water, milk & heavy cream to a boil
2. Add salt & grits stirring often you don’t want to scorch you milk
3. As the grits thicken up  about 10 min stir in remaining ingredients stirring often. Cook for another 5 minutes or until grits are tender.
4. Serve under London broil &  Pepper, Mushrooms, & Onions Mixture.

Boston Butt is porks most versatile cut. BBQ, roasted, sliced then grilled, soup parts or stew there are many things to do with a Boston Butt. Pork Buns are labor intensive so grab your children, spouse, neighbor etc for some fun help.  Whether tailgating or heading to a picnic this meat is perfect as it is self-contained.  This recipe makes about 24 pork buns. Boston butts sell for $7.50lb in the NCF store. You could easily get 2-3 meals out of a single one.  We made 16 pork buns with plenty of tasty pork leftover for sandwiches. Pork buns also freeze & reheat well.

My dutch oven is my kitchen workhorse along side my trusty 8 inch santoku knife. Found easily at any store a dutch oven is an essential. Mine came from a big members only warehouse about 5 yrs ago for around $35. It is used at least 3-4 times a week.  If you don’t have one get one. You can get a plain cast iron dutch oven, or you can get one that is enameled if maintaining cast iron worries you (it shouldn’t!). If you ever move and can only take one pan, take your dutch oven.

Pork Buns

• 2-3 cans of buttermilk biscuit dough
• 3 lb Boston Butt
• 3 inches of fresh ginger root
• 1 small yellow onion
• 2 carrots
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic
• Salt &Pepper

1. PreHeat oven to 280 F
2. With a microplane, grate ginger, carrots, onion, & garlic. *This can also be done in a food processor or Ninja if you do not have a microplane. Do Not Liquify these ingredients though.
3. Salt and pepper Boston Butt
4. Place Boston Butt fat side up in Dutch oven. Cover Butt with grated mixture, place lid on and place in oven for 4 hours. We’re giving the butt an extra hour so that it is shreddable.
5. After 4 hours remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes.
6. Shred and mix in the grated mixture leaving the juices in the bottom of the pan.
7. Flatten biscuit dough out
8. Place 1/4 cup of pork mixture in each bun then seal the dough
9. Steam for 20 minutes or bake following the biscuit dough instruction. (I prefer steamed)

Dipping Sauce

• 1 nectarine, peach or plum (truthfully any ripened stone fruit with taste great)
• 1/4 cup Sweet Chili Sauce
• 2 tsp Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar will work)
• The pork drippings from the bottom of the dutch oven.

1. Reusing the dutch oven with the drippings in it remove as much fat as you can.
2. Peel fruit and chop.
3. Add in soy sauce, vinegar, & fruit
4. Heat over med/lo heat until sauce is bubbling then cook until fruit is cooked through about 5 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and blend.
6. Serve with Pork Buns

Chimichurri is a magical sauce that comes from Argentina.  It is a beautiful compliment to all things beef and pork.  It’s primarily made with parsley, garlic, oregano, cracked red pepper flakes and olive oil for strong and simple flavors.  I used it in this recipe to take this burger to the next level.

What you need

For the Chimichurri Sauce:

• 1 cup fresh parsley washed and dried
• 5-6 medium cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of dried oregano
• 1/2 extra virgin oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

For the burgers:

• 1 pound of Ninja Cow ground beef and 1 pound of Ninja Cow ground pork (alternatively, 2 pounds of ground beef)
• salt and pepper
• Crusty bread slices or sourdough for the buns
• 6 slices of thick cut provolone cheese approximately 1/4 inch thick.  You can get these cut thick at any grocery store deli

What you do

For the Chimichurri Sauce:

1. Place the sauce ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Use a silicone spatula to scrape the contents down the sides of the food processor as necessary.  Cover and refrigerate.

For the burgers:

1. Gently mix the ground beef and pork being careful not to over compact the meat, which will result in a less juicy burger.  Gently form 6 patties with the two pounds of meat.
2. Generously salt and pepper the outside of the burger (no need to mix seasoning into this burger as that can also reduce the juiciest of the burger.  Trust me, this delicious morsel will have plenty of flavor).
3. Cook in a cast iron skillet with a little olive oil over medium-high heat.  Wait until the cast iron is lightly smoking with the olive oil.  Cook for approximately 5 minutes (120F for rare and 135F for medium) and allow to rest on a plate for 5 additional minutes.  Allowing the burgers to rest is key to assuring a juicy burger.
4. Meanwhile, toast your bread under the broiler in your oven.
5. Clean your cast iron with a paper towel and reheat until lightly smoking. Using a metal spatula, brown the provolone 2 slices at a time for approximately 20-30 second on each side until the cheese browns and starts to melt. Don’t worry if this gets a little messy.  It adds to the experience.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Left over Chimichurri?  Use it tomorrow with Ninja Cow steaks or pork chops.  Bon appetit!

The whole chickens at Ninja Cow Farm are absolutely delicious.  Everyone knows how to do a beer can chicken, so I wanted to share another way to prepare these delicious birds.  Spatchcock chicken is a style of preparing birds to be roasted in the oven.  It’s a very simple technique that takes 5 minutes to prepare and it drastically reduces the time it takes to roast a full bird.  In essence, you use kitchen shears to remove the spine and lay the bird flat.  Here is a quick youtube video showing exactly how to perform this technique:

What do you need

• One whole chicken from Ninja Cow
• 5 oz of Boursin cheese garlic and herb spread
• Salt and Pepper

What you do

1. Spatchcock the bird by removing the spine using the technique above with kitchen shears.
2. Separate the skin using your fingers along the top of the breasts and along the sides by the thighs.  Carefully work the Boursin spread under the skin from the top of the breasts and along both thighs.  Simply use your fingers to massage the Boursin under the skin until that bad boy is loaded up.
3. Dry the skin on the outside.  Add salt and pepper.  Feel free to spread any remaining Boursin on the outside of the skin.
4. Place the bird on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet to keep it from sitting in its juices.  This will ensure you get crispy skin, which everyone loves!
5. Roast at 425 for 15 minutes in the middle of the oven and then drop to 350 until the bird reaches an internal temperature is 165 (approximately additional 40 minutes for a 3.5 pound bird).

Tip–the skin of my bird was crisping up quicker than the internal temp  was approaching 165.  If this happens, cover the bird with an aluminum foil tent, which will slow the crisping of the skin and allow the IT to reach 165.

Now enjoy this delicious and flavorful meal with your family!