Category: Steak

Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington - Poor Man's Gourmet Kitchen -Beef Wellington… Let’s Talk “Turkey”!

The Beef Wellington is a dish that is dressed to impress any mouth watering steak lover.  If you’ve got the time and/or the patience to knock out one of these grass fed puff pastry’s, then I have a fairly inexpensive recipe you can use!  Using the Filet for the filling is ideal if you don’t mind shelling out $20+ per pound with your local butcher, but for $7 per pound I think we can settle for the Tenderloin.  Already that dumps 2/3 off the regular price of this recipe and that’s what Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen is all about!

If you haven’t ever had a Beef Wellington and you don’t really know what it consists of, it breaks down like this.  The Beef is first seasoned with salt and pepper, then seared on all sides.  Afterwords it is smeared with an English Mustard and Horse Raddish to give it more flavor and heat.  Then it’s wrapped in Prosciutto, coated with a Mushroom Duxelles then layered and wrapped with a Puff Pastry and baked to a golden brown.  Your internal temperature will depend on how rare you like your beef; at 425 degrees, you should reach an internal temp of 125 degrees within 35 to 40 minutes.  This temperature is considered to be Medium Rare so adjust the time accordingly.

So if you’re looking for one of those “knock your socks off” types of recipes for a special occasion, I’d say this is the one for you.  The Beef Wellington!

Beef Wellington Ingredients:

Beef Tenderloin
Prosciutto
Mushrooms
Scallions
Parsley
Bell Pepper
Mint Jelly
Mustard/Horseradish
Puff Pastry
Egg Wash
Salt and Pepper

 

Deep Fried Chimichanga

Chimichanga - Poor Man's Gourmet Kitchen -Fried Chimichanga, Thanks to Hollywood!

When ever I here the word Chimichanga, I think of Dustin Hoffman in “Meet the Fockers”.  Now I don’t know How you like your Fried Chimichanga, but  I like mine tender yet crispy all at the same time.  Now that may sound like a crazy combo, and you may be asking yourself, “How in the world do I do that?”  Because you and I both know you can’t get that combination wrapped in plastic in the frozen section.  So you’ll have to trust me when I say, It’s all in the tortilla baby!

Regular grocery stores have tortillas falling off the shelves these days because they have so many different kinds.  The problem is, it doesn’t matter how many different versions or brands they have because 9 times out of 10, they’re still not selling fresh tortilla’s.  Unless you are making them yourself, the only way you’re going to get them fresh is if you get them uncooked from the refrigerated section or straight from the Tortilleria.  Personally I prefer the Tortilleria.  Why?  Because they are light and slightly doughy which leaves more room for cooking.  Any thing that comes out of my kitchen when I’m using these tortillas is fresher and tastes like it just came out of a restaurant kitchen.  This includes but not limited to, Burritos, Quesadillas and of course a Fried Chimichanga!  So now that you understand the importance of starting with a good tortilla, you are well on your way to making an excellent Fried Chimichanga.

Fried Chimichanga Ingredients:

2 part Chopped Beef Chuck
1 part Chorizo
1/4 Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeno
2 Green Onions chopped (Scallions)
1 Pinch Cilantro
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped
1/2 Lime (squeezed)

1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
Garlic Salt (Goya all purpose seasoning) to taste

Combine all ingredients in a hot skillet in the order they are listed.  Brown the meat then add the Chorizo and thoroughly cook.  Add the vegies, then the seasonings.  Roll the Chimichanga in large a flour tortilla stuffed with the Beef/Chorizo mix, Spanish Rice and Pepper Jack Cheese, then fry at 375 degrees till golden brown.  Top the Fried Chimichanga with Green Chili Sauce and Sour Cream and serve.

Quick and Easy Menudo

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How I found this Menudo

Menudo I’m told, is traditionally prepared on Sunday morning’s for breakfast.  I haven’t researched it, I’m just going by the word of a friend of mine that’s inspired some of my authentic Mexican recipes.  It might not be a Sunday morning delicacy for most but apparently it is at his house.  Regardless,  this is a dish I’ve grown to love.

It was first introduced to me by a coworker in a Denver Refinery I was working in. The company that had the maintenance contract at the time employed several Mexican men that ate excellent authentic Mexican food from day to day, thanks to the preparation of their Mexican wives(go figure).  Anyway, one specific gentleman made a little extra money on the side selling burritos at work that his wife prepared every morning before he’d leave.  Those of us that usually skipped breakfast in the morning, knew that we could rely on him vending out burritos from the big blue cooler he toted in day after day.  Burrito’s filled with eggs, chorizo and chili’s, or potatoes and pork with beans.  Thursday’s were my favorite day to buy because those days she made Chili Relleno’s with beans, rice and goat cheese wrapped in a tortilla!  Mmm Mmmm, those were the goods.  So, getting back to the point, this same guy’s wife dropped off a huge grocery paper bag full of Bolillo’s (bread) and a pot full of Menudo.

He invited me to try it, but I really had no idea what I was getting into and with a name like Menudo, I had to ask what it was.  Well, a chili base soup with Tripe and Hominy didn’t sound too bad but honestly, I don’t think at the time I realized what Tripe was.  He told me to get a bowl and make sure I grabbed some bread.  So I did, and at first glance I was really skeptical.  Then at first chew I thought, rubbery not dreamy.  Then the after taste kicked in and I wanted more, end of story.  I’ve been getting it at restaurants ever since.  I believe Menudo is one of those recipes.  It’s a hit and miss and you either like it or you don’t.

I guess the moral of the story is, don’t be so quick to judge and give everything a chance at least once.  Also make your decisions based on the experience of the cook.  I have found that most of my “bad experiences” came from cooks that didn’t know how to prepare a dish even half as well as they thought they did.  And when I was willing to give the recipe a second chance with someone else cooking that absolutely without a doubt knew their recipe, I usually found the light.

MenudoMaking Menudo

Now as far as this dish goes, the easiest and fastest way I know how to whip out Menudo the very moment I’m craving it, without any preparation or the 6 plus hours of cooking time is to have it already to go on the shelf.  Now you can purchase this fine recipe in a can these days and it’s pretty comparable to a fresh batch made from scratch.  To be clear this is NOT a recipe video, just a Quick and Easy way to knock out a 6 hour soup, Menudo, in 10 minutes.