Slow Cooker Korean Beef

Another great recipe for your slow cooker that is easy and delicious.  Flank steak is cut into strips and coated with cornstarch.   The steak is cooked in a sauce for 5 hours composed of sesame oil, garlic, soy sauce,  beef befog, brown sugar, onion and red pepper flakes.  Once the beef is cooked through and tender, I served it over rice.  You can garnish with green onion and sesame seeds, if you wish.



Slow Cooker Korean Beef
The Recipe Critic

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds Flank Steak
¼ cups cornstarch
2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
½ teaspoons mince Garlic, Cloves
½ cups Soy Sauce
½ cup beef broth
¾ cups Brown Sugar
¼ cup onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
sesame seeds and green onions, for garnish
Instructions:
Cut flank steak into thin strips. In a ziplock bag add flank steak pieces and cornstarch. Shake to coat.
Add sesame oil, minced garlic, soy sauce, beef broth, brown sugar, onion, and red pepper flakes to the slow cooker. Stir ingredients. Add coated flank steak and stir again until coated in the sauce.
Cook for high 2-3 hours or on low 4-5 hours until cooked throughout and tender. Can serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

Serves 4

Scoma's Lazy Man Cioppino

I love Scoma's Restaurant in San Francisco.  When I eat there, I usually order their Lazy Man Cioppino. A delicious Fish Stew in a tasty tomato base broth.  I was very excited when I found Scoma's recipe for their Lazy Man's Cioppino on the web.

Half the fun of making this stew is shopping for the ingredients.  The kids and I head down to our local Whole Foods market and pick up the fish, wine,  veggies and clam juice.  We also pick up some bread to toast up to dip in the broth and clean up our bowl.

This recipe came together very nicely.  You first start by sautéing the garlic and then add the chopped onion.  Add the wine,  followed by the fresh herbs.  Add your favorite tomato sauce, bring to a boil and add the fish.  Once the fish is cooked, add the crab meat, clam juice, and seasoning.  Heat through and serve.

A bowl of a delicious and hearty stew awaits your family and/or friends.  Enjoy.

SCOMA’S LAZY MAN’S CIOPPINO

From Scoma's

(Serves 4 – 6 people)
Prep time: 30-45 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1⁄4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
2 cups fish stock or clam juice
6 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
1 lb rock cod cut into 1″ cubes
1.5 lbs Manila clams
12oz prawns (deveined and peeled)
1 lb cooked crab meat
8oz bay shrimp
12oz scallops
Salt and pepper

PROCEDURE

• Heat olive oil over medium heat and cook garlic for one minute.
• Add the onions and let them sweat for two or three minutes.
• Turn heat to high and add the wine to deglaze. Cook for 2-3 minutes (or until reduced in half) then reduce heat to medium.
• Add fresh oregano and basil.
• Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.
• Slowly add fish, shellfish, and shrimp meat.
• Bring the cioppino back to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until all the seafood is cooked.
• Add cooked crab meat.
• Thin the cioppino to your liking with fish stock or clam juice.
• Adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper.
• Serve in a large bowl with fresh sourdough bread and enjoy!

Croque Monsieur

Croque Monsieur is one of those delectable sandwiches you will always remember eating.  My first one was at The French Pastry Shop in the La Fonda hotel in Santa Fe, NM.  Fast forward many years and I found the perfect recipe for one of the best Croque Monsieur sandwiches ever.  This recipe is from Cook's Country magazine and it is sandwich worth savoring.

Croque Monsieur
From Cook's Country

Ingredients:

Sandwich
8 slices hearty white sandwich bread
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
12 ounces thinly sliced Black Forest deli ham
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Mornay Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1 cup)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg

Directions:
1. For The Sandwiches:  Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray.
2. Brush bread on both sides with melted butter and place on prepared sheet.  Bake until light golden brown on top, about 10 minutes.  Remove sheet from oven and flip slices.  Return to oven and bake until golden brown on second side, about 3 minutes.  Reserve 4 slices for sandwich tops; evenly space remaining 4 slices on sheet.
3. For The Mornay Sauce:  Melt butter in small saucepan oven medium heat.  Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in milk and bring to boil.  Once boiling remove from heat and quickly whisk in Gruyere, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until smooth.
4. Spread 1 tablespoon Mornay on each slice of toast on sheet.  Then, folding ham slices over themselves multiple times so they bunch up, divide ham every among slices of toast.   Spread 2 tablespoon Mornay on 1 side of each reserved slice of toast and place slices Mornay side down on top of ham.
5. Spread 2 tablespoons Mornay evenly over top of each sandwich, making sure to completely cover toast, including edges (exposed edges can burn under broiler).  Sprinkle sandwiches with  Parmesan, followed by Gruyere.
6. Bake until cheese on top of sandwiches is melted, about 5 minutes.  Turn on broiler and broil until cheese bubbles across tops of sandwiches and edges are spotty brown, about 5 minutes.   Serve.

Make 4 sandwiches.