Recipe: Sloppy Joes and Rough Cut, Beer-Battered French Fries

My dad mentioned the other night that he'd been craving sloppy joes, something we used to eat a lot when I was a kid but haven't had recently. I offered to find a recipe for them, and decided to pair them with some homemade, battered fries (I've been chomping at the bit to try making french fries with my Breville deep fryer). Now, despite my dislike of Rachael Ray, her husky voice, and her silly catchphrases (EVOO. Ugh.), it was her recipe for Super Sloppy Joes that I decided to work off of, and I found my beer-battered french fried recipe on Man vs. Kitchen. I didn't change much with either recipe, except to mess about with seasonings a little bit, and the food turned out great. Meaty, falling-out-of-the-bun sloppy joes + crispy-fluffy French fries = good ol' fashioned American food that's perfect on a warm day. It was a great meal last night, and evidently (according to my dad, who was on his own for dinner tonight), the meal as leftovers was just as good.

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: About 20 minutes for the meat, and up to an hour for the fries (they must be fried in small batches)
Difficulty: Easy (frying without a deep fryer can be tricky though—look for instructions on how to do this online)
Special Equipment: Deep fryer

Ingredients
For the french fries

• 5-7 small to medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into french fry sticks (it's okay if the fries are all slightly different sizes, as long as they're still fairly similar in width; keep peeled potatoes submerged in water to keep them from turning brown)
• Milk (enough to fill a pot until just above the cut potatoes)
• 2&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. black pepper
• 1-3 tsp. ground red cayenne pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 cold bottle of beer (I used Yuengling Lager; you can use your favorite beer, but I suggest not using any light beers or really cheap beers, like Natural Light and Budweiser)
• Vegetable oil for frying (canola oil or peanut oil would also be good)

For the sloppy joes

• 1&1/2 lb. ground beef sirloin (93% lean, or something very close to that, is best)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 medium onion, finely diced (I basically minced mine—bigger chunks of onion just don't taste good in sloppy joes and burgers, and they mess up the texture)
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• A small pinch of ground red cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• Olive oil (enough to lightly coat the bottom of a pan)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Sandwich rolls
• Condiments of your choice, if desire (cheddar cheese slices, lettuce, sliced green bell peppers, sliced tomatoes, and sliced red onions are all good choices)

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a slightly deep, large pan over medium heat. Crumble the ground beef a little bit and toss it into the pan. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, break up the meat and let it cook until it starts to lose its pink color. Add in the brown sugar, red wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce and stir into the meat to combine, then cook until the meat is lightly browned. Add in the onion and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the tomato sauce and paste, cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer while you prepare the french fries (as long as the heat is low, the mixture can cook for quite some time—longer cooking lets the flavors really blend). 

Preheat the oil for frying (if using a deep fryer, the temperature should be at 375*F). Preheat the oven to its lowest temperature. Peel and cut the potatoes, rinse them thoroughly in cold water, submerge them in milk in a large pot, and put them in the fridge. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients for the french fry batter. Whisk the two eggs together in a small bowl, then stir into the dry mixture. Slowly pour the cold beer into the mixture, stirring the batter as you go. The finished batter will be very thick and slightly lumpy. Place a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (the battered fries will rest on this and drain a bit before getting thrown in the fryer) and layer paper towels on another cookie sheet. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot. Dunk each fry into the batter, then place on the cooling rack (you probably won't be able to fit every fry on there, so just batter them in batches). Drop a large handful of fries into the frying oil (make sure the oil is 375*F), then quickly poke around at them to keep them from sticking. Fry for about 5-7 minutes (they may need a little longer) until golden brown and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside (I used tongs to lightly squeeze the fries to check for internal softness). Put the finished fries on the paper towel-covered cookie sheet to drain them/soak up some of the oil. After a minute or two, place the finished fries in an oven-safe dish and transfer to the oven to keep them warm. Repeat the frying and draining process and add finished fries to the dish in the oven. 

Serve the sloppy joe mixture on sandwich buns or rolls (great plain or with condiments) and serve the french fries alongside. Best eaten with a cold bottle of beer to drink on the side. :D

This is such a perfect casual dish for a warm, sunny day. The meaty, salty, tomato-y flavors of the sloppy joes pair perfectly with the slightly spicy, slightly salty, slightly beer-y fries, and the textures, soft and crunchy, are perfect together.

Recipe: Food Network's "Cocoa-Rubbed Steak with Bacon-Whiskey Gravy"

This month's Food Network magazine was all about chocolate: how to cook and bake with it, how to temper it, where to buy the best, news about it, and more. All of the recipes in this issue incorporated chocolate in some sort of way, big or small, and a twist on the traditional "steak and potatoes" caught my eye. I don't cook red meat often, nor do I try to juggle too many things at once while I cook (in this case, steak, gravy, baked potatoes, and broccoli), so rather than play around with this recipe and make it my own the first time out, I decided to basically stick with it as is, tweaking just a few ingredients and whatnot, and it came out wonderfully. The rub on the steak has just a touch of heat and a subtle chocolate flavor that is savory rather than sweet. The gravy, a bacon-y, salty, creamy affair, goes well with the steak, and is even better on the baked potato and broccoli sides. So, kudos to you, Food Network, for a delicious, chocolate-themed steak-and-potato dinner!

(Bacon-Whiskey Gravy not pictured)

Yields: 2-4 servings (gravy serves about 6)
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 min.-1 hour
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Special equipment: Broiler pan

Ingredients

• 1 baking potato per person (I bought the "just pop in the microwave for 7-8 minutes" baking/russet potato to save time)
• About 2 heads of fresh broccoli, cut into florets (you can just cook half a bag of frozen broccoli to save time)
• Butter and sour cream for the baked potatoes, if desired

For the steak

• 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. packed brown sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 1 steak, preferably NY strip, per person (I bought two large Delmonico steaks and split one with my mom)

*The rub is enough to cover 3, 1 lb. NY strip steaks, so if you do smaller or fewer steaks, use less of the rub

For the gravy

• 3-4 strips bacon
• 1 leek, finely chopped (clean thoroughly, because they're very dirty; do not use the dark green part at the top of the leek)
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whiskey
• 3 cups chicken broth/stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. dried parsley
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Mix together the ingredients for the rub and lightly rub the mixture into both sides of each steak. Set the steaks aside on a broiler pan and turn on the broiler setting in your oven in preparation for the steaks. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil in preparation for cooking the broccoli. In a large pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, then remove the bacon and place on paper towels to soak up excess grease. In the pan with the bacon grease, add the diced leek and cook until tender (about 3-5 minutes). Add the flour, stir to combine, and cook for about 1 minute. Add a little butter if desired. Remove the pan from the heat and add the whiskey. Return the pan to medium high heat and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened (about 3 minutes). Add the bay leaves and chicken stock, bring to a boil over medium high heat, and cook until the mixture is reduced by about one quarter (about 8 minutes). Slowly whisk in the heavy cream, then allow the gravy to simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. While it's cooking, put the steaks in the oven and broil for 8-15 minutes (less time will yield medium rare steak, more time will yield medium to medium well), turning occasionally. Returning to the gravy, crumble the cooked bacon and add it to the gravy, along with the butter and parsley, then stir to combine. The gravy should be just thick enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon (add a little cornstarch-and-water to make it thicker, if desired) and will be a cream color when it's done. Reduce the heat to keep it warm. Cook the broccoli florets for approx. 5 minutes in boiling water and heat the baking potatoes in the microwave for 7-8 minutes. If you've timed this right, everything should finish up at about the same time. The steak, once removed from the oven, should be allowed to rest for a few minutes on a cutting board before being plated and cut. Serve the meal with a gravy boat full of the gravy.

This is a delicious little twist on a classic and is quite a filling meal. Fresh broccoli and fluffy baked potatoes are the perfect compliment to the steak, coated in this lightly sweet-spicy rub. The gravy, a salty, creamy, buttery mixture, goes perfectly with every part of this dish.

Recipe: Spicy Chickpea Hummus with Flat Bread

So, I've been looking for filling, healthy snacks to try and I've heard a lot of good things about hummus. I've never really been a fan of hummus—most of my experiences with it involve a school dining hall or restaurant buffet, and it's either chalky and flavorless or it's watery. However, one of my favorite restaurants from college had a black bean hummus and chickpea hummus dish on their menu that I tried once at a tasting and really enjoyed, so that gave me hope that I could come to like it. Obviously, the jarred stuff and the junk turning grey next to the dressings at the salad bar are not what a "hummus beginner" should be eating, so I thought I might like it if I made it myself. I found a recipe by Rachael Ray here (not my favorite TV personality, and I'm not a fan of her abbreviation "EVOO," but she's made some tasty stuff), and after a few alterations, I whipped it up and it turned out great!

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 7-12 minutes (for the pita/flat bread chips), no cooking necessary for the hummus 
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

For hummus:

• 1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 2 tbsp. tahini sesame paste, or 1 tbsp. each of sesame seeds and sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• Salt, to taste (I used a dash or two)
• 1-2 tbsp. olive oil

For  pita/flat bread chips:

• Pita or flat bread of your choice (I used Schwebel's Old World Flat Bread - Wheat)
• Olive oil
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Garlic powder or garlic salt
• Ground cayenne pepper
• Oregano

Directions
For the hummus: Combine all of the ingredients together in a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. Transfer to a small dish and serve with pita/flat bread chips, vegetables, or other "dippers" of your choice. Refrigerate any leftover hummus.
For the pita/flat bread chips: Preheat the oven to 400* F. Combine a dash of each dry ingredient in a small bowl with olive oil and brush onto the pita/flat bread. Place on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 7-12 minutes, until slightly crispy. Pull or cut bread into pieces to create chips and dip them into the hummus.

This hummus is very filling and so flavorful. The ground cumin, coriander, and cayenne add spiciness and intense flavor, and the lemon juice helps lighten and brighten the taste. Served with warm pita chips and crisp veggies, like orange and green peppers, and it's the perfect snack!