Recipes

Beef and Bean Taquitos with Avocado Sauce

'Tis the season for hosting parties. While sometimes that can be a bit stressful, the experts at Cook's Illustrated have come out with this book of 75 "only the best" appetizer recipes to reduce some of the stress. All-Time Best Appetizers Cookbook makes it easy to create a spread with everything from things that can be dipped, spread, or eaten by the handful to two-bite treats. These Beef and Bean Taquitos with Avocado Sauce are great for any get together...or for a "finger food" dinner. From the authors: "Why this recipe works - Making crunchy, golden taquitos is easy for restaurant cooks with access to a deep-fryer; our goal was to make them foolproof for home cooks, too. Adding mashed pinto beans to a seasoned ground beef filling and rolling the taquitos tightly helped the filling hold together. Sealing the edge with egg wash offered extra insurance, and frying in a mere cup of oil prevented the taquitos from unrolling as they cooked."

Down South Goat Biryani

From My Two Souths and Chef Asha Gomez, we get this stunning recipe for Down South Goat Biryani. With her love of Deep-South cooking as well as her southern Indian roots, this recipe is sure to please all of those experimenting with biryani for the first or the tenth time. Don't worry if you can't find goat - Chef Asha says it's just as delicious with beef or chicken. If you're looking for a stand-out dish for fall entertaining, this dish is for you. From the author: "Biryani is a celebration dish. Weddings, birthdays, festivals, and other times of good cheer are the usual occasions when this iconic dish of rice with meat or vegetables graces our table, with almost the entire spice cabinet having been invited into the cooking vessel. Across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, countless renditions of this festive dinner abound, as do the many names by which it is known. I think the following recipe is my favorite version to make at home, though it is wonderful made with beef chuck roast or chicken thighs. I love the tender goat layered between saffron-spiced rice and baked, then dressed with roasted shallots, cashews, raisins, and a confetti of cilantro. As I fluff the flavored rice, I always remove the star anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and bay leaves - counting the fifteen spice hulls as I go - and set them aside to use as a garnish. Alternatively, you can tie all the spices except the saffron and cumin seeds in a piece of muslin to make a bouquet garni, which makes a quick job of removing the spice hulls. Or, if no muslin is available, but them in a tea ball and hang the ball over the side of the pot."

Curried Beef and Tendon with Turnip

We love the use of spice and combining of textures in this curry dish from fascinating Macau cookbook, The Adventures of Fat Rice by Abraham Conlon, Adrienne Lo, and Hugh Amano.From the Author: "In Macau “turnip” usually means daikon, or another large radish, so technically, there’s no turnip in the original version of this dish. At Fat Rice, we mostly follow tradition, but run with the turnip thing and garnish with crunchy raw turnips, radishes, and their greens. Don’t be scared to work with the tendons—they do require long cooking, but add great texture. Try grilling the rubbed beef; it adds a great smoky dimension."

Chimichurri Flank Steak

2 hrs, 10 min

Our Chimichurri Spice combines a whole lot of flavors: the almost apricot flavor of aji mirasol chiles, the peppery sweetness of guajillo and New Mexico chiles, and the earthiness of oregano, cumin and bay. Together, they're an ideal flavor base to make Chimichurri sauce. Just mix it with lots of fresh herbs, citrus, plenty of garlic, vinegar and oil. You'll have a sassy sauce that begs to be put on.....everything!When used as a marinade, the grill fire tames the acidity of the vinegar, enhances the sweetness of the citrus, and intensifies the heat of the chiles. Use another drizzle of sauce to make any cut of meat, beef especially, perfectly balanced. Chimichurri gives that sweet-tart-spicy-meaty union that screams "summer food" the world over. The flavors of this sauce meld together over time, so keep some in the fridge all summer long.You can vary the selection and proportion of herbs in this recipe in so many fun and tasty ways. Increase the herbs for a thicker consistency to use for dipping and topping or play with oregano, marjoram or whatever is fresh in your market or garden.

Tarheel Sliders with Carolina Slaw

Carolina BBQ traditions inspired this delicious Tarheel sliders combination, and the flavors work together perfectly. A healthy dose of our Tarheel BBQ Rub flavors the meat, and the Carolina slaw is pert with vinegar and Voodoo, plus just a little sweet to round it out. Everything is easy to prep and the sliders pop on and off the grill in just a few minutes. Sit back and enjoy the flavors!

Shawarma Spice Marinade

2 hrs, 5 min

Our Shawarma Spice is the not-so-secret ingredient in this simple marinade for chicken shawarma. Use it on on chicken, lamb, beef or even cauliflower to infuse the meat (or veggie) with incredible flavors. Serve for an easy weeknight supper with a simple salad or as the star of a Middle Eastern feast with all the trimmings from hummus to saffron rice.

Michael's Boeuf A La Bourguignonne

Turkey dominates the center of the Thanksgiving spread, but it doesn't have to be the only protein on the table. Boeuf a la Bourguignonne is a French peasant dish from Burgundy that uses beef simmered in wine to create a hearty and pleasing stew. A nice dish for a rainy winter day, this recipe is a favorite addition to Michael's Thanksgiving table.

Game Day Brisket Sliders

Nothing welcomes fall quite like a slow cooked brisket, and nothing says game-day quite like sliders! Brisket sliders combine the two and dish up an eye-catching platter of food that's sure to please the crowd. It's quick to make and simple to serve, too, so you can spend your time cheering on the team. For this round, we teamed up our Tarheel BBQ Rub with grilled onions, mustard and a pickle, the ideal trifecta of condiments for anything on a mini-bun. But this recipe was so fun to make, we are already planning out the season with more flavors like Harissa, Sassy Steak Spice and Kofte Spice. The genius of this recipe is how easy it is to make a whole mess of sliders. Simply cook the brisket a day ahead. Once you get it into the slow-cooker it is very hands off. Then, when you are ready for kick-off, just slice open a package of rolls and assemble the sliders as one big unit. You can even serve them pull-apart style, right from the pan.

Fajita Steak Salad

For a large summertime gathering, you want to find a dish to please the crowd with a minimum of fuss. This fajita steak salad offers pleasing grill fare for all without an excess of effort or mess. And it's delicious to boot. Hearty, but not too heavy, this salad is great served alongside grilled corn or cold margaritas for even more summer goodness.