What can you do with a Hanger Steak?

I get hanger steaks from my farmers market. I love the guy I get meat from there and seriously he can sell me anything I will buy it. I know the meat will be good, just half the time, when I get home, I have NO idea what to do with it - I dont want to destroy it. But hanger steak is tricky I have learned and if you buy if from an organic meat guy, it isnt all that cheap , so the pressure is on to make it right!

This cut of meat is NOT for anyone that wants well done or anything more done than medium rare OR you will chew your face off and any flavor just goes away.

The Hanger Steak is a thick strip of meat from the underside. It hangs between the rib and the loin. It is a bit stringy.

Ingredients:
1 3-4# hanger steak

Tenderize with fork or a meat tenderizer on both sides.

Mix together:
2 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
salt and pepper to taste

Combine 2 cups of balsamic vinegar with Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon salt. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.

Put hanger steaks in a ziplock bag. Pour marinade over steaks, seal bag and turn to coat. Marinade hanger steaks for at least 3 to 4 hours up to 6 will work.

Take the 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Set side and allow to cool. Vinegar will continue to thicken as it cools.

Get out the cast iron and make it good and hot. Sear both sides for about a minute.

Brush with the thickened balsamic and put underneath the broiler for NO MORE than 3 minutes per side. Brush each side with the thickened balsamic after you turn them - and when you are done.

I made this in the winter and usually this is a grill thing, but not tonight, so the broiler works just as well this time of year.

Crustless Mini- Quiches

My friend Lainie gave me this recipe from one of those places that nobody bothers to read. I ofcourse have to change it up in order to make it my own - but these are so convenient you cannot help but make them. I am going to put them in the freezer, then take them out as I am ready to use them - great quick breakfast - :30 seconds in the microwave.

Oven 350 - bake 22 minutes

2C of shredded cheese ( I used Gruyere because I had it, I may use pepper jack next time)
1/2C half and half (I use fat free)
1/2C Mayo (I use canola mayo)
2 Eggs (Large or Jumbo work best!)
2T Flour
1/2t salt (I use 1 teaspoon kosher)
Black Pepper (to taste)

Goodies inside:
I use veggies and if I have ham or bacon I put a little in too. Onions, broccoli, spinach, crabmeat would work. Whatever you like. I also put a little Franks Red Hot in it to make it interesting.

Take Muffin pans and grease them up well (I use Olive oil) this makes 12.

Mix up all the cheese, 1/2 & 1/2, mayo, eggs, flour, salt and pepper - (Red Hot if you like it)

Take your chopped up goodies and sprinkle on the bottom of the muffin cups, then pour the egg mixture over the top. Fill 3/4 of the way up.

Pop in the oven.

Old Favorite - "No Bowl Cake"

This is a tuned up version of the favorite easy cake mom used to make.
Oven 350 for 30 minutes.

Cake:

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
3 TB cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt or 1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Wet:
5 TB melted butter
1 Cup cold water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 TB white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all of the dry ingredients in an un-greased 8x8-inch square cake pan.

Put into one corner melted butter, into the second corner water and vanilla, and in the third corner you put the vinegar.

Stir everything and blend it well. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes or until the cake shrinks a little from the sides. Let the cake cool, and then frost.

Berry Rhubarb crumble pie

Preheat oven to 400 degrees- then 350 for the rest.

BUY a pastry shell, this is messy enough without worrying about a pie crust.

Ingredients
* 2 egg
* 2 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange or lemon zest
* 2 cup diced rhubarb, if using frozen, chop while frozen,
then thaw and drain well
* 2 cup blueberries or blackberries or raspberries
if frozen, thaw and drain well
* 3 tablespoons flour or corn starch

Top "Crust" - here is the crumble part
* 3/4 cup flour
* 1/2 cup brown sugar (depending on the tartness you like, dark brown is sweeter)
* 1/3 cup softened unsalted butter

Directions
In a large bowl, mix egg, sugar, vanilla, orange zest, gently add rhubarb, the other berry (blueberries or blackberries or raspberries) you have sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour (or corn starch) on top and carefully coat them. (This is especially important if you have thawed your rhubarb or fruit-they are really goopey)

Pour mixture into a prepared, unbaked pie shell (8-inch). Set aside.

In a small bowl, cut 3/4 cup flour, brown sugar, and softened butter together until pea-size clumps are formed. Sprinkle above mixture on top of pie filling.

Bake pie for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees F and bake another 30-40 minutes until bubbly.

Christmas Slush

Slush

1 (12 oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade (or limeade)
1 1/2 c. sugar (optional)
1/4 c cherry juice (from marachino cherries)
1 c Water
2 c Whiskey
2 c Rum (white rum keeps the red color)
1/4c Sweet Vermouth (if you have some)

Mix all together well in large bowl. Freeze in quart containers. When needed scoop out slush into glass, then fill up glass with ginger ale, or mountain dew.

Stormy Day Bean Soup

This is a good way to use ham, chicken or turkey and make your own stock at the same time!

Things you need:

CrockPot (the best thing on earth if you don't have the back of the woodstove to use) if you have neither you can still use a stock pot on very low heat on the stovetop.

• Chicken/turkey carcass or ham bone

• 1# Dried Beans (you can get an assortment in a bag or you can mix up your own) I use: Split Pea, Lentils, Navy, Soldier, Yellow Eye, Jacob's Cattle.
• 1 medium onion -chopped
  
• 1 carrot (optional) -chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic -smashed
  
• Cayenne or Red Hot (to your taste)
• Kosher Salt (to taste - less or none if you are using ham)
  
• Leftover Meat (as much as you want, 2 cups is good)
• 1 can (with juice) diced tomatoes with juice
  
• 3-4 cups of stock (water works okay, just not as tasty)
  

Soak Beans (in water) or in stock overnight. If you are soaking in stock, then put in fridge. If this is a last minute idea, don't fret just parboil for 30 minutes. Soaking beans gives you more flavor than parboiling - my opinion.

Slowly boil off the meat from whichever you are using (Chicken/Turkey carcass or Ham bone)

Skim off the fat.

Slowly saute onion & garlic in 1/4 C of olive oil. Just when you are ready to take it out, add cayenne or red hot and salt. Give it a stir add the meat and stir again just enough to warm it up.

Pour "goodies" into the crockpot and set to LOW.
Cut up carrot and add to goodies.
Add stock and give it a stir.

This is something that you can season as you go along. BUT be careful with the hot stuff - it may surprise you (and not in a good way), after it has stewed for a while.

About an hour before it is done (this is why I use a carrot - as it gets tender you know when the soup is ready to eat), add the canned tomatoes. Some people have told me they have used canned basil tomatoes and tho I have not, I bet they are lovely!

I call this Stormy Day - because I always seem to make it when I am at home when the weather is bad - it isn't meant to be a "Rush Home from Work" recipe. I often make stock and freeze it to use later - I think I saw Emeril use ice cube trays for this once and I LOVE THAT idea! Hate throwing away stuff that we need for later...

COLD OVEN...Popovers

Mix all together...DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN - COLD OVEN!!
These popovers rise on egg power alone - so use the best eggs you can find.

1 C flour (sifted)
1 C Milk
2 T butter (melted and not too hot)
3 Large or Jumbo eggs - room temperature works best
1 t kosher salt

I use a hand blender (Emil calls it a boat motor) till smooth.

Pour into VERY well greased muffin, popover pan, or custard cups
Bake @400 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes (depends on humidity)

DONT open the oven to look at them- even tho steam may be billowing out, they will come crashing down and you will be really sad...