Beef and Polish Sausage Borscht

In my opinion, roasted beets are one of the most under-appreciated root vegetables. They are delicious, especially when added to a simple salad of mixed greens/baby spinach, carrots, diced hard-boiled egg, and a good vinaigrette. But, most Americans know beets only from borscht. The problem with most borschts, including this one, is that it doesn't emphasize the roasted beet flavor enough. My next version of borscht will be a significantly pared down version of this one so as to emphasize the beet flavor.

My suggestions for this recipe are these:

• Don't let the beef or sausages burn. This is very easy to do when you are working on high heat.
  
• Have the 1/4 water for deglazing ready before you begin frying the beef. It is not hard to burn the pan drippings while getting the water ready at high temperatures.
• You can peel the potatoes if you'd like, but it isn't necessary if they are well cleaned. The same is true for the carrots. The reason why I prefer not to is that a lot of nutrients are in the potato skins and the outer layer of the carrots.
• Be careful to not add too much vinegar - it can dominate everything else.
  
• Else than that... enjoy the recipe!
  

1 1/2 pounds red beets
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 lb polish sausage
1/2 lb beef stew meat
1/4 water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh dill, minced
1 large russet potato, diced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wrap the beets in individually in tinfoil and place on a baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven, unwrap to let the steam out, and let sit until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large Dutch oven on medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook the sausage until browned on all sides. Remove, let cool a few minutes, slice into bite-size slices, and put into a bowl. Season the beef with salt and pepper, add the beef to the Dutch oven and sear until thoroughly browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and add to the bowl. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 of water. Drain the deglazing liquid into a heat-safe bowl, and reserve.

Reduce heat to medium. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the onions, carrot, and celery to the Dutch oven, and stir to coat. Cook until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Return the meat to the pot and add the water, bay leaf, reserved deglazing water, salt, and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer partially covered until the beef is tender, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, once the beets are cool enough to handle, trim the stem and root ends and remove the skins. Coarsely chop half of the beets and shred the other half. Set aside. Also, mix the dill and the sour cream together and set aside.

When the meat is tender and falling apart, add the beets and potatoes. Simmer over low heat for another 30 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar. Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper, if necessary.

Ladle borscht into bowls and garnish with a dollop of dill-sour cream.

This recipe is an adaptation of an Emeril Lagasse recipe.

Blue Cheese and Portabella Mushroom Steak Sauce

Delicious! This is a recipe for a cream-based sauce that goes with a pan-fried steak. It is quite tasty. I'm proud to say that, though it is not a particularly inventive combination of ingredients, this particular recipe is of my own creation! It serves about 3-4 people, depending on the steak portion size.

My main tip: Don't overcook the steak. It is really easy on high heat to overcook a thin steak. So don't. Watch it carefully, use a timer, and practice. As always, practice is the key! Also, this sauce could be made just as easily by sauting some skin-on chicken, or with lamb. Both would be delicious.

Without further ado, here is the recipe:

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large steaks of your choice (3/4 inch thick)
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup white wine (e.g., Sauvignon Blanc works well)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 lb portabella mushrooms, torn in to 1 inch chunks.
1 cup heavy cream
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1/4 lb blue cheese
1 Tbsp butter, unsalted
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a heavy 12 inch frying pan over medium-high heat until just before it begins to smoke. Season the steaks on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the steaks and sear for 2 minutes. Flip and sear for another 1.5-2 minutes, or until desired doneness (if the steaks are thin, watch them carefully unless you’d like them fully cooked). Remove the steaks from the pan and let rest on a plate; cover the plate with tin foil. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let reduce by half. Drain the remaining liquid into a bowl, and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add the olive oil to the pan. Add the portabella mushrooms to the pan. Fry, stirring occasionally, for approximately 8 minutes, or until they are soft and have released their liquid. Add the cream, thyme, blue cheese, butter, and leftover deglazing sauce. Simmer until the blue cheese and butter have completely melted. Reduce further, if necessary, until desired thickness (keeping in mind that the sauce will thicken as it cools). Season, if necessary, with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with the steaks.