Old-Fashioned Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

This is an updated version of a recipe I posted almost two years ago under "Old-Fashioned Slow-Cooker Pot Roast." At the time, I ended up cutting the beef into chunks rather than cooking the roast whole, which makes it "beef stew," not "pot roast." Oh, toe-MAA-toe, toe MAH-toe, but in correcting the title, I decided to make the dish again for a larger serving and additional photos. 

The ingredients and preparation are essentially the same. Because you just don't mess with old-fashioned goodness. And simplicity.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3-lb beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 each thyme and flat-leaf parsley sprigs, divided
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
• 18-20 peeled baby-cut carrots
• 6-8 baby Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 white onions, quartered
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth

Beef Chuck Roast 

Beef Chunks 

Vegetables and Herbs

Preparation

1. Place half the beef chunks in the bottom of the slow cooker and season with salt and pepper. Place 2 each of the herb sprigs and the garlic on top of the beef.

Bottom Layer of Stew

1. Add the remaining beef chunks and top with the carrots, potatoes, onions, and remaining herb sprigs. Season again with salt and pepper.
2. Pour in the beef broth. (The broth may not cover all the vegetables.) 

Carrots, Potatoes, and Onions Added

Broth Added

1. Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours longer. (Use a pair of tongs to pull out a piece of beef from the bottom to check for tenderness. It should shred easily)

Cooked Beef Stew

To serve, divide the beef and vegetables among 6 shallow bowls and spoon a little juice from the cooker over each, discarding the herb sprigs.

Old-Fashioned Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Salmon Cakes with Horseradish Tartar Sauce

Salmon cakes make an easy, fast weeknight dinner—not to mention they’re tasty and good for you too. The key to keeping them light and airy is not to pack the ingredients together too tightly. Use a light touch to form puffy mounds, not dense disks. Boneless, skinless canned salmon is widely available in supermarkets now, and it makes these cakes especially lean and "clean."

Boneless, Skinless Salmon

Fresh ground horseradish provides a flavorful difference in the tartar sauce, adding a tangy, nose-tingling bite. You’ll find it in jars in the refrigerated section of the market—not in the condiment aisle where that white, creamy horseradish “sauce” is shelved.

Fresh Ground Horseradish

Ingredients

Serves 2

For the Tartar Sauce

• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp fresh ground horseradish
• 3 tsp dill pickle relish
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp chopped capers
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Tartar Sauce Ingredients

For the Salmon Cakes

• 2 6 oz. cans skinless, boneless salmon, drained and flaked
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
• 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 large egg, whisked
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Preparation

For the Tartar Sauce

1. Combine the mayonnaise, horseradish, relish, mustard, and capers in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. (May be made 1 day ahead.)

Combined Ingredients

Horseradish Tartar Sauce

For the Salmon Cakes

1. Place the salmon in a medium bowl with the next 7 ingredients (through lemon juice) and season with salt and pepper. Gently stir the mixture with a fork or spoon to incorporate.
2. Lightly form the mixture into 4 cakes. (Don’t smash them with your palms—they’ll be too dense when they cook. Just form puffy mounds.)
3. Lay the cakes on a plate and refrigerate 20-30 minutes. (Refrigeration helps them hold together while they cook.)
4. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the cakes and cook 2-3 minutes on one side, until golden brown.
5. Turn the cakes over and press down lightly with a spatula to help hold them together while they finish cooking.
6. Cook 2-3 minutes longer, until golden brown on the second side. (If a cake crumbles a bit, gently push it back together with a spatula.)

Salmon Mixture

Salmon Patties 

Salmon Patties Beginning to Cook

Cooked Salmon Cakes

Serve the salmon cakes with horseradish sauce dolloped on top or in a bowl alongside.

Salmon Cakes with Horseradish Tartar Sauce

Cuban Braised Pork with Caramelized Onions

Slow-cooked pork is one of the most flavorful, succulent meat dishes around. It’s the basis of “pulled pork” recipes, which simply means shredding (or “pulling”) the tender meat before serving. The pork makes a great filling for warm tortillas—along with sweet caramelized onions and fresh cilantro—for a simple, satisfying dinner with a little Latin American flair.

I included traditional Cuban “mojo” ingredients for the braising liquid in this recipe. Mojo is the go-to sauce on tables throughout Cuba, adding savory, citrusy, and garlicky flavor to anything it’s paired with. Other than the flavor, the best part about it is how simple and common the ingredients are: orange, lime, garlic, oregano, cumin, and cilantro.

Serve the wraps with a side of black beans, or skip the tortillas and beans and serve the pork and onions over a bed of steamed white rice.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Braised Pork

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 1/2-lb pork shoulder (Boston butt), trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 seedless orange, quartered
• 1 lime, quartered
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 14.5-oz can of vegetable broth
• 2 cups loose cilantro sprigs, long stems removed
• 4 fajita-sized tortillas (or 8 taco-sized flour tortillas)

Fruit and Vegetables for the Pork Braising Liquid

For the Caramelized Onions

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, cut into thin, vertical strips
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

For the Braised Pork

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.
2. Heat a Dutch oven (or large, heavy, ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid) over medium heat and add the olive oil.
3. Add the pork, garlic, and onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the pork begins to brown in spots, turning 2-3 times, about 5 minutes.
4. Squeeze the juice from the orange and lime quarters into the pot, then stir in the cumin and oregano. Cook 2 minutes.
5. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a light simmer. Cover the pot and place in the oven. Braise 1 1/2 hours. 
6. Reduce the temperature to 250° and stir the ingredients. Return the cover to the pot and braise 1 hour longer.
7. Remove the pork to a bowl with a slotted spoon. When it’s cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers, or, alternatively, use 2 forks to shred the meat. (If it's too cool to serve at this point, place it in a skillet and warm over low heat on the stovetop. Add a little of the braising liquid to keep it moist.)
8. To serve, place the pulled pork, caramelized onions (recipe follows), and cilantro in separate bowls alongside the tortillas and let your guests build their own wraps.

Pork Sauted on the Stovetop

Pork with Juices and Broth Ready to Braise

Pork after 1.5 Hours of Braising

Braised Pork

Pulled Braised Pork

For the Caramelized Onions

1. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and add the oil and butter.
2. When the butter has melted, add the onions and season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to low.
3. Cook slowly until the onions are very soft and caramelized, stirring a few times, about 20 minutes.

Onions Beginning to Cook

Caramelized Onions

Pan-Seared Jicama, Peppers, and Corn

Recipe updated July 2017

Side dishes are some of the most fun creations to play around with, especially if you include an ingredient that’s new to you. I’ve never met a vegetable I didn’t like, so I always enjoy picking up something “different” and preparing it in a simple way that brings out the best of its natural flavor.

“Different,” of course, is relative. One cook’s exotic find is another cook’s staple. The jicama (HEE-ka-ma), for example, is everyday food throughout Latin America, but not so much in other parts of the world. It’s a root vegetable from South America that looks something like a big, tan turnip, but the flavor is actually sweet, especially in smaller ones. Some supermarket jicamas weigh 4-5 pounds, but opt for 1-1/2 to 2 pounds if you can find one.

You can cook jicama in the same way you cook potatoes (they look very similar in the pan), but the texture of the jicama will remain much firmer—think crispy apple—even when cooked. Jicamas also are eaten raw in salads or tossed in a stir-fry for a little crunchy addition.

Peeled Jicama

This recipe is a simple vegetable sauté that allows each ingredient to bring its own flavor—and color—to the dish. Ready in about minutes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 small jicama, peeled and diced (about 2-1/2 cups)
• 1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 cup sweet corn kernels (thawed, if frozen)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• chopped cilantro, for garnish

Diced Jicama

Preparation

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, swirling to coat. Add the jicama, spreading to a single layer, and cook, stirring a few times, until beginning to brown, 9-10 minutes.
2. Add the jalapeno, corn, and bell pepper and season with salt and pepper (drizzle with a little more oil if the skillet is too dry). Sauté until all the vegetables are crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes.

Beginning to Cook

Browned Jicama

Jalapeno Mixture Added

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve right away.

Pan-Seared Jicama, Peppers, and Corn 

Salt-and-Pepper-Crusted Steaks with Goat-Cheese-and-Herb Potatoes

When it’s time for the next meat-and-potatoes dinner, keep it lighter with a simple, tasty salt-and-pepper crust on grilled steak and twice-baked potatoes without the “load” of butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon, and whatever else. All these toppings serve only to disguise the true potato flavor—not to mention add way too many calories and unnecessary fat.

For this recipe, I grilled juicy filet mignon lightly rubbed with olive oil and pressed into a layer of freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Be generous with both—if you’re not on a salt-restricted diet—and enjoy a little spicy, salty crunch on the outside of a fork-tender, medium-rare steak.

Have you ever stood over a big bin of russet potatoes at the market and just breathed in the wonderful earthy aroma that rises from it? Don’t stand there long enough to raise eyebrows, but do enjoy the beautiful scent of the humble potato as nature intended. That’s what potatoes should bring to your table, too.

The twice-baked potatoes in this recipe are flavored with a little creamy, tangy goat cheese and a bounty of fresh herbs to accent—not hide—the real flavor of the spud. They’re not loaded, but they’re lovable. (And that’s why they deserve to be slow-baked in a real oven. No microwaves, please.)

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Potatoes

• 2 medium russet potatoes
• 1.5 oz goat cheese (room temperature)
• 1 tsp each chopped fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme (or herbs of your choice), tossed together
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Chopped Herbs for the Twice-Baked Potatoes

For the Steaks

• 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
• 2 6-oz filet mignon, about 2 inches thick (may be sold bacon-wrapped)
• olive oil, for rubbing

Preparation

For the Potatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. 
2. Scrub the potatoes and prick them all over with a fork. Wrap each tightly in foil and bake for 2 hours.
3. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes. (Leave the oven on.) Carefully unwrap the potatoes and slice in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh from all 4 halves into a bowl, reserving 2 of the skins.
4. Add the softened goat cheese and 2/3 of the chopped herbs to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
5. Mound the potato mixture blend in the 2 reserved skins and place on a sheet of foil.
6. Return to the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the remaining herbs on top.

Potato Filling with Goat Cheese and Herbs

Stuffed Potatoes Ready to Bake

For the Steaks

1. Light a charcoal or gas grill for medium-high heat.
2. Combine and spread the pepper and salt on a plate. Rub the steaks with olive oil and press both sides of each into the pepper-salt mixture. Let rest while the grill heats.
3. Grill the steaks 3 minutes on 1 side, then turn and grill 3-4 minutes longer. Repeat, for a total of 12-14 minutes, for medium-rare (depending on thickness).
4. Let the steaks rest 3 minutes before serving.

Crusted Steaks Ready to Grill

Salt-and-Pepper-Crusted Steaks with Goat-Cheese-and-Herb Potatoes

Pan-Grilled Turkey Burgers with Hand-Cut Oven Fries

Ground turkey makes great burgers, especially the dark meat, which is a bit tastier than breast meat. Both are leaner than beef, and with a few easy additions, such as shallot, garlic, and cilantro, you can crank up the flavor of the patties from the inside out—and skip the heavy toppings.

I used dark, thigh meat in this recipe, but if you prefer breast meat, I recommend adding a couple tablespoons of fine, dry breadcrumbs (such as panko) to the patty mixture. Ground turkey is very soft and moist, and the breast meat is downright mushy—meaning it doesn’t hold together well as a patty without something to help bind it.

Tip: Don’t use an egg as the binder. The meat is already so soft and supple that adding an egg will send it sliding right through your fingers. 

One more thought on turkey burgers: You can grill them as you would beef burgers over charcoal or gas flames, but a grill pan is better for a delicate ground meat. No need to worry about it falling apart and going straight through the grill rack.

Although this simple weeknight dinner is low-key and kid-friendly, it’s much lighter and more healthful than a typical burger-and-fries meal, including the hand-cut potatoes, which require only a drizzle of oil for that French fry flavor straight from the oven. (For the fries recipe, check out Hand-Cut Oven Fries. You can cut the potatoes either into sticks or wedges.)

Use your favorite condiments and toppings, but try to avoid heavy, fatty ones to keep this easy, common meal guilt-free.

Makes 3 burgers

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb ground turkey thigh
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil, for brushing
• 3 sandwich rolls, toasted
• 3 thin slices of pepper jack cheese
• condiments and toppings (I kept it simple with Dijon mustard, ketchup, onion slices, and dill pickles.)

Preparation

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients (through red pepper flakes) in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.
2. Dampen your hands with water to prevent the turkey mixture from sticking to them. Form the meat into 3 equal patties. Place on a plate and refrigerate about 15 minutes to help the mixture hold together while cooking.

Ready to Mix

Turkey Burger Patties

1. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
2. Lightly brush the pan with olive oil and grill the burgers about 6 minutes on 1 side, until browned and grill marks appear. Turn and grill 4-5 minutes on the other side. 
3. Top each burger with a slice of cheese and grill until the cheese melts (place a sheet of foil over the grill pan to help it melt quickly).

Patties Beginning to Cook

Patties after Turning

Ready for Cheese

Grilled Burgers

1. Place the burgers on the bottoms of each sandwich roll and let your guests add their own condiments and toppings. Serve with oven fries alongside.

Pan-Grilled Turkey Burgers with Hand-Cut Oven Fries