shallots – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

8-35: Flambéed Steak Diane

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses April 23, 2024April 21, 2024beef, black pepper, brandy, butter, chives, chopped, cognac, deglazed, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, flambé, hot sauce, lemon juice, lemons, liqueur, parsley, pearl onions, peeled, salt, sautéed, scraped, shallots, sirloin, steak, untested, white onions, Worcestershire sauce

Today I have something “old-school” for you–8-35: Flambéed Steak Diane. This is a dish that’s been around for a while and is considered “retro” today. It is similar to steak au poivre and is another of those “quick pan-fried steak” recipes that use butter and some sort of umami as a sauce.

This is the last entry from the batch of beef-but-not-beef recipes I made to clean out the freezer–I’ve had those posts sitting in my queue for quite a while. I had to space them out because they’re all SO similar. You can scroll back to 8-39: Tournedos with Blue Cheese Sauce and 8-38: Brandy Two-Pepper Beef Steak for the other entries in this recent “mini-series”.

8-62: Oven-Baked Baby Beef Ribs

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses March 14, 2023March 14, 2023all-purpose flour, basted, beef, black pepper, brushed, chili sauce, dairy-free, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, red onions, ribs, roasted, salt, shallots, untested

Simply Delicious has a lot of rib recipes, however I think 8-62: Oven-Baked Baby Beef Ribs might be the first one I’ve covered that features beef ribs instead of pork. Here’s an article that breaks down some differences between the two types–I haven’t eaten real meat in like 5 years at this point, so I don’t feel like it’s my place to have that discussion with you.

They show their ribs with some baby carrots (you can buy them already cut/prepped to look this way, but perhaps should consider roasting them) and green beans, but if you’d like an unhealthier option (who wouldn’t), you can serve them with some “Kenji” onion rings instead like we did.

1-12: Mixed Seafood Au Gratin

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 29, 2022July 29, 2022appetizers, au gratin, bay scallops, bay shrimp, black pepper, broiled, butter, cheese, crab, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, fish, fish bouillon, fish stock, French, gluten-free, grated, hors d'oeuvres, lobster, mounted, mussels, Parmesan, peeled, reduced, salt, sautéed, scallops, seafood, serving shells, shallots, shellfish, shrimp, untested, whipping cream, white wine

Greetings, and happy Friday! It’s been a minute, but I’ll always come back eventually–I’ve put way too much time/work/energy into this project to give up now. Today, I present to you 1-12: Mixed Seafood Au Gratin. Au gratin is not new for Simple Delicious, and neither is the use of the pictured serving shells. I finally broke down and bought some a year or two ago for 11-10: French Scallops–I’m happy they’ll get another use here.

When was the last time you heard the phrase “tantalize the taste buds”? I feel like that went out of style around the same time as soufflé humor.

11-10: French Scallops

Jamie Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses January 6, 2022January 6, 2022broiled, butter, cayenne pepper, cheese, crème fraîche, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, fish, fish bouillon, fish stock, French, garnish, gluten-free, Italian parsley, mushrooms, Parmesan, reduced, sautéed, scallops, seafood, serving shells, shallots, shellfish, sliced, untested, whipping cream, white wine

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2022! I’m going to start this year off with a redo–although you didn’t know that it was such. I cooked 11-10: French Scallops early last year (2021), but did such a terrible job of it that I didn’t even want to share the pictures of it with you. I’ve had it hanging out in my queue for almost a year, and it’s time to fix that–when you know better, you should do better.

I took far too many liberties with my first attempt, not realizing that this dish was somewhat specific in its design and not just “up for interpretation”. Coquilles St. Jacques (note Simply Delicious misspelled it) is a French preparation of scallops, hence their abridged title of “French Scallops”. There’s lots of versions of it out there, most somewhat similar to this one.

11-17: Sole Fillets in White Wine Sauce

Jamie Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses November 4, 2021November 3, 2021black pepper, boiled, butter, chopped, crab, dill, dinner, expensive, fairly easy, fish, fish bouillon, fish filets, fish stock, garnish, lemon juice, lemons, lobster, mounted, mushrooms, new book, party food, reduced, salt, sautéed, seafood, shallots, shellfish, shrimp, sole, steamed, untested, whipping cream, white wine, whitefish, yellow onions

Simply Delicious likes to try to mix it up with the types of fish recipes they offer, but a lot of them can actually use the same types of fish interchangeably. I made 11-25: Best Ever Sole Au Gratin with the recommended sole, but I also made 11-13: Flounder with Sauteed Vegetables with sole as well. 11-17: Sole Fillets with White Wine Sauce is a new one to add to the list (it’s even from the NEW book), and looks just as fantastically 1980s as the rest of them.

Simply Delicious claims this “elegant and luscious fish dish” could be the makings of a global phenomenon–big, if true. Wouldn’t be the first time something ocean-related took the world by storm.

12-28: Tri-Color Risotto

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses February 26, 2020February 26, 2020beef bouillon, beef broth, blanched, boiled, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, easy, fairly inexpensive, green bell peppers, grind, long-grain, olive oil, peeled, pine nuts, red bell peppers, rice, risotto, saffron, salt, sautéed, shallots, shredded, untested, whipping cream, white wine, yellow bell peppers, yellow onions

If you haven’t figured it out by now, there’s a bit of a lag between when I make these recipes and when I actually post about them. It helps me to reread the recipe to figure out what I’m doing in a lot of these photos. While rereading the recipe for 12-28: Tri-Color Risotto, I realized I didn’t even make it right.

That’s my first explanation for what happened here. My second is that I don’t like cooking rice in a pan–I’m spoiled by rice cookers.

My third is that this isn’t risotto–it’s pilaf.

8-54: Beef Beignets

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses October 26, 2019July 2, 2020all-purpose flour, American, appetizers, batter, bay leaves, beef, beer, black pepper, Cajun, canola oil, chilled, chopped, coated, cooked beef, Creole, cubed, dairy-free, deep fryer, deep-fried, dinner, eggs, fairly easy, French, fried, garlic, hors d'oeuvres, inexpensive, leftovers, lunch, marinated, New Orleans, peeled, port wine, red wine, shallots, snacks, thyme, untested, vegetable oil

When I think of beignets, I think of New Orleans. 🎷 I’ve never been to the real Café Du Monde in New Orleans, but I have been to the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square at Disneyland which serves beignets (very delicious ones).

8-54: Beef Beignets are NOT like the ones at Disneyland or Café Du Monde–they’re more like Mongolian Beef before you toss it in sauce.

I looked around for similar types of recipes to confirm that this wasn’t just a Simply Delicious invention–and I really couldn’t find too many. There’s nothing wrong with battering beef and frying it–just don’t call it a beignet.

20-15: Vary the Butter Sauces

Jamie Martin Group 20: Basic Recipes, Section 4: Cooking School June 5, 2017October 18, 2020appetizers, Béarnaise sauce, black pepper, breakfast, butter, butter sauce, chopped, cookbook project, cooking school, creamy, deglazed, dinner, double boiler, dried herbs, egg yolks, eggs, fish bouillon, fish sauce, fish stock, food processor, Foyot sauce, French, gluten-free, gravy, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, Hollandaise sauce, lemon juice, lunch, Maltaise sauce, melted, minced, mounted, Mousseline sauce, orange juice, oranges, parsley, party food, peeled, peppercorns, purée, reduced, salt, shallots, side dish, tarragon, tomato paste, tomatoes, untested, vegetarian, vinegar, whipped, whipping cream, white wine, white wine vinegar, zested

Consider 20-15: Vary the Butter Sauces to be the advanced version of 20-13: Béarnaise and Hollandaise Sauces. There’s probably something that bridges the two better (whatever 20-14 is, but I don’t have that card in my collection), so 5-4: Eggs Benedict will have to do. This set of recipes is part of the Cooking School, the back section of Simply Delicious that provides instructions in basic techniques, ingredients, and recipes that any skilled cook should be familiar with.

Like I said in 20-13: Béarnaise and Hollandaise Sauces, Hollandaise and its variations comprise one of the five mother sauces, a big part of French cuisine. Mastering it (and the others) is one of the marks of an accomplished and talented chef. I’ve always appreciated a well-made butter sauce, and these variations are intriguing–I’d be interested in eventually trying each one out.

20-13: Béarnaise and Hollandaise Sauces

Jamie Martin Group 20: Basic Recipes, Section 4: Cooking School June 3, 2017October 18, 20204-6-09 dinner, appetizers, Béarnaise sauce, black pepper, breakfast, butter, butter sauce, chopped, cooking school, creamy, dinner, double boiler, egg yolks, eggs, fail, food processor, French, gluten-free, herbs and spices, Hollandaise sauce, lemon juice, lunch, melted, minced, mounted, parsley, party food, peppercorns, ranch house, reduced, revisited, salt, shallots, side dish, tarragon, vegetarian, vinegar, white wine vinegar

It took over 3 years and almost 300 entries, but I’ve finally cracked the final untouched category of Simply Delicious–the very last one, Group 20: Basic Recipes. These are part of the Cooking School segment in the back of the book, teaching you basic techniques, ingredients, and recipes that you’ll need to be an experienced cook. This recipe, 20-13: Béarnaise and Hollandaise Sauces covers the basics of butter sauces, which you can expand upon with 20-15: Vary the Butter Sauces.

Hollandaise is one of the five mother sauces, a big part of French cuisine. Mastering it (and the others) is one of the marks of an accomplished and talented chef. I’ve been cooking for a long time and I’m still working on mastering this one.

6-46: Chicken Breasts Veronique

Adam Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses December 26, 2016October 15, 2020black pepper, boiled, boneless, breasts, butter, chicken, chopped, creamy, curry powder, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, French, fruit, gluten-free, grapes, half-and-half, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, minced, pan-fried, reduced, salt, sautéed, shallots, skinless, sliced, untested, whipping cream, white wine

Simply Delicious is introducing me to so many new culinary terms. 6-46: Chicken Breasts Veronique was a new one for me. 🍇 The definition of “Veronique” is explained below:

Chicken and grapes isn’t the most obvious combination, not in 🇺🇸 American-style cuisine anyway. This dish is definitely influenced by 🇫🇷 French cuisine. I’ve eaten chicken and grapes before in Middle-Eastern styled recipes as well.

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