Beef #2 - Carbonnade of Beef, Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Can you believe it? It's beef day #2! Today, we made carbonnade of beef (braised), wasabi mashed potatoes, bbq ribs, and the trussed beef rib from the day before.

We started preparing the ribs for the oven by sawing off about 3" sections at a time. These sections will be brushed with homemade bbq sauce and roasted in the oven. (These were so finger-lickin' good, I couldn't get a picture before they were devoured by the class.)

 My portion of beef for carbonnade:

 The steaks were pounded to tenderize, then dredged in spiced flour before being browned on the skillet.

 After the pieces were browned, they were removed from the pan and onion, beer, sugar, beef stock, and spices were added. Once the onions had sweated down to transluscent, we put the meat back in the pan to braise in the oven for 45 minutes.

 With my partner Eugnenia making wasabi mashed potatoes.

 Toasting almonds for a side dish: Green Beans Almandine (Green Beans with Toasted Almonds and Garlic)

 Chef's plated carbonnade of beef with green beans almandine, wasabi mashed potatoes, and frizzled leeks.

 Below, my plate with the same foods.

 To tie the green beans together, I blanched strips of leek and then tied three strips around the 6 green beans.

 Below, the Frenched beef rib that classmate Bonnie had worked on for two days.

 Below, Bonnie with her perfectly medium-rare piece of rib. Well done! (no pun intended)

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Carbonnade of Beef

4 - 4oz. (Swiss) steaks

canola oil for frying

1 1/2 cups seasoned flour (+ garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper)

12 oz. white onions, sliced

12 oz. dark beer

1 1/2 oz. light brown sugar

16 oz. beef or mushroom stock

2 bay leaves

2 TB chopped fresh parsley

Pound the steaks to tenderize until 1" thick.

Dredge the steaks in seasoned flour and pat off the excess.

Heat a skillet with a little oil and sizzle the steaks until they have a golden brown crust.

Remove from pan and put aside.

Add a little more oil to the pan and add the onions, brown sugar, and bay leaf.

When the onions are translucent, pour in the beer and stock and place the steaks back in the pan.

Cover tightly and place in oven for 1 hour or until steaks are tender.

Serve with wasabi mashed potatoes and chopped parsley.

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Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

(1 head of roasted garlic) - optional

3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, boiled until tender

8 oz. margarine or buttah

2 TB wasabi powder

1 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 cup pareve sour cream+1/2 cup nut milk)

salt and pepper to taste

Peel boiled poatoes if desired.

Melt the margarine/butter in the milk/heavy cream. Add the wasabi powder and whisk to blend. Add the potatoes by mashing with a fork or putting them through a ricer.

Season with salt and pepper.

Stir to combine, but don't overmix - potatoes can get gummy if overmixed.

Serve with steaks, if you haven't eaten the whole bowl by the time you get to this step...

Enjoy!