Linda and I were recently comparing childhood memories of the favorite dishes our mothers made (the ones that didn't have cream of mushroom soup as the primary ingredient). And you know, sometimes, rural Indiana and suburban Indianapolis are not all that far apart! The conversation quickly turned to Swiss Steak — a timeless classic . And since life has been kind of busy for us lately, we decided it was time to dust off the old Crock Pot and give Swiss Steak another try. So here is the combined effort of our recollection of the best of both of our respective upbringings — many thanks to both Erma and Dorothy.
Swiss Steak (in the Crock Pot)
should serve 4- 6
(It's all relative if you have a 12-year-old who just came from a basketball game....)
Ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 lb. boneless round steak, trimmed of fat
1 large onion - chopped into large chunks
3/4 cup sliced celery
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1 small can beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
flour (a few tablespoons)
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbs. olive oil
Preparation:
Dredge the round steak with salt, pepper and flour. Heat olive oil in skillet, and brown the meat for about 2 minutes per side. After browned, remove meat, and then sauté the onion, celery and carrots for a few minutes. In the meantime, spray the sides of the crock part of the Crock Pot with Pam. After vegetables are slightly tender (about 2-3 minutes), scoop about 1/2 of them into the bottom of the crock. Place the meat on top, and cover with the rest of the vegetables, beef broth and diced tomatoes. Turn the Crock Pot on "low" and go ahead and leave the house for the next 10 hours. Okay, it's dinner!
We served this with mashed potatoes, and, yes, Linda made a great gravy by thickening the liquid from the crock pot with corn starch. Brad, our 12 year old, thought he had died and gone to heaven with this dinner. Since we used very little fat/oil in this dish, we actually concluded that it wasn't all that bad for us, either. We found that a good California Zinfandel, like the Fife Mendocino, was perfect with swiss steak.
February 2, 2000 |
