February menus: steak pie under golden pastry, on-the-run breakfast for lunch, mild and low-calorie enchiladas - includes recipes

Sunset, Feb, 1986

FEBRUARY MENUS

Steak pie under golden pastry, on-the-run breakfast or lunch, mild and low-calorie enchiladas

Convenient, attractive, and wholesome-- the foods in our February menus have these virtues.

Our steak pie, while easy to put together, is pretty enough to set the mood for a Valentine's Day supper.

The grain-rich oatmeal-peanut chunks in our breakfast menu on page 164 give oversleepers in the family a quick but nutritious start for the day.

And for a lunch or light supper, our third menu--see page 166--offers creamy enchiladas with a low-calorie surprise.

Steak pie with kidney option

Most Britons like kidneys in steak pie, but you might ask your family to vote before you add them. With or without the kidneys, beef chuck cooks moist and tender under its crisp pastry topping.

Steak and Kidney Pie

Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

Green Salad

Vanilla Ice Cream with Cinnamon

Red-Hot Candy Hearts

Milk Zinfandel

Even for weeknights, this meat pie is an easygoing choice. You just pan-fry the beef briefly, mix it with sauce, and seal it under a lid of purchased puff pastry; you can do all this ahead.

Broccoli brightens the look and taste of accompanying mashed potatoes.

For dessert, sprinkle crunchy candy hearts over scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Steak and Kidney Pie

6 slices bacon

2 pounds lean, boneless beef chuck, trimmed of fat and cut across the grain into 1/4-inch slices

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 medium-size onion, chopped About 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon each dry rosemary and dry thyme leaves

1 cup regular-strength beef broth

1 cup maderia

1/2 pound lamb kidneys (optional; if omitted, increase beef to 2 1/2 pounds total)

3 medium-size carrots

2 sheets (1 1b.) puff pastry dough

1 large egg, slightly beaten

In 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, turning as needed. Lift bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble and set aside. Reserve pan drippings.

Mix beef strips with flour, then shake off excess; save remaining flour. Place pan with drippings on medium-high heat. When fat is hot, add about half the floured beef to pan and cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes; turn with a wide spatula several times. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and put in an oval or rectangular 10- by 12-inch or 9- by 13-inch pan or baking dish (about 1 1/2 in. deep). Repeat to cook remaining meat.

Add onion to frying pan. Cook until limp, about 5 minutes, stirring often. If needed to prevent sticking, add butter, a little at a time. Stir in reserved flour, rosemary, and thyme. Cook, stirring, until flour begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Smoothly blend beef broth and madeira into onions. Boil, stirring, until mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 5 to 8 minutes. Pour this sauce over beef. Pull off and discard any fat on kidneys; cut out white membrane and discard. Thinly slice kidneys and add to beef. Peel or scrape carrots and thinly slice; add with bacon to beef, spreading mixture level. On a floured board, roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry dough until it is 1 inch larger on all sides than top of the beef dish. Brush a 1-inch rim of dough with egg. Lay pastry dough, egg down, on top of the casserole. Without stretching, press dough onto rim and outside edge of dish. Using cooky cutters or a knife, cut remaining sheet of pastry into decorative shapes. Brush one side of each piece with egg and arrange pieces, egg side down, on pastry over beef. Reserve beaten egg. If made ahead, cover casserole and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake, uncovered, in a 325| oven. The meat will be tender in 2 hours (do not cut through the crust to test or the steam will escape and the crust will settle). If crust begins to darken excessively, cover loosely with foil. About 10 minutes before pie is done, brush decorative shapes lightly with remaining beaten egg. Remove baked pie from oven and let cool about 15 minutes. Cut through crust with a large spoon to serve meat with pastry. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes

1 pound broccoli

Water

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/4 cup milk

Salt and pepper Peel potatoes and cuut into 1/2-inch dice. Cut off broccoli flowerets; peel stalks. Finely chop tender section and all but a few flowerets; discard tough part of stalks. In a 4- to 5-quart pan, bring 3 quarts water to a boil. Add potatoes, cover, and cook until tender when pierced, about 15 minutes. Add broccoli and cook until tender to bite, about 3 minutes (overcooked, broccoli loses its bright color). Drain and discard water. Remove whole flowerets. On low heat, add butter and milk to vegetables; stir until butter melts. With a potato masher, mash vegetables smoothly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon vegetables into a bowl; garnish with broccoli flowerets. Serves 4 to 6.

An energizing snack-meal This combination makes a quick breakfast or lunch for people on the run.

Oatmeal-Peanut Breakfast Chunks Yogurt Fruit Shakes Keep a supply of the chunks in a cooky jar up to a week.