Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
3 pounds combined beef shank and oxtail pieces
2 onions, quartered
2 ribs celery, halved
2 carrots, halved
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 quarts water

Cooking Recipe:

Place pressure cooker over high heat. Oil and salt the oxtail and shank pieces then sear in batches. Add remaining ingredients and cover with water, being careful not to fill above the cookers "maximum fill" line. (If your pressure cooker does not have a water line, fill the pot 2/3 full). Bring to a boil and skim off any foam that gathers at the surface. Cover and lock lid. Once pressure builds up inside the cooker, reduce the heat so that you barely hear hissing from the pot. Cook for 50 minutes.

Release pressure using your cookers release device (read that manual) or cool the cooker by running cold water over the lid for 5 minutes. Carefully opening the lid and strain squeezing the solids before feeding to the compost pile, or the dogs. Strain through a fine sieve or several layers of cheesecloth. Season and serve or use as a base for other soup recipes.

Ingredients:

4 boneless steaks (about 4 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Flour, for dredging
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups beef stock
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps quartered
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 onion, minced
1 carrot, diced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup balsamic vinegar
Pea whipped potatoes, recipe follows

Cooking Recipe:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Use a jaccard steak tenderizing tool, or tenderize the steak yourself with a fork. Lay the meat out in front of you, pushing it flat with your hands or a meat mallet, and pull it gently apart with tines of the fork until the meat is slightly pulled apart and tender. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and brown steaks, in batches if necessary, on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside, keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, reduce stock by half.

Season mushrooms with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute quartered mushrooms in the same pan as the meat, in the leftover olive oil, until very brown, about 5 minutes. Add butter, minced onion, carrot, thyme, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are caramelized, about 5 minutes, add balsamic vinegar and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. Add broth, slide meat back into sauce, cover and bake until tender, about 1 hour.

Stack steaks with pea whipped potatoes and drizzle with balsamic/mushroom sauce.

Pea Whipped Potatoes:
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 1/2 pounds English peas, or 2 pounds frozen peas
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 to 4 cloves)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan, optional

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan with cold water to cover by 3 inches. Salt the water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, cook the peas in a separate saucepan of salted water. Simmer until just tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove with a sieve and cool on a baking sheet. When the potatoes are done, drain well, scatter on a baking sheet, and let cool for several minutes. In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the cream until it reaches a boil then simmer for a few minutes. Add the cream to a blender with the cooked peas and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter stops foaming and turns a light brown. Add the garlic and cook quickly until pale gold. Add remaining cream, season, to taste, with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

Press the cooled potatoes through a ricer or food mill into the butter and garlic mixture, tossing to coat.

Reduce the heat to low. Add the remaining butter by tablespoonfuls, stirring vigorously after each addition. In this way, the butter does not melt into a golden puddle. Instead, it forms an emulsion with the potatoes, creating a very smooth puree.

Fold the pea puree into the mashed potatoes and adjust seasoning, as necessary. Instead of salt, the puree can be seasoned with a little grated Parmesan, if desired.

Serve hot.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ease of preparation: easy