Meats
Meat recipes
Crouton’s Chateaubriand
When Ditalini and I were first married, young, dumb, and desperately poor, my mom and dad would treat us to a monthly Friday night dinner at the Von Steuben Hotel in Wiesbaden, Germany. We always ordered chateaubriand for two. We…
Al Forno’s Slow-Cooked Brisket
Our friend Al Forno in Colorado posted a photo of his slow-cooked brisket and I texted to see if he’d share the recipe. A local friend, Poulet en Crote, had a birthday coming up and we had invited her over…
Kettle Beef: Food of My People
Kettle beef, I recently learned, is a regional dish of southeastern Missouri. Which is where I’m from — Cape Girardeau to be precise — but I couldn’t recall ever having it. So I asked my sisters, one of whom still…
Crouton’s Cafeteria Chili Mac
Ditalini put me in charge of the kitchen last night, so I decided to indulge myself in some good old comfort food. We’ve both been away, things have been hectic and disorganized, and a simple one-dish hot meal seemed like…
Crouton’s Dutch Oven Pot Roast
Total time, including prep? About 4 1/2 hours. And Donna loved her Valentine's Day dinner!
Crouton’s Oven-Cooked Brisket
This Thanksgiving, I cooked our brisket in the oven. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender and flavorful, and I'm going stick with slow-cooking briskets in the oven for a while.
Crouton’s Sloppy Joes
Ditalini had a busy day planned and asked me to make dinner. She left a packet of Sloppy Joe mix on the kitchen counter, along with a pound of ground beef to thaw. I was underwhelmed by the idea of using…
Crouton’s Crockpot Venison Roast
Ditalini’s sister Gina Cannolini came to visit from Michigan, restocking our freezer with venison from our brother-in-law Lengua’s most recent hunting trip. Among the cuts were two bone-in roasts. I decided to look for a good recipe, and one titled…
Crouton’s (Easier) Beef Bourguignon
When you think beef bourguignon, you think Julia Child. But honestly, preparing the dish her way (which indeed I have done) is more of a lifetime culinary achievement than a practical everyday recipe, so when I found a small chuck roast…
Chili à la David Rainier
This, over the past few years, has become my go-to chili recipe. It’s not the kind of chili that’ll win a Texas-style cookoff, but it’s homey, rich, and satisfying. —Crouton The Cannolis, Ditalini’s sister Gina and her husband Lengua, visited…