In Episode 7 of The Real Food Show, Secretary Kennedy is joined by Chef Tim Love with a focus on preparing an affordable, restaurant quality dinner for 4 people. The video below is divided into 14 chapters (timestamp is included so you can go straight to that chapter in the video for more clarification).
0:00 - Chapter 1 - Intro
Today's guest is Chef Tim Love, an old friend of Secretary Kennedy. He launched Lonesome Dove Restaurant in 2000, the first fine dining venue in the Stockyard in Texas. He is also an Iron Chef as well as a Judge on Top Chef as well as on virtually every food show on the Food Network and elsewhere. Chef Tim is an advocate for healthy and affordable foods. And today Chef Tim and Secretary Kennedy will make Thai Beef, his children's favorite as well as an overall crowd pleaser and easy and fast to make.
1:46 - Chapter 2 - Prepping the Beef
Starting with the lean ground beef, add a little oil to the hot pan so we can sear the beef. Place the whole block of ground beef into the heated oil (helps keep the meat from sticking). Once it's in the pan, start breaking it up as it browns.
2:56 - Chapter 3 - Get the Kids Cooking!
Thai Beef is one of the first dishes Chef Tim uses to teach his children how to cook. He puts them on a stool to stir the meat while he is chopping the vegetables. Then, as the child ages, they, too, can learn to chop the vegetables. As the meat cooks, we're going to add in the vegetables: red onion (you could use whatever color you want) but red onions have more flavor.
3:23 - Chapter 4 - Mastering the Julienne Cut
Chef Tim demonstrates how to julienne cut the onion and explains that it allows the flavor of the onion to form its flavor a little better because it cooks slower and doesn't burn as easily.
4:22- Chapter 5 - How Chef Love Got His Start
Secretary Kennedy asked Chef Tim how he got his start cooking. Chef Tim shared a funny story of how he was going to college at the University of Tennessee. His dad paid for his 1st semester. On the way to the school, they stopped at Kotsi's Grill and Spirits, a steak-house-ish type of place. He decided it would be a good place to meet girls, so he applied for a job even though he didn't know anything about doing any job in a restaurant. They put him to work making salads, which Chef Tim thought was awesome because he grew up on a farm growing vegetables as well as raising lambs, goats, pigs, cattle, rabbits, and chicken. So, while he knew about raising food, he did not know anything about cooking it. He thought he might be a professional soccer player during/after college but in 1990 soccer players did not make much money. He was in over his head making salads at first but then began to treat the process as if he were playing a sport. His first shift, he was between Boogie and Shaggy who spent the shift yelling at him. He thought he was prepared because he had read the book. Instead of trying to keep up with the orders, he just made a variety of salads to go on the line. Which was working . . . until . . . Boogie said to make a Greek Salad. He put a salad together and gave it to Boogie told him the salad was missing the Feta cheese. When Chef Tim explained he didn't know what Feta cheese was much less where it was, Boogie told him it was under the counter. Chef Tim got out the bucket of Feta cheese, opened it, and exclaimed to Boogie the cheese had gone bad because it stunk so bad!
But, he put the cheese on the salad anyway thinking there was no way anyone would eat that smelly cheese. He watched the salad being delivered and the lady who ordered it eating it as if it were great. With 6 salads left in the window at the end of the shift, Chef Tim exclaimed to himself that working in a restaurant was what he wanted to do with his life. A year later, he was running the kitchen.
7:42 - Chapter 6 - The Power of Family Dinners
Chef Tim says he tells his children:
If there's one place you want to learn about your family, it's at the dinner table.
Dinner time is the best time to gather the family and actually talk to them while you are eating great food. You tell them your stories and they tell you about their day. Plus, when his children participate in making the dinner, they can relate better and Chef Tim gets to control what they eat. Chef Tim explained that he was one of 7 children and they did not manage to sit at a dinner table as the entire family very often. Chef Tim went on to say:
And I think -- you know, which is the reason why I was so excited when you asked me to do the show because I feel like what you're promoting is exactly what I'm talking about. Like those opportunities that you get to have with your family. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money. You don't have to go to a fancy restaurant. Although you can still go to my restaurant so I almost say that. But it is a thing, right? You can sit down with your family and have that time. Time you're never going to get back, and so much you're going to learn.
Secretary Kennedy shared that he had 11 siblings and they had dinner every night together as a family. In the summers, they had lunch, breakfast, and dinner together, remembering it was a great experience of bonding.
9:47 - Chapter 7 - Back to the Recipe
Now that the meat has browned, scoop it out leaving a little bit of fat from the meat in the pan to cook the onions and peppers. Toss in the garlic. Sear the vegetables to where they are still crunchy but totally cooked. One of the best parts of this recipe is that you only dirty one pan. Then add the chilies. Chef Tim is from Texas and they use a lot of chilies in their food.
When he makes this dish for his children, Chef Tim only adds 1/4 of the serrano pepper.
Now juice the limes to make the sauce.
11:45 - Chapter 8 - Making the Sauce
While the vegetables cook, juice the lime and slice the tomato in order to make the sauce. Lime will give the sauce zestyness. Once the veggies are cooked through but still crispy, turn the heat up and put in the lime juice. Lime juice will deglaze the pan and incorporate the fond (the little brown bits at the bottom of the pan) into the sauce.
Using the fond reduces the amount of salt or other spices you might use because we get all the flavor of the meat from the bottom of the pan.
13:15 - Chapter 9 - The Secret to Restaurant Success
After a short segue way where Chef Tim and Secretary Kennedy spoke about music with Secretary Kennedy sharing he likes country, bluegrass, and rock & roll; Secretary Kennedy asked Chef Tim what the secret of a successful restaurant was. Chef Tim replied that while others will tell you it's all about the location and others tell you its about the food and/or service, the real secret is the people. And it's the training of the leadership team and the people. The training never stops. It's like playing a sport, you keep training to be a team.
14:19 - Chapter 10 - Fish Sauce Magic
Secretary Kennedy asked Chef Tim what he just added to the pan. He replied: fish sauce. You add just a tablespoon of fish sauce if you think something, like soup or a pot of beans or a stew just tastes like it's just a little off. A teaspoon of fish sauce is like taking an anchovy and grinding up up and mixing it in and the whole dish somehow just seems richer.
That richness is called umami.
The Thai Beef does not have a lot of seasoning in it. Just rice wine vinegar (for flair) and tamari (a thicker, low-sodium soy sauce). Now let it cook for a little bit while we chop some fresh herbs.
15:17 - Chapter 11 - Fresh Herbs, BIG Flavor
This dish uses chives and basil. With cilantro you can chop up the stems as well which enhances the taste. Basil, you want to pick the leaves only. Then the mint, which is easy to grow - just keep it in a pot because it will spread.
However, if you don't have mint, and you aren't growing it, pick up some mint tea. Drop 2 mint tea bags into the sauce and let them cook in the sauce. This will give the same flavor as fresh mint. Just remove the bags before serving.
While the sauce cooks, coarsely chop the fresh herbs. If you chop the herbs too finely, the will lose their flavor by the time the dish is ready. And it's the addition of the fresh herbs that provide the bright Thai flavor.
Chef Tim asked Secretary Kennedy who his favorite football team is. Secretary Kennedy replied Patriots. Chef Tim teased him:
I thought you called yourself an American, man. You know who America's team is. You can say it.
To which Secretary Kennedy replied Cowboys.
Now you add the beef back to the pan and mix it in with the sauce and vegetables. Chop the beef a bit more if it is in large chunks. Chef Tim asked Secretary Kennedy if he ate much Thai food to which Secretary Kennedy replied that he did not eat much. Chef Tim explained that he thinks Thai food is come of the freshest food in the world and generally inexpensive to make with bright flavors. Now sprinkle the fresh herbs keeping a little bit to use to top the dish. This dish has no added salt. The tamari and fish sauce provide enough umami that most do not realize there is no added salt in the dish.
18:19- Chapter 12 - Building the Taco + The BITE!
Chef Tim spooned the Thai Beef onto whole Napa cabbage leaves.
Secretary Kennedy asked how much Chef Tim thinks this dish cost per serving.
Secretary Kennedy pointed out that you need to have all that stuff in your pantry. Chef Tim says in order to have a pantry it needs to have things in it otherwise it's just a cabinet. And these additional items don't go bad, so include rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, and tamari as part of your shelf staples. Fish sauce can be added to anything including ground chicken and ground turkey. If you want to extend the dish, you can add rice to make it more fulfilling, especially for lunch. Chef Tim says his children love this dish and if you can get your children to eat it it will expand their palate a bit.
Chef Tim suggested roast chicken with potatoes, onion, and a little celery is a good follow up dish for about $4.50 per service for a family of four. He thinks trying new, tasty things can entice children to enjoy eating and enjoy the family time around the dinner table.
20:18 - Chapter 13 - Get Your Kids to the Table
Chef Tim and Secretary Kennedy chatted about getting your children to the table so we can teach them about food. Chef Tim replied to Secretary Kennedy that all his children, some of whom are now grown and on their own, love food and have confidence in being able to choose between making something themselves and going out for a dinner. Going out to dinner is a celebratory part of life but it is still expensive so you want to save it for special occasions.
Secretary Kennedy pointed out that one of the things that struck him about this meal was how easy it was to make - about 20 minutes - versus how much you would pay to get the same meal at a fast food restaurant. Learning to cook is a simple process and if you can follow directions, you can cook. In addition, when you cook at home, you can include your children in the process and have everyone sit down to have a meal together.
Chef Tim pointed out that he has a few raised beds in which his family grows most of their vegetables and herbs. They also have fruit trees. And, it's hard to grow things in Texas because it's hot. So, if they can do it in Texas, so can you wherever you live. At a minimum you can grow herbs, lettuce, and tomatoes.
And who wouldn't want to chow down on something that looks this good and Chef Tim and Secretary Kennedy say smells incredible.
24:23 -- Chapter 14 - Chef Love's Backyard Surprise!
Chef Tim introduced Secretary Kennedy to his backyard 30 foot tepee.
They made themselves comfortable. Secretary Kennedy reminisced about his time representing the Cree in northern Quebec. Back then, the Cree used 26 trees for each tepee, covered the floor in pine boughs, and had a fire pit in the middle so the smoke would go right up through the roof where the tree limbs crossed. The tepees also kept the bugs out. Secretary Kennedy pointed out that it was always the women who put up the tepee. And on that note, Secretary Kennedy thanked Chef Tim for joining him on The Real Food Show.
Brown the beef. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for 5–7 minutes, until browned and fully cooked (160°F). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate, leaving the flavorful browned bits in the skillet.
Chef's Tip: Those little brown bits at the bottom of your pan are called fond—French for “bottom” or “base.” They're not burnt food; they're concentrated flavor! We'll use them to build even more flavor into our dish.
Sauté the vegetables. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet. Add the red onion, bell peppers, and serrano pepper. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the vegetables release moisture, use a wooden spoon to gently scrape up some of that delicious fond. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Build the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, tamari, rice wine vinegar, and fresh lime juice. Pour the mixture into the skillet, scraping the bottom to release any remaining fond. This process, called deglazing, incorporates all that concentrated flavor into the sauce.
Bring everything together. Return the browned beef and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Add the diced tomato and toss to combine. Cook for another 2–3 minutes, allowing the beef to absorb the sauce and the flavors to meld.
Finish with fresh herbs. Remove the skillet from the heat and gently fold in the cilantro, basil, and mint. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Serve and enjoy! Spoon the Thai beef mixture into freshly washed Napa cabbage leaves. Serve immediately with an extra squeeze of lime, if desired.
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