Fall Fortnight continues today with a wonderful and easy recipe from Milk Street in their Shorts cookbook – Stir Fry Beef with Mushrooms and Snow Peas. This recipe has an interesting technique called ‘velveting’ which was demonstrated on the Milk Street TV show just a couple of weeks ago. It involves a short marinade to tenderize the beef, and the coating also serves to help thicken the sauce.
Begin by gathering your ingredients. I find that doing a mis-en-place makes cooking easier. I know I have everything I’ll need.
Begin with the 10-minute marinade of velveting with corn starch and baking soda. The baking soda acts as a tenderizer, while the corn starch will thicken the sauce so the dish is gluten free. Just before cooking, add the oyster sauce and soy sauce.
Saute the beef until nicely browned, and remove to a plate.
In a bit of oil, saute the mushrooms, garlic and ginger then add water and wine, cooking down until reduced scraping up any brown bits from the pan.
Add the beef back to the pan, along with the snow peas and cook gently for a couple of minutes until the snow peas are done and the sauce has thickened.
I served mine over jasmine rice. Yum, tender and tasty!
Download the recipe featured in the Milk Street Shorts cookbook – Stir Fry Beef with Mushrooms and Snow Peas. As always, modify the recipe to suit your taste, leave the mushrooms out if you don’t like them, add bigger chunks of green onions, or change the snow peas to broccoli.
For such a tasty meal, serve it with a tablescape celebrating Halloween. Even if you don’t have special Halloween plates, just shop your house for black, orange and purple, add some real pumpkins and have fun.
A simple jack-o-lantern print can serve as a table topper, with some ceramic pumpkin bowls. The black octagon plates came from the thrift store. Add a bit of flair with a garland from the dollar store, and you are all set.
For our giveaway today, Milk Street will send a copy of their newest cookbook, Shorts, to one lucky winner in the USA! From the publisher – “In Milk Street Shorts, we developed a repertoire of nearly 150 recipes that are casual, improvisational and fun. These recipes are short, yes—but they’re also bold, creative and change the way you cook. The recipes get their power not from long ingredients lists or all-day cook times, but their essential cleverness. And every recipe packs a punch. There are throw-it-together meals like “Nothing Soup,” Chili Crisp Peanut Noodles, and Five-Ingredient Pork and Kimchi Stew; snacks and side dishes such as Sunflower Hummus, Crispy Spiced Chickpeas and Salt and Vinegar Smashed Potatoes; and smart ways to use your oven, like Reverse-Sear Pork Loin, Skillet Lasagna and Two-Hour Turkey. We organized the recipes by simplicity—“Short, Shorter, and Shortest”—with chapters including skillet suppers, sheet-pan tray bakes and weeknight desserts. Each chapter turns the table on what you expect from standard recipes: These are easier, shorter, more flavorful, surprising, game-changing and, let’s be honest, just plain fun to cook!”
Can’t wait? Milk Street Shorts is on sale for its introduction this month. To enter the giveaway, visit the Milk Street Store and leave a comment with the item you’d like to have most – a cookbook, a kitchen tool, or a food product. What is your choice?
From My Carolina Home 
cook what you have cookbook
I always enjoy seeing your tablescapes! Thank you for making suggestions on what to change up in the recipes. I frequently wonder what to substitute if I don’t have something or I have a picky eater.
I just shipped the chocolate skulls to my daughter for Día de los Muertos, a holiday she adores. Not sure if that counts for something I’d want so for me, I’d love to get a pair of the kitchen shears for myself. Can always use a good pair!
Short recipes are my weekday go to! The Stir Fry Beef looks right up my alley. I like the velveting idea for thickening the sauce and tenderizing.
I went out to Milk Street’s website and typed ‘gluten free’ in the search area. To my delight, a number of condiments appeared as options. Condiments have been my downfall more than once as they use grain fillers often. Good to see GF choices that won’t make me sick! My number one pick is the Soom Premium Tahini.
Thanks for your efforts on Fall Fortnight!
Jo Anne
Love your Halloween tablescape. What a great idea with the garland. Adds a visual pop for not much money and so easy to match the theme you are going for. I will definitely try the velveting technique with my next stir fry. Thanks for the recipe.
I look forward to trying the recipe. I would love the M S Nakiri knife.
I love quick recipes, and this one looks so healthy. I enjoy Kimball on NPR. Thanks to you both for the giveaway.
This recipe looks yummy! I’d love the Shorts cookbook.
This one sounds good, Carole. And Rick would like it too. I love recipes with minimal ingredients and also quick cookers, and this fits the bill. I’ve velveted chicken before (never knew that was what it was called!) but never beef. Thanks for this and for offering the giveaway drawing — it looks like a good book!
I have to try that stir fry recipe, I even have some mushrooms sitting in my frig asking to be used.
As for the Milk Street question, I think I would want a kitchen tool over a book or a food item.
That looks yummy, and is definitely a recipe we would like. Thanks for sharing it! From the Milk Street store, I like those kitchen shears.
Carole, I love cook books. And this milk street one sounds fun. Short recipes with lots of flavor, what could be better. I would like to have a new cookbook. Thanks Niki
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Love the tablescape! Velveting was something I learned today – awesome! I love cookbooks and would love this one ! I already bought last year they veggie book and Noodles! Great recipes – Thank you !!
it looks like you have portion control solved for two people! it has taken me forever as my husband has always wanted more and would inform me I wasn’t making enough, he has finally over this past year started to understand eat less to loose weight at meal times (he still needs to get the snacking under control) gradually I have cut back on how much I make realizing I am not cooking for 4 and haven’t for years.
Hi Carole.The recipe looks yummy and something th
The book sounds wonderful and everyone could use an easy, quick recipe with the holidays approaching. Chris Kimball is so interesting and talented.
Oooh, I love a good stir fry! I need to try your recipe! One item I’d be interested in having from the Milk Street items is a new cutting board, so I’d choose the Milk Street Hinoki Board.
It looks like it would be a wonderful addition to my kitchen.
the tan hoisin sauce. I really like the Milk Street food products.
That sounds delicious. Their recipes are so good and I love their trial results in their magazines. Their tools are great too. They have the best potato peeler ever and I’ve been eyeing their kitchen shears.
I love to collect cookbooks. They are great reading material. Thanks
I checked out Milk Street. I think I’d most like to have that Shorts cookbook!
We love to watch cooking shows. I’d love this. Hubby, not so much. Marriage is all about compromise.
Carole-that is a beautiful tablescape! And a great stir fry recipe. I would like the Shorts cookbook. What a great idea!
My choice would be the Melt Notting Hill Houses advent calendar because chocolate!
That recipe sounds very tasty, as well as quite simple. I think that’s what I would like from the website, the Shorts recipe book.
Love that spooky table setting. When frost is on the pumpkin I really enjoy a nice hot entree & this looks like it will fit the bill.
I tried this recipe tonight and it was delicious! I added broccoli since I didn’t have as many snow peas as it called for. My husband likes heat in most of his food, so he added a bit of chili paste. This recipe is a keeper – it’s printed and in my binder of favorites 🙂 Happy November!