Balsamic-Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Shrimp and Chicken

The aforementioned balsamic-roasted red pepper sauce with chicken and shrimp,

garlic couscous, and a spinach salad with a cranberry-balsamic vinaigrette.

In January, I was given a free ticket to go visit my fantastic friend Michael in St. Paul, Minnesota. I've never been there, hadn't seen him in aaaaages, and was super excited. As always, it was a fantastic couple of days of mocking each other, watching ridiculous movies, and going on exciting thrift store hunts. Micheal's prize-find was a couch for his office, super cheap! Mine was a pair raspberry Doc Martins, also for super cheap. We were pleased.

Pleased and hungry.

Now, we ate out once and had pizza another night. But! I also made pumpkin-ginger cupcakes (which I NEED to post on here, they are my most requested cupcakes, and he had informed me from the first time I said I was visiting that I would, in fact, be making them) and Michael made a balsamic roasted red pepper sauce for some chicken.

Holy deliciousness, Batman. I demanded the recipe.

Then, promptly, I altered it. Because that's what you do. He did it too! It's the delicious way.

Seriously, nom. Make lots of variations. It was originally based on a recipe from About.com for Spicy Cornish Hens. I do quite a lot of variation, as you can see. It is spicy, it has some sweetness to it, and it goes deliciously with chicken and/or shrimp. I also like to add couscous as a grain. I prefer them to be whole wheat, but it is up to you.

My Ingredients!

- 10 oz roasted red peppers (I have also done roasted red-and-yellow peppers)
- 3 tablespoons seedless, all-natural, blackberry jam
- 2 teaspoons French mustard
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2/3 teaspoon rosemary
- 2 -3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- dash sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or less or more, depending on how spicy you would prefer)

Put all the ingredients in a food processor/blender/silver-bullet style zoom-machine. Whizz until smooth, taste, and adjust seasonings as you prefer.

On the stove, have a deep skillet and spray a non-fat cooking spray (actual oil would also work...) and cook your protein and/or veg. When partially cooked, pour sauce over it and let finish cooking - the sauce will reduce somewhat.

Enjoy with a glass of wine!

Or any beverage. Or none, but this is a chance to get your eight glasses of water a day.

No joke, this smells and tastes amazing. It has received rave reviews and I can not encourage you enough to try this. Lock it down - it's delicious.

Source: http://kitchenry.blogspot.com/

BK Supperclub Challenge: Seitan Steak in Beurre Blanc Sauce with Oven-Baked French Fries

This Bitchin' Kitchen Supperclub Challenge was probably a meat-eater's dream. Rib-eye steak cooked in tons of butter with a white wine butter sauce served with french fries cooked in duck fat. Yuck!! Tons of cruelty, tons of calories, tons of fat, tons of NO WAY!!

What a great challenge, though, for me to veganize! I love being able to show that I can make a very similar and delicious dish that is much healthier and more importantly, compassionate. The plan seemed simple: leave the cow alone and use seitan for the steak, swap out the butter for vegan butter and the fries would be oven-baked.

Since going gluten-free, I don't make seitan very often but I wanted to do this challenge and I feel bad that Tom, who does not need to be gluten-free, eats that way because of me. I know he misses seitan; I do too, so you can imagine how happy he was to see this meal!!

I used to boil the seitan and it was a hit or miss experience. Sometimes it came out perfectly and sometimes it was soft and jiggly, kind of like meaty jello. But now I've switched to Terry Hope Romero's technique of steaming the seitan and it's so much better. It's firmer and chewier and just perfect. If you don't already have Terry's book, Viva Vegan!, go get it! NOW! I'll wait....

Ok, so now that you have Terry's beautiful and amazing book of vegan Latin recipes, we can continue. I didn't play around much with her recipe. I added some flaxseed because I'm always looking for excuses to add them into my food and I, of course, added more spices.

The Beurre Blanc Sauce is Nadia G's recipe except that it's vegan and instead of tarragon (which I didn't have), I used a combination of fresh parsley and fennel fronds. The combination gives a similar flavor to tarragon. And the fries were oven-baked to crispy perfection. Parboiling them before baking them helps them get that crisp texture we all want from fries.

The result: a beautiful, elegant dish that would make a beautiful Valentine's Day dinner. In fact, I think it's going to make it into my Valentine's Day Menu coming up soon. I love these Supperclub Challenges because what it shows me again and again is that being compassionate is really not a challenge at all. Next time someone says vegans can't enjoy a thick, juicy steak, prove them wrong with my Seitan Steak in Beurre Blanc Sauce with Oven-Baked French Fries.

Seitan Steak in Beurre Blanc Sauce

For the Seitan Steak:

Ingredients
1 ½ cups cold low-sodium vegetable broth
4 cloves garlic, grated
3 Tbs. tamari
4 Tbs. tomato paste
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten flour
¼ cup chickpea flour
¼ cup nutritional yeast
2 Tbs. ground flax seed
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. paprika

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, flaxseed, and spices. In a smaller bowl, combine the broth, garlic, tamari, tomato paste and olive oil. Mix well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until you have a dough. Knead by hand for 3 minutes and the dough will become firmer as the gluten develops. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and then knead again for a minute.

Place the dough on a cutting board and divide into 4-6 equal pieces, depending how big you want each piece to be. Knead each piece and form each into the shape of a steak or cutlet.

Wrap each piece loosely in a piece of aluminum foil. Place the foil packets in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes. If you are making more than 4 packets, you might want to do this in batches so the steamer isn’t too crowded and each packet has room to expand. When the steaks cool, transfer them to the refrigerator for at least an hour but preferably, overnight in a container.

Oven-Baked French Fries

Ingredients
2 – 4 large russet potatoes, sliced into French fries
4 cups water
1 tsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. black pepper
A pinch of cayenne
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the potato slices into a large pot of cold water. There should be just enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil and add the salt. Cook the potatoes for about 5-8 minutes or until they are just shy of fork-tender. They should be cooked about 75% of the way.

Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain them in a colander and run cold water over the potatoes to stop the cooking. Dry the potatoes on paper towels or with clean dish towels. You want the potatoes to be pretty much dry.

Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Add the oil and spices and mix well. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes and bake for 10 minutes more or until they are golden and crisping up. When they look about ready, turn the oven to broil and broil the potatoes for just 5 minutes. Serve while hot.

For the Beurre Blanc Sauce:

Ingredients
1/4 cup vegan dry white wine
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup cold vegan butter, cubed
1 Tbs. fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1 Tbs. fresh fennel fronds, chopped
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper

Directions
Heat saucepan on medium high. Add white wine, vinegar, and shallots. Let boil and reduce down to 2 tablespoons of liquid. Take off heat and let cool for about 1 minute. Put saucepan back on burner without turning on the heat. Throw in a few butter cubes at a time; whisk until butter is melted. Continue until all butter is melted. Add herbs, salt, and pepper. Mix. Cover, turn heat to very low and let sit.

For the Seitan Steak in Beurre Blanc Sauce:

Ingredients
1 Tbs. canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup chickpea flour
2 Tbs. vegan butter

Directions
Heat canola oil in a pan on medium high. Put the chickpea flour on a plate and season it with salt and pepper. Lightly dust the seitan steaks in the flour. Shake off the excess. Cook for 3 minutes per side, until the seitan steaks have a crispy, browned coating. For last minute of cooking, add butter and melt. Baste the steaks with the butter. Remove steak from heat.

Serve the seitan steak on a plate. Drizzle on the beurre blanc sauce and serve with the Oven-Baked Fries. Enjoy!

The "V" Word: Say it. Eat it. Live it.

Source: http://theveeword.blogspot.com/

Twice-baked sweet potatoes I (p. 302), Au gratin II (p. 961), Steak Diane (p. 475), Sauteed steak (p. 475), and Black pepper vinaigrette (p. 573)

On the second of January, Mom and I had our fancy New Year's meal (just one day late). Mom really wanted some sort of TJOC potato dish but I have made almost all of them. We decided to make Twice-baked sweet potatoes I (p. 302).

I baked three sweet potatoes and scraped out their guts:

I mashed the sweet potatoes with butter, hot cream, and salt.

I spooned the potato mixture back in to the potato shells, covered them with Au gratin II (p. 961) (which is breadcrumbs and dots of butter) and popped it in the oven:

Done!

Honestly, the twice baked sweet potatoes tasted pretty much like just like buttered baked sweet potatoes. Not really worth the extra steps, even though they were good. They heated up really well, which was great, because mom and I ate them for two additional meals. I did like the au gratin topping--TJOC says you can use au grain III, which uses cheese (I think that would be really strange on sweet potatoes).

The main dish was Steak Diane (p. 475). I had originally chosen against steak Diane because we didn't have brandy--I was going to make an orange, leek, and rosemary sauce for the steak. It was only after I was halfway through steak Diane that I realized I was making the wrong recipe--I'm not sure how that happened, the recipes aren't even in the same chapter. We still didn't have any brandy, so mom had to run out and get a small bottle.

The first step is to make Sauteed steak (p. 475). I seasoned a couple boneless ribeye steaks with salt and pepper and cooked them in a pan with a little olive oil:

After five minutes, I flipped the steaks:

Five more minutes and it was done! An extremely easy way to cook steak. I tend to broil all meat but this is a much better way to cook steak in the summer if you don't want to grill but don't want to turn on the oven.

Back to the steak Diane....

I cooked shallots in butter until softened:

I added beef stock, brandy, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper to the shallots.

I swirled in a little butter and added some parsley.

The sauce was poured over the steaks and it was done! The steak Diane was really good. I can't say it was anything amazing but if you like shallots, this is a great match for you.

I thought Black pepper vinaigrette (p. 573) would be a good match to the meal. I chopped up a garlic clove, added salt, cracked peppercorns, red wine vinegar, and a little bit of lemon zest. I slowly whisked in olive oil:

Delicious! This was a really great salad dressing. I love black pepper. I LOVE black pepper. So this was a great match for me. Vinaigrette is so simple that I don't know why anyone ever buys it--in fact, almost all salad dressings are so easy that you might as well just make them from scratch.

It was a pretty tasty meal (the salad was in it's own bowl):

It was a delicious meal and a good start to the year!

Source: http://thejoyofthejoyofcooking.blogspot.com/

Smothered Cube Steak

Nothing could be easier and more economical than this dish. Cube steak is a great way to feed your family without breaking your wallet, in today's economy they average $1 per person at my local market. They key to this dish is to set your oven at 200 to keep the cooked steaks warm while you finish browning the rest and finally make the sauce. The real flavor for this dish comes from Worcestershire [WUUS-ter-sher] sauce, which is a popular, fermented condiment used to flavor meats.

4 cube steaks (roughly 1/2 lb each)
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 onion, sliced thin
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce.
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and place a half-sheet pan in there to keep warm. Combine flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper together and place in a dish to dredge the meat in. Pat steaks dry if needed and dredge each one in the flour mixture, coating well - set aside. Reserve 1 tbsp. of the flour mixture.

Heat two tablespoons oil in a large pan (preferably not non-stick) over medium heat until oil shimmers. Place two steaks into pan, leaving alone (do not move around) until browned - roughly 3 minutes per side. Remove steaks from pan and place into sheet pan in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining steaks, placing them in the oven as well when done.

Place butter into browned pan where steaks were cooked and melt over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, roughly 5 minutes. Take reserved tablespoon of flour and sprinkle over onions, cooking for an additional minute or two. Add broth, Worcestershire and thyme, stirring up all the browned bits. Sauce will begin to thicken in a minute or so. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Remove steaks from oven and add to pan along with juices, turning the steaks to coat with sauce. Serve.

Source: http://kon-tent.blogspot.com/

Grilled Steak and Chimichurri

The other day, I was craving a really good steak. So, I went to my local Vons and bought some meat. I also bought some ingredients to make Chimichurri to go with steak. Oh how I love chimichurri. It's good with anything!

Here's my Steak with Chimichurri and Strawberry Salad. It came out so juicy and tender...yum!

It's my first time cooking steak on a grill, and I had no idea how easy it is. Usually, I like to cook it on the stove top or oven. But I wanted to try grilling for a change. I used the community gas grill in our apt. Kiko had to help me though. I had no clue how to start it. I know, I'm such a girl O_o.

My chimichurri has parsley, cilantro, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, lime juice and chili flakes.

Source: http://f-overourdiet.blogspot.com/

Cauliflower "Steaks"

This is an amazing first course or side dish. Roasted slabs of cauliflower topped off with a tomato olive type salsa. I read about this technique in an older issue of Bon Appetit. Taking a whole head of cauliflower, peel off the outer leaves, standing it on its core end and cutting slabs from it's thickest part, a good half inch or a more keeping everything intact resembling a little tree. I decided to roast my "steaks" so I drizzled each side with olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprinkling of romano or parmesan cheese of course!

Bake in a 400F oven until tender and golden on each side gently flipping each "steak" over with a spatula. Don't worry about the stem and core being attached you're going to eat it all!

The end result gives you the perfect surface for a topping of your choice, think about it for a minute, the possibilities are endless! I might even stick a fried egg on top for some "steak" and eggs next time!

The topping I made had quartered grape tomatoes, sliced green and kalamata olives, finely diced red onion, fresh basil, parsley and olive oil, if I had a jar of artichokes I would have chopped a few in there and maybe even a couple sun dried tomatoes.

It was the perfect compliment to the creamy roasted slabs of cauliflower, and a definite WOW factor! I hope you give it a try.

Buon Appetito!

Spicy Oven Baked Steak Fries

I love me some fries...

But dang it, they are fried...you know in oil!

Now in this day and age you can't go around eatin' french fries all the time.
And I LOVE me some fries!

So I discovered oven fries a couple of years back, and tricked myself out into thinking..."they are just like french fries". And you know what? They really are....maybe not a crispy, but every bit as tasty and a lot healthier.

And I LOVE me some fries!

So here's a different version, a spicy steak fry. I mean these babies have KICK! You can certainly reduce the heat if you feel the need, but they are slammin!

These are really easy to make using nice russet potatoes. I like those best for my oven fries.

Let's make some Spicy Oven Baked Steak Fries.

So you'll want to wash and peel them. Then slice the potato in half lengthwise, and cut each half in half again so you have planks. You'll have about 4 plank or more per potato. Lay each plank down flat and slice in to medium or large sized steak fries.

Once you've done that you just need to drizzle with a nice olive oil, then sprinkle on the spices. I used, salt, cracked black pepper, cumin, and red pepper flakes.

Lay them out flat on a large baking sheet. Bake them in a 450 degree preheated oven for about 15 min. Then turn them over to brown on the other side and cook for another 10 min.

All done! Spicy Oven Baked Steak Fries....Smokin"!

Spicy Oven Baked Steak Fries

serves 4

2 large russet potatoes
olive oil for drizzling
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t cumin
1/4 to 1/2 t red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and peel potatoes. Slice potatoes in half and then in to planks. Slice each plank in to medium or large steak fry wedges.

Drizzle olive oil over potatoes. Sprinkle with all seasoning, tossing to cover. Place potatoes flat on a large baking pan. Cook for 15 min. Take out and turn over to brown the other side. Return to oven and bake another 10 min. or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Source: http://asliceofsouthern.blogspot.com/

New York Steak and Quick Roasted Potatoes

It's been a busy time at work for me, so cooking elaborate (or even not-so-elaborate) meals for myself has definitely not been a possibility. That's why I'm here to tell you about one of my favorite "quick" meals, which can be prepared in about 30 minutes. I know, I know, Jamie Oliver can prepare a 4-course meal in that amount of time, but I'm no Jamie Oliver. I do, however, take advantage of his trick with quick-roasted potatoes to make this meal!



First, I want to share my favorite way of preparing great steak in your oven. It's actually my dad's method, and if grilling's out, this is the next-best thing, especially because it's not fussy at all. First, marinate your steak. I basically rub sugar, seasoned salt, pepper, and soy sauce over both sides, then let it sit in a baggie or on a plate. When you're ready, stick the steak on a pan -- I used cast iron this time -- and place it directly under your broiler. Turn it up to about 450°F, or "high." You do not need to preheat (I know, isn't it awesome?). For a steak about an inch thick, cook for about 8 minutes. Flip the steak over, then cook for another 6 minutes for medium rare steak, or until the meat is how you'd like it. Note that cooking times will also vary depending on the thickness of your steak and if you use cast iron. If you do use cast iron, it may cook a lot faster, so you'll want to adjust times accordingly. Once the steak is out of the oven, transfer it to a plate and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle.



While the steak is marinating, make the quick-roasted potatoes a la Jamie Oliver. Quarter 6-8 red potatoes. If the potatoes are large, cut them into sixths or even eighths. Place them in a deep pan and cover with water. Turn the heat up to high and get the water boiling. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender enough for a fork to pierce them easily. Drain the water. Return the potatoes in the pan back to the stove over medium heat. Add some canola or olive oil, salt to taste, and about a tablespoon of butter. Cook for 2 minutes. Use a metal turner and stir up the potatoes without breaking them. They may stick a bit; that's good, it means they'll be turning nice and brown. Turn them every 2 minutes. Depending on your heat, this will take 20-25 minutes. If you've timed things right, they should be done about the same time as the steak.



You can also fancy things up a bit, if you like ... for instance, I had some homemade herb butter, so I placed a dab of that on top of the steak when it was having its rest. I also had some cherry tomatoes I needed to use up and some caramelized onions I'd made the other day, so I threw those in with the potatoes in the last 5 minutes or so.

And don't let those steak drippings go to waste; that would be a crime! Transfer them to a small pan (or if you used a cast-iron pan, just use that) and set over medium heat. Add a tablespoon or two of flour and cook for a minute or two, stirring. Gradually add about a cup and a half of beef stock (in my case, made in 30 seconds with Better than Bouillon beef base), stirring constantly, for a wonderfully rich brown gravy. Serve with steak and potatoes or reserve for another use!

A very quick, delicious, and satisfying meal.

Source: http://returnoftheyummy.blogspot.com/

Cook Steak - Look Mom, No Grill!

Like my new logos? My friend Kiko Sanchez at Kiko Productions designed them for me.

This week started off with great promise. I was going to spend my last week of unemployment grilling all kinds of good stuff. I had menus planned and purchased all of the ingredients I needed to create some grilling masterpieces. But I overlooked one small detail, I did not consult the weather forecast for this week. That uber-artic-storm that has gripped most of the country also attacked New Mexico. New Mexico is one state that is not prepared to deal with cold weather, me included. I thought I was a no excuse grill guy, but I have to admit I’m not. It has to be at least 45F and no wind for me to grill. Needless to say the weather put the kibosh on my outdoor grilling plans.

So, I've got two nice NY Strip steaks sitting in my fridge. How am going to cook a great steak without going outside and freezing my tokhes off? Then I remembered this great trick that Alton Brown used on one of his steak episodes. I had tried it several time's before and thought now was a great time to try it again. For all of you fair-weather grillers and snowbound people, I’m going to show you how to cook a great steak that will hold you over till better grilling weather arrives.

The No Grill Steak
You are going to need:
A cast iron skillet
2 Steaks, NY Strips Choice Grade
Peanut Oil
Seasonings, AlbuKirky BBQ Rub.
Your Oven

Start by placing the cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 450F. Leave the skillet in the oven for at least 20-30 minutes. You need a really hot skillet to put a good sear on the steaks.

To season the steaks start with coating them with the peanut oil. If you do not have peanut oil you can use any high smoke point oil like corn oil or canola oil. Season the steaks liberally and rub the seasoning into the meat to form a good crust. DO NOT USE OLIVE OIL! It will burn, smoke up your kitchen and ruin your steaks.


Now turn on the largest burner on the stove top to high or medium high setting and let it come up to temperature. USE A POTHOLDER and take the skillet out of the oven and place it on the hot burner. Pour about a tablespoon of oil in the pan and swirl the pan around to coat the bottom evenly. Watch for the oil to start to smoke. Be very careful with the skillet, it’s hotter than a $2 pistol. I was lucky, I only burned myself once.

When you see the first little wafts of smoke coming from the skillet place the steaks in the pan. Sear the steaks on each side for about two minutes. You can see in this picture the crust that forms on the steak. After the steak has seared on both sides, place the pan back in the oven and cook for 3-4 minutes. After 3-4 minutes remove the pan from the oven, flip the steaks and return to the oven for another 3-4 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and place the steaks on a cutting board or plate to rest for at least 5 minutes to rest before serving.

This is the first time I’ve used my seasoning mix with the cast iron skillet trick. I was really impressed with the outcome. There is just enough sugar in the blend to create a nice caramelizing in the crust. The cast iron also brought out some of the other spices adding a really nice toasty spice flavor to the steak. It was pure beefy goodness!

So there you go fellow fair-weather and snowbound grillers. You can have great steak without leaving the comfort of your cozy little kitchen. All you need is some good steaks, seasonings, your oven and a cast iron skillet. Just don't burn the crap out yourself on the skillet.

Source: http://albukirky.blogspot.com/

I cooked: Steaks on the Barbeque

After tasting the fantastic steaks from Prime, Hubby was convinced that we should start cooking our steaks on the barbeque. Since this was going to be our first time cooking steaks over a charcoal grill, we searched on the internet for timings for medium rare and medium steaks. For a 1 inch steak, 2-3 minutes on each side was recommended for medium rare and 4-5 minutes for medium.

Grilling a steak is not as easy as it sounds, and definitely takes practice to perfect. I think it depends very much on your grill, so it may take a few trials before you achieve the desired doneness. Following the recommended times, 2 minutes each side on the grill actually gave us a medium steak (and not medium rare). So, we shortened the cooking time to 1 1/2 minutes each side during the next round and produced medium rare steaks.

I will probably invest in an instant-read food thermometer soon to help me in my quest of cooking the perfect steak. Using a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the steak would probably be the best way to tell the doneness of the steak. (Core temperature of 55°C for medium rare and 60°C for medium)

Medium steak - pink hot centre

Medium rare steak - red warm centre

How to Grill a steak on the BBQ (The Basics)

1. Choose a steak with thin streaks of fat running through as this soft internal fat will partially melt during cooking, avoiding the steak from drying out.

2. Allow the steak to reach room temperature before grilling it. The meat can become tough if it goes straight from the fridge to the barbeque. Season the steaks with some olive oil, and black pepper just before cooking.

3. Fire up the barbeque and wait until the charcoal turns an ashy white. As a general guide, you should be able to hear a sizzle as the steak hits the hot surface. The heat seals the surface, trapping the juices inside.

Flip over once only

4. Cook the steak on the barbeque to your preferred doneness, using long-handled tongs to turn the steak.

5. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to distribute evenly throughout the steak, keeping it juicy and tender. Season with salt and serve with your choice of side dishes.

Steaks cooked on a charcoal grill definitely beats one cooked in the oven grill.


Grilled corn


Source: http://goodyfoodies.blogspot.com/

Fleisher's Follow-up, or Down to the Bone

fig. a: on the cutting board

Without question, the finest steak either of us has ever tasted. We only got one because we knew we wanted to eat it relatively soon, and because Fleisher's dry-aged rib steaks were the biggest, meatiest rib steaks we'd ever had the pleasure of purchasing. We knew one of those honking steaks would be more than enough for the two of us, and we were right. We ate and ate well, and we still had enough for leftovers (yes!) the next day.

And, the thing is, buying, cooking, and eating grass-fed beef from a place like Fleisher's is not only ethically and environmentally sound, it's also a game-changer. Once you get that taste, why would you want to eat anything else? I'm happy to hold out until the next time we get a chance to visit Fleisher's. Why would I want to settle for less? Hell, I can still taste that steak right now as I write.

fig. b: in the pan*

We cooked our rib steak exactly the same way we always cook our rib steaks: first in a searing-hot cast-iron pan, then in the oven, followed by a good 5 minutes of rest. This is an excellent way to prepare perfect steaks at home and it happens to be exactly the way Fleisher's recommends preparing their beef. Once again:

1. Oven preheat 300º [10 minutes]
2. Heat pan on stovetop to smoking point
3. Pre-salt each side [5-10 minutes ahead of time]
4. Put into pan / sear for 2 minutes each side
5. Put steak into oven w/ pan
6. Steak > 4-8 minutes in oven [120º]
7. Take out of oven--let sit [rest] for 5 minutes

That steak was so tender, so tasty, so good, there wasn't a scrap left.

aj

* Just to give you some perspective: that's an oversized 13 1/4" Lodge cast-iron pan.

Source: http://endlessbanquet.blogspot.com/

Warm Skirt Steak Salad

ingredients:

1 pound skirt steak or flank steak
12-15 cherry tomatoes
12-15 sweet yellow tomatoes
1 bunch asparagus, cut in half
2 shallot, finely chopped & divided
3-4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese

a Bag of you favorite salad mix

directions:

Preheat the oven to broil.

Place the steak on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the tomatoes, asparagus, shallot and garlic. Cover everything with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place the steak and veggies on the top rack of your oven.

After about 7 minutes, flip the steak over and continue to cook for another 5-7, depending on how you like your steak cooked.

Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes or so. You want it to cool slightly more than a normal "resting" time, so the lettuce doesn't completely wilt.

While that is resting, fill a serving bowl with the bag of salad. Dress with your favorite oil and vinegar or other salad dressing. I used a balsamic vinegar and the other shallot, along with some salt and pepper.

Slice the steak against the grain, and place on top of the salad. Add tomatoes and other veggies. Top with the blue cheese/gorgonzola.

ENJOY!!

adapted from a recipe I saw on pinterest, cheeky kitchen

Source: http://tastebudsnblossoms.blogspot.com/

Cooking: Steak Dinner

Many people don't realize how easy it is to make a decent steak dinner at home. Now, don't expect superb NYC steakhouse quality here. Why? I don't have convenient access to their prime dry aged meats. And my stove nor oven goes up high enough for that quality. However, making steak at home is much cheaper and can rival some of the more mainstream places that you or I may frequent. So on the menu this night: steak with mushroom marsala wine sauce and a side of tator tots.

I actually started off with heating the toaster oven for the tator tots. I won't show you the steps to do that because they were frozen tots and I followed the instructions on the bag. Easy said and done. And now onto the more difficult portion, the steak. Please keep in mind that this steak recipe works best for fattier cuts of beef like rib eye and strip. If you like filet mignon, do not use this recipe. It will come out tough and dry. Okay, enough of the warnings, now onto directions.

Take the meat out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. It takes about an hour. While the meat comes up to temperature, turn on your oven to 450oF. Yeah, it's high but it's what you need. Then liberally salt and pepper the steaks on every exposed surface. Also add some olive oil for grease.

Here's a nice tip: using a larger grained salt here works best. So think sea salt instead of table salt. This also goes for freshly ground black pepper.

Heat up a pan until screaming hot. I mean so hot that when you put your hand over (not on) the pan, it's too hot to keep it there. Add your oil. Use an oil with a higher smoking temperature like canola or peanut. Please your steaks carefully in. If you're afraid of burning yourself, use a pair of tongs. Once the meat touches the pan, you should hear it sizzle and see some smoke/steam. This is good. It's forming that lovely crust already. To keep that crust, do NOT touch the steaks. I mean do not move them at all. Do not take a peek to see if it's browned enough. Do not poke at it with the tongs. Just leave the damn things along so they can work their magic!

Helpful tip: use a regular (not non-stick) or cast iron pan with low sides. I find that non-stick pans cannot produce the kind of crust that you want. And pans with higher sides tend to steam the food as opposed to letting the water/moisture evaporate.

After a few minutes (about 5 or 6 depending on how thick your meat is and how you like it cooked), flip your meat. Again, do not touch the damn thing. Let the crust form on the other side. Now take a look at that beautiful caramelized color there. Looks Burned? No fool! It's not black. It's brown. Brown, flavorful, and delicious! Now carefully take the whole pan and put it in your pre-heated oven. A few minutes later (3-4 minutes or so), take it out.

Take the steak off of the pan, and let it rest on a cutting board or plate. This allows the meat juices to run back inside. This keeps the steak juicy and flavorful. Patience is a virtue when it comes to food.

While the steaks rest, make the sauce. Skim off any excess oil from the pan. Be sure to keep all the juices and browned bits on the bottom.

Chop up some mushrooms. I used baby bella here. I find that they have a deeper flavor than regular white button mushrooms.

Into the got pan they go! Slowly cook them down until softened.

And then add your wine. I'm using marsala wine here which is sweeter, but a red wine would also work.

Pour some wine in until the mushrooms are slightly covered. Be sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then let the sauce simmer until reduced and thickened. Keep in mind that the sauce will be thicker once cooled.

And here's my finished sauce. Look at those loved mushrooms that has absorbed all that beef and marsala wine flavor. And that sheen! Yes kids, that sheen is from lovely steak fat.

Plate your steak and tator tots which should be nicely golden and crispy now. Spoon the mushroom mixture over the steak liberally. Viola! Steak dinner!

So this is the inside of my steak. I would think that's medium which is a little more than what I would have liked. I'm more of a medium-rare type of steak lover. Not bad though. Next time, a little less cooking time.

The steak was juicy and so good. The mushrooms and marsala wine just made it so much better. The thick crust that formed on the steak held up to the sauce really well. So happy with this meal. It's nice to have a proper dinner once in awhile. And it wasn't difficult nor expensive. Good eats, indeed!

source: http://tasty-eating.blogspot.com/