Steaks on the Barbie

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I think I'm in a rut.  Seems like I'm grilling more steaks this year than any year since we moved here.  (Gee...  I wonder if it has anything to do with the new charcoal grill?!?)

In prior years, I did more flank steaks, london broils, chicken, pork... and then topped salads with it.  This year, I'm going for the pound of beef right on the plate.  I'd feel guilty if the damned stuff didn't taste so good.  There is just nothing better than a big ol' bone-in New York steak!  (Except a big ol' porterhouse, that is...)

I'm in cowboy heaven.

Victor fried up a bunch of onions to top his steak, tonight.  I decided to go plain.  As we were eating, we both remembered the hot long peppers he cooked up yesterday.  Too late.  We'l have to do something with them in the next day or two.  They would have been excellent, though...

I quartered some small red potatoes and coated them with a bit of olive oil, garlic, Hungarian paprika, and S&P, then roasted them in the oven at 425° for about 20 minutes.

I steamed the brussel's sprouts and then drizzled them with oil, salt & pepper and finished them on the grill.

And now I have to figure out what I'm going to do for dessert, tonight.

One can eat a disaster dessert the night it was created, but having it a second night would just be gauche.

I know it's going to involve puff pastry, but that's as far as I've gotten.

Stay tuned.....

Okay...  it's a day later and we ate all the dessert.

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It was puff pastry - with really juicy, ripe, bosc pears and black raspberry jam.

I did good. :)


What's Wrong With This Picture?

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If you guessed "That brownie isn't cooked!" you win the kewpie doll!

I was in the mood for a peanut butter chocolate brownie.  I went to Epicurious and found several.  This one seemed easy enough, so I copied it down and in just a few minutes, they were happily baking away.

What I failed to do was pay attention to the reader comments that said 33 minutes wasn't enough time to bake them.  My favorite type of brownie is a bit chewy in the center, and I thought the folks commenting were just whining because they like cake-like brownies, better.

I was wrong.

The brownies were RAW in the center.  I did the requisite toothpick check, but moist crumbs mixed with melted chocolate pieces gave me a false reading.

After cutting into them and seeing how undercooked they were, I put the pan back into the over for another 30 minutes - knowing that I really wasn't going to cook them any more, but I felt good doing it.

So out from the oven they came - still under-baked - but we ate them, anyway.  They actually tasted pretty good - and I'm sure they would have been wonderful had they cooked correctly to begin with.

Besides... Even a bad dessert is better than no dessert at all.

If you do decide to make these, make one of these changes.  Bake at least 55 minutes in an 8x8 pan, or try baking for the 33 minutes in a 9x13 pan.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chunk Brownies   Bon Appétit | January 1996

ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup nutty old-fashioned-style or freshly ground peanut butter
  • 1 1/4 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour 8-inch square baking pan. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. If oil has separated from peanut butter, stir to blend. Add peanut butter to butter; beat until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in brown sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Add to peanut butter mixture; beat until blended. Stir in chocolate.

Transfer batter to pan. Using spatula, smooth top. Bake until toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 33 minutes. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover; store at room temperature.)

Cut brownies into squares.


Buckwheat Groats

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It's been a while since I cooked kasha.  It's virtually always in the cabinet, but gets overlooked.  It's the box that I move out of the way to get to whatever is behind it...  Tonight I brought it out!

The most interesting thing about kasha - other than the fact that it's been around for a thousand years - is that it is coated in egg and then cooked in a dry pan for three or four minutes until it has dried and the grains have separated.  Then, the liquid is added and it is cooked as is rice.

It can be made into any number of pilafs or other dishes.  Tonight I made it very basic - broth and a pat of butter, S&P.

Chicken cooked with portobello mushrooms and marsala.  Floured chicken, browned in a bit of olive oil, add mushrooms, a good splash of marsala, a small splash of chicken broth, herbs d'Provence, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cover pan, lower heat, cook another 10 minutes, or so...

And cubed zucchini and yellow squash.  Quick, easy, 20 minute dinner.

Problem is...  there's no dessert.

I'm going to have to work on that.


Bulgogi - Pennsylvania-style

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I remember the first time Victor and I walked into a little Korean Hot Pot restaurant a half a block from where we lived in SF.  The menu was just overwhelming.  The waitress, seeing the confusion on our faces, started asking questions, and then just said "Will you trust me?  I will bring you dinner."  And she did.  We had a feast, had no idea what most of it was - but it sure did taste wonderful.  Plate after plate of food, scores of little tiny condiment bowls with tiny portions of delicious things.  I was hooked.

We were regulars from that day forth.

Fast-forward about 15 years, and I have finally found a recipe that almost tastes like the marinade they used to use for their beef.  Almost.  At this point I'll take a close approximation!  Living out here in burbia, I really miss my honest, authentic, frequented-by-ethnics-ethnic-restaurants.  Whiskey Chicken from Panda Express just doesn't cut it...

This, however, does.  I made it with boneless short ribs.  White rice and broccoli on the grill.  Perfect.

Bulgogi

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons rice wine (sake or sherry)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 scallions minced
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients well.

Thinly-slice beef and marinate.  Cook over hot gril, being careful that thin strips don't fall into the fire!  It's gonna cook fast!

Serve with:

  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 teaspoons scallion, minced
  • 1 teaspoon chili paste (more or less as desired)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve atop beef.

My stomach is smiling.


Asiago, Hot Pepper and Roasted Garlic, and Caramelized Vidalia Onion Burger

The name says it all.

The burger was seasoned with salt and pepper.  Victor roasted garlic and then added it to fried hot long peppers.  The caramelized vidalia onions are from a while back.  And slices of asiago cheese...  Grilled over charcoal.  A really great spin on a really basic burger - and I could have eaten three of them.  I would have probably died, but would have been with a smile on my face.

And an FYI for all you cooks out there...  If you're going to fry up a bunch of long hot peppers?!?  Make sure the windows are open.  Wide open.


Monday Produce Shopping

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I love my Monday mornings!

Coffee, a leisurely breakfast, a quick inventory of what's in the 'fridge, and then my ride down to Gentile's. (I really need to speak with them about redoing their website...)

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Victor came down with me this morning, and between the two of us, we managed to actually get just what we needed - without going too far overboard!  We do have to be careful, because there's no such thing as it went bad so we threw it out. Ya buy it, ya eat it.  It has the potential for the  making of some strange stirfry's...

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Nectarines, apricots, plums, pears, strawberries, grapes (alas, they didn't have those fantastic black grapes from last week!) melons, squash, mushrooms, avocados, brussel's sprouts...

Victor's in the kitchen frying peppers right now that are going on hamburgers for lunch.

Life is good...


It Started Yesterday

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Yesterday was Leslie and Joel's wedding.

The ceremony was outdoors at French Creek State Park - a beautiful wooded area alongside a lake.

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The reception immediately followed at their home - a mere two miles or so from the wedding site.  Tents and tables and food galore.  A Middle Eastern feast started the festivities, with a 30 pound fresh Alaskan salmon slow-grilled over hardwood briquettes.  Champagne flowed like the stream behind their home.  It was non-stop food-fun.  And it was non-stop fun-fun seeing folks I just don't get to see that often.

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Not even raindrops could dampen anyone's spirits.

One of the highlights for me, was seeing my dear friend Ruth, again!  Ruth - among other things -  is the groom's sister, a best friend to the bride, and a woman I shared a wonderful job with for almost 7 years - before she moved to Vermont last year.  We keep in contact, email, phone, text - all the modern stuff - but it just isn't the same.

So it was a double treat when she and her younger son Dylan came over today and we convinced them to stay for dinner. It was more non-stop talking and laughing and just catching up.

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It was also a play date for the dogs - Cybil and Yuengling.

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Victor made homemade focaccia - fresh herbs, sliced tomatoes, caramelized onions, and asiago cheese - and rigatoni with homemade marinara sauce pulled out of the freezer.  Instant dinner for four.  The dogs ate their kibble.  (They got their share of people-treats, too.)

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I will have to get him to write down the recipe.  It was spectacular!

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There is almost always sauce in the freezer and pasta in the cabinet - and flour and yeast. In literally no time at all, dinner was on the table.

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Dinner totally rocked - and proof that at any given moment we can put dinner on the table.

What a good time.


Bottled Sauces

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Yes, I use premade bottled sauces now and again.  Truth be told, the cabinet is full of fun and interesting sauces and condiments.  I like finding new and different products and a bottled sauce is a great start when making a quick dinner.

Tonight's sauce was from Singapore.  I think I picked this sauce up at Cost Plus World Market last time we were home.  It's made by WorldFoods and is called Singapore 'Xin Zhou' Noodle Sauce.  The bottle states: Fragrant spices makes up this aromatic sauce, which gives a burst of flavour to your noodle dish. Simply stir-fry with rice noodles, onions, meat and vegetables.

Some of the most flavorful food I think I have ever eated was in Singapore back when I was in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club circa 1973.  Yes, 1973.  (There are still a few brain cells functioning from that far back.)

Probably most of my meals were eaten from street vendors in the since-redeveloped Old City.  Firey hot curries, noodle dishes that just exploded with flavor...  I even remember having an omelette cooked in a wood-fired wok by an old, old guy who spoke no English at all, but had the most mischievious gold-toothed smile.  Damn, it was good!

And the Tiger beer, nasi goreng, and exotic nightlife of Bugis Street.  Any story you may ever hear from a sailor about Bugis Street in the '60s or '70s is true.  It's the kind of stuff that just cannot be made up.

So tonight's Singapore Noodle Sauce was about as mild as mild can be.  I added sriracha sauce to spice it up  (Singaporean food is a blend of cultures to begin with...) and served everything with brown rice instead of noodles.  Culinarily speaking, it wasn't even close to those magical meals I ate in my youth, but it brought back some great memories!


Fresh Fruit Salad and a BLT

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Tonight's dinner was supposed to be a nice salad with grilled chicken and fresh fruit.  I had the chicken ready to go, the fruit on the island cutting board, and the greens in the salad spinner, when I decided some crumbled bacon would be really good on top.  I had a package of bacon in the freezer (of course!) and as I pulled it out, Victor came walking into the kitchen.

He took one look at it and said "I would love a BLT but we don't have any sliced bread."  (I have been remiss in my shopping!)

But... he then noted that we had frozen hamburger buns.  Ya want a BLT?  Ya got a BLT.  It sounded perfect to me - I'm the one who pulled the bacon out in the first place!

So the salad became BLT's (with avocado) on toasted buns and the sliced fruit became a big ol' fruit salad.

I love the summer fruits. Apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines - the stone fruits, especially - and have been known to eat a grape or two - especially big black grapes!  Yum!  I'm sure it all goes back to my grandparent's house in Bakersfield where they had a grape arbor, strawberries, figs... their neighbor, Mrs McNamee had peach trees, Mr Brown, their other next door neighbor had watermelons, corn, string beans... (and there's a reason they're called string beans!  I sat out on that back porch many a day stringing beans with Grandma!)  They also raised chickens in a big coop in the back.  I also plucked a lot of feathers when I was a tyke!

So much of what we ate down there was home-grown, picked right off the tree or vine.  It really is a shame that most kids today (hell - most adults, either!)  just have no idea what real food is supposed to taste like - or where it even comes from...

But, I digress...

That sandwich was just what I wanted.  I just didn't know it was just what I wanted until Victor came in and suggested it!

So... tomorrow night will be chicken-something.  Maybe I'll try the salad, again, but it will have to be without bacon.

We ate it all!


Chicken and Mushrooms

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What a day. Stormy weather, alternating cold and muggy and hot and muggy.  Thunderstorms, pouring rain, tornado watches...  Definitely a day to cook inside.

I had a couple of chicken breasts and a whole bunch of assorted mushrooms from my Gentile's trek, yesterday.  Oyster, shitake, portobello, chanterelle...Chicken and Mushrooms was a no-brainer.  But what to do with them?!?

There was also wine, shallots, butter and broth in the house, so a recipe was formulated...

Chicken and Mushrooms

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • flour to coat
  • 6 oz assorted mushrooms, sliced, if necessary
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 tsp herbs d'Provence
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Dredge chicken breasts in flour, shaking to remove excess. Heat olive oil and a pat of butter in a skillet. Add chicken and brown on both sides.  Remove from pan.

If  necessary, add a bit more butter or oil to pan.  Add shallots and mushrooms and cook until browned and fragrant.

Add wine, then add broth.  Mix well, scraping up any bits in the pan.

Add chicken breasts to pan, cover, and lower heat.  Simmer until breasts are done - about 10 minutes - depends on the size of your breasts.  (Uh... er... you know what I mean...)

When sauteing the proverbial boneless, skinless chicken breast, I have really taken to dredging them in flour.  It really adds flavor (something boneless/skinless chicken really needs) and I think it helps retain moisture in the breast and holds sauces or gravies better.  I like.  And I digress.....

Dinner was served with broccoli rabe that I steamed then sauteed with a bit of butter, salt and pepper.  Very basic - and really, the best flavor, as far as I'm concerned.  Simplicity is my friend.

Israeli couscous medley on the side.

Oh... and here's what a slice of that pie looked like last night.

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More tonight!


Pre-Apple Pie Dinner

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Back when I was on staff at UCSF, I used to marvel at the number of people who would get huge salads for lunch - no dressing - and then a piece of cheesecake for dessert.  It makes perfect sense - lo-cal/high vitamin vegetables balanced that high-fat slice of velvety gastronomical delight.

I was thinking along those lines tonight when I was making dinner salads tonight.  Lots of greens, grilled vegetables, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (I was shopping at Gentile's today!)  When it came to the dressing, I was actually looking at something with lemon or lime juice (limes were 9/$1.00!!) or something fairly light.  Instead, I made a 1000 Island.  So much for the balancing act.

But it really was just what the doctor ordered.  It was rich, creamy, and flavorful.  A fresh loaf of Italian bread topped with Irish butter, and dinner was complete.

And there's that Apple Pie for dessert later on.


Apple Pie

When we were at Steve and Marie's yesterday, there was a lot of talk about food - naturally.  Everyone's a cook or a baker or a consumer, and we all have our likes, dislikes, and opinions about things.

Marie's mom, JoAnn, was being overly critical about some confections she had made (lord knows I never am!) and Victor mentioned her Apple Pie.  JoAnn makes a really good apple pie. She's brought several over to our house for various gatherings and they are something I always look forward to.

We had LOTS of desserts, yesterday - we had lots of FOOD yesterday - but no apple pie.

I was still thinking about apple pie when I went to the produce store this morning, That's how six granny smith apples ended up in the cart.  I knew a pie was going to happen, but I wasn't looking for a purely traditional pie.  I started thinking about a sour cream apple pie I had many moons ago and went digging for the recipe.

The Silver Palate Cookbook came out in the early '80's and it was based upon recipes used at the Silver Palate in NYC that had opened circa 1977.  It's a bit Moosewood meets Julia Child and while the book seems a bit dated today, let's face it, 35 years ago, balsamic vinegar was almost unheard of and so was extra virgin olive oil.  On a really positive note, virtually every chicken recipe starts with a WHOLE chicken!  What a concept!  Boneless, skinless (tasteless) breasts hadn't been invented, yet.

It's a really easy recipe to make and the pie crust really is worth making!  It's juuuuust different enough to get that "WOW!  reaction!

Silver Palate Sour Cream Apple Pie

Crust:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 5 tablespoons sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • 6 tablespoons cold shortening
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons apple juice

Filling:

  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 5 or 6 tart apples, peeled and sliced

Topping:

  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

preparation

1. Prepare crust: Sift flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon into a bowl. Cut in the butter and shortening with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Moisten with just enough apple juice, tossing ingredients lightly with a fork. Form dough into a ball. Wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

2. Cut off 1/3 of the dough and return it to the refrigerator. Roll out the other 2/3 between 2 sheets of wax paper. Line a greased 9-inch pie pan with the dough. Trim overhang and crimp decoratively. Preheat oven to 350°F.

3. Whisk all filling ingredients, except apples, in a bowl. Add apples, then spoon into the pastry-lined pie pan. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over filling.

4. Roll out the remaining dough between wax paper to form a circle 10 inches in diameter. Cut into strips 1/2-inch wide and arrange lattice-fashion over apples; trim ends of strips and crimp edges decoratively.

5. Bake pie in the center of the oven until the juices are bubbling and the apples are tender, about 55-60 minutes. (Cover loosely with foil if the crust browns too quickly.) Serve warm or cooled.