So Scalloped Potatoes Take an Hour?

So the day to grill the flank steak finally came! It marinated for two days and ready. I got home late from work (since I waited out the traffic). Scott invited a neighbor over, so I had 45 minutes to cook the side dishes. I was making scalloped potatoes as well as the parsnips, peas and prosciutto. Again, I looked down to discover making that recipe would take too long. We settled for spicy Parmesan potatoes that only involved slicing potatoes into 8th, tossing them with oil and red pepper flakes before sticking them in the oven. (check!) Then I moved on to chopping parsnips into 1/4 inch pieces. This is difficult because a parsnip is shaped like a large, pointy carrot and the pieces don't want to look like eat other. I chopped as quickly as possible while Scott heated up the grill.

For once, I cooked prosciutto without smoking up the house. Good for me! I just usually have the heat to low - no action or too high - too much action. Smoking up the house is a huge pain as the alarms go off and the cats run for cover. We have to stand under the alarms swinging towels and leaving the front door open (cats try to escape). So that was a bonus.

Our neighbor arrived as the steak cooled for cutting. The potatoes finished in the oven and I threw on a healthy portion of grated Parmesan. The steak was rather rare and bled all over the counter and floors from the cutting board. I couldn't help wonder what our neighbor thought as he stood and watched Scott cutting and me wiping blood from the floor. We are sanitary cooks, I promise! Last, I mixed the prosciutto with the parsnips and peas and we headed for the table.

I wasn't expecting much from the flank steak as it looks very stringy and not at all like your filet mignon. It turned out to be great. It was medium rare to medium and had a great beefy flavor with hints of salt and cracked pepper. I was surprised it didn't taste more like the soy sauce in the recipe, but either way, it was excellent. The potatoes were nice and spicy and I actually really enjoyed the parsnip recipe. It had nice color and I counted it as a healthy vegetable for the day. Best of all, the side dishes were easy and rounded out the steak.

Perhaps you are noticing that I didn't finish the recipe. I totally forgot the horseradish sauce! My mind is leaving me. I might still make some for the left overs, but the whole point of picking that recipe was to use horseradish I bought for the potatoes last week. Oh well, we had great eats and a great time hanging out. :)

Arg! Read Recipe First

Yes, Yes, it says at the beginning of the book that it is a good idea to read an entire recipe before beginning to ensure you have all the ingredients and etc.... Well, I guess I forgot because I planned to make Flank Steak with Horseradish sauce on Sunday night with a few sides. Sunday at 6pm I pulled out Bon Appetit - instruction one is "Whisk first 6 ingredients..... Add steak... cover and refrigerate overnight."

Lucky for me, my wonderful husband had a meal planned so we had pork chops that evening. I tried to recover some of my free time and baked Banana-Walnut bread (pg493) because Scott's brother and sister with significant others will be in town this weekend. I love no rise breads. This was easy to whip up and became nice and toasty brown in the oven. My new favorite ingredient is powdered buttermilk. I hate buying a half gallon of buttermilk when all I need is half a cup, so I found it in powered form at the store. You simple add the power and the same amount of water the recipe calls for - so far, I haven't noticed a taste difference and the convenience is worth it. The larger bread pan took a long time to cook and I eventually took out the bread while still a little gooey in the center just so I didn't over bake it. I'm hoping it firmed up while cooling - we'll see.

Next I made the ravioli (pg 191) with goat cheese and arugula. I used wonton wrappers I'd had in the freezer forever and thawed in the fridge. I quickly minced the shallots and they sauteed much quicker than I expected (I did halve the recipe). You add arugula to wilt, then took this off the cooktop to mix with parmesan and goat cheese (my two favorites). The wrappers made making the ravioli easy and I'm finishing up the recipe today. That means I need to make a tomato-pancetta butter before lunch... better reread over the recipe. :)

As a side note, my little herb garden is doing very well this spring. Just about a week ago I planted basil, parsley and cilantro. My hardier plants from last year returned so I have rosemary, marjoram, three types of thyme, oregano, sage, tarragon, chives, and lavendar. :)

Margaritas - Always Nice!

I just got home from attending and testifying in a court case for a friend. She is sueing over some very disasterous bridesmaid dresses. Just for the record, she kicked court booty.

Anyway, when I got together with the now married lady and girlfriends this past Saturday and made the homemade margaritas. It took quite a few lemons and limes because the ones I got at the store were not super ripe. I ended up only having enough juice to make half the recipe, so bought some fake mix to continue the party. This was one of the few times in my life that I really wanted one of those antique juicers. The simple syrup was easy to make and the margaritas tasted nice and fresh with the real fruit juice. I do need some more practice with the blender, but all and all, a lot of fun.

:)

Boiled Cornmeal?

Well, I spent part of the morning making black bean and espresso chili with creamy polenta with leeks. The chili was simple because all the chopping involved was for the onions, everything else was assembled. It did take over an hour with cooking time, but luckily contained no butter. :) PS. I still haven't found instant espresso, instant coffee had to do.

Polenta is another story. I quickly chopped up the leeks to include with the corn meal. I never knew polenta was simply corn meal - I thought it was made from a special grain. The recipe was tricky here - it said to stir until it thickened, but to add water if it got too thick. Well, I guessed and it came out ok (it is always a guess with my cooktop). I am used to cornbread cooked in a cast iron skillet, so I'm not sure I will ever love polenta. Perhaps if I stir in honey and butter instead of leeks? :)

Mmm... Butt-ah

Yesterday wwas one of the best meals I've cooked in a long time. I made:
Rib-eye steaks with bearnaise butter
Horseradish mashed potatoes (and butter) with carmelized onions
and Roasted butternut squash with brown butter and nutmet

It started off as a great day because I didn't have to go into work. I had time to do the million things I always have to do when not busy (work on my home company, answer emails, workout, clean...) but Scott volunteered to go to the grocery store with me and didn't complain when I suggested Publix - expensive but one can usually buy everything needed in one, yes, one trip.

We did find everything we needed and a few yummy extras.

Dinner didn't take the three hours I expected. I used my $9.95 madonline from Target (instead of a $75 from William Sonoma) on the 2.5 pounds of onions that needed to be "thinly sliced". The madonline did great and I had a huge mound of fluffly transparent onions ready to saute. The butternut squash is not in season because instead of one 2-lb one, I had three tiny ones to cut up. Still, it didn't take long and soon things were boiling, sauteing, and roasting in my oven/stove top combo.

The best part was cooking the steaks. The smell of meat with pepper and salt is heaven and luckily the recipe callled for olive oil at this point. I got to try the touch test for doneness instead of having to cut them open.

As I said, dinner was great, exept for the bernaise butter on the steaks. The description says it "mingles with the meat's pan juices to create extravagant flavor" - we thought it made our steaks taste like salty butter and got in the way of the great meat. So we shoved it off to the side. The butternut squash had carmelized nicely and I could have eaten it for desssert it was so sweet. The potatoes were wonderful and I even liked the onions on top - I always question balsamic vinegar.

All in all very satisfying.

Sweet and Blue

Whew! It has been awhile since I've been able to get in the kitchen, but finals week is over for now and I actually got to come home after work today.

After a long walk on a beautiful day I made buttermilk pancakes with blueberry compote. I'd never had compote before, but I had read about it in books by Jane Austin and the like. I consider myself a pancake aficionado, and these were great!

You mix a little flour with baking soda / powder and stir in sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla, and eggs. I halved the recipe and there was a creamy, light batter enough for three. My only problem was my skillet. It is small and non-stick, but my pancakes would get too dark before they were firm enough to flip. This made for pancakes that would not make the cover of Bon Appetitt. The bottom would be finished, but the top would still be so gooey that flipping them meant slinging them into weird patterns - sadly I had to throw some away.

The compote was very easy and made a much lighter topping than maple syrup. I used frozen blueberries and they took a while to get to simmer - I just kept cranking up the heat (ah for the day of a gas stove). The compote was nice and sweet without being too sweet (and I totally counted it as a fruit for the day).

I whipped up a few eggs for Scott since pancakes aren't too filling. He's already requested I make popcorn later. :) I love cooking!!