Sunday Steak Night

Shells and I have been trying to reduce our red meat intake, but I still tend to enjoy Sunday night "steak night."  With that said, I agree that an eight ounce filet is much better for me than a 16oz dry aged ribeye.  Don't get me wrong, I would prefer the ribeye any day ... I'm just talking purely from a health perspective.

In an order to healthify (is that a word?) our steak intake, I've gone to 4-5 oz filet for Shells and a 7-8 oz filet for me.  The other trick to making the steak night healthy is to look for better sides.

For this dinner I went with home-made potato chips, baked of course and a veggie mix.

For the chips I used 1 medium baking potato, sliced thinly & evenly (I used a knife, you can use a mandolin if you struggle to slice evenly).

Chips go onto a non-stick baking tray (use a little baking spray if needed) at 425F.  Cook for about 15-20 minutes (until browned evenly), turning every 5 minutes to ensure they don't burn or stick.

Tasty, and healthy, side.

For this second dinner I went with one of my traditional standbys, garlic white beans.

These beans are simple to make: 1 14.5oz can Cannellini beans (with liquid), 1/2 can of water, 4 garlic cloves (smashed and chopped).  Put all ingredients in a pot and cook over medium-low heat (stirring frequently) until the water has evaporated and a gravy has formed.

The beans stick to your sides and provide a filling and healthy side that paired well in this dinner with the steak and steamed veggies.  Try them both and enjoy!

My take on Veggie Hash

The traditional hash, at least as I think about it, is chopped up potatoes with some corned beef and onions served for breakfast with runny eggs over the top.  For this dinner I decided to do something a little different and went with a potato+veggie combination.

For this dish, feeding two, you'll want the following:

2 small-medium white potatoes

1 small red bell pepper

1 small yellow bell pepper

1 large green tomato

1 avocado

I started with small white potatoes, cut into french fry style strips and cooked them in a sauté pan with a tablespoon of light olive oil.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the peppers with a similar size.  Once the potatoes have started to brown toss in the sliced peppers and allow the mixture to continue to cook for about five minutes.  Continue to agitate so that things don't stick.

After the five minutes of peppers cooking, add the chopped green tomato and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

If there is still water in the pan after 10 minutes, cook until water has evaporated and then remove from heat and plate.  I served it with a white fish, avocado and sautéed squash, but you can serve it with whatever you'd like, enjoy!

Full meal on the grill

On of the great things about summer is that it's so easy to sit outside and just fire up the grill.  For this dinner that's just what I did with a whole collection of food: kale, garlic heads, bread, scallops, steak & even twice baked potatoes!

I turned on the left two burners of the grill and left the right two off to enable me to use indirect heat on some of the ingredients and direct heat on others.

The bread and garlic cloves went on the top rack for about 25 minutes before the steak went on.  The kale was on the lower rack, but as far away from the heat as it could be.  The 25 minutes was spent with the lid closed.

After the 25 minutes were up, on went the steak and potatoes.  For the potatoes I put them in a roasting tray away from the heat.

The steak, a dry aged NY Strip, went on direct heat.  After five minutes of cooking I rotated the strip 1/4 and then flipped it after another five.

Once the steak was flipped, I added the scollops to the grill.  After five more minutes of cooking I removed the steak to a cutting board and covered with a light towel.  At this point I also flipped the scallops and allowed them to finish cooking (they should not be translucent except in the very center).

After the scallops finished cooking, everything came off the grill and then it was time to plate.




I plated with the kale as a base to build on and then plated the potatoes, steak, scallops and garlic head in circular fashion around the plate.  It tasted as good as it looks in the following picture, try it yourself and enjoy!

Failing to make proper style chips, but I made a tasty sauce!

There is a difference between french fries and chips ... and yes, beyond the obvious that Ore-Ida makes the former and Lays the latter.  When the British, the Aussies or anyone else says chips, they mean a fried potato that has a bit more substance than your standard french fry.  I am not always a fan of chips because they tend not to be toward the soggy side, but in Australia earlier this year my thoughts on chips were taken to a different place!

While eating at our hotel restaurant I bit into a chip that was the perfect combination of fried, crispy, exterior and creamy perfection inside.  For this dinner I attempted to recreate them.  While I was able to get the outside nice and crispy with the traditional double fry approach used in Belgian frittes, I was unable to get the smooth, creamy inside I was looking for.

For those that don't know what I'm talking about, in traditional Belgian style frittes, you will actually cut the fries into evenly sized strips and then fry them for about five minutes.  You then remove them and allow them to rest on a rack (or some paper towel) and sweat out the additional moisture before frying them a second time until crispy.

I served these chips up with a garlic, rosemary and sriracha sour cream sauce along with broccoli and broiled snapper.

Garlic, rosemary and sriracha sour cream sauce
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp cream (or whole milk)
2 cloves roasted garlic (minced)
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary (minced)
1/2 tsp sriracha

Mix all ingredients well, spoon over whatever and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Puree

So I didn't have much time to play with my new toy (Vitamix) before we left town for holiday, but this was one dish that I was able to use it for.  The vitamix is a great tool for creating smooth purees that don't need to be super liquidy (you can make perfect mashed potatoes in a vitamix, for instance) and that was exactly what I was after for this dinner.

This sweet potato was really closer to mashed potatoes, from a consistency perspective, than a sauce ... which is exactly what I wanted as a base for this grilled pork and greens dish.  If you do not have a vitamix to use for this, instead of using a blender, you will want to do it the old fashioned way with a bowl, masher and spoon.

Sweet Potato Puree

2 large sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped into cubes)
1/2 cup milk
1/6 cup parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage (1 tsp if using dried)
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Put the sweet potato cubes, milk and sage into a heavy sauce pan and add a couple of pinches of salt and pepper (based on your taste).  Put the sauce pan on lowest heat setting and cover to allow the sweet potato to cook slowly.  You will want to cook the potatoes until soft (a knife should pass into the flesh easily) about 30 - 45 minutes depending on the size of the cubes.  The milk may separate a little bit and leave white curds on the potatoes, that is ok.

Once the sweet potato is softened, transfer the potatoes to the vitamix and add the butter, parmesan and 1 tbsp of milk.  Begin mixing the mixture, adding milk by the tbsp until you get to your desired texture for the puree, plate and enjoy!

Contrary to popular belief, a twice baked potato is four times as good

Ok, so you caught me ... sometimes a twice baked potato is 16 times as good as a regular baked potato (although Shells doesn't believe that).  I love making twice baked potatoes, and they are so super easy, I don't know why you wouldn't want to make them too.  For this dinner I paired up a couple of twice baked potatoes with steak & mushrooms and some nice broiled asparagus; but really they go with anything.

Twice Baked Potatoes (for 2 people)

2 medium/small baking potatoes (you can use 1 large as well if you want 1 side per person), washed

2 slices bacon

5 tbsp shredded cheese blend (your choice, whatever you like)

1 green onion, washed

1 tbsp milk

1/2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 425F and the rub the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook in the 425F oven for about 45 minutes or until soft.  While the potatoes are cooking, pan fry the bacon, drain and then roughly chop.  Dice the green onion.

Once the potatoes are cooked ... put the bacon, 3 tbsp of cheese, milk, green onion and butter in a bowl.  Use a hot glove, or a towel, and a sharp knife to cut the potatoes straight through the middle long-wise.  Use a large spoon to scoop the middle out of the potato halves, you should leave about 1/4 - 1/5 inch of potato on the side of the skin to allow it to keep it's shape.  Transfer the scooped middle to the bowl with the other ingredients and then mix well until smooth.

Switch oven to broil.

Spoon the smooth mixture back into the potato skin halves until it is all used and then top with the reserved cheese.  Put under the broiler until the cheese is bubbling, serve and enjoy!