Skirt Steak, Brussels Sprouts and Yukon Gold Potatoes

I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking. The meal was pan seared skirt steak with sautéed mushrooms, roasted Brussels Sprouts, and seared Yukon gold potatoes. It was good.

The Brussels Sprout

Bottom sliced off.

Halved

Bowled

Tossed with Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper, Garlic, Ground Sumac (A Spice from Turkey)

Yukon Gold's

halved

Diced

Cremini Mushrooms

Skirt Steak

From http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/SkirtSteak.htm Skirt Steak is a boneless cut of beef from the lower part of the brisket. Cut from the beef flank, the skirt steak is the diaphragm muscle (which lies between the abdomen and chest cavity).

THE RESULTS

French Lentils and Kale

On a cold and rainy Sunday morning when my cold seemed to be never ending, I turned to a new hearty, healthy and warm meal. Lentils. I kept them pretty simple as I always do. French lentils, onion, garlic, jalapeño, fire roasted tomatoes, and kale. The recipe called for a lot of water and trust me it needed it. I also brought them to a boil and then back to a simmer and let them cook for a long time. I'd say about 30 minutes and then added the tomatoes for another 20-25 minutes of cooking time. I couldn't resist the urge and my first bowl included some very al dente lentils, albeit tasty. I nearly forgot to add the kale at the very end. I just rinsed the kale and added it directly to my bowl. I had a fresh and crusty baguette to accompany as well. It was a warm and fulfilling meal that has me feeling better already.

And then the meal was topped off by some great cookies from my friend Jessica. Peanut butter blossoms (aka neeps), chocolate chocolate mint filled delights, and some fudge.

Waffle House, a culinary adventure

So while in the south (or anywhere for that matter) it is almost a requirement that one must go to the local Waffle House for some culinary mastery. I mean it's cheap, fast, tasty, and served with the perfect amount of butter/lard. I stuck with the two marquees of the Waffle House menu, waffles and hash browns.

We went to two different waffle houses on our trip to Mississippi.

This one in Biloxi.

And this one in Ocean Springs, MS.

I went with the pecan waffle on day one and the blueberry waffle on day two. And each time I went with hash browns, smothered, covered, and diced (if you don't know what that is, look it up).

Well it's sort of tasty, but it's more about the experience. I tend to stay away from the chains, but when there's one every mile or so, it's hard to resist. Now my colon might want to chime in when it comes to the after effects of the amount of shortening used, but hey, how often am I in the Southeast and eating at the WH, no not the White House, the Waffle House.

Simply Roasted Chicken

As of late, I am trying to go simple. Simple flavors, seasonings, and methods. So last night I went for the simply Roasted Chicken. I looked up a quick recipe before I left work. I chose to use Thomas Keller's (perhaps America's most renowned chef) idea for my method.

Hot oven and salt and pepper.

So I roasted the 3 1/2 pound bird in my oven safe pan with white and regular sweet potatoes and carrots at 450 degrees F for 50 minutes. I put a generous "raining" of kosher salt on the bird and a few grinds of fresh pepper. (I also rinsed and dried the bird well). After 50 minutes, I let the finished product rest. I carved up half for dinner with steamed Broccoli and the roasted sweet potatoes and carrots. It was a fabulous, fall of the bone chicken. I had a little brown mustard on the side too (although completely unnecessary).

It was simple, it was delicious, it was one of the best chicken experiences I've had.

(I only have my cell phone camera, the blurry cam as I call it, so I borrowed this picture from another site).

Meal of Meat

A few hours of cooking yesterday with some new and old friends really proved to be an ode to meat and more meat. We worked our way through pork, lamb, and beef. And we also had some terrific sides that proved to be awesome.

Grilled Scallions and Cherry Tomatoes

Yukon Gold Potatoes Gratin

Asian spiced Bok Choy and Red Cabbage

Sauteed Porcini and Shitake Mushrooms with a Shiraz Reduction

My Plate:

Spiced Lamb with Tzaziki, Grilled Ribeye with Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions, Grilled Scallion and Tomato Salad, Grilled Garlic and Herb Sausage with Spicy Brown Mustard, Potato Gratin, Spicy Bok Choy and Red Cabbage.

Red Lentil Soup

A spoonful of tasty red lentil soup, made from scratch.

I added Jalapeno and Spinach for a little extra.

Something I wrote for a Friend a while back

And Still

We’ve never really

Walked in the woods as old childhood friends did.

We’ve never

Slipped off a stone while crossing a stream.

We’ve never

Had the simplicity that truly old friends do.

But we are friends.

We’ve never

Laid in a field and laughed for no reason.

We’ve never

Counted the stars in a new moon sky.

We’ve never

Seen a sunrise because somehow we lost track of night.

But we are friends.

We’ve never

Shared the same piece of apple

We’ve never

Lost ourselves in the imagination of our youth.

We’ve never

Splashed in puddles in our bare feet.

But we are friends.

We’ve

Cried tears for the pain we’ve shared

We’ve

Cried tears for the laughter we could not contain

We’ve

Sat in perfect silence because it is still comfortable

And we are still friends.

We’ve

Seen the spectacular collision of cliff and sea.

We’ve

Shared secrets and kept them

We’ve

Skipped stones off tender waves of the Sound.

And we are still friends

We’ve

Sacrificed a little of ourselves for the other

We’ve

Sang songs out loud

We’ve

Smiled.

Simply smiled.

And we are still friends.

Mmmm...Bacon (with Lettuce and Tomato)

Earlier this week a co-worker of mine had a BLT for lunch that she made at home. That of course left me salivating for one of my own creation. Now that we're in the middle of the amazing tomato season, I couldn't resist making this for dinner. The sandwich is one of my favorites. And the BLT is a great one. Simple, tasty, and Bacon.

Lightly toasted multi-grain bread.

Light smathering of Mayo.

Some crispy Bacon (yes I think Bacon should always be capitalized). I cook bacon in the oven with high heat and a little time (10 minutes) and you get perfection. Usually when the Bacon aroma permeates my whole apartment (which isn't too hard considering my limited square-footage), the Bacon is done (or close to it).

A gorgeous and delicious tomato (I ate the other half as a side)

Toast, mayo, tomato, Bacon and...

Spring Lettuce to finish.

And finally the second piece of toast.

The sandwich was delicious. It was salty, sweet, crunchy and I really want another one. Thank goodness I cooked all the Bacon and can have one tonight if I want.

Community Support Agriculture

To make a long story short, I was able to get my hands on a friends portion of their CSA (CSA) this week. Included was a number of fun things but nothing terribly unusual, other than ground cherries. CSA's are a great opportunity and sharing program for both the urban dweller and the local farmer. I'm not sure how much my friend's paid and I'm sure there is cheaper stuff at the mega-grocery store. I do know that the tomatoes were perfect, the corn was sweet and savory, and the potatoes were gorgeous.

So last night I stopped at the store for some protein (flat-iron steak) and cooked up the rest with the portion of the CSA veggies: potatoes (purple and gold), white corn, hot chili pepper and plum tomatoes.

To start, I roasted the corn and potatoes at the same time. 425 degrees for about 45 minutes. While that was happening I marinated the steak. For the marinade, I chopped up the hot chili pepper and added soy sauce, mustard, Thai chili paste,

Sriracha Rooster sauce, fresh ground pepper and some toasted sesame oil. It was a quick 3o minute marinade, but it was tasty.

So after checking the potatoes and corn and giving them a turn, I fired up a super hot pan on the stove top. I drained a bit of the marinade off and tossed it in the pan. And after 4 minutes a side, and 5 minutes of resting, it was done. I sliced it against the grain and dinner was ready. I also wedged the tomatoes and with a little salt and pepper, they were set to go.

The final results. I also ate with chop sticks as it felt like a quasi-Asian meal.

I had to Photoshop these pics to lighten them up.

Summer Peaches

As I finished my peach this morning for breakfast, I recalled that I had yet another fabulous peach a few weeks ago and it was so good that I took a few pictures. Isn't the summer glorious for fruit?

Black Bean Burgers

So lately I have been eating a lot of black bean veggie burgers for two reasons. One, they are really quick. Two, they're pretty freaking tasty. So usually I have them on toasted multigrain with salsa and cheese or mustard. Or no bread, just salsa. This is my sister, Jenn's way. But I think they're too expensive, so this weekend I'm going to make my own.

I'm thinking a can of black beans, half crushed and half rough chopped, corn, egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, tomato paste, and salt and pepper. They have to be fairly easy to make, and much more cost effective than my current purchases.

Don't get me wrong I really like a good burger, but I have high standards. I've been to a few to many BBQs where the burgers are frankly murdered. For one, the peeps are cooking frozen burgers and then grinding the spatula into them to drain all possible juices out of them. I know these frozen, cheap burgers feed the masses, but they don't tantalize my taste buds.

Perhaps I can convince one of my grill-owning friends to host a burger cooking extravaganza. Veggie burgers, real burgers, lamb burgers, even bison perhaps. Even a "sliders" event perhaps.

Bruised

So at my softball game, I was set to take a routine ground ball at third and then got the good ol' bad hop that left be bruised. The ball was hit hard, it hit off my wrist (as seen in the below pic) and then right to my jaw. Let's just say the guy was safe at first. The field is bumpy folks. This is two bruises in two weeks.


If you look closely, or in real life, you can see the laces of the ball. In the pic, they are just below the purple mark inside the red circle.