Tuesday, December 15, 2009

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






Monday, December 14, 2009

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.

Monday, December 7, 2009

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.