If you asked most children what their favorite food was, what do you think they'd say? Pizza? Mac and cheese? Chicken fingers? Hot dogs? I was a bit of an odd bird as a kid (and possibly as an adult, too) and wanted nothing more than a steak and a salad. Even though I actually ate pretty much anything you tossed in front of me, my all time favorite meal (especially when we ate out) was always a perfectly cooked steak and a plain side salad. Seriously. I know it's simple, but I also think it's surprisingly hard to come by these things done right these days. Unlike my childhood of the 80's, these days most restaurants tend to overcook my steak in the name of "public health" or have some psycho chef that insists the meat be prepared to his desired doneness (I'm looking at you, BLT Burger and Resto). As a result, it's on rare occasion that I bother to order a steak when eating out.
And frankly, why bother, when it's so easy (and soooo much cheaper) to prepare a steak properly for yourself at home? Most steaks are just quickly grilled, broiled, or pan fried, and topped with a fairly quick pan sauce, so why bother paying for the mark-up of eating them in a restaurant? I always have a steak or two in the fridge and several in the freezer in anticipation of late nights at the office. This week in particular, talk of Paris had me craving a nice medium rare steak with a red wine sauce. I've been making the same one for years, chock full of onions and fragrant with the scents of oregano and rosemary. It only just occurred to me that it also contains more butter than I'd care to mention. So, I decided that I would reformulate it to be slightly left of healthy.
The butter was more than just delicious, it was also compensating for all of the acidity in the wine, so I not only cut the amount of butter, but I also cut the total quantity of wine in half and replaced it with beef broth. This way, the sauce was still deliciously robust, but less likely to kill me with every spoonful. I was also looking for a sauce that would complement the steak without overpowering it, so I swapped the onion for their milder cousin, the shallot. It turned out great, and I even used the leftover sauce to make a vinaigrette for my lunch the next day. Here's what I came up with:
Red Wine Shallot Sauce
2 large shallots, thinly sliced into rings
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cup red wine
1 3/4 cup beef broth
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
2 Tbsp butter
1. Sauté shallots in olive oil over medium heat until caramelized, 7-10 minutes. Turn heat to high and add red wine to deglaze pan. Cook until reduced by half. Add broth, oregano and thyme and also cook until reduced by half.
2. Check for seasoning then remove pan from flame and stir in butter until melted. Serve over steak. Enjoy!
-Laura
Once upon a time, I was fluent in French. I studied it for several years in school, and being a native Spanish speaker, never had much trouble picking up other romance languages. As my friend Gloria's trip to Paris neared, we both attempted to rekindle our French fluency. Although it is arguable as to whether or not we are fluent once again, it is clear that I cannot get French food off my mind. Although I don't often eat in the French-style bistros here in New York, I've always been fond of the food I ate while visiting Paris. I'd been studying abroad in London and was sick and tired of only being able to afford pub food and plate after plate of chicken curry. Armed with only a hot plate and an electric tea kettle back in my flat on Newman Street, I wasn't creating all that much culinary gold of my own. So, when a group of friends studying in Florence suggested meeting up with my friend living in Paris, I jumped at the chance.
Two hours and a 40 pound flight later I'd landed in a cold, windy, and very rainy Paris. Our hostel had no heat, a tiki theme, and the world's smallest communal bathroom. But none of that really mattered, at least to me, because soon I'd be eating real food. Not fish and chips in a pub, curry in a hurry on Brick Lane, or chickpeas from a can in my room, but an actual three course meal in a candlelit restaurant with white tablecloths and a proper maitre'd. All of this came at the reasonable price of 12 Euro and included the first good cup of espresso I'd had in months. Perhaps it'd been because I'd eaten so terribly for so many months, but every meal in Paris seemed like a dream. The beef tartar (although frightening to my friends) was like a soft crimson pillow flecked with bits of parsley and egg. Every bowl of soup was like a warm blanket around my hungry soul, and each simply dressed salad was better than the next. Even the broken down hostel's breakfast of chocolat chaud and baguette with fresh butter outshone even the most decent meal I'd had in England. The thought of leaving the culinary wonderland of Paris for the gastronomic inferno of England was heartbreaking, and only the thought of spending Thanksgiving in Spain with my family was able to get me on the plane.
Recounting this story last week made me crave the kind of bistro food I'd so enjoyed on that cold and rainy trip. As I meandered through the supermarket on a recent cold and rainy night I came across a nice thick steak that was screaming to become part of a steak frites. Now, my steak frites is kind of a cheat--because although the steak is your traditional pan seared cheap cut of beef, the frites are baked in the oven and not deep fried. This is an odd move for me, but I do find that they develop a great texture and flavor this way--and it's so much cleaner. The meal was super satisfying and a breeze to make and clean-up. The only thing missing to make it more like my time in Paris was standing on a rainy street corner in the middle of the night eating paper thin crepes. Do they have crepes stands in Hell's Kitchen...?
Bistro Fries
4 large Russet potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed and cut into French fries
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp parsley
2 Tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
salt
pepper
1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
2. Toss potatoes in olive oil and season with pepper to taste. Spread potatoes out on a sheet pan in one layer and bake for 30-40 minutes (flipping occasionally) or until tender.
3. Season potatoes with salt to taste (I like coarse salt). Combine potatoes, parsley and garlic in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Serve and enjoy!
-Laura
*For the record, I don't mean to put down London. Between the exchange rate and the quality of food available, it was very difficult to eat well on a student's budget. I'm sure if I were to return as an adult with a decent amount of money, I'd be able to eat very well indeed. Unfortunately, I'm an adult with no money, so I stand by my opinions and look forward to the day when I can prove myself wrong. I will however, admit that McDonald's is oddly delicious in England. Health be damned, we never should have stopped deep frying those apple pies.
As those of you who have been reading this blog for a while may remember, I'm a big fan of entertaining with meaty dishes like thinly sliced flatiron steak. I generally serve it over a bed of mixed greens, and drizzled with a luscious red wine reduction or, over cheesy, rich polenta and Parmesan shavings. The problem with entertaining in this fashion is that even though it's hearty, affordable, and great for a cold winter's day, you need to take your surroundings into account. My problem? Low lighting and the narcoleptic sofa. It is a well-known fact among many of my friends that dining at my house is (evidently) such a relaxing and delicious affair that mere minutes after eating...they fall asleep on the couch. This has happened not once, not twice, but dozens of times over the last few years.
Let's take my dinner this past Wednesday as the most recent example. My best friend Gloria and I made the above pictured dish--grilled flatiron steak over bibb lettuce with a shallot and grapefruit vinaigrette. We discussed the dish and started prepping the salad while sipping on a delicious bottle of red wine, courtesy of Gloria, my favorite and most trusted oenophile. Soon we were setting up lighting to shoot the dish--my thanks again to Gloria (who unlike myself is an awesome photographer by trade), for shooting the lovely photos. Then we grilled the steak, let it rest, thinly sliced it, and chowed down in front of the TV (my kitchen table is a bit cramped). We still had a few minutes left before Law & Order started (don't judge us) so we ate a few cookies and popped in a DVD to kill time before the show. Half an hour later I was laughing hysterically to myself with my dinner companion fast asleep next to me--as usual. After the DVD ended I dismantled the lighting equipment, took care of a few dishes and uploaded photos of the night's meal. All of this happened within just a few square feet and still not a peep from Gloria. The show finally started, but not even my best wake-up moves could rouse her from her deep sleep.
This has been the scene in my home for years. Even in my poorest of early days I have always cooked with friends and invested in a comfy couch (I watch a lot of TV). My dilemnma now is this: Is it the food? Is it the couch? Or is it me? It's probably not that last one--I'm highly entertaining, and I juggle. Enough said. My guess is that it's most likely a little of everything, and that especially after a long day at work, a hearty meal and a few glasses of wine would knock almost anyone out. In the end though, I suppose I take it as a great compliment that people are so at ease in my home and at my table. If I can bring the people I care about even a moment of relaxation and peace, I'm the better for it. Here's how to knock out your friends with this meal :)
Grilled Flatiron steak with Bib Lettuce and Shallot-Grapefruit Vinaigrette
1 Flatiron steak, about 1 to 1 1/2 lbs
1 head of Boston bibb lettuce, washed and dried, leaves left whole
3 Tbsp good extra virgin olive oil
1 small shallot, minced
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 tsp sour cream
1/2 a grapefruit cut into supremes (wedges) or 1 container peeled and chopped grapefruit
salt
pepper
1. To prepare the dressing, combine the olive oil, shallot, sour cream, lemon and limes juices in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Salt and pepper the steak and cook on a grill or grill pan on high heat until your desired doneness (I'd wouldn't go more than medium or medium well for this cut of meat--I do medium rare). Set meat aside on a cutting board to rest and lightly cover with foil, about 7-10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the lettuce, dressing (reserving a tablespoon or two) and grapefruit in a large bowl, tossing to coat. Create a bed of salad on your srving plate and set aside.
4. When the meat is done resting, thinly slice it across the grain and set on top of the salad. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and a bit of extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
-Laura
