Steak Au Poive with Herbed Potato Wedges

Today I planned on doing a few things around the house
till my tummy started coming up with different plans.

I was out shopping for dinner when I came across the 2 nicest cuts of rib-eye Ive seen in a while.

What to do...What to do....

Pow!!! It came to me, Steak Au Poive.

So now I'm on a mission. weaving in and out of aisles , cutting off irate shoppers ,doing illegal
U-turns in the produce department. 

picked up
 Shallots
Garlic
Thyme
Rosemary
Beef stock
(liquor store for brandy)
and of course the Rib-Eye

Headed home and started my attack

Bring steaks to room temp.

READY??

Season with kosher salt then

Lather both sides with Dijon mustard.

Now pat in coarse crushed black pepper.  Again, do both sides

I used a cast iron pan for this dish

1/4 cup Vegetable oil in pan nice and hot then sear  3 Minutes per side.

Get a nice crust..

Cut your potatoes into wedges season with salt and pepper olive oil in pan and infuse with thyme Sage and Rosemary.

Remove Steaks and set aside. 

Add chopped shallots (1 TBS )
Add Chopped Garlic (2 TBS)

Add 1/4 cup Brandy and carefully Flambe`

After Flames die down add in 1 1/2 cups beef stock and reduce to about half volume.

Add in 1 cup heavy cream. simmer till it coats back of spoon.

Also add in 1 TBS of sherry vinegar. ( I feel this gives the sauce a nice acidic pop)

 

 

 

Once sauce is thick ,serve and enjoy.

Until Next Time.......

Be True to The Way Of The Fork.

Weekend Challenge #2 Risotto

The next challenge was to nail a risotto.

This isn't new to me but then again adding layers of flavor to it are so.......

I wanted to do something seasonal so I added a gourd to the mix.

I was very pleased with the results.

I served the risotto with a veal chop and then with a fillet mignon.

 the veal chop..

the fillet

I felt the later was the better.

Creative Time with a chocolate souffle'

This weekend was about challenging myself. Making  a Chocolate Souffle`.

I will tell you, I was happy I did it. 

Nothing is as rewarding as nailing the prefect souffle` first time out.

Will I be able to do it again? Damned if I know but I will sure try.

Ok I found this recipe again on foodnetwork.com and I want to thank the foodnetwork kitchens for this.

 I ran out of semi sweet chocolate so i hadt to make it my own and use the dutch processed cocoa.
3 tbs per ounce of semi sweet chocolate bars. I needed 12 tbs....Dont judge.....

Double boiler with 4 tbs unsalted butter. (I added heavy cream too about a quarter cup.)

 3 egg yolks and 8 egg whites for next step.

 Chocolate shiny and ready

 3 yolks whisked with 2 tbs sugar till ribbons show

 Fold in to chocolate.

 Oh Baby........

  Egg whites whisked with 1/2 cup sugar. Till it peaks but not stiffly.

 Fold in to chocolate not all at once  put in half and fold then add ther rest and fold. looks like a mousse

Add to buttered and sugared ramekins fill 2/3 to top you will need 6 6oz ramekins for this

I had 4 7oz Ramekins. I dont see a problem yet....

 I melted some vanilla ice cream to pour on top. (my Idea)

 Hello awesome!!

 Messy Pour...

 Wanna Taste?  Cooked through , Light airy. The bitter sweet chocolate is married with the sweet vanilla (anglaze) for a perfect balance.

I call it a success.

 For the record the recipe suggests powdered sugar to be dusted on top. I did this as well.

again it was tasty.

Well ok just one more fork full............

Jambalaya

This recipe has been in my circle of friends for at least 20 years.

It was discoverd by my best friend Jeremy and shared with me.

There are no shrimp in this recipe but by all means you can add what you want.
(trust me you wont hurt my feelings).

Ok please note, file powder (ground sassafras) is a little hard to find so i would suggest when you find it get it.

This dish has become a staple for get togethers with friends on game day
as well as those late poker nights.

The left overs (if any ) have saved my wallet when it comes to packing a lunch for work.

you will need:
1 1/ 2  cups green bell peppers chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/12 cups chopped celery
(this my friends is the trinity the father,son and holy ghost of cajun/creole cooking)
1 1/2 tsp garlic chopped
4 small bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp ground dry mustard
1 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tsp file` powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme

4 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups diced ham (smoked)
4 linksAndouille sausage cubed rusticly
2 boneless chicken breasts cubed rusticly

place butter in to stock pot and sweat the trinity. stir in spices and garlic.

Add in the meats and stir again let chicken start to cook.
once chicke starts to begin to turn white, add in:
4 cups of stock (basic beef or chicken)

Bring to a boil.......then add in 2 cups uncooked rice....

Stir then COVER WITH LID TURN OFF HEAT AND LEAVE ALONE FOR 20-25 minutes
this will force rice to cook itself and absorb the stock and spices.

Note: if you take off lid prior to alotted time you will ruin it.

This dish is packed with flavor and just the right amount of heat. Enjoy it !!

One last thing, I want to thank my best friend Jeremy Beyer for sharing this with me some 20 odd years ago. 

It has been and always will be  a great go to meal.

Cheers!

Tres Leches.........Where have you been all my life?

                About a week ago I was in a conversation with My Aussie BFF (Trish). She told me She was going to make a Tres Leeches cake, I thought that sounds good....(but what is Tres Leches cake?)

Well in a nutshell.. It's the best cake ever! A sponge cake covered with 3 milks, Heavy Cream,Sweetened Condensed milk ans Evaporated Milk. (Oh MaMa), and topped with a whipped cream frosting.

I mulled over making this cake myself after our conversation and today I gave in. I searched the web for Tres Leches and came across a recipe I felt I could do.

I want to give props to www.foodnetwork.com for having this recipe available as well as Marcella Valladolid. ( you Rock).

  So I took an inventory of what I had in house then it was off to the market to pick up parchment paper evaporated milk condensed milk  heavy cream  and whole milk.( I know 4 milks -Tres leches?)
whole milk is part of making the sponge cake.

4 egg whites along with 1 1/2 cups sugar whisked to stiff peaks

add 4 egg yolks flour and whole milk, whisk till a batter is formed.

Bake at 350 for 32-34 minutes let cool and take out of pan.

add the Tres Leches mixture  (NOTE: The recipe I used called for 3 tablespoons of Grand Mariner.
I used 3 tablespoons of mexican vanilla. I felt it worked).

cover with plastic wrap and put in refridgerator  3 hours or over night.

Take cake out and start on whipped cream.

Frost cake with the cream and dust with cinnamon

Hello you little piece of heaven.....

Hasta la Vista Tres Leches.........Muchas Gracias..



Please follow link www.foodnetwork.com for recipe. search Tres Leches cake . This one is the first one on the list and 5 stars too...

Thank you and enjoy......I know I will.

DIM SUM= YUM YUM

Wonder Seafood in Edison New Jersey is one of the best places for dim sum that i have been to through my years of culinary exploration. 

The place starts its day with a line waiting at the door.  (yep they are that good).

I gathered with a few friends over a dim sum treat to catch up on things.

The wait staff is very helpful and kind.

 The food........is rockstar.

My friend Jeremy came across this place and I can see why, Great Food
always busy, and of all things affordable.

The Sticky Rice wrapped in banana leaf is out of bounds!

Stop by and enjoy this place!!

One of my favorites....hands down

also, If you are shy about using chopsticks they have you covered.

They are located on 9 Lincoln Highway Edison, NJ 08820

Phone # ( 732)-549-8580

After all , it it The Way Of The Fork..

Tonight I went on a tour of Greece ....

Figuratively........

Ya see,, I have a friend in Australia who loves food as much as I do.

She has this amazing recipe for Greek lamb stew. So with the day off from work I decided
to take a crack at this dish.

The house smells great! The flavor of the rich sauce and the tender fall-off-the-bone lamb.......

To die for