Salty Steaky goodness!

Pauline (another one of my besties :-) and I share a passion for cooking. Where I am weak, she is strong and vice versa. Our culinary gifts are complimentary to each others, and we have so much fun in the kitchen! We also both share a passion for SALT. This was a random recipe that we made one night that turned into a favorite fallback for steak. I will warn you that it is SALTY, but oh so delicious.



"Steak Robear"
Ingredients:

3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juic
5 garlic cloves (peeled and pressed)
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch of cayenne
2 1/2 - 3 lb London Broil (or favorite steak, cut to 1-1 1/2 inches thick)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs Olive Oil

Procedure:

Combine all ingredients (except Mayo and olive oil) in a 1 quart heavy duty zip loc bag. Seal and let marinade for at least 4 hours. Transfer steak to a plate and pour one cup of the marinade into a heavy sauce pan. Bring marinade to a boil and let reduce by half. Place in the refrigerator to cool.

Heat remaining tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook steak, uncovered, until underside is browned, about 5 minutes. Turn steak over, then reduce heat to moderately low and cover skillet. Continue cooking until thermometer registers 120°F, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand at least 15 minutes.

While steak cooks and stands, bring marinade in saucepan to a boil, then pour into a bowl and cool completely. Whisk in mayonnaise until combined well and chill, covered, until ready to serve.

Cut steak across the grain into very thin slices and transfer to a platter, then drizzle with any juices accumulated on cutting board. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled, with mayonnaise.

One last homage to Salt

Keri's Birthday dinner...I think it was pretty successful

Keri is one of my dearest and closest friends, and her birthday was the perfect time for me to show her my love through food.  I personally believe that every celebratory event cannot be truly successful without great food.  I know that people and conversation are equally important in creating memories, but my gift is making happy tummies, and I'm always ready and hopeful of making that happen :-)

When I asked Keri if she had any requests for her birthday, this is what she said:  pasta with white sauce, chicken, artichokes, asparagus and mushrooms.  Great, there are 100 ways to do this, what will make this one special?  So off my imagination goes....Here is what I came up with;  you will want to plan ahead, as this requires the chicken to brine for 8 hours or overnight, but it's worth it.

Herbes de Provence

Let's call it "Pasta A'La Keri"
Linguine with grilled chicken in a white wine cream sauce.

 Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbs Herbs De Provence 

2 tsp Salt

Cream Sauce (can be made ahead and refrigerated):
4 cups of heavy cream
4 cups of your favorite chardonnay (don't cheap out here, the flavor is important)
2 shallots (small dice)
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
1 Tbs butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice (preferably fresh, as it has a more subtle flavor than bottled)

1 bundle fresh asparagus (trimmed)

1 Tbs Olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 pkg of baby Bella mushrooms (sliced, and of course you can substitute any mushroom of your choice)

1 Tbs butter

1 lb fresh pasta (I used Butonni fresh linguine that can be found in the refrigerator section of your local grocery)

1 can of artichoke hearts (preferably in water and drained)

Procedure:
Place your chicken breasts in a large zip loc bag.  Add enough water to cover them along with your herbs De Provence and salt.  Refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

For the cream sauce: Place the Tbs of butter in a medium sized skillet or saucepan and place over medium heat.  Once the butter has melted, add your shallots and garlic.  Saute until the onions are transparent.  Add the wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce the wine until it there is about a 1/2 cup of liquid left in the pan.  Add your cream and bring slowly to a simmer.  Let reduce until the sauce clings to the back of your spoon.  Should be the consistency of gravy, but not as thick as an Alfredo sauce.  Add the lemon juice and salt and set aside.

Remove the chicken and pat dry.  There should be some of the herbs still clinging to the meat, do not wipe them all away.  Prepare your asparagus by trimming, washing and coating with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Grill chicken and asparagus over a medium heat grill until cooked through.

Fill a large pan with water and bring to a boil.  Add your pasta and cook as directed.

Saute the mushrooms in a small saute pan with butter and salt until the mushrooms are soft and slightly browned.

Here comes the magic:

Plate your meal by making a nest of pasta, lay your chicken breast off to the side and garnish with the asparagus, mushrooms and artichokes.  Top with sauce and enjoy!

This is where we should have
been eating this meal 

I'm good, but not that good!

My brain is far too scattered to remember every recipe that I treasure.  While I would love to be a pure ad-hoc chef, I do have a plethora of recipes that I truly rely on, but can't possibly trust my mind to remember.  I've been procrastinating the start of this blog, because I have all of my recipes in a database that is not accessible due to my Windows 7 upgrade :-(  Once I get it sorted out, I will start in on the really serious stuff, but in the mean time I decided to share with you my appreciation for my recipe software, despite my inability to access it!


There is a decent variety of software available, but only one that I have found so far that is MAC and PC compatible.  It is called "Masterchef".  While I have heard wonderful things about it, I rely on "Living Cookbook".  I may try Masterchef at some point, but for now, what I have is more than suitable for my needs.


Both of these software packages provide comparable features.  They have a method of importing your favorite recipes from recipe sites across the web, as well as manual entry.  They have sections in each recipe for nutrition information (which is calculated based on the ingredients you list and the serving sizes you provide).  There is a feature to attach a photograph of the recipes if you desire, and many more amazing features, such as shopping lists. inventory tracking etc. You can also print, email and publish your recipes one at a time, or in a complete book.  


I have created two cookbooks (folders if you will) within my database.  One for tried and true recipes that I know are successful every time I make them, and one for recipes that await my testing at some point in the future.  This gives me the insurance that I will never forget which recipes I LOVE and which recipes I would love to try.


All this said, if you are a serious cook and want a good way to keep track of your favorite recipes, I would encourage you to get a recipe database software.  While I love my grandmothers hand written recipe cards, they become more and more difficult to read over the years.  Stained with food remnants and liquid splatters, which show the love of a recipe, I fear they will be lost for lack of readability over time.  Thus I employ modern technology to assist me in retaining these wonderful treasures for generations to come.


P.S. If those hand written cards are a true treasure, why not scan them up and attach them to the recipe within your database.  Then you will truly have them forever.