Trying a new recipe!

I had leftover steaks that needed to be cooked, so I tried a recipe I hadn't tried before.

Title: Steak Diane

Yield: 2 Servings
2 6 oz boneless rib eye steaks
1/3 c Beef broth
2 ts Worcestershire sauce
1 ts Fresh lemon juice
1 ts Dijon mustard
1 1/2 ts Cognac
1 1/2 ts Sherry
1/2 ts Cornstarch
1 tb Unsalted butter
1 tb Olive oil
1/2 c Shallot; thinly sliced
2 ts Fresh parsley; minced

Flatten steaks to 1/4 inch thickness between sheets of dampened waxed paper. In small bowl combine both, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mustard, cognac, sherry and cornstarch. Mix well. In large heavy skillet heat butter and oil over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Saute steaks about 45 seconds on each side for medium rare. Transfer steaks to a plate. Saute shallots in drippings over moderately low heat, stirring, until soft. Stir broth mixture then add it to the skillet with any juices that have accumulated on plate. Boil sauce, stirring, 1 minute or until thickened. Pour over steaks. Sprinkle with parsley. Serves 2. From The Denver Post Food Section 10/2/96 - from Best of Gourmet 1990 edition.

I add minced portabella mushrooms to the sauce. I also make a vegetarian version with eggplant instead of steak, and vegetable broth instead of beef broth.

I also discovered pomegranate liqueur this week. It's so good. I've started looking for drink recipes to use it in.

Here's the website of a brand of the liqueur that includes recipes:

http://www.pamaliqueur.com/index.html?Section

Feeling crabby.

Yum!

My mother held the annual library staff crab feast last Sunday...and we had a ton of crabs left over. The best thing to do with them is make crab cakes! This recipe came from:

http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/md/gov/mdgov90.htm

Ingredients:

1 pound Maryland Crab meat (Blue crabs!)

1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1 large egg

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

Margarine, butter, or oil for frying

1. Remove all cartilage from crabmeat
2. In a bowl, mix bread crumbs, eggs, mayonnaise and seasonings.
3. Add crab meat and mix gently by thoroughly. If mixture is too dry, add a little more mayonnaise. Shape into 6 cakes.
4. Cook cakes in a frying pan in just enough fat to prevent sticking until they are browned (about 5 minutes on each side).

*Note: If desired, crab cakes may be deep fried at 350 degrees for 2 to 3 minutes or until browned.

This is the simplest recipe I found. They can be served with tarter or remoulade sauce.

A follow-up to last week's post.

A recipe for one of the odder foods from that list...and one I've eaten in the past.

Found at http://www.epicurious.com/ , recipe originally from Bon Appétit.

The article and recipe:

Bagna Cauda

Literally translated as "hot bath," this dipping sauce for vegetables often appears in many Italian homes as part of the Christmas Eve buffet. Although cardoons (an edible thistle related to the artichoke but resembling celery) are traditional, celery makes a fine substitute and any combination of vegetables will do. In Italy, the routine goes like this: Vegetable pieces are dipped into the sauce (a fondue-style fork will help) and then eaten, with a slice of bread held underneath to catch the drippings. Once the bread is soaked with sauce, it's eaten, too. Then everyone starts over. It's fun for a party appetizer no matter where you live.

Servings: Serves 6.

Ingredients

3/4 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 anchovy fillets
6 large garlic cloves, chopped

Assorted fresh vegetables, cut into bite-size pieces
1 1-pound loaf crusty Italian or French bread, cutinto 2-inch sections

Preparation

Blend oil, butter, anchovies and garlic in processor until smooth. Transfer oil mixture to heavy medium saucepan. Cook over low heat 15 minutes, stirring, occasionally. (Sauce will separate.) Season with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce into fondue pot or other flameproof casserole. Set pot over alcohol burner or gas table burner to keep warm. Serve with vegetables and bread.

I don't like anchovies....otherwise, this is pretty good stuff!

Well, it is good to eat a variey of foods...

This meme was floating around at live journal. I posted it there, and then decided it fit here, too!

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.


I added wikipedia links for some of the weirder stuff.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue (just had some on Sunday!)
8. Carp
9. Borscht YUCK
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho There are little Pho shops everywhere you look these days... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi Not a fan. I like my curries to be liquid, not dry!
15. Hot dog from a street cart Of course. I grew up in New York City, ya know!
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle Only a bit mixed with olive oil
18. Fruit wine
19. Steamed pork buns Hell, yes, from many childhood Chinatown visits- and my mom makes good ones, too. They're also great baked. They're a dim sum staple!
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras Will never, ever eat this.
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters Yuck, like slurping snot.
29. Baklava YUM!!!!
30. Bagna cauda Same concept as fondue, only with spiced and herbed olive oil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagna_cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut HATE HATE HATE!
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail Only in French Onion Soup.
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal I like my curry, but not this kind...too hot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu I value my life too much to attempt to eat this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel No way, and certainly not Jellied Eels...
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut KK rules!
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone Too rare. I wouldn't want to contribute to the species' extinction! :p
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal Never again, though, after having Five Guys....
56. Spaetzle I make it for every Christmas dinner... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (reads wiki article) YUCK!
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs They really do taste like chicken.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
66. Haggis Oh, hell no. Never.
69. Fried plantain Yummy!
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho Especially homemade with home grown tomatoes and cucumbers!
72. Caviar and blini Blini yes, caviar hell no.
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky They sell them in just about every grocery store now.
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox hate the lox part
97. Lobster Thermidor I like my lobster with plain old butter and lemon better...
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Good magazines!

No recipes this week, but I have some favorite cooking/food magazines to share.

Everyday With Rachael Ray- great recipes and entertaining ideas.



Everyday Food- from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living. Little tiny magazine, stuffed with recipes. Easy to follow directions, includes nutrition information.



Cooks Illustrated- this is for the serious home cook. Each issue has very detailed cooking techniques, recipes, and product comparisons from the magazine's test kitchen.

A great family dish.

Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazzini

from The American Century Cookbook

5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream
2 tablespoons dry sherry or Madeira
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 pounds medium mushrooms, sliced
3 medium scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained well
1/2 pimientos, diced (optional)
4 cups diced cooked turkey or chicken

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking dish and set aside.

2. Melt three tablespoons of the butter in a medium heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Blend in flour, and slowly add broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth, about 3 minutes. Mix in cream, sherry, 1/4 of the cheese, and pepper. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then take off the heat.

3. Melt the rest of the butter in a skillet over moderate heat. Cook mushrooms and scallions until limp, about 3 minutes.

4. Toss spaghetti in a large bowl with sauce, mushroom mixture, pimientos (if used), and turkey. Transfer to baking dish, and spread remaining cheese over the top.

5. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling and brown, about 25 minutes.

This is a big favorite with my family, and also for church potluck suppers. I've had to share the recipe often!

I got this cookbook for Christmas in 1999. It has great recipes, and excellent histories behind them, as well as a timeline of trends in cooking and prepared foods.

From the Dinner Doctor...

A simple but lovely pasta dish.

Angel Hair Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

8 oz angel hair pasta

2 tbs olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 12 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained
1/2 cup half and half
Basil for garnish

1. Bring water to a boil (salt if desired), add angel hair and cook until al dente, about four minutes. Drain pasta and toss with one tbs olive oil, cover to keep warm.

2. Heat remaining oil in a skillet, and cook onion and garlic on medium heat until onions are softened, about three minutes.

3. Place onion, garlic, peppers, and half and half in a food processor. Puree until smooth. Spoon sauce over pasta, stir together, and garnish with basil leaves.

This book is a life saver when you have stuff in the fridge or pantry that you don't know what to do with!