Steak for Stoves

Growing up my parents made steak two ways, on the grill or under the broiler. So, when my brother called to ask how to make a porterhouse steak in his college apartment I didn't flinch. How could he possibly know what to do? They don't allow bbq grills at college. There is no way to cook a decent porterhouse on the George Foreman, his preferred cooking method of most things, and broiled steak is, well...broiled.

But it's easy to make a great steak with your stove, you just have to be smart about it. There are three big steps to making a perfect hunk of meat:

1. SEASON
2. SEAR
3. FINISH

Sounds too easy? It's really a matter of respecting the meat. Meat that is taken out of the refrigerator and brought to room temperature. Dried with paper towels. Seasoned with a lot of salt and pepper. Seared properly to create a crust that holds in the juices. Finished in the oven, and left to rest for 4-5 minutes on the counter before devouring it will taste like the best steak you've had in a restaurant. Scout's honor.

Steak for Stoves

*Pre-heat oven to 400.
*Remove steak from refrigerator and let stand -on a plate, on the counter, in its packaging- until it is room temperature.
*Using paper towels, blot steak to dry the surface. Season with salt and pepper...about 1 teaspoon more then you think you should use.
*Heat oil (not olive oil, it burns too quickly) or butter (I love butter) in a large skillet, one big enough to hold your steak and still have 1/2 inch space around the meat.
*Place steak directly into center of your skillet. Sear until a golden crust has developed, the timing on this will depend on thickness but 4-5 minutes is a good rule of thumb. Flip steak and sear on the opposite side.
*When the second side is finished, turn off the stovetop. Place the entire skillet into the oven to finish cooking, approximately 8-10 more minutes depending on the thickness for medium rare.
*Let stand on a clean plate or cutting board. This 4-5 minutes of sitting will allow the juices to re-absorb into the meat. You'll notice that when you cut into it after letting it sit the juices will not run out as much as a steak that is immediately consumed. This is the hardest step, I hate waiting, but it is necessary.
*Serve!

TIP: Like it medium rare? Medium? Killed? It's easy to tell how well done your meat is without cutting into it, feel it. Use a fork (or finger) and press it into the meat without piercing it. Is it super soft and squishy? Then it's closer to rare. Does it have no give at all? More well-done. Get a feel for how quickly it changes by testing it throughout all of the stages of cooking.

Tofu to Table in Twenty

Tofu (豆腐 Chinese dòufu, Japanese tōfu, Korean doobu^?), or bean curd^[3] is a food made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.-Wikipedia

I gave Mr. D two choices for dinner last night and the tofu won--again. He loves tofu, and so do I. Why? Because it is filling without being heavy. It marries well with a myriad of sauces and flavors, and because it is so easy. 

Buy a few packages of the stuff and store in the coolest part of the refrigerator. Pull out when you can't figure out what to cook for dinner. Dress with store bought sauce and your favorite vegetables; we used shiitake mushrooms and broccoli last night. Bam! Dinner on the table in 20 minutes flat.

20 Minute Tofu with Broccoli, Shiitake Mushrooms and Faux Thai Sauce

Nasoya is my favorite tofu brand so far, and the most ubiquitous in the supermarket. The firm variety works best for this recipe:

20 Minute Tofu Dinner:

*Heat a large skillet on low, with enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan evenly.

*While oil heats take tofu out of its package. Cut a small slit in the packaging and drain completely into the sink. Place tofu block on your cutting board and cut through horizontally to create two square blocks. Cut each block into strips, approximately the width of your thumb. 

*When oil is shimmering, place tofu strips carefully into the skillet leaving a half inch between pieces. Oil will splatter a bit, due to the tofu's water content.

*Turn tofu strips every 3-4 minutes, warming/lightly browning each surface.

*Remove tofu from pan, dress with your favorite sauce.

Lauren's Faux Thai Peanut Sauce

*Place 1 cup peanut butter into a small saucepan.

*Heat slowly at low heat until peanut butter becomes easy to serve. It will be quite smooth and shiny at this point.

*Add 2 tablespoons Sriracha chile sauce. Stir to combine completely.

*Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional).

*When sauce begins to lightly bubble, remove from heat.

*Enjoy with your favorite tofu or vegetable dish. Also delicious with noodles.

What is this? Top Scallops?

Big news on the food circuit today is that a new Top Chef season is being filmed in New York City. The chef-testants? Our favorite chefs from past seasons brought back to turn up the heat on the Emmy winning show that in the past season has become a little flaccid.
In honor of seasons past affinity for scallops I made pan seared scallops for my lonely only dinner. Accompanied by super sweet cantaloupe slices and thin strips of prosciutto it was the perfect light meal to enjoy alone.
I love scallops, when they are made properly. Over the years (yes, I know I am very old) I have figured out how to get the caramel colored crust that I love without overcooking the inside. Mushy scallops are definitely not top scallops.

My Directions For Making Top Scallops:

*Buy large shiny, wet looking scallops. Take them home and gently dry them with a paper towel. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
*Heat a large skillet on medium temperature.  Melt butter to coat the bottom of the pan, perhaps 1 tablespoon.
*When butter is just starting to create tiny bubbles place scallops into the skillet. Make sure there is at least 1/2 inch between scallops otherwise they will not brown.
*Brown each side approximately 2-3 minutes. Use a kitchen fork to gently loosen them from the pan and carefully flip away from your body. If they do not loosen fairly easily then they are not ready to be flipped. Do not move them around too much or your crust won't develop.
*Remove from pan and pat each scallop on a paper towel to remove excess butter/fat. Serve!

Some suggestions for serving Top Scallops:

*Serve over with spinach and shiitake mushroom caps. Dress with balsamic vinaigrette.
*Take a tangy route and serve with a fruity salsa and light greens.
*Toss with linguini or fettucini and green peas. Shower with grated cheese.
*Make a scallop and bacon pizza, use fontina or talleggio cheese to bind the toppings.
*Pair with steak for a lavish surf and turf feast.

Dinner For One is Daunting

Mr. D won't be home for dinner tonight.
I cleaned out the fridge, scrubbed down the kitchen this afternoon and soon it will be time to make something for dinner. But dinner for one is daunting.
Mac and cheese is an easy option. I can wander over to Chinatown and grab some dumplings and buns or a bowl of spicy, sinus clearing noodles, yum. A few pieces of sushi will be satisfying without sacrificing my waist. But I really should cook.
So cook I shall.

In the meantime check out this exclusive on Rouge Tomate:
http://www.restaurantgirl.com/sneak_peek/rouge_tomate_20_a_concept_menu.html

A Round-up; Everything I Ate Since My Last Post

It has been a week since my last post and I apologize for not bombarding you with details of my exciting excursions and extravagant eatings. Now it seems that I have waited too long and it is daunting to think of posting everything I've eaten since the last post, but for the sake of full disclosure, here goes.

Saturday:
Wine tour on the North Fork of Long Island. Went to Paumanok (great), Bedell Cellars (awful), and Old Field Vineyard (amazing). We went with some friends visiting from Spain and brought a travelling picnic. Some northeast cheddar style cheeses, almonds, marinated peppers, potato chips and prosciutto. We bought La Quercia prosciutto which is American and wanted to see how the Jamon Aficionados would feel about it. We were told its good, but a little "mushy".
We went back to my parents house and grilled pizza, yes on the BBQ grill. I will post directions in a future post.

Sunday:
Went to Ann Marie's farm in E. Setauket for fresh blueberries and tomatoes! Made blueberry pancakes for breakfast and ate tomatoes for lunch. Blueberry pancakes came from a mix, Bisquick maybe? My father made dinner, it was DELICIOUS.

Monday:
Still on Long Island. Used up the leftover pizza dough from Saturday but baked it in the oven. Threw sliced farm tomatoes on top and some leftover chicken cutlet. Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream for dessert.
We went out to dinner with my sister and parents before she moves to Chicago. Started with excellent fried oysters, in shell with a sweet potato mash and spinach. Filet mignon entree. Came with haricot verts and blue cheese studded mashed potatoes and had coffee panna cotta for dessert.

Tuesday:
US OPEN! Fun, but seriously no good food to eat. Read eighteen hundred articles about all the good food to eat at the open. Fe! It was just expensive crap. Better food at Citibank field a hop, skip and jump away.

Wednesday:
Lunch was a tasting at an Upper East Side restaurant that I am covering exclusively for another website, shhhhh. I'll link article to here when it comes out next week. Needless to say it was delicious! 6 small crostini, 5 crudo, 3 entrees and a partridge in a pair tree. All was consumed while chatting with the restaurant's general manager and pr girl.
Stopped at Financier by the apartment for some pastry on the way home, as if I didn't eat enough. Scarfed an apricot and pistachio tartlet and some madeleines, very Proust.
Dinner was spent with the Spaniards! We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to Grimaldi's. It was so touristy but so fun and delicious. The line was only a half hour! We got two pies, uno con pimientos y uno con champinones. The crust is yeasty and yielding. The sauce sweet and not overly acidic and the cheese was fresh and not overly puddle-y. I was told it was overrated, it wasn't.

Thursday:
Went to Harry's Pizza for lunch with a friend, we will call him Bomb. I had eggplant parm, Bomb had a chicken parm hero. We shared a warm spinach salad with portobellos and pancetta.
Dinner at Fig and Olive in the Meatpacking District for Z's birthday. We had a large group and were relegated to the restaurant week menu. Started with a delicious beef carpaccio, the balsamic vinegar dressing was perfect, A+. Branzino entree with figs and snow peas as accoutrement. Didn't get the snow peas, disconnect. Snow peas are Asian, dish was definitely Mediterranean.

And now it's Friday. You now know everything that I ate this week, or at least the food worth talking about. So now we can move on from here. I will post more often, I promise.