For those of you who don't know, Will loves to eat steak. Ergo Will loves to cook steak. My mom also cooks steak really well. So I've never felt the need to cook a steak.
However as Will and I were walking past the meat department at Sprouts, a "farmers market" located in a strip mall near the Arboretum (nice grocery store, similar to Trader Joe's in some ways), I mentioned that I'd never cooked red meat. Will was like, "Why not try it then?" So I browsed the meats and settled on a porterhouse steak. Will got a T-bone steak too, since they were both on sale.
My mom likes to broil steaks, but I opted to try Will's pan sear method. No offense ma, I'll try your way next time!
Here are the steps:
1) Salt and pepper one side of the steak. 2) Heat oil in a non-stick pan at around just below the "high" setting. 3) Place steak into the pan, and should hear a sizzle. This is the sound of successful searing. 4) Press down the meat with tongs to ensure searing on the entire surface. 5) Salt the other side of the steak. 6) After 2 minutes, flip the steak over and press down for another 2 minutes. 7) Place pan with seared steak into the oven (around 150 degrees) to rest for about 10 minutes.
Voila! Here's a picture of the first steak I've ever cooked. Doesn't it look beautiful? The more important question is how does it taste?
Margie had a taste and approved. Don't believe me? Read on!
me: So what'd you think of the steak I cooked?
Margaret: it was yummy!
and inspiring
me: haha, cool
8:14 PM i just wanted to get some confirmation to post on my xanga
so that it wasn't just me saying it was delicious!
Margaret: haha u can quote me
me: sweet
Margaret: i liked the cauliflower too
8:15 PM
Oh yay, I'll add that comment too
shmanks
Margaret: sure welcome
8:16 PM and thank u
It's official. I make yummy and inspiring steak.
For a side, I made cauliflower puree. Will gave me the recipe for this. I basically boiled the chopped cauliflower for about 15 minutes, then added 1/2 tbsp of butter, some cream, and some salt, and finally pureed it with my trusty stick blender. The consistency is similar to mashed potatoes, but instead of carbs you get...veggies!
I've been wanting to make hummus for a while, and finally got around to buying some lemons, a can of chickpeas, and tahini. I used the recipe found in the "Best of America's Test Kitchen" cookbook I used last time for the sheetpan crackers. The recipe calls for lemon juice, water, tahini, olive oil, chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, cayenne, and a bit of parsley at the end.
I used my the food processor attachment on my stick blender to make the hummus. It was a bit cumbersome because the processor would only chop up the stuff at the bottom, so I had to constantly open the top and stir the ingredients or take some out.
Here is the end product.
I let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, then at Margie's behest I finally took it out and served it--with Stacy's pita chips. They probably would've gone well with sheetpan crackers, but I didn't have enough time to make them this time.
So hummus is delicious and easy to make! If anyone would like the recipe, I can post it up here.
Apache's birthday was last Friday, January 15. He is now 1 year old, no longer a puppy! Sadly I was not in town to take him to a strip club (aka the dog park), so I left him some presents on the kitchen table. Turns out he tore a big hole on the sweater on the first day, and destroyed the toy (which I paid $15 for!) in a matter of minutes. Sigh, why do we buy gifts for dogs? Especially destructive dogs like Apache?
Sometimes we take Apache into the tennis court so that we can let him loose. That night me and my mom were out walking him. Apache happened upon a stick and instantly made it his possession. My mom tried to take it from him, but Apache made it clear she wasn't going to get it.
Will sent me a transcript of Steve Job's commencement speech at Stanford a few years ago. I read it and found it very inspirational, especially the last line: "Stay hungry, stay foolish". As I was peeling green beans for dinner tonight, I browsed the Ted Talks website and happened upon Job's speech in video form. Here it is:
I saw another fellow Fozzbourne again--Linh Dan. She took me to Thien Thanh, a Vietnamese restaurant on Bellaire Blvd., just west of Beltway 8.
I wanted to try a Vietnamese dish that she liked, and she suggested the "banh cuon thit nuong". It consists of bbq pork and mint leaves wrapped in steamed rice paper, with fried onion bits sprinkled on top. On the side is a simple salad of fresh bean sprouts and chopped cilantro. I dipped each section of it into fish sauce mixed with hot sauce.
This dish reminded me of spring rolls and banh mi, fused together. It is delicious! Thanks Linh Dan for exposing me to a new dish.
Thanks Linh Dan for exposing me to a new dish.
