Steak, Potatoes, and Fancy Word Friday

Let's talk steak.

It's delicious, maybe nutritious (if you follow the Adkins). It's my favorite treat for a special meal.

I did not make this, but Joey ate this and it was mouthwatering.

Credit to Mojitos

First, let's compliment this steak dinner and make a gratin.

Gratin (French pronunciation: ​ is a widespread culinary technique in food preparation in which an ingredient is topped with a browned crust, often using breadcrumbs, grated cheese, egg and/or butter. Gratin originated in French cuisine and is usually prepared in a shallow dish of some kind. A gratin is baked or cooked under an overhead grill or broiler to form a golden crust on top and is traditionally served in its baking dish.

via wikipedia.com

Peel those potatoes. Annoying but a MUST.

Get yourself some serious knife skills or if you lack those, get a mandolin, OXO brand like me! I think ours is from Target. Its pretty amazing but inexpensive!

Compliment my manicure. (OPI Red if you must know.)

This was a Level 2 cut.

When you cut your potatoes, put them in a bowl of cold water. Don't let those puppies brown. Blech.

I lined my dish with some oil spray, then parchment paper.

My gratin was made with Pepper Jack cheese.  I had it in my fridge….so what? Yum. I will say, it was spicy and had a major kick. I loved it and normally don't like super spicy.

Layer potatoes, S&P, pepper jack, until you run out of layers or potatoes. I try to make the last layer cheese so it browns in the oven.

This is the special part. HEAVY CREAM. Just heat 1 1/4 c with 1 stick of butter (!!) up on the stove on LOW (trust, no other way than low). Let it heat through then pour over your potato layer fun.  Put that covered in the oven at 300 for 1 1/4 hours. You will thank me later.

Asparagus. Yum. Roast with olive oil, s&p for 45 min at 400. If you try to do both gratin and asparagus at same time, I'd boil the asparagus first for 5 min, then put in ice water to stop them from cooking to nothing, dry, then roast  on a pan at same temp (300)  for about 40 minutes.

Look at those beauties.

If you want a true filet mignon do the bacon wrapped filet ala Joseph. S&P those beauties. 

Here's how we roll. Splurge (omg $20) on two baby cast irons. . Heat those suckers up on broil while you prep your steaks.  Mind you, already have your side dishes cooking - cover those with foil or a lid while the oven is on broil. You will be sad with burnt food...

Imagine an amazing searing sound...

 Then after you flip with some tongs after 8 minutes (glass of wine), still in oven, and use your handy meat thermometer… They should be around 125 degrees.  Pull them out of the oven and sit on the stove top….they still cook and need to rest for a few to redistribute the juices (10 min tops). And those cast irons are no joke. They are HOT. Yum. Also, nobody likes a dry steak. Meh.

Then, delicately plate your dish so you can take a picture that is a bit lackluster like this one. I swear it's delicious! Better than an Applebee's commercial! Amirite!?

How do you like to make your steaks? I prefer a filet, but Joey likes a strip. I can't wait for grilling season… 

Dinner Date and Fancy Word Friday

If you are married, in a relationship, engaged, just friends, single, with girlfriends, with guy friends, etc it is REALLY REALLY important to go out to eat with people you like spending time with. It keeps you sane. JoJo loves a good date night, and I can't ever deny him one. If only it was acceptable to wear pajamas or the elastic ankle sweats from Walmart (my go-to at home, stop judging, and you will probably find me in them if you knocked on my door for a random drop in, so don't if you are offended by them) to dinner and look chic. Maybe I'll try that one day just to say I did it… or, erhmmm, probably not. It is a treat to go out to eat, you don't have to cook unless you are eating fondue (It is totally 80s to do this but I am a huge fan), and it is worth every penny if you go to the right place.

The trick to saving money when you go out to eat is to PRE-GAME. Yes, I know you are laughing and calling me cheap - but whatever. That bottle of wine I got to pre-game is the same price as one glass of wine at the restaurant we are going to. I'm not made of money, people! And I'll have plenty of vino waiting for me when I get home from a delicious meal. I've mentioned wine in 50% of my posts so far. Have I talked about my love for a cheap decent red?

The conversation between Joey and I goes a little something like this.
"Can I take you on a date?
"Sure! "
"Where do you want to go? "
"I dunno, where do YOU want to go?"

It continues for a few minutes of text, then, I will be completely honest with you... I will tell him the restaurant I really have been wanting to go to the whole conversation, and we go there. Jackpot, I know.

We went to Mojitos, and accidentally swiped a couple seats at the bar from some people waiting longer than we were. Oops. Joey told me about it after I had blindly done it…thanks, Joe. Gotta get those bar seats!!!

Think about it though, bartenders are usually a promotion above a server (but not always), so they are probably a) really cool peeps and b)knowledgeable about the menu/a good server. Did you know I was a bartender once?  That's not the point….

Baguette, Green Apples, Manchego Cheese, Mini Pickles, Smoked Honey. Hey OH!

FANCY WORD OF THE DAY:

Charcuterie (/ʃɑrˌkuːtəˈriː/ or /ʃɑrˈkuːtəri/; northern French: [ʃaʁ.kyt.'ʁi] or southernFrench: [ʃaʁ.kytə'ʁi], from chair 'flesh' and cuit 'cooked') is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines,galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork.

(from wikipedia.com)

When you are on a date, split a meat and cheese app. Trust. They are delightful together.

 Serrano Ham. Yum.

When you go to any restaurant in the near future- get the short ribs if are on the menu. Chefs are really perfecting these. Mine were DELISH.

Joey got the filet with bleu cheese caramelized on it.

Editor Note: I wish I loved two things in life: olives and bleu cheese. Luckily, Joey loves both so I live vicariously through him and watch him enjoy both. 

The point of this post is: Go on a date with your friend, dad, mom, sister, brother, best friend you have a crush on, your enemy….who cares…just go enjoy the fruits of others labor and enjoy a well cooked restaurant meal. 

P.S. TIP YOUR SERVER. SERIOUSLY, no one likes a bad tipper.

Glad I Finally Wasn't Embarrassed.

Hi! Glad you are stopping by. This is my "will post another delish item but have nothing at the moment  yet face" (probably drunk since its from NYE). Welcome! Fun recipes and posts are to come!

Invite Your Friends Over

Read the post. Invite your friends over. Cook what you love to cook. If they are your friends, they won't care if it's not great. But if you want to impress your friends and have great food….Cook this (Pioneer Woman). Pics show the fun.

Brussels sprouts are delish to me. Check with your buds if they like them. Roast with a squeeze of lemon, slice the lemon and throw it in there, s&p, and some bacon for 45 min at 345 on a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil if they say YES. Keep these friends. Brussels sprouts are the shiz.

Seriously, its fun to have friends over. Even better to have a dinner party! 

Trust me. If you can read, you can follow a recipe. Just don't have too much wine before starting the food or it'll be a mess. 

Photo credits to Miranda at www.thechicstreet.com or follow on Instagram @thechicstreet and my sweet friend - follow her too on Instagram Allison @allisonmyers