Neglect

I know it might look like I’ve been a very bad blogger over the last few months.

In truth, I’ve started a new blog with my other half from high school, Rachel.

You can check us (and new recipes) out here!

Spanish Style Steaks

I love steak.

I love steak more than just any other food.

A great piece of meat, seasoned well and cooked to a perfect medium-rare is like a small view of heaven to me. Maybe that seems a little extreme to some people, but it makes me so very happy.

The other day, I was flipping through my Jamie Oliver Jamie’s Food Revolution cookbook (one of my favorites!) and saw this steak recipe. I thought it looked great, so I decided to tweak it and try it. So very glad I did! I served this with some great asparagus (recipe to come) and some store bought bruschetta.  So yummy, and the colors were absolutely beautiful too.

Spanish Style Steaks

• 2 beef filets
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Smoked Paprika
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 lemon

Heat a grill pan to very hot. Generously sprinkle steaks with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Drizzle with olive oil, and rub the steaks to get well coated in oil and spices.

Cut bell peppers in quarters, removing all innards.

Cut one end off of the garlic clove.

Once the pan is smoking slightly, put steaks and peppers on it (note: might want to open a window at this point. Hello smoke!). Every minute or so flip peppers and steaks. Each time you flip the steaks, rub them with garlic clove, and press down.

I cooked ours for about 4-5 minutes, then removed to a plate to rest. This resulted in a perfectly juicy medium rare steak. I cooked the peppers for probably another 5 minutes at least, until softened and starting to char nicely. Remove these to a plate and drizzle with olive oil.

To serve, slice the well rested steak thinly against the grain. Drizzle with lemon juice, and serve with peppers.

Salted Browned Butter Rice Krispie Treats

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I like desserts, but I don’t crave them like some people do. If I bake a cake, I usually wind up throwing most of it away a week or two later. I love creme brulee, but only once in a while. Cheesecake? Occasionally, and I prefer it to be tart.

However, throw some salt into the mix, and I’m a goner.

Anything with the magical mix of sweet and salty I will eat until I’m sick. I love it. Love love love.

These rice krispie treats are one of the ultimate (and easy) treats. Crunchy, chewy, salty, sweet: I’m in heaven.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/salted-brown-butter-crispy-treats/

The (mostly) Dairy Free Life

The boy is back (hooray!), and in thinking about what to cook over the weekend, I stumbled across this article:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/cooking-discussion/on-doing-without-dairy-142339

The article itself isn’t bad, but the comments below make some fantastic dairy alternative suggestions that I can’t wait to try out!

Fettuccine Alfredo

The boy has been out of town on business all week, so I decided to take advantage of that fact and make something with loads of dairy. This was pretty much the perfect recipe to accomplish that. I’ve always loved alfredo, typically poured from a jar, but once I started making my own, there was no going back.

The recipe really couldn’t be easier

Fettuccine Alfredo

• Heavy cream
• Butter
• Parmesan (the good stuff)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh nutmeg (optional)
• Pasta (Fettuccine really is best)

Put a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add an equal amount of cream. Add pepper and nutmeg to taste, then a little salt (Parmesan is pretty salty). Heat until barely simmering. Turn heat off and put grated Parmesan in. I typically add about half the amount of cheese as cream/butter. Stir around to melt the cheese, and let sit.

Cook pasta according to directions. Taste the sauce to see if it needs any more salt, then add the noodles to the pan. Toss is all together, then sprinkle on a little more cheese, just because you can. If the sauce is too thick, pour in a little pasta water.

I’d like to say that I ate a salad with this, but I didn’t. Just lots and lots of pasta.

Braised Short Ribs

A really good way to judge how much we like a dish is how long it takes us to make it again. In this case, we only lasted a week before we made it, which is especially impressive considering how much time this dish takes to make. It’s an extremely easy dish, but it takes a lot of time.

The first time we made it, we started in the morning, let it cook for 4 hours, pulled it out for at least an hour to cool before sticking it in the fridge for a few hours (the blessing/curse of cast iron heat retention), pulled it out of the fridge, scooped off the fat, and reheated. The second time, I put it on as soon as I got home from work, and then let it cool overnight so it was ready the next day. Super easy, just can’t be rushed.

SO worth it.

Here’s the full recipe:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/03/short-ribs-in-tomato-sauce/

Do yourself a big favor and make it!

St-Germain Gin and Tonic

We have a new favorite drink at our house; one that will transition perfectly into summer.

I love a good gin and tonic, and I love St-Germain, a French elderflower liqueur. The combination of the two is brilliant!  The boy makes it perfectly, and I’m a very happy girl.

St-Germaine Gin and Tonic

• 1½ parts Gin
• 1 part St-Germain
• 3 parts Tonic Water
• Lime wedge

Combine first three ingredients in a glass with ice. Squeeze in lime and stir. Serve with a lime wedge garnish.

Official recipe: http://www.stgermain.fr/cocktails.php?r=GT

 

The Sandwich

Even though I’ve been a dedicated Pioneer Woman reader for over 3 years (after spending Christmas day, 2007 reading through her love story), I had yet to make the sandwich. THE Marlboro Man sandwich. The sandwich guaranteed to make a man propose (didn’t even have to use it for my man!).

That all changed last night.

Things have been pretty crazy around here since the proposal. Wonderfully crazy. Over the moon excited crazy, but still crazy. Case in point: I bought the meat to make these on Saturday, and didn’t get around to making them until last night. Note to self: cube steak in the fridge does not last that long. When I pulled it out last night, the meat was a color no meat should be. I quickly called the boy, who was on his way home, and he sweetly went and picked up more steak.

He really wanted the sandwich.

I served these with steamed artichokes, and I might have been slightly distracted by my love for the artichoke, but these were still delicious.

The Marlboro Man Sandwich

• 1 whole Large (or 2 Small) Onions
• 2 sticks Butter
• 2 pounds  Cube Steak
• Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 3/4 cups (approximately) Worcestershire Sauce
• Tabasco Sauce, To Taste
• 4 whole French/deli Rolls

Preparation Instructions

Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.

Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides.

Add  Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 tablespoons butter. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.

Butter halved French rolls and brown in skillet.

To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonful of juice from the pan. Top with other half of roll, cut in half, and devour!

Original recipe copied from here:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/marlboro_mans_f/

 

Pasta with Leeks and Pancetta

Last Saturday was my sweet sister’s birthday, so I offered to come over and cook dinner for her. Yes, I’m pretty much the best sister ever. When I asked what sounded good, the only thing she requested was my crack dressing. Gotta love it. That still left me with no main course. I wanted a recipe that was just a little more special than usual, and that hopefully had a little bit of dairy in it, since the boy (now fiancée!)  wasn’t going to be around.

I remembered seeing this recipe a while before, and had mentally tucked it away for later. So glad that I did, because it was really really delicious. It has some of my favorite things like wine, something bacon related, and leeks. Can’t go wrong with that. I even set aside some of the sauce before adding the cream so I could take it home to the boy, and it was still delicious.

Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks

• 12 ounces, weight Pasta, Cooked Al Dente  (I used farfalle)
• 3 ounces, weight Chopped Pancetta
• 3 whole Leeks, Sliced Thin
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• ½ cups Dry White Wine
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
• Parmesan Cheese, Shaved

Cook pasta and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Saute chopped pancetta until fat is rendered and it starts to brown. Add sliced leeks and cook for 8 minutes. Add butter. After 1 or 2 minutes, pour in wine, then cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until reduced (At this point, I took about 1/3 cup and tossed it with some noodles for the boy). Reduce heat to low, then pour in cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour this over the pasta and top with shaved Parmesan.

Original recipe:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/pasta-with-pancetta-and-leeks/

Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

My best friend and her husband have been referring to this soup as “The best soup in the world” for months now, but I never got around to making it. It calls for heavy cream, and since we can’t really do that around here, I filed the recipe away mentally for the next time the boy goes out of town without me, which hopefully won’t be happening any time soon.

Part of the amazing Valentine’s meal the boy made for me included a cardamom mint infused cream sauce, using soy cream. It was unbelievably good, and I wouldn’t have known it wasn’t full of dairy if it wasn’t for his allergy. With this experience in mind, I decided to try using the soy cream in this soup as a trial run.

WIN.

This is now entering into the rotation of favorite things.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Corn Chowder

• 5 whole Sweet Potatoes, Roasted And Cubed
• 2-½ cups Corn
• 8 slices Bacon
• 1 cup Leeks, Sliced
• 1 whole Vidalia Or Other Sweet Onion
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Marjoram (I used about 1 Tbsp dried)
• 2 boxes Chicken Stock (32oz Each), Divided
• 2 whole Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce, Finely Chopped
• 1-½ cup Heavy Cream (or soy cream!)

Wrap sweet potatoes in tin foil; do not pierce and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour at 375 degrees. Once soft, peel and cube. (Some of these will get smashed and some will not, so cube to your desired size.)

Fry bacon in a dutch oven or other large heavy bottomed pot. Once crispy, remove and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in your pot.

Cook leeks, onion, corn, thyme and marjoram in the bacon fat, stirring constantly until tender.

Add cubed sweet potatoes, 1-1 1/2 boxes of chicken stock, and chipotle peppers; simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Using an immersion blender, blend 1/2-1/3 of the soup. (You want to leave some of the corn and potato cubes whole.) At this point, you can add more chicken stock if needed, keeping in mind that you will still be adding in 1 1/2 cups heavy cream.

Simmer chowder for another 10 minutes, then add heavy cream and combine well. Salt to taste. If your chowder seems too thick, add more chicken stock and/or water to thin until you reach the desired consistency. Top with crumbled bacon.

Original recipe here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/soups/chipotle-sweet-potato-corn-chowder/