one week later...

State of the Union

So, to answer your first question, it has been a week since I last posted. Rarely, but sometimes, I actually have things I need to do. However this wasn't one of those weeks. There's a couple reasons that now will unfortunately be affecting my upkeep of these scribblings and the whole experiment in general. For one, the restaurant I'm starting at was delayed by yet another week, so matching up a lack of income till into November with this economy, some of the more interesting and exotic things I had planned will have to simplify. My health not to be outdone by a lack of funds of course, the blood work of my physical came back. *sigh* Not to get too into it, but I'm fine. That is so long as I watch what I eat for the next six months including a specific reference to moderating my red meat intake (bastard doctor). We're not jumping off the track in a fiery blaze or anything, but I'll be "moderating" my steaks down to one or two a week. I guess that's not too different than what I've been doing, so never mind. It'll just have to be my ONLY red meat for the week. Heed this more as a warning that the near future delights will be minimal and "healthy(er)". I'll try to make up for a lack of flair with my wit and good looks....god help us all. 

This is all not to say I didn't already have another meal planned out before evaluating the overall situation, but before getting into that, let me tell you briefly about the Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese world championship last night.

Macaroni and Cheese and Cheese

When I have mentioned previously about Oregonians and their pride in local goods, that was no freaking joke, and nothing made that clearer than this event. I have lived in many cities, in many area's of the country and I have never faced local or regional pride like these people. Whenever cheese is mentioned, it's preceded by saying "Tillamook", and when that happens, the applause isn't pandering or half hearted, it's thunderous. One would be inclined to think Robert Gray and the 'Lady Washington' drove the snakes out of Oregon or lead the charge on San Juan Hill. Ilan Hall, Master of Ceremonies could mention truffles without a reaction, but correcting himself by saying, "by the way, they are local truffles" brings the house down.

To further add to this sense of grandeur, the event may as well have been black tie. When I read that Kells pub was hosting, I assumed it to be a laid back affair. Well, Kell's was the doorway. Passing through the pub you found out back the large tent taking up a parking lot. Clip board checkers at the door and everyone at first glance seemed to be decked out for the symphony rather than for comfort food. Fortunately for me, a handful more in jeans showed up eventually. 

Up front there was a riser colorfully spotlighting the six stations for the finalists, and a couple rows or dining tables for the judges, followed behind by a couple hundred folding chairs for the rest of us. I was scared with the set up as it seemed no one but the judges would get to sample the dishes but we were all assured our share. 

While the finalists worked away, we were treated to free wine, beer, cheese, and demonstrations by Kells executive chef (irish pubs have executive chefs?) of her stout and cheese soup (absolutely fantastic) and by Ilan himself on his "Scottish/Jewish" mac and cheese, and they should all feel lucky he wasn't in competition with them, it was some of the best I've ever had. 

When the cooks were done, small dishes were passed out to us and after Tillamook cheese (WOOHOO) samples, Tillamook (YEEHAW) cheese/stout soup and some of Ilan's Tillamook (you get the idea) mac and cheese, six more small dishes will fill you up quick. Here's the link to the six finalists again:

http://www.macaroniandcheeseandcheese.com/contest/

I think I wasn't alone in a bit of upset that the Caramelized sweet potato, garlic and rosemary mac took the gold. Not that it was bad, it just didn't do it for me as much as a couple of others. While I can't say I'm a huge supporter of Chanterelles, the smokey black pepper cheese one had the most interesting strait up cheese flavor for me, and texturally, the cornbread topped apple (viewers choice winner by a mile and a half) and the souffle mac and cheese were my favorites.

Once again I've rambled on about things that have nothing to do with me cooking myself a steak dinner, but really, a mac and cheese competition is certainly worthy a little detour. But onto an actual meal...

Chopped Cobb

This seemed a completely ludicrous salad recipe, so of course I had to try it. Plus, I love chopped salad, and I love Cobb salad so, yeah. This didn't just call for lettuce, it called for:

1 Small head of Romaine

1/2 head of Iceberg

8-10 leaves of red leaf lettuce

and 1/2 bunch of watercress (sure, I'll admit that until this I thought watercress was a root vegetable)

Chop it up and mix it in a specific order for some reason with blue cheese crumbles and chopped up: 1/2 pound of bacon

2 large hardboiled eggs

1 large, ripe tomato

3 green onions

1 large, ripe avocado

That is the largest mixing bowl I had and tossing all this together was difficult enough to cut back the recipe some just to fit in there. Yes, I'll be eating this salad for 2 weeks now thank you. I'm very glad I didn't follow through with my initial thought of "all those greens are silly, I'm just going to use Romain." The mix of those greens together was fantastic, and it all together is good enough I'm eager to continue eating it before my giant bowl of salad begins to wilt. 

The Dressing

The dressing provided with the salad recipe is mustard based and I don't care much for mustard (no matter how much this particular one calls for rendered bacon fat to be used as well). Plus I don't have any red wine vinegar on hand and I was buying enough as it was. So I did a nice easy substitute all with stuff I had here already. And partially using proportions from and oil and vinegar concoction I found, and partially all on my own. Go me. It was a cup of e.v.o.o., 1/3 cup balsamic, and some touches of honey, salt, pepper, onion powder and paprika. I fought off the urge and instinct to use garlic in it as well seeing as how everything else that follows uses tons of garlic already.

Pommes Boulangére

The great thing about typing these out for you rather than talking to you about them is I don't have to pronounce words like Boulangére. And yeah, I'm pretty sure the accent mark goes the other way, but I don't know how to do that one. I'll just butcher, or rather "boucheron" the French language instead. Sorry, Jacques, but as you taught me when I was a kid, "Je parle le Francais comme une vache espagnole." Speaking of Le Pépin, this is one of his.

It began with cutting up 2 pounds of boiling potatoes (which after careful research I took to mean "red") much in the same way I did for the robinson potato disaster or any gratin I guess. With the aide of the ben riner, it was much easier this time (funny story about that, I saw the same mandolin today for the same price but twice as wide....dammit...). Then Layering the unwashed slices in a large (I'm really learning how relative of a term "large" is) gratin dish, adding to it sautéed onions which have been boiled with chicken stock (or in my case broth), garlic slices, bay leave, thyme, salt and pepper. It is then placed in a 400 degree oven for an hour probably longer or as they like to say "Till well browned on top" which may work in a perfect world where everyone's oven doesn't run 75 degrees cooler than it says it is. Discard the bay leaves assuming you can find them, and top with parsley.

For an actual detailed breakdown of this, please see "Jacques Pépin's Simple and Healthy Cooking." All kinds of good stuff in there. For me it seemed to work out fine. It was nice and oniony where I classically expect there to be a cheesy gratin. I'm not sure how much of the broth, if any, was supposed to be in the bottom of the dish when it was done, but there was a bit, and it was fine. With an expected serving size of six, I now have something to eat alongside the chopped cobb for the next two weeks. 

Pan-Broiled Steak with Marsala and Hot Pepper Sauce

Talk about a good match for a piece of meat and a way to prepare it. I used one of the top choice secret reserve prime what have you steaks. And I really wish the camera pulled it together on this one because if in focus, it may come close to looking as good as it was. This "Bistecca alla diavola", which I assume means something along the line of "pan-broiled steak with etc etc" comes from "The Classic Italian Cookbook". That is it's name, not something I'm putting down because I can't remember what it's called.

The steak itself started out as I've become accustomed with a pan sear, but it wants for this recipe to be quite rare, so there was nothing additional done to it strait away past the searing. I put it on it's oven plate while doing the rest. The trick became doing everything else quickly because there was more to do with the steak before it totally settled, and since it wasn't cooked heavily, there wasn't that much retreat into the center for the juices. 

Once the sear was done, and the steak is seasoned now with salt and pepper and put aside, all fat but a couple tablespoons is dumped from the pan and a mix of marsala and red wine added like a deglaze (that's right? deglaze yeah?). This caused an atomic bomb level mushroom cloud in my kitchen that after just having watched a show on grease fires, made me nervous for a second. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't kind of neat. But the marsala and wine, I stirred for 30 seconds at a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the goodness up and into it, then added the garlic for only a couple turns of the spoon, then fennel seeds for a few more seconds. Turning the heat down diluted tomato paste and chopped red pepper is tossed in and in about a minute, it should be "thick and syrupy". Oh yes it was.

After it reaches that consistency, I got to toss the steak back into the mixture just long enough to coat and cook it a bit in the sauce. It was then toss it on a plate, garnish with parsley and back to our good old friend "serve IMMEDIATELY". It at no point had instructed to use additional sauce from the pan  as a topper, perhaps because it's meant for four steaks instead of my one, so it may not expect any left over, but I did it anyway. Well worth it.

It may have been the choice in marsala and red wine with the help in texture from the fennel seeds, but the sauce was like a warm, spiced raspberry marmalade. I may have to make just this part again to see if it works as a lengthy marinade rather than a finisher. It was good enough I wanted to spread it on toast the next morning.

Well, that's all for now. Time to start hunting for those "simple and (eep) healthy" ways of doing things (and just when I was going to attempt a Beef Wellington, aw shucks). I know we would all rather not but, that whole heart exploding thing. Going to try to avoid it.