How to cook a steak

This method was introduced to me by my friend Joe.  It's most suitable for fattier cuts like rib-eye and works best with really good cuts of beef, e.g. USDA prime.


How to cook a steak

1. Take the batteries out of your smoke alarm.
2. Turn the oven up to 500 and put an empty cast-iron skillet in the oven to pre-heat.
3. Place the steak on a cutting board and blot off all the moisture with a paper towel.
4. Rub kosher salt (as much as you can hold between two fingers and your thumb) into each side of the steak.  Let it stand for 3 minutes, then dab all the moisture off again.
5. Sprinkle with pepper to taste, then cover the steak in peanut oil (or canola oil, although it has a lower smoke point).
6. Turn on the largest, hottest stove burner to high.
7. Take the pre-heated pan out of the oven and put it on the hot burner, and put the steak on the pan. The house will start to fill with smoke, so get fans going.
8. After 1 minute, flip it over and sear the second side for 1 minute.
9. Then flip it back over and put the pan into the hot oven.
10. After 2 minutes, flip the steak over and cook for 2 more minutes.
11. Place the steak on an elevated cooling wrack to drip and tent it with aluminum foil.  Let rest for 5 minutes.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Shrimp Fra Diavolo
serves 4-6

Serve over 1/2 lb. linguini or spaghetti.

Shrimp
Toss together, then saute on high for about 30 seconds:
1 lb. medium-large shrimp, peeled (can also substitute 1 lb. sea scallops)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil

Turn shrimp and add 1/4 cup cognac (or brandy).  Set cognac on fire, then pull pan off the heat.  Set shrimp aside.

Sauce
Saute over low for 7-10 minutes:
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. raw garlic, minced (about 9 cloves)

Add, then increase heat to medium for 8 minutes:
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
28 oz. diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup dry white wine

Add and heat through:
reserved shrimp
1 tbsp. raw garlic, minced (about 3 cloves)
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
1 tbsp. olive oil

Chicken & Lime Soup

This is a wonderful recipe taken straight from Budget Bytes.  It looks like a typical tomato-based soup, but its flavor profile is completely different.

Chicken & Lime Soup
serves 6

Dice, then saute for 5 minutes:
1 medium yellow onion
1 medium jalapeno (seeds removed)
3 stalks celery
2 tbsp. olive oil

0.5 tsp salt

Add and bloom for about 1 minute:

1 tsp. dried oregano
0.5 tsp. ground cumin

Add and stir in, then saute 1 minute more:
14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
8-oz. can diced mild green chilies, drained

Add and simmer, covered, for 1 hour:

6 cups chicken stock

2 raw chicken breasts, whole
1 tsp. salt (if using low sodium products)

While the soup is cooking, separately cook 1 cup dry pasta (if desired).

After soup has simmered for 1 hour, remove the whole chicken breasts and shred them.

Add to the pot to finish the dish:
shredded chicken breasts

1 tbsp. garlic olive oil
2 tbsp. lime juice (or juice of 1 lime)
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

salt to taste

two cups cooked pasta (if desired)

Beef Vegetable Soup

This recipe can be made with either barley or noodles, as your heart desires.  I grew up on the barley version, so I tend to prefer it.


Beef Vegetable Soup

Buy a 2 to 3 lb. chuck roast or sirloin tip.  If you can find pre-cut stew beef, you can buy 1 to 1.5 lb. (no waste).

Toss in plastic bag:
1.5 pounds beef in 1” cubes
1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

In large pot, preheat about 1/8 c. oil over medium to medium high heat until it shimmers.  Brown meat in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Let the meat cubes brown for at least a couple of minutes before turning them.  When they are ready to turn, they should release cleanly from the pan.  Adjust heat as needed.  You want to get a good browned color but not burn the drippings. Add more oil if needed for the second batch. 

Return all beef to the pot.  Add and simmer on medium low, covered, for 1 hour:
3.5 cups Swanson beef broth
3.5 cups Swanson low sodium chicken broth
1 cup red wine

Add:
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
2 pound bag of frozen mixed vegetables
28 oz. canned diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf

If desired, also add:
2/3 cup raw pearl barley (do not use “quick cooking” barley)
1 cup water

Simmer covered about another hour until barley is done.  Adjust salt to taste.

To use noodles instead of barley:
Omit the barley and extra water.  After the soup has cooked about 1.5 hours, boil about 1/2 cup raw small pasta separately, drain, and add it to the finished soup. (Do not succumb to temptation and boil the pasta in the soup; it will just absorb all the broth.)

Guacamole

This recipe is unabashedly stolen from Alton Brown, rather than a true Latin cuisine authority.  I made it for a party because it was the first thing to come up when I searched for a guacamole recipe, and it got rave reviews; the cumin is especially nice.  I've modified it slightly to suit my preferences.


Guacamole
6 cups, serves up to 10 guests

Toss in bowl:
3 Haas avocadoes, sliced and scooped
1 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Use a potato masher to macerate the avocadoes with the seasoning, but leave it relatively chunky.

Add:
1 Roma tomato, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

Sour Cherry Pie

My husband's family is completely obsessed with sour cherries.  When we last visited, I scored their easy no-bake sour cherry pie recipe, and am recording it for posterity.  We don't often get fresh sour cherries here, so if your cherries are frozen, thaw them out and drain them before putting the filling together.  If they aren't drained, the pie filling will be too runny.

My mother-in-law uses Pillsbury Pet-Ritz deep dish frozen pie shells.  For this recipe, all you need to do is thaw one in the refrigerator - it doesn't need to be baked.


Sour Cherry Pie (no bake)

Let sit 10 minutes, then simmer 15 minutes:
4-5 cups sour cherries, pitted
1 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

Take off the heat and add:
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. citric acid powder

Pour into a pre-made pie shell and chill.  ("How long?" I asked.  "I'm not sure.  We never make it more than a few hours.")

Garlic Rosemary Chicken

This week, my grocery store had a $0.99/lb sale on whole chickens, so I was determined to put my new roasting pan to the test.  I chose a roast chicken recipe from Cook's Illustrated's The New Best Recipe.  My grocery store stocks larger chickens than this recipe calls for, however, so the cooking time was tweaked according to instructions found in The Joy of Cooking. It came out spot on.

Since I first posted this recipe, I've made some tweaks.  First, I now double the amount of garlic rosemary paste.  Second, I add minced rosemary to the potatoes as well.  Finally, I stole the idea of adding lemon to the potatoes from Ina Garten's Engagement Roast Chicken.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes

serves 4

Break down one whole head of garlic into unpeeled cloves. Reserve 10 cloves for the brine, 4 for the rub, and use the remainder with the potatoes.

Brine
Mix together in a ziplock bag:
1/2 c. table salt (or 3/4 c. Morton's kosher salt)
10 unpeeled garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Beat with a rolling pin to smash the garlic cloves.  Then add to a large stock pot with 2 c. hot water.  Let steep for 10 minutes.

Add 6 cups cold water and a whole chicken (about 4-6 pounds), giblets removed; or 6-8 bone-in, skin-on chicken legs and breasts.  Brine for 1 hour in the refrigerator, turning the bird over at 30 minutes.

Garlic rosemary paste (doubled)
4 tsp. minced fresh rosemary (about 4 stems)
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced (or pressed)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1.5 tbsp. olive oil

Potatoes and garlic mixture
1.5 pounds raw Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
10 unpeeled garlic cloves
1 lemon, cut lengthwise into 4-6 slices
2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary (about 2 stems)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1.5 tbsp. olive oil

Cooking the chicken

If roasting cut up pieces rather than a whole chicken, arrange the potatoes and chicken in a single layer on a high-sided baking sheet.  Rub the garlic rosemary paste under the skin of each chicken piece, then coat the outside with olive oil and season with black pepper.  Roast for 50 minutes at 400.

If roasting a whole bird, place the chicken in a roasting rack coated with non-stick spray.  Rub about 1.5 tsp. of the garlic rosemary paste inside the cavity of the chicken.  Use the rest under the skin of the chicken, concentrating on the breasts and thighs.  Once finished, tie the legs together with cooking twine.  Coat the outside of the chicken with olive oil and season with black pepper.  Then turn the chicken breast side down before placing it in the oven:

• Roast for 15 minutes at 450.
• Add potatoes and garlic to the bottom of the pan.
• Roast for an additional 15 minutes at 450.
• Remove pan from the oven and turn the temperature down to 375.
• While waiting for the oven to adjust, rotate the chicken so it's breast side up and stir the potatoes.
• Roast at 375 until done (breast 160-165 and thigh 170-175).

Total cooking time estimate: 1 hour for the first 4 pounds, then add 8 minutes for each additional pound (e.g. 5.5 pound chicken = 1 hour and 12 minutes roasting time).

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.  Meanwhile, remove the lemon pieces from the potatos and add about 1 tbsp. of butter.

Shopping list
whole chicken, 4-6 pounds
fresh rosemary
1 whole head of garlic
1.5 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
1 lemon


Recommended products:
In the past, I've had to use an adjustable V-rack and a small baking dish for roasting.  The V-rack is incredibly obnoxious, because even when coated in cooking spray, it tends to stick to the protein and thus come undone whenever you try to turn the meat.  Tonight's infinitely preferable weapon of choice:

Cuisinart stainless steel 16" roasting rack