Tweet
There's a girl I've been getting to know recently, so rather than go to the movies or to a museum, we decided that we would cook dinner together last night. I'm a bit like DDD in my food obsessions... let me tell you that this girl has an amazing kitchen. Ever since I met her I've wanted to cook in her kitchen (literally and figuratively), so last night was destined to be awesome.
[As a side note, let me ask you all a question: At what point, or at what age, does it start to feel normal to say "There's a woman I've been getting to know..." rather than "There's a girl I've been getting to know..." I'm 29, and she's 29 as well, so "girl" isn't REALLY the right term, but I just feels so strange to say "I've been getting to know this woman..." What else could I use? Lady? Too anonymous. Broad? Too offensive. Twist? Too "Miller's Crossing."]
So I was inspired by a recipe I saw on Made In Spain (a FANTASTIC PBS show I watch regularly featuring Jose Andres, the biggest rock star Spanish chef in the U.S.). I served a mission in Spain, so I've been cooking Spanish food for years, and recently have started to go from preparing more common Spanish dishes into some of the deeper elements of Spanish cuisine. I don't quite remember what the sauce was called, and I didn't make it the same way he made it, but here's how I made it:
- Heat a frying pan on medium-high with a few tablespoons of good olive oil.
- Butterfly two good steaks so that they're about 3/4 of an inch thick, or just use a thin steak.
- Once the pan is hot ("searing hot"), fry the steak for just a minute or two on each side, depending on how rare you want it.
- Remove the steaks to a cutting board and let them sit for a minute.
- In the meantime, add a bit more olive oil to the pan. Keep it at that same temperature.
- Throw in four garlic cloves that have been smashed with the peel on, but not minced or diced. Smash the clove and throw it in the pan.
- Mince a shallot and add it to the pan.
- Add heavy cream. I used one of the smaller containers and it made plenty of sauce. I think it's probably 6 or 8 oz. Your call, though.
- Add sea salt.
- Let it come to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to stir it regularly, plus to scrape all of the meaty bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (an important part of the sauce's flavoring).
- Cut the steak into strips and plate them. Add some asparagus (which I blanched on the side), then apply the sauce. Don't be afraid to add the big garlic cloves, now soft and tender, to the steak.
- Savor the flavor.
It was quite simply the best sauce I've ever had on a steak. I've done all types of goat cheese sauces, cabernet butters, all sorts of variations of cream sauces, and this was the most tasty, subtle, REAL, flavorful sauce I've ever had on steak.
Tim
[As a side note, let me ask you all a question: At what point, or at what age, does it start to feel normal to say "There's a woman I've been getting to know..." rather than "There's a girl I've been getting to know..." I'm 29, and she's 29 as well, so "girl" isn't REALLY the right term, but I just feels so strange to say "I've been getting to know this woman..." What else could I use? Lady? Too anonymous. Broad? Too offensive. Twist? Too "Miller's Crossing."]
So I was inspired by a recipe I saw on Made In Spain (a FANTASTIC PBS show I watch regularly featuring Jose Andres, the biggest rock star Spanish chef in the U.S.). I served a mission in Spain, so I've been cooking Spanish food for years, and recently have started to go from preparing more common Spanish dishes into some of the deeper elements of Spanish cuisine. I don't quite remember what the sauce was called, and I didn't make it the same way he made it, but here's how I made it:
- Heat a frying pan on medium-high with a few tablespoons of good olive oil.
- Butterfly two good steaks so that they're about 3/4 of an inch thick, or just use a thin steak.
- Once the pan is hot ("searing hot"), fry the steak for just a minute or two on each side, depending on how rare you want it.
- Remove the steaks to a cutting board and let them sit for a minute.
- In the meantime, add a bit more olive oil to the pan. Keep it at that same temperature.
- Throw in four garlic cloves that have been smashed with the peel on, but not minced or diced. Smash the clove and throw it in the pan.
- Mince a shallot and add it to the pan.
- Add heavy cream. I used one of the smaller containers and it made plenty of sauce. I think it's probably 6 or 8 oz. Your call, though.
- Add sea salt.
- Let it come to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to stir it regularly, plus to scrape all of the meaty bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (an important part of the sauce's flavoring).
- Cut the steak into strips and plate them. Add some asparagus (which I blanched on the side), then apply the sauce. Don't be afraid to add the big garlic cloves, now soft and tender, to the steak.
- Savor the flavor.
It was quite simply the best sauce I've ever had on a steak. I've done all types of goat cheese sauces, cabernet butters, all sorts of variations of cream sauces, and this was the most tasty, subtle, REAL, flavorful sauce I've ever had on steak.
Tim
Comment