Perfect Steak, Every Time

A couple of years ago, I promised a friend a wonderful 60th birthday dinner, and I knew that dinner needed to include a perfect steak for this meat lover. I bought us two rib eye steaks, 2 inches thick, and I marvelled at how beautiful they were.  I made Steak au Poivre, but what I'm going to talk to you about today is the method of cooking the steak.

When you have a very thick steak, you have to be careful that you don't char the outside while the inside is still cold - unless that's how you like it!  For me, I like a medium rare steak with a warm pink center, nice and juicy. The way to do that, believe it or not, is to sear it in a smoking hot pan and then roast it in the oven.  Yes, you hear me correctly.  Try it my way just once, and you will never cook your steak any other way.

Bring the steak to room temperature. You'll need a cast iron pan big enough to fit the steak, salt and pepper (or any other dry steak seasoning that you like, such as Montreal Steak Seasoning), and some olive oil.  That's it.

Turn your oven on as hot as it will go, somewhere between 500F and 550F.  Put the dry pan into the cold oven, and let it heat while the oven is coming to temperature. Pat the steak dry with paper towels (this is very important).  Drizzle a little olive oil onto the steak and make sure that all sides are well oiled.  Sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper and press into the steak. Turn on one of your burners as high it will go.  When the oven and the pan have heated, put the pan on the burner, slap the steak into it and let it sizzle for 30 seconds, use tongs to turn it over and sear the steak on the other side for 30 seconds, and then put it in the oven. DO NOT PIERCE THE STEAK WITH A FORK - USE TONGS INSTEAD!

In the oven, cook for 2 1/2 minutes for medium rare, then flip it and cook for 2 1/2 minutes on the other side. Add one minute to each side for medium, etc.

Remove from the oven and check for your desired degree of pink.  It's easy when you know how!

Make the OK  sign by pressing your index finger against the tip of your thumb.   Now, using your other index finger, press the pad of flesh directly below your thumb on your palm.  That is how rare steak feels when you press it.

For medium rare, press your middle finger against your thumb. 

For medium, press your ring finger against your thumb.

For well done, press your pinkie against your thumb. 

Once the steak is cooked to your specifications, cover it with foil and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. 

While you're waiting for the steak to rest, go ahead and deglaze the pan with some wine or brandy or broth, add some garlic, mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper and some kind of an herb.... I really love  herbes de provence, which long time readers of this blog already know.

And, voila!  The perfect steak!

French Pot Roast

When I was little, my parents owned a small country inn on a beautiful alpine lake in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  We provided our guests with a modified American plan, which meant that we served them breakfast and dinner.  My mother was the cook, and my Dad was the host extraordinaire/maintenance man. My Italian grandmother used to prepare the evening meal until I was about 8, since my mother had a serious heart condition and sometimes needed to lie down in the afternoon.

When I was seven, my Mom had open heart surgery and was so much better that my grandmother "retired" to her cottage across the lake, and my Mom cooked both meals.  Well, sometimes she got sick, like everyone else, and the summer before I was ten, that happened.  My grandmother was not at the cottage, and we needed to serve dinner to a small number of guests, maybe 20 or so. My Mom was distraught, but she couldn't stand up because of dizziness.  I was nearly ten, old enough to follow directions, so, the first dinner that I ever cooked, was for 20 guests, 3 waitresses, one helper, my parents and myself. 27 people.  It was pot roast. My mother lay on a cot in the office, just beyond the kitchen, and gave me detailed instructions, one step at a time.  We had tomato juice for a starter, pot roast with vegetables and salad, and ice cream sundaes for dessert.

 I will never, ever forget that day, and the sense of accomplishment I felt - not only because I had cooked a tasty meal, but because I had helped my family in our business - our livelihood.  I contributed something important and valuable.  Talk about raising my confidence level!

I always loved pot roast, which is an old New England favorite,  It's comfort food for me.  When I married, I made pot roast in my own home often, because I loved it and because it was so easy in my crock pot.  I make it lots of different ways, but this is my favorite, easy, go-to recipe. You will need a 6 quart pot.

French Pot Roast

4-5 lbs rump or chuck roast, with or without bones (save the bones for stock)
1 1/2 C dry red wine plus 1/4 C water, or any combo of alcohol and water
2 beef or mushroom bouillion cubes
1 tsp tabasco or other hot sauce (I like Sriracha best)
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmet
1/2 tsp dry thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dry tarragon
6 celery stalks
6 carrots, scraped, cut into chunks
4-5 medium onions, skins on, cut into quarters
4 potatoes, scrubbed, cut in quarters
1/2 lb mushrooms, wiped clean, cut in half (or left whole)
3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1/4 Cup white flour

Dredge meat in flour.  Place in pot. Mix dry ingredients and sprinkle over the meat. Place vegetables into the pot, with mushrooms on the top, and carrots on the bottom.  Make sure that the carrots will be submerged in the liquid. Pour liquids over all. Cover tightly and simmer. When cooked, remove meat and vegetables to a platter.  The liquids will be slightly thickened, but you can taste for salt and pepper and thicken a bit more if you like to provide a gravy.  Let the roast stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Crockpot: Cook on medium-low all day, 8 - 10 hours, or 4 hours on high.

Microwave: Deeply pierce the roast many times on all sides prior to cooking.  Place in a large, 5 or 6 quart casserole that fits in your microwave and has a tightly fitting cover.  Cook at 50% for 30 - 35 minutes per lb of meat.  Turn the roast over after half the cooking time. Add the vegetables at the half way mark.

Pressure: Put meat, liquid and spices in pot. Cook at 10 lbs for 45 minutes.  Let the pressure reduce naturally.  Add all veggies, bring to pressure, and cook at 10 lbs for 6 minutes. Let pressure reduce naturally.

Stove top:  Simmer slowly for 4 hours, checking to make sure that the liquid has not boiled away.

Oven:  Covered tightly, bake at 325 for 2 - 3 hours, till tender, and checking the liquid level a few times.

Notes; I seldom use the flour anymore.  I often leave out the potatoes and serve it with mashed potatoes instead.  Use the vegetables you have on hand and like - I've used rutabagas and sweet potatoes, too!  I often leave out the mushrooms if I don't have them, but I usually have mushroom soup base that I will substitute for the beef bouillion. I usually use the red wine, but I have substituted a dry white, a rose, brandy or beer.  This last time, I only had marsala and sherry in my cupboard, so I used half brandy and half water, and it was delicious!

Herbes de Provence

Years ago, I got turned on to a magical little mixture of herbs from sunny Provence, France called, herbes de Provence.  This stuff is fantastic on pretty much everything, but for starters, try it as a rub for a roast chicken, and on the potatoes that go with it.  It is wonderful on every meat, poultry and fish that I've tried.  It's also wonderful on roasted vegetables of every kind, and in soups and stews.  Try mixing it with some salt and putting it in a salt grinder to sprinkle on eggs and popcorn and such. You can even use it every where that other herbal mixtures are called for, in place of Italian herbs, for example.

I used to buy it from a neat little spice shop in Santa Clara, CA, and from World Market or Fresh Market here in Savannah, but it's cheaper and so much tastier if you mix it up yourself, so now, that's what I do!

The key ingredient is the lavender - without lavender, you have a very delicious herbal blend, but it simply is not Herbes de Provence!  Last year, a church friend gave me about a quart of dried lavender from her own lavender plants, and WOW!  FABULOUS!

Here is my recipe.  It makes about a half cup.

Denise's Herbes de Provence

1 1/2 tsp each of crumbled bay leaves, tarragon, oregano, rosemary and fennel seed*

1 Tbs each of thyme, basil, summer savory*, lavender, marjoram and parsley

1/2 tsp sage

Mix it all together and it is ready to use on virtually everything.  Other than onions, garlic and basil, Herbes de Provence is what I reach for most when I cook.

For some suggestions about how I use Herbes de Provence, type in "herbes de provence" into the search this blog block on the right side of this blog.  There are about eight pages of recipes that use this mixture.

My personal favorites are:
http://whatimcookingnow.blogspot.com/2006/04/roasted-veggies-on-side.html

http://whatimcookingnow.blogspot.com/2007/06/edamame-succotash-salad.html

and Dear Daughter's favorite soup:
http://whatimcookingnow.blogspot.com/2007/03/roasted-red-pepper-mushroom-and-barley.html

Mason Jar Oatmeal - It's What's For Breakfast! 6 pts+

Ever been on Pinterest?  I think I'm addicted.  It's full of all sorts of diverse things, including recipes.  I keep seeing pictures of pack and go meals in all sizes and shapes of mason jars, and since I have a fair number of jars, I am intrigued.  I know that storing my food in glass is better for me than storing it in plastic, but I don't see much value in putting all my ziplock and rubbermaid containers into the local landfill, either.  So, I'm using the plastic stuff for non-food items and for things that don't get microwaved.  I'm  gradually thinning the plastic stash out.

If you're like me, you instinctively grab every last second of sleep that you can in the morning, so packing a big breakfast, snack and lunch every day is simply not going to happen unless it is prepared ahead of time, and all you have to do is to pop the containers into your lunch bag with a refreezable cold pack and GO!  I never have breakfast at home on work day mornings, not only because I don't really have enough time to eat leisurely, but also because if I wolf something down that early, I feel kind of sick until the afternoon.  I really need a few hours of being awake before eating breakfast, though coffee is a MUST, but by 10 am, I'm starving, so if I don't pack my breakfast, I hit that darn vending machine with disastrous results.  It's way too expensive in every possible way to do that often.

I've been on Weight Watchers for about six or seven months and have lost 33 lbs.  It used to be 35 lbs, but I've been on a plateau for about seven weeks, and the last few weeks, my weight has crept up a pound or two.  I am determined to plan ahead this week so that I won't hit the dastardly vending machine in the break room, so I put together a breakfast for every day this week - my favorite - OATMEAL!


MASON JAR BERRY OATMEAL - 6 points+

for each 2 cup mason jar:
1/2 cup regular, uncooked, plain oatmeal
1 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1/8 tsp powdered stevia
1/2 cup berries

Put the dry oatmeal into the jar, sprinkle the sweetener over, add the fruit on top, pour milk over all.  Screw on the top and refrigerate till you are ready to eat.   It will last for a week in the fridge, easily. It's good cold, room temperature, or heated up in the microwave at work for a couple of minutes.   Easy Peasy.

I used up some frozen blueberries that I had, and filled the rest of the jars with a mix of fresh and frozen strawberries, but you can vary it up anyway that you want: add cinnamon or other spices, change up the fruit, the liquid, the sweetener.  The possibilities are ENDLESS!

Making five cheap and healthy breakfasts took me about five minutes.  No joke.

Happy breakfasting!