Saturday, February 28, 2015

Steak And Potatoes Please

Sometimes the best meals are the simplest. The most famed and desired is  the simple steak and potatoes. It's an easy meal to make and thanks to the different cuts of meat and variety of potato recipes can be served a variety of ways. One day it can reflect the gaucho cuisine of Argentina the next , an homage to French bistro dining.

What steak makes for a good dinner./you have a choie.Most people go for the filet mignon .as we all know it's top of the line There are several reasons for this.It's not as marbled with fat as other cuts and extremely tender,It's best served cooked rare to medium. The best cooking method for it is searing or grilling. If searing , then you can  added a medallion of herbed butter for more flavor.A less expensive cut is the flank steak or London Broil. This is a triangular piece that has a robust beefy flavor and is good hot or cold. They are tougher in texture so marinating is in order.Try a simple oil and vinegar one, with some rosemary sprigs added. You can also try a soy and ginger one too. or for something exciting cook it gaucho style with a yummy chimichurri sauce. It's a spin on salsa Verdi with cilantro,tequila and lime juice.This  Sometimes you just want a plain hamburger. Use chop meat instead of the usual premade patties. Add some minced onion for a truly flavorful ones or insert a small blob of butter or an ice cube for tender moist ones.


As for the potatoes, there's a dozen recipes you can choose from. A plain baked potato is always the best It doesn't interfere with the meat's great flavor and you can use it to sop up the juices. Just bake in foil and add some butter or sour cream afterwards. You could also try pomme frites, the French way of making fries. These are then fried twice , the second time with garlic butter infused with parsley. You can serve aioli with both them and the choice of meat. Scalloped style is a great way to go, especially if you have filet mignon.These are thinly sliced  potatoes (use a mandolin for this) and baked with a cheddar  cheese sauce,layered in a casserole dish.You can sprinkled paprika or breadcrumbs on top for color and crunch.. Red potatoes also compliment any meat, even chicken and turkey. They're also easy to make. First coat in oil, sea salt and rosemary before being set in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. One of the best recipes is mashed. Homemade mashed is excellent gracing a steak . Pour th e extra juice over the spuds and it is a classic meat and potatoes meal.

Nothing beats a good steak served with potatoes. It's simple yet filling., the perfect comfort dish for a cold night. Make it a variety of different ways. They're all good, they're all tasty.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Filet mignon seared as you well say cooked rare to medium is by far my favorite. A few years ago I had a very nice restaurant on the southern hemisphere, our filet mignos became famous not only for the meat itself, but for the sauce we prepared. I prepared it in typical French way: onion and butter, then a bit of white wine, reduce, add a cup of a light vegetable broth, reduce everything to half and pass everything through a sieve, and add 2 full glasses of a full bodied good red wine, reduce to half and then use ROUX (half butter half flour) to give full body to you sauce, throw in some thyme leaves as final touch decoration and you've won a gold medal. Enjoy