Dinner: Seared Steak Salad

Seared Steak Salad
Originally uploaded by tony:oeb:frosty

Friday nights dinner was this salad. Pretty simple to make but the results are wonderful.

Season steak and bring up to room temperature. Wash the salad. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat up olive oil in a pan to medium high. Douse steak with olive oil and then place in pan. Sear on one side for a couple of minutes, then flip and repeat. Place pan in oven for 12 minutes for medium rare. While the steak is finishing chop up some peppers, green onions and avocado. Rinse cherry tomatoes. Pull steak from oven (remember it's hot!) and remove steak and let rest. Return pan to high heat on stove and deglaze with red wine. Add chopped garlic and shallots and reduce. Return to the steak and slice in thin strips. Check reduction and if ready remove from heat. Start assembling the plates beginning with the layer of salad. Add other elements as desired. Add cream to the reduction and season to taste. Drizzle over the completed salad. Pour yourself a nice glass of wine and enjoy!

Dinner: Seared Ahi Tuna

Seared Ahi Tuna
Originally uploaded by tony:oeb:frosty

After reading Thin Guy's post, I decided to give it a whirl. My wife had her doubts, telling me that Ahi Tuna was hard to cook and was usually too dry. I shrugged and said "we'll see."

For the marinade, I skipped the Wasabi and the Shichimi Togarashi since I didn't have any. Instead I added sea salt, fresh pepper and sesame oil. The tuna marinated overnight in a Tupperware container.

To cook, I pulled out my All-Clad and put it on high heat, adding olive oil to the pan. When the oil started to ripple, I placed the tuna in the pan. Commence searing - a couple of minutes is fine. The marinade will burn (turn your fan on!) but that's not a big deal. Flip over with some tongs and finish the other side. Remove the tuna and deglaze the pan with wine - I always have a cheap red or white on hand for this. A quick wipe and onto the second piece. Repeat. Deglaze again and make sure to get all the burnt marinade off. This will save you a lot of time and effort when cleaning the pan later.

For the dipping sauce I quickly whisked together some shoyu, honey, sesame oil and Aji Mirin. I then added some scallions.

I spend a few minutes plating the dishes and set the table. Plating goes a long way in setting the mood, and making the food visually appetizing. It's really not that much effort, but it goes a long way.

I pour my wife and I a nice Chardonnay, and await the judgment. I'm sweaty from the cooking and a little tense. She approves! She actually likes it. Yeah! Mission accomplished.

Thanks again to Thin Guy for the inspiration.

Note: Today I got from from the grocery store about 5:00pm. I was able to get dinner on the table by 5:45pm. Dinner included roasted asparagus and a nice salad (heirloom tomatoes, avocado, sweet peppers) So this really is a quick and delicious recipe.

Mushrooms Italia

My Mushrooms Italia that I cooked for a dinner party. Its mushrooms with the Italian meats coppa, prosciutto and pancetta. And some fresh tarragon.

Take a bunch of mushrooms and place them in large pan [photo] with clarified butter (so they won't burn.) Cook on high heat. It may seem like too much but they'll shrink down. Stir occasionally and soon the mushrooms will exude their liquid [photo]. Keep stirring and keep an eye on the liquid [photo].

In another pan cook shallots and garlic in olive oil on medium heat. After the shallots have softened, add the pancetta, coppa and prosciutto [photo]. Stir occasionally.

When all the liquid has evaporated [photo] from the mushrooms, add a couple of cups of Chianti or other dry red wine. Stir for a few minutes. When the wine has cooked down a little, add the meats [photo]and a dash or so of freshly cut tarragon. Continue cooking until the wine has evaporated. Add a bit more tarragon and you are all set!