Archives for the 'steak' tag
Rich and Meaty
Do you subscribe to the Williams-Sonoma catalogs for their recipes but never buy anything from them? Me too. Or at least I did until the September “French bistro” edition arrived with steak au poivre on the cover, whereupon I lost my buttons and immediately ran out to buy the paste and beef demi-glace. I think my self-restraint was admirable: at least I didn’t knuckle under for the $400 deep fryer to make pommes frites.
The demi-glace alone is ridiculously priced at $29 for a small jar but — wowie wow wow. It was worth it to discover what has become my new Death Row meal. My only criticism of the recipe is to disregard the chicken stock, which waters down the sauce. Without it, the red wine and demi-glace make a thick, delicious gravy.
If you eat steak, I recommend you proceed forthwith to your nearest Williams-Sonoma and purchase the aforementioned. Finding a shop is easy: just go to a wealthy suburb and walk on the sidewalk until you’re almost hit by a housewife in an SUV. Then follow her to Vineyard Vines; the Williams-Sonoma will be next-door.
Adventures in Grilling, Boozing
Having spent my summer grilling and drinking rum, I thought I’d share two recipes useful for outdoor entertaining.
The first is a dry rub for steak that I impulsively whipped together early in the season:
1 Tbsp. granulated brown sugar
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix all ingredients and rub into a thin-cut steak. Allow to sit a half-hour or so before grilling. Works best with indirect heat; that is, cooking the steak to the side rather than immediately over the coals. This allows the sugar to glaze over the steak.
The granulated brown sugar is important since regular brown sugar is difficult to spread evenly on the meat, leading to clumping and burning. Also, while McCormick curry powder is fine, I use Oriental Brand Hot Jamaican, which has anise and is heavier on the turmeric, giving it a smokier taste that lends itself to grilling.
NYT Lets You Take a Spin (Literally) in the Peter Luger Meat Locker
What’s it feel like to stand in the middle of several tons of aging meat bliss? Click on the steaks to take a spin. Related NYT article here. Peter Luger’s story here.
Lunch Buffet
NASA says that space smells like steak, which apparently smells like “hot metal and motorbike welding,” the Sun reports. Yum.
The new horror movie Pig Hunt details all the horrible things–think Deliverance crossed with giant man-eating pigs–that can happen to you when you try to bring home the bacon with a shotgun, relays the Press Democrat.
Coffee may not be “Columbia’s national crop,” but that doesn’t change the fact that Juan Valdez is taking on Starbucks.
