It tasted a lot better than this picture makes it look

I flirt with vegetarianism about once a year, mainly because I love animals. I buy meat directly from a farmer as much as possible and stick to organic, free-range meat when I can, but I feel enormous guilt over it. Lately, I’ve tried convincing myself that beef — like episodes of Doctor Who that I watch on the British schedule* or foie gras — is made through magic.

So why can’t I just stick to my morals and give it up? Because I love steak way too much. I bought some flank steak at Gene’s Sausage Shop a couple weeks back, thinking I’d use it for a recipe I pulled out of Wichcraft, Tom Colicchio’s excellent sammy cookbook that grew out of his restaurant of the same name. But tonight, I realized what I really wanted was a well-made, simple steak with some veggies on the side. And that’s what this was. I pretty much use the same approach for any kind of steak, although if I’m making something with significant marbling (like ribeye) I use my heavy saucepan rather than my grill pan.I also eat my steak rare, because if I’m going to eat a steak, I’m going to eat a steak.

I served this with a slice of homemade bread and steamed sugar-snap peas. I find that a light, green vegetable always complements a heavy steak really nicely, particularly something that’s got a little bit of a sweet crunch to it, like in-season peas or asparagus.

*I never thought I could recover from losing David Tennant, but Matt Smith’s pretty good, isn’t he?

Flank Steak with Leeks and Blue Cheese
Serves 2

8 oz flank steak, rinsed and dried
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (BTW, my pepper grinder is broken so I HAND-CRUSHED THE PEPPER because I am badass)
1 tablespoon butter, divided
3 leeks, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used Stilton)

Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the steak with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Repeat on the other side and place steak on heated grill pan. Set remainder of oil aside. Cook each side of the steak about 4-5 minutes, until char marks appear and outside appears deep brown. For rare steak, turn once per side. Set steak aside to rest for a few minutes, put in oven to warm.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a heavy saucepan on high, then add chopped leeks. Cook until leeks begin to carmelize and brown, about five to seven minutes. Add rest of butter, olive oil, lemon juice, and wine and stir until combined. Remove from heat.

Pull steaks out of oven and cover with crumbled blue cheese. Next, using a spatula, spoon leek mixture over blue cheese. Serve while warm.

Patty-Pan Squash
Serves 2

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1 pint patty pan squash, each piece cut in half
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons paprika

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan on medium. Add garlic cloves, then squash, cut-side up, and add salt and paprika. Pan-fry squash until soft, adding paprika and salt to taste as necessary. Remove squash one by one with tongs and put on plates to serve. Top with four cloves garlic each. Spoon leftover butter-paprika mixture from pan over squash and garlic cloves. Serve while warm.

Pea, Smoked Salmon, and Mint Salad
Serves 2

1 cup fresh English peas, shelled
1 tsp hazelnut oil
3 oz. smoked salmon, chopped
2 tablespoons mint leaves, torn

Boil salted water in a steamer, then place peas into steamer basket, steam until tender. Remove steamer basket, rinse peas with cold water until room temperature and put into bowl. Add hazelnut oil and mix until coated. Add salmon and mint, then toss lightly and serve.

So I decided to just make bangers and mash, although it was a twist on the traditional version. I skipped the gravy and  used Russian blue potatoes I picked up at the farmers’ market this week. It was, dare I say, delicious. And the perfect accompaniment to the first half of this game. (Go USA!)

Bangers and Mash
Serves 2

1 Polish sausage
4 small Russian blue potatoes, skin-on.
2 teaspoons butter
Salt to taste

Grill sausage whole until outside is blackened and inside is cooked through, turning when necessary to ensure cooking on all four sides. Meanwhile, boil a pot of salted water. Add potatoes and boil until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Remove potatoes from water (I pulled them out with a fork), set aside to cool briefly. Put two potatoes onto each plate, mash lightly. Top with butter and salt.

When the sausage is finished, remove from grill and cut in half. Serve with mustard over potatoes.

“It would just be a cool name for a drink,” he said.

“If I’m going to name a drink for an actor,” I replied, “I’m naming it after my favorite actor.” So, without further adieu:

The Brian Cox

Lemonade base (makes 6 glasses)

5-7 fresh mint stalks, to taste
1 tray’s worth of ice cubes
Juice of 4 lemons
1 cup simple syrup
20 oz. water

Combine all in order in a resealable pitcher. Shake slightly to mix; store in refrigerator.

To make the Brian Cox:

1 stalk fresh mint
4 ice cubes
2 oz. vodka
Lemonade
Splash of grenadine

Put stalk at bottom of glass, cover with ice cubes. Pour vodka over ice cubes, fill with lemonade mixture. Add splash of grenadine. Serve and enjoy!

But I’m still in the kitchen, and if nothing else, I want to start documenting the stuff I make (particulary when it turns out well) so that I remember how to make it again.

Keith and I have a weekly tradition that we call Action Friday. Get your head out of the gutter, kids, because it’s not that kind of action. We make dinner and drinks, and then we watch an action movie. It began because we were working our way through les cinemas du Luc Besson and expanded from there. For tonight’s feature (After the Sunset; it should be appropriately terrible) we went with a Mexican theme. I know, the movie is set in the Bahamas. We play it fast and loose in this house.

Mango-Blood Orange Salsa

1 mango, peeled and diced
1 blood orange, peeled and diced
2 garlic clobes, diced
2 tablespoons cilantro, diced
1 tablespoon red onion, finely diced
Juice of one lime
Salt, pepper, hot sauce, to taste

Combine everything in order. Mix together. Serve with chips and magaritas.

Guinness Soup with Dubliner Toast

Serves 4

6 stalks celery
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 shallots, chopped
1 cup water
Salt to taste
1 Potato, cut into pieces
1/2 cup peas
2 tablespoons butter
6 oz. Guinness
2 tablespoons flour
2 palm-sized slices of bread (Ideally you’d use soda bread; I used whole-grain Breadsmith bread)
4 slices Dubliner cheese

Heat oven to 450. On a stovetop, add celery, garlic and shallots to a pot and cover with water. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then add potatoes and peas, and simmer for 10 minutes. In a saucepan, begin melting butter. When butter is about half melted, add Guinness and bring to a soft boil. Add flour and stir to mix. When the Guinness roux is ready, add to pot containing vegetables and bring to a simmer.

Top bread with Dubliner, place on top rack in oven for 5-10 minutes, until cheese melts. Serve soup in bowls; top with toasted bread and cheese.

This goes best with Smithwick’s, Guinness, or your favorite Irish spirit.

Hell yes.

On Saturday, I realized I had two avocados I needed to use in a hurry, I’d already froze some guacamole and it turned out, Saturday was also Pie Day.

I’d been wanting to make an avocado cheesecake since eating one (well, a slice of one) at Vermilion, a Latin-Indian fusion restaurant that is a favorite of mine.

I didn’t have any cream cheese, so I decided to use goat cheese and some Greek yogurt instead. I made the Graham Cracker Crust from How to Cook Everything, and winged it on the cheesecake, after reading a few different recipes (HtCE, Joy of Cooking, AllRecipes). After it finished baking, I pulled out the chocolate glaze I have in the freezer (yes, I keep chocolate frosting in my freezer at all times), microwaved a couple tablespoons, and drizzled it on top.

It’s a pretty sweet cheesecake (avocados are sweeter than you may think), so if you wanted to make this as a savory cheesecake, I’d make the crust using crackers and omit the sugar and lemons.

All in all, it was a success, although I overbaked the crust slightly. Keith even asked when I planned to make it again. It was easy, taking about an hour total, so I will say: soon.

Avocado Cheesecake
(Serves 8 )
(I am not even going to attempt to calculate the health-consciousness of this, because then you won’t want to eat it.)

Crust (adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)

9 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar

Filling

4 eggs, separated
4 oz. goat cheese
1/2 cup 2% fat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 avocados
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup sugar

For crust: Melt butter in a saucepan. Add graham crackers and sugar to food processor, pulse until well-mixed and turned into crumbs. Slowly add butter to mixture in processor, pulsing until well blended. Generously butter a springform pan. Using spatula, scrape mixture into springform pan, carefully press into bottom and sides. Bake at 350 until just set, about 8-10 minutes.

For filling: Separate four eggs; set aside egg whites. Using a stand mixer, beat yolks until light and slightly fluffy. Add goat cheese, yogurt, avocados, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar, beat until smooth (this will probably take awhile). Preheat oven to 450. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Using a spatula, slowly fold egg whites into mixture. Pour onto crust, in springform pan. Bake for 10-20 minutes (until filling is just set and slightly golden). Remove from oven, remove springform sides, and cool (about 20-25 minutes).

I drizzled this with chocolate glaze and served it warm. I suspect it would also be delicious if you refrigerated it for an hour or so.

The best possible use of one day's caloric allowance

Earlier this week, I watched the No Reservations Chicago episode, and Anthony Bourdain put a little bug in my ear named Hot Doug’s. On Saturday, we had the best weather we’ve had all year (about 60 degrees and sunny!) so we decided the best way to enjoy it was to get in line for nearly two hours and enjoy the world’s greatest sausages. And duck-fat fries.

I went with the Atomic Bomb (spicy pork sausage with sweet & spicy curry mustard and jalapeno-havarti cheese) and a smoked cajun pork sausage (with roasted garlic mayonnaise and smoked gouda), while Keith went with a chorizo with tomatillo mole and habanero jack and the applewurst sausage with lime-ancho mayonnaise and cotija cheese. We split the duck-fat fries.

So you maybe asking yourself, “did you say two hours?” Yes, I did. Hot Doug’s has seating for about 25 or so, and they only offer the duck-fat fries on weekends. Anytime you go, there’s a line and on weekends, it’s usually about a block long. I went there on Christmas Eve Day, and even then, ended up waiting about twenty minutes. It’s part of the Hot Doug’s experience.  But you know, it’s so good and so unique, it’s totally worth the wait. Doug is a big sweetheart, too.  You’ll have to make a commitment, but it’s a worthy way to spend a couple hours on an afternoon, especially if you’re really hungry.

Afterward, we went to our favorite theater, the comically run-down* City North 14 and saw Coraline, complete with 3-D glasses, graffiti, and malfunctioning lights.

*Last night was the first time in months that we’ve gone to City North and not received free passes for some kind of breakdown in the theater. Keith swears when we saw Quantum of Solace, he listened to the teen couple sitting behind us lose their virginity.

And then, at someone else’s house or maybe a restaurant, I had frittata. And it turns out, when baked into a casserole, I do like eggs. Or egg whites, at least.

I found a version of this recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook. Whenever I make it, I use whatever cheese, herbs and vegetables I have around. Last week, it was broccoli and red peppers, with smoked cheddar, pepper, salt and basil. I’ve made it with red peppers, peas and parmesan cheese; black beans, shredded chicken, cilantro and cheddar; asparagus and blue cheese … it’s very easy to modify. If you want to make it for more than one person, use 3 egg whites per person. It can be unwieldy to fry it if you’re making more than two, so if that’s the case, bake it for 15 minutes at 400 degrees instead of frying it.

Egg white frittata

Egg White Frittata

Serves 1

3 egg whites
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned, drained of oil
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1/4 cup smoked cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon basil
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine egg whites in a bowl and beat lightly. Add sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli and cheddar. Stir, then add herbs and seasoning. Pour into small pan and cook until eggs set. Turn, and cook each side until golden. Serve.

*Every two or three years, I start to feel guilty about eating meat and start by cutting back on mammals. Unforch, bacon is delicious and it doesn’t stick.

As tasty as it is, I’m not the kind of girl who can routinely spend $5 a pound on deli food, especially when I know I can make it myself for about the same price. Plus: this is another fantastic use of leftover rotisserie chicken.

Curried Chicken Salad

Curried Chicken Salad

Makes 4 Servings

2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
4 stalks celery, diced
8 dates, pits removed, cut into quarters
1/2 cup light canola mayonnaise (I like Spectrum Naturals)
1 tablespoon dried celery root
1/4 cup curry powder
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine chicken, celery and dates into a bowl. Add mayonnaise, stir  until thoroughly mixed. Add dried celery root, curry powder and salt and pepper. Stir until mixed well. Serve on French bread as a sandwich or on lettuce for a salad. You can adjust the dried celery root, curry powder and salt and pepper to taste — but I say, if you’re putting curry into something, put some damn curry into it.