Busy Nothings

It’s no secret that I am quite fond of putting butter atop my steaks.  Last night (which was one of the few perfect nights North Dakota weather will permit in a year) I wanted to do the steak and butter thing but I wanted something a little bit different.  I tossed some ideas around in my head and I finally decided I wanted something like Ribeye Steaks with Billionaire’s Bacon Butter.  In particular, I wanted a marriage between something sweet and the richness of the butter.  To do this, I thought some lightly caramelized shallots would add just a touch of sweetness and to up the sweetness a bit (and add some more complexity) I used a bourbon reduction as well.  It was simply amazing.  Here’s the recipe:

Grilled Rib Eye Steaks with Bourbon-Shallot Butter

2 thick Rib Eye steaks, about 13-16 oz each

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 shallots, sliced thinly

1/4 cup bourbon, preferably Maker’s Mark

4 T good quality butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat a very hot grill.  (I prefer to do some of the cooking right on my charcoal chimney, see this post for an explanation.)  Meanwhile, rub the steaks with a bit of olive oil and season liberally with Kosher salt and pepper.  Let sit out, covered, at room temperature while the grills heats. 

Heat a small saute pan over medium-low heat with a bit of olive oil.  Cook the shallots in the pan until they become browned and just slightly crisp, about 20-25 minutes.  Keep a close eye on them as they can burn.  Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the bourbon (use some caution here).  Place the pan back over the heat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bourbon has completely evaporated.  Remove the pan from the heat and let cool a bit.  Then mix the shallots with the butter.  The butter should melt slightly.  Season to taste with Kosher salt and pepper.  Set aside at room temperature until the steaks are done.

Grill the steaks to your desired doneness.  Remove from the grill and tent with aluminum foil.  Let rest for 5 minutes.  Then plate the steaks and slather on the butter mixture.  Serve immediately.

The resulting butter mixture is just plain delicious.  As you eat it, the components of it come a bit at a time.  You first taste the sweetness from the bourbon and then the sweetness from the shallots.  And then there’s just a bit of sharpness left in the shallots that lingers on the tongue every so lightly.  Finally, the richness of the butter brings it all together and meshes it all with the beefy flavor of the steak.  And over all of it, the butter mixture has a ephemeral smokiness to it (from the  charred barrels in which it is aged) that pairs wonderfully (of course) with the smoky flavors from the grill.  Here’s a picture:

I served it with Grilled Asparagus.  Enjoy!

I finally got around to testing the idea I had in Asian Grilled Asparagus.  The idea is to skewer asparagus before grilling to make them easy to turn and evenly cook.  The problem is that raw asparagus is pretty tough to skewer without breaking.  Here’s my solution:

Grilled Asparagus

1 lb asparagus, woody ends trimmed

Extra Virgin Olive oil, for brushing

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the asparagus and cook one minute.  Drain and then place in an ice-water bath until cool.  Drain again and then skewer the asparagus using two skewers.  Put about 5-6 stalks together.  Then brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Grill over a hot grill until they begin to char slightly.  Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Here’s a picture of them on the grill:

The result is a very crisp-tender and slightly smoky product.  They were outstanding and really easy to control on the grill.  I kept the seasonings to a minimum this time but the sky is really the limit as to adding flavor.  One could add some citrus, Parmesan cheese, soy, or even serve it with hollandaise sauce.  Enjoy!

Casey sent me this link.  It is a blog post describing the use of bacon drippings to make homemade mayonnaise.  Apparently, the result is a smokier and heavier mayonnaise that is excellent on, if you haven’t guessed, BLT’s. 

It’s an intriguing idea but I wonder what other fats could we put in mayonnaise beside the traditional vegetable oils.  Chicken schmaltz?  Beef or lamb drippings?  Coconut oil?  Palm oil?  Cocoa butter?  Walnut oil?  Clarified butter?  etc. etc.  The main thing to think about when experimenting is the nature of the fat at room temperature.  Is it a solid or a liquid?  If it’s more of a solid, you probably need to cut the fat with a traiditional oil like canola (or even olive oil if you really wanted to).  If it’s a liquid already, use it as is so long as the flavor of the fat doesn’t totally overpower the rest of the sauce. 

My idea?  How about roasting a Chuck Pot Roast to medium rare and then cooling the meat (so as to make it nice for slicing).  Use the dripping to make a Beef Mayonnaise.  When the beef is cool, slice thinly and then assemble sandwiches on crusty bread using the Beef Mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and a spicy mustard.  Pretty much sounds like a plan to me. 

The folks at America’s Test Kitchen have done it again.  These ribs are tender, smoky, and are dynamite with this sauce.  They really are everything you want out of a sparerib; just an excellently executed classic.  Here’s a picture with homemade french fries:

And here’s the recipe:

Kansas City Style Spareribs, from this recipe at America’s Test Kitchen (free login required)

Serves 4-6

3 T paprika

2 T light brown sugar

1 T ground black pepper

1 T table salt

1/4 tsp cayenee pepper

2 full St. Louis Style Spareribs, membrane on bones removed, and patted dry

2 cups hickory wood chips

2 cups barbeque sauce, preferably Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce

Combine paprika, sugar, pepper, salt, and cayenne in small bowl. Massage spice rub into both sides of rib racks.

Soak wood chips in bowl of water for 15 minutes. Open bottom grill vents completely. Light large chimney starter filled two-thirds with charcoal briquettes (about 60 coals) and burn until covered with fine gray ash. Arrange 13 by 9-inch disposable aluminum pan on one side of grill and pour hot coals into pile on opposite side. Sprinkle 1 cup wood chips over coals, set grill rack in place, and position ribs over pan.

Place sheet of aluminum foil directly on top of ribs (see photo 2) and cover grill, positioning lid vents (three-quarters open) directly over ribs. Barbecue, turning and rotating ribs after 1 hour, until coals are almost spent, about 2 hours.

About 20 minutes before coals are spent, light another 60 coals in chimney starter and burn until covered with fine gray ash. Place hot coals from chimney on top of spent coals, and sprinkle remaining cup wood chips over coals. Turn and rotate ribs and barbecue, covered, for 1 hour. Brush ribs liberally on both sides with sauce, wrap tightly with foil (see photo 3), and barbecue until very tender, about 1 hour longer.

Transfer ribs (still in foil) to cutting board and rest 30 minutes. Unwrap ribs and brush with additional barbecue sauce. Slice ribs between bones and serve with remaining sauce.

A few notes:  1)  Be sure to completely cover the ribs with foil as they cook.  Any uncovered portion will cook too fast and burn.  2)  If you only do one rack of ribs, you can probably cut down the cooking time by 25% or I think the ribs will overcook.  Take the time from when the ribs are not tightly covered in foil.  3)  Just enjoy this recipe.  It’s a great introduction to using a charcoal grill as a smoker. imperfect as it is. 

 This is a really nice sauce that goes particularly nice on spareribs.  The end product has a heavier and somehow more substantial body than your run of the mill BBQ sauce.  Perhaps this is due to the addition of some dark corn syrup to the mix.  Or perhaps this recipe is more of a reduction than anything else.  Really, the sauce depends a lot on the reduction of the relatively large amount of chicken broth (as well as the root beer and cider vinegar) as it cooks.  As far as flavor, its a bit tart, a bit sweet, a bit hot, and has just enough tomato flavor to make it familiar.  It’s really quite outstanding.  It’s the equal to Jack’s BBQ Sauce in quality.  Here’s the recipe:

Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce, from this recipe at America’s Test Kitchen (free login required)

Makes about 4 cups

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 onion, minced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup root beer

1 cup cider vinegar

1 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup molasses

12/ cup tomato paste

1/2 cup ketchup

2 T brown mustard

1 T hot sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients, except for liquid smoke, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is thick and has reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour.  (Sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

Just one note:  1)  The original recipe states you can use liquid smoke (1/4 tsp worth) if you wish.  Add it at the very end of cooking if you do.  I don’t use it because I’m just not a big fan of it. 

“Eh.”  Is that enough of a review because it sure sums up my feelings about Up the Creek.  It’s just another run of the mill chain restaurant with average foods at above average prices.  I’ve had the experience before and, sadly, I’m sure I’ll have it again.  Yet, I’ll try to give it some attention anyway.

Up the Creek is, apparently, an expanding chain with locations in the Deep South, Oklahoma, and now, surprisingly enough, Fargo.  It bills itself as a steak and seafood place and, in the strictest sense of the words, it is.  But if you really want good seafood (I didn’t try the steak), this isn’t the place to go.  As soon as our server approached, I asked what I thought was a perfectly reasonable question at a seafood restaurant:  “What’s fresh today?”  She dutifully informed me that all the fish comes in at the same time, frozen on a truck.  “Eh.”  How perfectly mundane. 

Nevertheless, I ordered a fish entrée anyway.  I ordered the Mahi Mahi, blackened, with a Citrus Pesto Butter.  It was fine but it wasn’t exciting and it wasn’t fresh.  A bit of spice that went well with the brightly flavored butter.  It chose some hand breaded to order onion rings to go on the side.  They were fine but not especially crisp or flavorful.  There was some ghasthly remoulade type sauce with it.  The entree also came with an average side-salad to start.  What else can I say but, “Eh?” 

Well, I would write more but I just don’t think it deserves anymore.  My advice is that if you go, don’t expect too much and then you won’t be disappointed.

I have to admit that I really enjoy what America’s Test Kitchen does with recipes.  The focus is on results and nothing else.  As a consequence, their recipes are almost uniformly practical, interesting, and delicious.  This Brown Sugar Cookie recipe is no exception.  The usage of browned butter is a simply ingenious addition to this recipe that gives a deep, almost caramel flavor to the final product.  Here’s the recipe:

Brown Sugar Cookies, based on this America’s Test Kitchen recipe (free login required).

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

14 T unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks or 7 oz)

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups packed light brown sugar (dark brown sugar can also be used)

2 cups plus 2 T unbleached all-purpose flour (10 1/2 ounces)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp table salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 T vanilla extract

Heat 10 tablespoons (5 oz) butter in small saucepan over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes.  Continue to cook, swirling pan frequently until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl.  Stir remaining 4 tablespoons (2 oz) butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 large (18 by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a pie plate, mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, rubbing between fingers, until well combined.  Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in a small bowl.

Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups brown sugar and salt to bowl with cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.  Then add  the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.  Give the dough a final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

Divide dough into 24 portions, each about 2 tablespoons, rolling between hands into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  The easiest way to do this is to use a 2 tablespoon sized disher.  Working in batches, toss balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart, 12 dough balls per sheet.

Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are browned and still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Do not overbake.

Cool cookies on baking sheet and then transfer the cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Here’s a picture:

The result is a caramelly, deeply flavored cookie with a crisp (and almost crackly) exterior and a just tender enough interior; a bold cookie with a strong vanilla flavor, a great “bite”, and a deep, rich butteriness.  They really are quite perfect cookies.  I can’t wait to make these again. 

Just a few notes:  1)  The original recipe calls for dark brown sugar but light brown sugar works just fine.  2)  Really be careful about overbaking in this recipe.  Because there’s quite a bit of sugar in these cookies, they will tend to get a bit hard if they are overcooked.  They will be quite tender to the touch when they should be removed from the oven.  3)  I’ve said it before on this blog but an accurate digital scale will help your baking-especially in terms of consistency.  It’s a small investment to make compared to the tremendous results you can achieve when measuring really accurately.  4)  I made these as my contribution to the Mother’s Day celebration at my parent’s place. 

Enjoy!

My parents hosted the Mother’s Day celebration today.  Here’s some pictures:

More pictures can be found here. 

I first had this dish with Paul and Bridget Carns.  It’s a very simple preparation of meat that ends up being one of the most satisfying ways to eat beef.  This is my interpretation of their recipe:

Simple London Broil with Simple Maître d’ Sauce

1 2 lb piece of flank or top round steak

Kosher salt and pepper

Olive oil

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter

1/4 cup finely minced parsley

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat a hot grill.  Season the steak with salt and pepper and rub with a little bit of olive oil.  Let it sit out at room temperature while the grill heats. 

Meanwhile, make the Simple Maître d’ Sauce.  Melt the butter over low heat.  When melted, add the parsley and lemon juice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Keep warm until ready to serve. 

When the grill is hot, cook the steak to your desired temperature.  I do not recommend anything past medium-rare or your steak will be really tough.  Remove the steak to a plate, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.  Then, thinly slice the meat across the grain (VERY IMPORTANT!).  Top with some of the Simple Maître d’ Sauce and serve immediately.

Here’s what it looked like with Sherried Baby Bella Mushrooms:

The result should be a tender and deeply beefy flavored piece of meat surrounded by a just acidic enough buttery sauce.  The parsley adds some nice color, some texture, and just a slight bitterness that ties all of the flavors together.   

A few notes about the recipe:  1)  I fully realize that this recipe is a departure from traditional London Broil recipes.  For one, I don’t marinate the beef before grilling.  And, my Maître d’ Sauce is made of melted butter instead of being a composed butter (a butter creamed with other ingredients).  Why?  Well, I’m not a huge fan of marination.  Unless you’re using really aggressive ingredients like soy sauce, I really don’t see it making a huge flavor difference.  This is especially true when there’s going to be a flavorful sauce over the meat.  There’s a lot to be said about layering flavors and I don’t disagree with the idea.  I just think there’s better ways to get there than marinating.  Especially in this dish, where the marinade has the same flavor profile as the Maître d’ Sauce.  As far as changing the Maître d’ Sauce, I like having a cooked sauce because it tames the parsley’s flavor and texture and integrates better with sliced meats.  Who really want to smear butter over really thin slices of beef.  Sounds a bit too challenging for a dinner plate to me.  Of course, composed butters on whole pieces of beef is a whole other thing.  2)  It’s really important to cut the meat the right way.  London Broil is a method for cooking tough pieces of meat and does not refer to any specific cut.  Part of the method is to cut the meat against or across the grain.  When looking at your meat, you should see lines running through the meat.  The idea is to cut so your knife is at a right angle to them, so as to make all of those lines very, very short.  That will make the meat tender. 

Enjoy!

This idea comes to me from Rebecca Celis.  These mushrooms are a fairly quick and very easy way to elegantly supplement a meaty meal.  They’re earthy, a bit sweet, and richly flavored.  Here’s the recipe:

Sherried Baby Bella Mushrooms

Baby bella mushrooms, rinsed and halved if large

Butter

Dry sherry

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Heat about 2 T of butter over medium heat in a saute pan.  Preferably, use a saute pan large enough to hold the mushrooms in a single layer.  When melted, add the mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper.  Let them cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms have taken on a nice color.  Toss the pan or stir and continue cooking until the mushrooms are about 80% done.  It should take roughly 10-15 minutes but that’s only an estimate and keep a close eye on them. 

Now add some sherry.  Depending on how much you like the flavor of sherry, you can really add as much as you like.  But a good rule of thumb would be about 1/3 cup per pound.  Increase the heat to medium high and cook until the sherry has evaporated and left a bit of glaze on the mushrooms.  At this point, the mushrooms should be cooked all the way through.  If desired, add another pat or two of butter to make a sauce for the mushrooms.  Serve.

I apologize in advance for the rather informal nature of the recipe but, if you’re using nice ingredients, there’s really no way you can screw this up.  What’s the worst that could happen?  It tastes too much like sherry or butter?!  I can think of many, many worse things in the world.  The real keys to the recipe are letting the mushrooms get that initial “brown” which will deepen the flavor of the dish and to add the sherry at the appropriate time.  Mushrooms are pretty forgiving and don’t taste terrible when overcooked but a nice, just tender mushroom really is a thing of beauty.  I served my mushrooms with Simple London Broil with Simple Maître d’ Sauce.  (A photo can be found there as well.)