Now I was going to add this to the BBQ thread since that was where I mentioned it, but it just wouldn't work there. I had the pleasure of having RJW here for the weekend and we ate real good. Drank some great bourbon and smoked some damn good cigars too. Now for the food thing...
Steaks. Not just any old steak, but a nice 1.5" trimmed NY from the whole strip. Red Alea Hawaiian salt, fresh ground pepper, and a ripping hot fire. Mounted two sticks of butter(softened) with an equal amount of ported duxelle's(fine chopped onions, mushrooms, garlic, sautteed and finished with tawny port), and bleu and gorgonzola cheeses.
The steaks went onto the fire and were seared to perfection, then flipped. The mounted butter with all that great stuff in it went onto the steaks, and the grill was shut over a fire that redlined the guage on the smoker. As this cooked, the red rosemary potoeas were finished and the browned buttered asparagrass was plated up. A bottle or two of 7 deadly Zins was poured, and it was dinner served.
Now mind you, this taste profile on the plate was over the top decadant. I could not believe just how good, no great, no, fucking awesome, this meal was. It was over the top killer good, and the flavors were freakin amazing.
We had some leftover steak for tonight too, so an even hotter fire, and the Angel's Sang and lit things up
So I figured you all may like a bit of the what and hows, so here ya go:
2 cubes butter, softened
1/2c crumbled Bleu Cheese
1/2c Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese
salt and pepper
1/2c fine minced crimini mushrooms(baby bella's)
1/2c fine minced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2c tawny port
Sautee the onions, mushrooms and garlic until the onions are translucent in a bit of butter or steak grease(from the trimmed fat). Add the tawny port and cook until the port has reduced and thickened. Refrigerate the mix until it is cooled. Add the mixture into a bowl with the bleu and gorgonzola cheeses, mix it well, then place the mix onto a large piece of saran wrap. Roll it into a 2" cylinder, wrap and refrigerate until hardened like a cake of butter.
Boil red potatoes in water. Add 2T of rosemary, 1T of sea salt, and 1T of fresh ground pepper for 5# of potatoes. You will not need butter for these. Remove from the water and allow to stay warm in the oven at 150+ until the steak is done.(remember to slightly undercook the potatoes if you let them sit at 150 - 170 while the steak cooks)
Take 2T of butter and put it into a hot pan. Allow it to burn to a nice peanut butter color, and add sea salt, pepper, garlic and asparagrass. Toss it until the asparagrass is well coated. Add 1/4c water, cover and wait about three to five minutes. Check at three minutes. You want the asparagrass to be wilted, and it is done, a final toss in the butter and plate it. Plate the potatoes.
Your fire is ripping hot and you have steaks cut 1.5" thick(NO, not thicker, not thinner, 1.5" thick). Red Alea Hawaiian Sea Salt and pepper, nothing else. Put them on the grill. at 1.5 minutes, move diagonally so you get a good cross grill mark...total time for one side, three minutes for rare, four for md rare...longer and you screw up good meat.
Now turn it, and place 1/4" thick slices of the mounted butter on each steak, turn once diagonally at 1.5 minutes, and cover for the last two minutes. Remove from the fire and plate them.
Serve this meal with a good Zinfandel.
Desert was the traditional in this home, Guinness Chocolate cake. I started with the one from Epicurious, but made a few changes to make it better. It's a good recipe to start with and if you make it, you may figure out a few tricks yourself.(I constantly mix the ganache as it cools, doubled the recipe, and when it's cool, add a cube of soft butter and whip it in the mixer...it's the frosting for the cake)
I am still amazed at how good this meal was. I had a pretty good idea as to how it would taste, but my expectations were thouroughly blown the hell away. It was phenominally good, so over the top, that it was just mind blowing good. I went way beyond anything with this that I have done before, and the very simple ingredients and seasonings just made it go through the roof on flavor. BAM doesn't even come close. Notches unknown was surpassed at light speed and these fireworks are still exploding. You got to try this. It is so decadantly freakin over the top good. I'm serious, the photos do not do justice to the flavors. Man it was good!
Steaks. Not just any old steak, but a nice 1.5" trimmed NY from the whole strip. Red Alea Hawaiian salt, fresh ground pepper, and a ripping hot fire. Mounted two sticks of butter(softened) with an equal amount of ported duxelle's(fine chopped onions, mushrooms, garlic, sautteed and finished with tawny port), and bleu and gorgonzola cheeses.
The steaks went onto the fire and were seared to perfection, then flipped. The mounted butter with all that great stuff in it went onto the steaks, and the grill was shut over a fire that redlined the guage on the smoker. As this cooked, the red rosemary potoeas were finished and the browned buttered asparagrass was plated up. A bottle or two of 7 deadly Zins was poured, and it was dinner served.
Now mind you, this taste profile on the plate was over the top decadant. I could not believe just how good, no great, no, fucking awesome, this meal was. It was over the top killer good, and the flavors were freakin amazing.
We had some leftover steak for tonight too, so an even hotter fire, and the Angel's Sang and lit things up
So I figured you all may like a bit of the what and hows, so here ya go:
2 cubes butter, softened
1/2c crumbled Bleu Cheese
1/2c Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese
salt and pepper
1/2c fine minced crimini mushrooms(baby bella's)
1/2c fine minced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2c tawny port
Sautee the onions, mushrooms and garlic until the onions are translucent in a bit of butter or steak grease(from the trimmed fat). Add the tawny port and cook until the port has reduced and thickened. Refrigerate the mix until it is cooled. Add the mixture into a bowl with the bleu and gorgonzola cheeses, mix it well, then place the mix onto a large piece of saran wrap. Roll it into a 2" cylinder, wrap and refrigerate until hardened like a cake of butter.
Boil red potatoes in water. Add 2T of rosemary, 1T of sea salt, and 1T of fresh ground pepper for 5# of potatoes. You will not need butter for these. Remove from the water and allow to stay warm in the oven at 150+ until the steak is done.(remember to slightly undercook the potatoes if you let them sit at 150 - 170 while the steak cooks)
Take 2T of butter and put it into a hot pan. Allow it to burn to a nice peanut butter color, and add sea salt, pepper, garlic and asparagrass. Toss it until the asparagrass is well coated. Add 1/4c water, cover and wait about three to five minutes. Check at three minutes. You want the asparagrass to be wilted, and it is done, a final toss in the butter and plate it. Plate the potatoes.
Your fire is ripping hot and you have steaks cut 1.5" thick(NO, not thicker, not thinner, 1.5" thick). Red Alea Hawaiian Sea Salt and pepper, nothing else. Put them on the grill. at 1.5 minutes, move diagonally so you get a good cross grill mark...total time for one side, three minutes for rare, four for md rare...longer and you screw up good meat.
Now turn it, and place 1/4" thick slices of the mounted butter on each steak, turn once diagonally at 1.5 minutes, and cover for the last two minutes. Remove from the fire and plate them.
Serve this meal with a good Zinfandel.
Desert was the traditional in this home, Guinness Chocolate cake. I started with the one from Epicurious, but made a few changes to make it better. It's a good recipe to start with and if you make it, you may figure out a few tricks yourself.(I constantly mix the ganache as it cools, doubled the recipe, and when it's cool, add a cube of soft butter and whip it in the mixer...it's the frosting for the cake)
I am still amazed at how good this meal was. I had a pretty good idea as to how it would taste, but my expectations were thouroughly blown the hell away. It was phenominally good, so over the top, that it was just mind blowing good. I went way beyond anything with this that I have done before, and the very simple ingredients and seasonings just made it go through the roof on flavor. BAM doesn't even come close. Notches unknown was surpassed at light speed and these fireworks are still exploding. You got to try this. It is so decadantly freakin over the top good. I'm serious, the photos do not do justice to the flavors. Man it was good!
