Saturday, 4th Oct 2008

One of our favourite home dinners is plain old steak, veg and potatoes. I used to take the time to make 2 types of sauces (pepper and mushroom) to top our steaks but lately have not been doing it; I now find that a well seasoned steak, charred slightly and cooked pink and tender inside needs no further adornment except for well, a huge dollop of hot English mustard and a glass of Merlot or Cab Sav.

Getting closer.

I was generous to the point of heavy handedness with seasoning - go on - be bold!!

I have been very pleased with the quality of the meat from SS lately.

I sauteed French & Sugar Snap Beans in the grill pan with olive oil, dash of salt and absolutely no water. The vegetables were slightly charred and released some of their juices. Garlic was added just before I removed the vegs - by now the pan was so hot that I was almost at risk of burning both everything but removed the pan in the nick of time.

Lovely way of cooking vegs - they were very sweet and crunchy.

Potatoes - parboiled and simply roasted with rosemary, parsley, garlic, salt & black pepper, and olive oil. These potatoes are glorious - tender, tasty with a fantastic flavourful skin. I roasted a kilo of potatoes and we ate everything in one sitting. (I was hoping to have leftovers for the following day).

The steaks - 2 thick ribeyes and a sirloin for Wm and PT. Oops slightly over this side as I was distracted momentarily.

I cut my steak into two slices - it was very easy to cook this perfectly to medium rare which to me is the perfect doneness. Approx 2.5 minutes each side on an almost smoking hot grill pan with a quarter turn halfway to create the grill marks. I cooked Mark & Hazel's steaks first and by the time our steaks were done, they were halfway through their dinner.

Let it rest for a few minutes to allow the juices to settle (I can't wait longer than 3 minutes, under the pretense of checking the doneness, usually a piece gets snipped off with a pair of scissors and popped into my mouth as it's coming off the fire)!!

Aah - lovely meat - a vegetarian I don't think I ever will be.