Take Two

I don't know exactly where to start so I am just going to jump in. Obviously I have been on a little break. The start of this year seemed to bring a lot of changes to my life and I just found this blog to be on the bottom of the list of priorities. But I have started to miss it and I have been thinking about how I could get back to it but in a less time intensive way. Beside the time issue I was feeling like, although I was still doing my menu planning and cooking a lot, I hadn't been making very many things that I hadn't already posted about here and I just don't think it is worth my time or yours for me to re-post recipes. So, in keeping with the spirit of the menu planning blog I think I have come up with a plan. I am going to be posting my weekly menu but only sharing recipes for anything new. I will try to do at least one new thing a week.

THE MENU:

Grilled Chicken with Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Green Chili Breakfast Burritos

Grilled Burgers with Oven Fries

Pan-Broiled Porterhouse Salads

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This salad evolved as I was making it. I had a porterhouse steak in the fridge because a friend of mine picked them up buy one get one free and didn't want both for himself. I have cooked steak a couple of times recently with mixed results. For this one I remembered a steak cookbook we have that Jer got as a gift from his sisters (since he is such a carnivore). It has a ton of great info on all the different cuts you can get and how best to cook each one. It said that for porterhouse most people think the best method is under the broiler but that most home ovens don't get hot enough to cook it properly. Instead he recommends cooking the steak in a very hot cast iron skillet. Here are the instructions I followed and it turned out really great.

1 porterhouse steak (about 1 1/4" thick)

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

2 T fresh thyme

2 T vegetable oil, plus more for the pan

Pat the steak dry and coat one side with half the pepper and half the thyme, pressing the seasonings onto the meat. Coat with 1 T of the oil. Turn over and repeat. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Very lightly coat the surface of a cast iron skillet (ridged of flat) with vegetable oil (wipe up any excess with a paper towel). Heat the pan over medium-high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Place the steak in the skillet and cook until seared and nicely browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook for 5 minutes more for medium-rare of 6 minutes for medium.

Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Slice against the grain of the meat.

I served the meat atop a salad of baby spinach, hard boiled eggs, artichoke hearts, sliced red onions (which I cooked in the same pan I had done the steak in with a little balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper), and a creamy Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs. It turned out to be an immensely satisfying combination of flavors and textures.