Good Food, Sans Recipes Part Two.

Ribeye steaks with Italian herbs....

And sauteed mushrooms, sunnyside ups and balsamic vinegar

Roast ham with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and veggie puree.  I roasted the ham with carrots, onion, and celery in the bottom of the roaster.  The veggies were very soft after roasting so I pureed them.  Not sure why the beautiful yellow color, but I can tell you that the flavor was GREAT.









Cheese Night. As our close friends know, we LOVE cheese.  So much so that every once in a while, we have a cheese course for dinner.  Sorry to say that the cheeses this time around were largely a bust.  Way too ripe for our tastes.  We didn't like any of them except the one near the center of the pic, Gallegos, and the Gruyere to the left of the salami.  The Pates and salami were great, though.










Pork chops in home made plum sauce with pineapple.  I made the plum sauce last fall from the plums behind our condo.

My Birthday Feast

I don't know why, but this year, I wanted lamb chops.  The more I thought about it, the more I also wanted a sort of North African flare to the meal.  Here's what we came up with:

Lamb Chops with Ras el Hanout and onions, Saffron Rice with Dates and Cashews, Asparagus with Garlic, Cucumber Salsa

For the cucumber salsa:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 a red onion

1 handful cilantro
2 cucumbers
3 tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp Za'atar seasoning
Chop tomato, onion, cucumber and cilantro.  Mince garlic. Mix well, and dress with Olive oil and Za'atar.  Do ahead, so veggies can macerate slightly, and flavors can combine optimally.

For the rice:
Do well in advance(more than an hour) soak 1/2 tsp of saffron in 2/3 cup hot water.  This is saffron "tea" that will add flavor to the rice.









1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup rice
4 dates, chopped
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
3 Tbsp chopped onion

Saute the rice, onion, dates and cashews in the olive oil and butter until the rice just starts to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add saffron tea plus 1 cup water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat. and let stand at least 20 minutes.

 

Lamb Chops:
season lamb with salt, and rub with Ras el Hanout.

To a hot pan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil, and Sear the lamb on both sides.  Add 2 cups chopped onion, and allow to cook till onions are translucent.  Cover, and allow lamb to cook an additional 30 minutes.  Onions should be deep brown at this point, and the lamb fork tender.

Chicken Fried Steaks With Ruth's Smothered Potatoes

For the rub:
1 Tbsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 tsp orange zest






Thoroughly tenderize the steaks with a jaccard and mallet to flatten.  Sprinkle rub onto steaks and massage.  Prepare the marinade.  Allow steaks to soak in the marinade in the fridge for at least 18 hours (longer is better).  Drain thoroughly, and coat with seasoned flour.



For the Marinade:
1 qt butter milk
1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce
1 Tbsp salt




Seasoned flour:
4 cups flour
1 Tbsp paprika
1Tbsp dry mustard
1Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper




Place steak in 350 degree oil, and fry till golden brown.  Drain well over paper towels or a wire rack.  I used a mixture of about a quart of canola oil and about a cup and a half of lard.  The breading came out VERY crispy thanks to the lard.

Cream Gravy
3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp oil
3 cups milk
salt and plenty of black pepper to taste

Heat the oil and flour together until the flour begins to brown.  Add milk, and cook until thickened.  Season with salt and pepper.  Go crazy with the pepper.  It's the main flavor in a good cream gravy, and the milk takes the edge off.  Taste as you go, you can always add more, but can't take it out.  Milk straight from the fridge will make the gravy take a long to come together, so I heat it in the microwave first.  I realize that "true" cream gravy uses the brown bits on the bottom of the pan, but the buttermilk solids browned way too much, and tasted bitter.  I wouldn't sacrifice the flavor that the buttermilk gives the steak for "true" gravy. 

Ruth's Smothered Potatoes
2 lbs red potatoes
1 cup sour cream
4 scallions, chopped

1 Tbsp garlic salt
black pepper to taste

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender, combine with other ingredients, and mash.