Thursday, August 7, 2014

Beauty in simplicity


Many of my favorite foods have astonishingly few ingredients. When dealing with these kinds of recipes, (although I don’t know if you can consider sashimi having a recipe) greater importance is placed on the quality of the ingredients, and the proper handling thereof. This week, I was faced with the task of clearing out my often over-packed fridge, specifically, using up produce procured from a farm stand.

Most people consider the staples of any grocery store run to be bread, milk, and eggs. While the latter two are certainly always to be found in my home kitchen, I would add a few others that I should never run out of: Onions, garlic, olive oil, lemon and lime, salt (in a variety of granularities and origins) and popcorn kernels (my snack of choice). While there is certainly a great deal more at the ready in my kitchen, these things most likely have the highest throughput.

Here is what had to be used up prior to the weekend: 2.5lb bone-in cowboy cut ribeye, 3 zucchini, 1 avocado, 8 tomatoes, 1 bunch of fresh cilantro, ½ package of button mushrooms, 6 eggs.
The steak, being as thick as it was, could not simply be seared as usual. I seasoned it simply with kosher salt, lemon pepper, and a dash each of onion and garlic powder. With the grill at 500⁰, I seared both sides for 4 minutes. The steak was fatty enough to start flaring up, so I put foil underneath it, tented it with another piece of foil, and cooked at medium heat until the internal temp was 140⁰ (rare), then let rest for 5 min to come to temp. The outside was crispy and blacked and gave way to a medium rare (red but warm center) Accompanying the steak was grilled zucchini, drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley, cut into thick coins, and grilled with the steak. I sautéed mushrooms in bacon grease and finished with a red wine and balsamic reduction, but served on the side of the steak rather than on top. Paired all of this with a smoky and velvety malbec. Perfect dinner (pictured).

I unsheathe my 8” chef’s knife, after 8 passes on my honing steel, I set to work on the cilantro. I chop about ¼ cup and dump into a mortar and pestle with avocado, lime juice, salt, pepper. Guacamole, done. Another ¼ cup of the cilantro is added to a bowl with diced tomato, onion, garlic, lemon and lime (lime can get a little too acrid on its own, I like the added lightness of lemon), salt, and some red pepper flakes. Salsa, done. The remainder of the cilantro is tossed into the food processor with onion, garlic, olive oil, lime, salt, and a little tequila (with a splash for me too of course) and blended. The resulting chimichurri-esque condiment that is bright, light, and a little sour and can go on anything from grilled meats to tacos to soups.
The last zucchini, of monstrous size, is grated and the water squeezed out. The dry team and wet team are assembled in separate bowls (thank you muffin method). Zuccini and 4 eggs are mixed together with extra sharp, grated, aged cheddar cheese. The dry team consists of bread crumbs, salt and pepper, mustard power, red pepper flakes, and parsley. The teams are combined and I form 1/3 cup patties. I fry them in peanut oil, flipping only once until golden brown. Dip them in taco sauce, salsa, guacamole, aioli, or nothing at all, they are delicious.

The last two eggs are poached by adding 1T white vinegar to every 3C water. I cook them to a soft center. I fry bacon to a crisp, then use the grease to cook hash browns. The trick is to use a low rim, curved frying pan, and get the grease or oil get rocket hot first. Then, add the shredded potato and pat down with a spatula. Let them cook, don’t touch or move them. Flip the whole pile at once, then tamp down again and let cook. Smear the hash browns with some guacamole, layer of crispy bacon, then, top with the poached egg. A dash of salt and pepper with a flourish of cilantro wouldn’t hurt for presentation. Breakfast nirvana.

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