Graham's Gastronomy - Little Tower of Tasty

After a weekend in Vermont, hiking mountains and finding clues working our way through the Green Mountain Adventure Challenge (think “The Amazing Race” meets “Adventure Rooms” within the geographic area of two towns) we wound our way home through Brattleboro and I-91. We stopped along the way for Vermont delectables, getting apple cider donuts and a maple syrup, vinegar, ginger drink at a cider house just off the side of the road. The drink had a sweet, sour, and pungent flavor, along with a little “heat” from the grated ginger. Definitely something I would relate to a cleanse.

We also stopped at Putney Winery for a fruit wine tasting. For $2, we samples eight different fruit wines, ranging from apples to berries, sweet bubbly to stiff brandy. I swooned at the mixing possibilities of a blueberry cordial, but truth be told, my spirit station is full, though my girlfriend did pick up a bottle of the rhubarb wine. Both tart and sweet, the light red coloring bespoke a rose.

Once home, we wanted something simple, quick, yet still summer-centric. We settled on steak. I covered the large cut with a small bit of oil so the montreal steak seasoning would adhere. My grill has a searing side burner that glows bright red-orange when it is up to heat, and the steak was gently laid on the grate to char. At the same time, I had trimmed the kernels off a few ears of corn and added some Worcestershire sauce, mushroom ketchup, paprika, cumin, sriracha, chili powder, salt, pepper, and a smoky BBQ sauce along with chopped onion into a pan with some bacon grease for lubrication and that was sautéed at a high temp to caramelize some of the sugars on the other side burner.

The last topping was an apricot salsa. I found an apricot tree about a mile away and harvested some of the ripe fruit. I cut them in half then removed the pit, chopping the remaining flesh. I mixed in diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro and sprinkled in salt, lemon pepper, and lemon juice instead of lime.

As I removed the steak to rest under foil, we sprinkled on shredded sharp cheddar cheese (we just came from Vermont, we had to) and let it melt. Once the agonizing five minutes had passed, we plated. The corn succotash was the base, followed by the seared rare steak, melted cheese, and topped with the salsa. All of this was enjoyed with the setting sun on my back porch. Can’t think of a better way to end the weekend.