New Meat! Flat Iron Steak!

I've seen them sitting there before but was afraid to try in case Fern hated them. This is my last night alone so my last chance to try. Glad I did! I bought a pack of Flat Iron Steak also known as Top Blade Steak. I had to read up on what to do with it.  It has a big silver skin membrane in the middle that does not soften with cooking, it has to be removed. Fortunately it was no more difficult than boning a chicken breast so I had them out in no time.  Just slide the knife along both sides of the silver skin and cut it out. It results in two strips and it's easier than it looks. I salted the strips and seasoned with my 

Southwest Spice

2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp granulated garlic
4 tsp kosher salt (1 tbsp + 1 tsp)
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp cayenne

Yukon Gold potatoes were on special 5lbs for $1.99 so I couldn't resist.  I like them with skins on and just butter and chives to impress everyone that I learned how to garnish. I steamed the asparagus and finished it in butter, lemon juice and salt.

The steak was fried on medium+ heat for a couple of minutes on both sides and it's nice to get a little sear all round. It didn't rest long but didn't need to because it was strips, not a thick chunk of meat.

The steak was out of this world.  Better than rib steak. Full of flavor and surprisingly tender. I'm not sure tenderloin would be any more tender. The potatoes were perfect with this meat and the asparagus was just crisp enough. 

Dinner for one, done. Next time we have beef we're having Flat Iron Steak.

Breaded Chicken with Pineapple Pasta

Maybe I'm watching too many episodes of Chopped, but I decided to try to clean out the fridge in a Chopped style cooking challenge.  I had a chicken breast, cauliflower, bit of homemade pasta and half a can of pineapple pieces. What to make with all of that?

I decided I rather liked breading on my chicken so I was going to do that again.  I wanted more flavor in the breading so I put poultry seasoning in the bread crumbs. The breast was first dusted with 

Chicken Rub

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

mixed ground pepper

1 tsp flour

I pounded the breast flat then put the rub in the bag and shook to fully coat.  I had an egg whipped up to dip it in then a bag of Alpine bread crumbs with poultry seasoning in a second bag.  I put the breast into a hot pan with plenty of oil.  I had to turn the heat down to just over medium and the crust still scorched a bit but fortunately didn't taste bitter. Medium is probably the hottest this should be cooked at so it browns without burning.

The pasta was cooking and I had cauliflower in the steamer, when it was almost done I ran it under cold water and drained it fully.  Then put the cauliflower in the pot on medium low heat with extra virgin olive oil and salt to finish.

I had looked up pineapple sauces on the internet and a simple one can be made from pineapple juice, salt, soy sauce, molasses and lemon juice. I wasn't sure how that would all taste but I started with a tsp of flour and a tbsp of oil in the sauce pan.  I cooked off the flour taste and added the pineapple juice. I had just enough juice to make a good consistency that would thicken a bit as it cooked.  I added a tsp of soy sauce, a good pinch of salt and 2 tsp of molasses. The soy sauce gave a savory taste to the sauce but it was still too sweet.  A tsp or two of lemon juice brought the sweetness under control and produced a nice tasting sauce. I added the pineapple pieces back in before everything else was quite ready.  That was a small mistake because as the pieces cooked they released water which thinned the sauce too much.  I had to turn up the heat to boil it down.  I think the pineapple would have been better if I'd put it in just before serving.

The pineapple pasta was actually pretty good and the sauce was a nice counterpoint to the poultry seasoning on the chicken. The cauliflower managed to hold it's own with the sauce so overall, it was a pretty good meal. Now I understand the trepidation judges have just before the first bite of a dish on Chopped! Will it be delicious or disgusting?

Prawns in Tomato Basil Sauce on Fresh Pasta

Still home alone, dinner for one again.  I was in the mood for seafood and it was time for pasta so I decided to use fresh tomatoes to make a sauce and put it on fresh pasta. I'll see how fast I can whip up pasta for one.

Turns out it still takes about 45 minutes of solid work.  Two people working together could cut down the time to probably 15 minutes and make enough for a table. 

Pasta for One (or maybe two if the eggs are huge like my chickens lay)

2/3 cup flour

1 large egg

Make a well in flour and drop in the egg. Starting in the center, move a fork in a circular motion picking up the flour until it is all absorbed. If the dough is still wet add more flour till the dough is not sticky. Cover and chill 25 minutes.  Start rolling the dough and dusting it with flour on each pass. The dough should  not be sticky and should have a velvety feel. When the dough is thin enough, cut it to length and run each piece through the cutter, then dust the noodles with flour so they don't stick together. I used to try to cut to length after the noodles were made, which is really hard to do.

My grocery store has two kinds of frozen raw prawns.  Two pounds for $19.99 and two pounds for $16.99.  I tried a bag of the expensive ones when they were on sale for $10 and they were delicious. Neither was on sale so I decided to try the $16.99 prawns. (That $3 difference as all the flavor, the cheaper prawns had none.)  I put a serving in cold water to defrost quickly.

Tomato Basil Sauce for one

3 tomatoes

1 shallot diced

6 basil leaves chopped

2 cloves garlic crushed and chopped

1/2 tsp salt

mixed ground pepper

1 ounce chicken stock

First I put some oil in the sauce pan and added the diced shallot. After a minute I added the garlic and sweated them both.  Add a little oil and butter and the prawns.  Cook the prawns to almost done then remove them from the pan.  If they stay in the sauce while it cooks they turn to rubber.

Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and chicken stock to the pan and bring to boil, turn down to a fast simmer and boil off some of the water.  When it's lost enough water put the lid on, turn the heat down and simmer it as long as possible. A few minutes before serving the sauce add the basil and prawns so they finish cooking in the sauce. 

My pasta took about 3 minutes to cook. I put the cooked pasta in the sauce pan, mixed and turn out onto a warm plate.  I dusted the pasta with fresh grated parmesan and sat down to eat.  The prawns were an immediate disappointment.  No flavor.  To add insult to the injury the tomato sauce wasn't nearly as flavorful as Fern's made from his own fresh tomatoes.  I think I'll keep in mind that I'd like to have 50 500ml jars of tomatoes canned by fall. That will keep us in delicious tomato sauce all year. If Fern said at the beginning of the year he wanted to make 50 cans of tomato sauce I would have said he was crazy and I'd be wrong again.

Pot Roast for One

Fern is still away and it is a fish or beef day. There wasn't anything interesting at the fish counter. The only beef that seemed compelling was a little pot roast for $3.98. So I picked it up.  Asparagus was on special so I bought a bunch as everything else is very pricey right now. I had the cauliflower from a few days back.  

First I seared the roast all round in hot oil. Add 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 stick celery, 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper and cover with water.  Add an ounce or two of red wine, bring to a boil, cover and simmer 3 hours.  Turn the meat over every 30 minutes or at least once during cooking. Boiled potatoes just seem right with pot roast so that's what I made, just butter and salt on them.  I steamed the cauliflower and asparagus together and finished them in extra virgin olive oil on a medium low burner. A little grated parmesan over the cauliflower and a few drops of lemon juice on the asparagus. Horseradish is the condiment on the meat.

Despite having to cook this meal for 3 hours, it wasn't all that much work. The meat was wonderful and  everything tasted great together.  The plating isn't pretty but the flavor is fully satisfying. I definitely recommend making pot roast for one, it's well worth while.

Braised Pork Ribs

I love pork ribs with BBQ sauce on them and I wanted to see how pork does braising in the oven.  I cut my ribs into pieces and laid them out in a 9x13 pan.  I put Kraft Original BBQ Sauce on them which is my favorite.  Fern's doesn't like it so I was using up the rest.  I wasn't sure if I had enough but it's just tomato paste and molasses with a few herbs and spices so if I need more I'll mix it up.  As it was, half a bottle was enough. A bit of seasoning on  the ribs, BBQ sauce on top and aluminum foil over the pan.  I put it in a 225ºF oven for 3 hours.  The rice was a mixture of brown basmati, red thai and a little pearl barley. I cooked it in chicken stock with a little salt and pepper. Frozen corn because I like corn with pork. 

I was worried that there wouldn't be enough moisture in the pan but when I took it out of the oven the ribs were floating in a wonderful sauce. The pork fell off the bones in rich juicy mouthfuls. The rice was really nice and a bit of welcome texture.  The corn was a nice match but left me wanting a little something green on plate.  I think a little green salad, garnish size, would have completed the plate nicely.

$.89 crab cakes

The fish counter hasn't had any of the Louis Kemp imitation crab which I find so good in crab cakes but the Alaskan King Crab flavored Pollock was on special for $.89/100gm (about 1/4 lb) so I picked some up.  It doesn't have the texture of crab but it might have enough flavor.

I tried chopping it up into crab like pieces but that wasn't successful.  So I just sweated some onion, celery and Fern's frozen mixed peppers.  I added an egg, some bread crumbs and flour hold it all together.  Salt, pepper and paprika for seasoning.  They cooked fairly well and I served them with some tartar sauce made from sweet pickle relish, mayonnaise, lemon juice and salt. For some reason I had a craving for potato salad so that's what I made at the back of the plate.  A little too much lemon juice made it a bit too thin. More of that carrot garnish.  I just can't seem to finish that stuff!

The crab cakes were vaguely reminiscent of crab flavor but in no way tasted like crab. They didn't taste bad, but they didn't taste good either.  The texture is completely wrong. Rubbery. In my opinion, it doesn't matter how cheap Alaskan king crab flavored pollock is, it is simply not good enough to be worth eating. (the dogs loved it!)

Rib steak

Fern is away for a week so I get to eat everything I love and he hates.  Rib steak is right at the top of the list and this is my first meal alone so I went all out.  I seasoned the steak with salt and pepper and fried it.  Mashed potatoes paired with cauliflower and green peas for the vegetables and a little carrot vinaigrette for color. I even managed to garnish with some chives and chopped parsley. It doesn't look pretty but it tasted good and the dogs loved the bones!