Friday, August 15, 2008

Steak and Potatoes


So, we love a good steak in our house. Bill actually cooks the steaks quite a bit. Three years ago, for Valentine's Day, he decided that he would cook dinner for me. He looked up some recipes, went to the store and bought ingredients, and cooked all by himself. He picked a steak dish with a cream sauce/dressing over salad. It was really good. He also "discovered" a new way to cook steaks at home. I grew up on steak cooked on a grill, so it never really occurred to me to cook them any other way.

So, in our house, steaks are seared on the stovetop, in a pan, then transferred to stove to finish cooking under the broiler. We also love to eat steaks at Outback Steakhouse, and their method is searing before cooking, so I suppose it makes sense that's how we'd cook them.

So for tonight's menu, I chose steaks, twice baked potatoes, and green beans. (I meant to make garlic bread, but I never got around to it.) All of these "recipes" are ingredients I sort of threw together and that can be adjusted to taste/dietary restrictions.

Steak Marinade:
garlic, finely chopped
shallot, finely chopped
onion, finely chopped
parsley, chopped
red wine vinegar
olive oil
Worcestershire sauce
salt substitute
fresh ground pepper
salt free steak seasoning
cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients in large plastic bag. Marinate steaks for at least one hour.

Heat pan over medium high heat with a little olive oil or cooking spray. Make sure you use an oven-proof pan. Turn oven to broil. Sear steaks for about 30 seconds on each side. You want them just browned on the outside. Transfer pan to oven and cook to desired doneness. We like medium to medium rare, so about five minutes each side. I don't have a pan large enough to cook both steaks at once (they were pretty big sirloins), so I transferred the first steak to a baking sheet and covered tightly with foil, then cooked the second.

Twice Baked Potatoes:
two large baking potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed
garlic cloves (I used four)
butter (I used a little Smart Balance butter and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray)
sour cream (light sour cream)
bacon (low sodium, cooked in microwave)
Parmesan/Fontina/Asiago/Romano cheese blend
sharp cheddar cheese (I used light)

Pre-heat oven to 400. Poke holes in and spray potatoes with cooking spray and wrap with foil. Place garlic gloves on sheet of aluminum and toss with a little olive oil; wrap. Place potatoes and garlic on baking sheet. Garlic was done in about 30 minutes. The potatoes took about an hour. Allow the potatoes to cool just enough to handle. Cut slit in top and spoon out the insides, leaving just the skin. To the potatoes add the roasted garlic and next four ingredients (amount is purely based on taste) and loosely mash together with fork. Spoon mixture back into potato skin and top with cheddar cheese. Put potatoes back in oven and bake until cheese is melted.

Green Beans:
frozen green beans, thawed
olive oil and olive oil cooking spray
garlic, chopped
onion, chopped
fresh ground black pepper
vinegar
butter

Heat pan over medium heat with a little olive oil and cooking spray. Saute onions and garlic until slightly tender. Add green beans to pan and coat with a little more cooking spray. Saute green beans until almost cooked through. Add vinegar and pepper and reduce heat. Just before serving, add a little butter or spray butter (I used spray).

Sissy's Variations:
For the steak, I think I will sear just a little longer next time. I don't think mine turned out as well because I didn't sear as long. And I'll probably use less vinegar next time.
For the potatoes, I think more roasted garlic, but they were just about perfect. Oh, and I'll make sure I'm not out of green onions next time.
For the green beans, I want to try them with fresh next time and maybe add a little Parmesan cheese at the end.

Overall, the steaks tasted good, although Bill's wasn't a very good cut. The potatoes were awesome. Bill said it was the best potato he'd ever had. Bill didn't like the green beans and I thought they were just okay. But, still, an all-around good dinner, which is good because I burned myself again on the stupid pan that came out of the oven!

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