Jim’s brother was visiting
for the weekend. Jim wanted a steak meal
to go with the wines he wanted to serve.
I made the whole meal out of my Basic to Brilliant, Y’all cookbook. So the first recipe is how you take the basic
NY Strip Steak from basic to brilliant.
Ingredients:
6 (6-8 oz) boneless NY strip
steaks Jim had them cut 1 ½” thick
1 oz dried mushrooms
1 sprig rosemary
Directions:
1.
Put the dried
mushrooms and the rosemary in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Puree until finely ground.
2.
Transfer to a
shallow plate and coat both sides of the steak
3.
Jim cooked them
on the grille.
I can’t tell you whether this
made a difference or not, as my steak was overdone so I would not eat it. His cousin was here at dinner also and she
will not eat meat until it is well done, so the grilling did not go well.
To go with the steaks I chose
to make Cheese Grits Soufflé and
Brussels sprouts. The grits is a recipe
that according to the author she learned while apprenticing with Nathalie
Dupree. This is easy and you can make
ahead and bake while the company is snacking on appetizers. This is a very generous 8 servings.
Ingredients:
5 C whole milk
1C unsalted butter
1 C stone-ground grits
1 t fine sea salt
¼ t cayenne pepper
4 C grated sharp white Cheddar
cheese (1#)
1 T Dijon mustard
1/8 t ground mace
6 large eggs, separated
Directions:
1.
Preheat the oven
if immediately baking to 350 degrees.
Generously butter a 9x 13 ovenproof baking dish.
2.
Bring the milk to
a boil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the grits and return to a boil. Season with the salt and cayenne pepper. Decrease the heat to low and simmer until
creamy and thick but still loose and saucy, 45-60 minutes.
3.
Remove from the
heat and stir in cheese, butter, mustard and mace. Cool slightly.
4.
Lightly beat the
egg yolks in a small bowl. Stir a little
of the grits into the yolks to heat them slightly, then add the yolks to the
grits mixture and combine thoroughly.
5.
In the bowl of a
mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites with a pinch of
salt on medium speed until foamy. Whip
until stiff peaks form, 2-3 minutes.
6.
Add about ¼ of
the beaten egg whites to the grits mixture and stir until well mixed. Pour this lightened mixture over the
remaining whites and fold them together as gently as possible. (You can make the soufflé several hours
ahead to this point, cover and set aside or in the refrigerator. If refrigerated, return to room temperature
before baking.)
7.
Pour into the
prepared baking dish. Bake the soufflé until
it is puffed and lightly browned, 40-45 minutes. Serve Immediately.
Brussels sprouts are not only my favorite vegetable, but when serving grilled steak
they are an anti-cancer agent. Jim is
not as fond of the sprout so I look for different recipes. This recipe serves 4-6. I was afraid it would not be enough, but we
had leftovers.
Ingredients:
1# Brussels sprouts, trimmed
and cut in half lengthwise
2 slices thick-cut bacon, cut
into lardons
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled,
cored, and cut into ¼” dice
Leaves from 2 sprigs of
thyme, chopped. (I used dried, abut ½ t)
1 T chopped fresh flat-leaf
parsley
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1.
Either boil the
sprouts fin water for 5 minutes or cook them in the microwave. I did mine in the microwave for 3 minutes in ¼
C water.
2.
In a skillet,
cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes.
3.
Decrease the heat
to medium; add onion and sauté until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the apple and thyme and cook, stirring
occasionally, until the apple is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
4.
Add the sprouts
and toss to combine. Cook until tender
about 5 minutes.
I guess the meal went
well. Jim went on and on and on about
his wines. I kind of turned off. The wines were a French 1982 Chateau Lynch
Bages and a California, 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. We finished our “once in a lifetime” wine experience
with an Elk Cove Vineyards Gewurztraminer to accompany my Grape Cake that I
blogged about earlier this month. The
appetizers were very simple, cheese, pate and crackers.
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