After debuting the fabulous pickletini here on Endless Simmer, I thought I’d introduce you all to my other favorite mixed drink—Blueberi Stoli and Soda. I had my first Blueberi Stoli and Soda at the Wonderland Ballroom here in my favorite neighborhood in DC, Columbia Heights. And who suggested this drink to me? Why, the lovely Vi who recently posted It Tastes Like a Rainbow, Part II.
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I decided that I needed to write a post about the (dirty) pickletini, a (vodka) martini that uses a pickle spear and pickle juice in place of olives and olive juice. Now I can already see you haters out there scrunching your nose at this, but honestly, if you like dirty martinis you will love this salty goodness. And trust me that the pickle doesn’t have to look like doo-doo in a martini glass, like the above pic.
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Who could say no to the Hollandaise sauce for Steak?! Yes, Bernaise is a sister to our egg-stra special friend Hollandaise, both made with whisked egg yolk and clarified butter. Bernaise, however, adds a savory mix of vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and chervil (a pretty little spice I hadn’t heard of prior to my first attempt cooking up this sauce) and forgoes the lemon found in Hollandaise. As you may or may not be able to see in the photo, I added chopped up baby bellas to my bernaise. It added a nice, complementary flavor and allowed me to feel like I was eating “more healthy” (despite the beef and bernaise, of course).
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Well, many will say that there are certain types of foods that you can’t ever hope to make at home with any success, one of them being Thai food. But nay, friends! I say it ain’t so.
So, you think you can’t cook Thai? I disagree. Here are a couple of important Thai sauces that will make you excited about venturing into these un-traveled recipes. I started cooking the peanut sauce first just by looking at the ingredients on the back of a store-bought jar of Thai peanut sauce. Granted there are all kinds of ingredients that are foreign there—guargum, asparta what? But, take the ingredients that mean something to you and it will be alright.
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Beef, it’s what’s for dinner…
At least usually when I’m cooking. I am a red meat monger and I sometimes wonder if I might be suffering from some kind of Iron deficiency. Anyway, had a tasty steak night this week. We used our newest favorite way to prep steaks that are going on the grill—olive oil and coarse sea salt. Type of steak—boneless short ribs, mmmmm. Sort of fattier than other cuts, but all the more juicy. Medium rare, of course. Along side the meat we grilled zucchini and yellow squash, sautéed up some red chard, and served it all with a side of rice. Isn’t it beautiful!
The power of coarse sea salt is really amazing, actually. While at the beach I used it on two 2lb tri-tips. Normally I rub the oil and salt on maybe 10 to 15 minutes before the meat hits the heat, but this time I did it an hour or so beforehand. The result—succulent but salty beef. But hey, I also love salty foods. We skewered yellow squash, zucchini, and baby bellas to go with. It was quick, easy, and tasty.
The “surf” portion after the jump.
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Ahoy, Bok Choy!
Here’s a creative recipe that comes straight from the farm. A good friend of mine worked on an outdoor education farm in Cali-forn-i-a where one of her co-workers developed his very own vegetarian cookbook based on the veggies they had growing in their garden. This one recipe has always stuck with me, even though I seem to have misplaced the cookbook. I have no name for it, but it does involve Bok Choy.
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Chimichurri! This is an Argentine sauce that you eat with steak, mmmmmm…it’s f’in fabulous!
Here’s what’s in it:
Olive oil (about a cup)
Red wine vinegar (about a cup)
Chopped, fresh parsley (lots)
Garlic (lots)
Crushed red pepper flakes (a tablespoon)
Oregano
Salt (optional)
These are rough measurements since I never measure, but you can figure out the mix you like best. Point being that you stir all of this up in a bowl and then when you’ve got your nice grilled steak all sliced up, you drizzle this (or spoon it) onto every bite and good gravy it’s good.
Photo: Tenurecollegerfc
