Meat & Potatoes

Mike and I lived it up Midwestern-style tonight.  We decided to mix science and steak-grilling and tried a method I found online, where you heavily salt the meat and allow it to sit at room temp for 45 minutes, wash it, and pat it very dry before grilling.  Something to do with making proteins and fat hang out together.  Bloody hell was it good - though we left them on the grill a minute too long.  Even cooked medium, they were still so flavorful.

Rib-eye rubdown

I must be iron-deficient this weekend, because on top of being the one to suggest steaks (instead of acquiescing to Mike's weekly ribeye desires) I also wanted some sauteed spinach on the side.  I started by steaming the baby spinach before very briefly tossing it in some warm oil with slivered garlic.  I don't know why, but whenever I saute fresh spinach it ends up leaving a weird, almost gritty feeling on my palate.  It's NOT sand, I wash it well - it's more chemical in nature.  Whatevs, the pre-steam seems to solve the problem.  When I was in high school I publicly declared my love for the smell of garlic simmering in olive oil as the best smell ever.  That might be the only statement from my teenage years I still stand by.  

Good things start here. 

Mike prepped the grill (charcoal, baby) and once they were done, we let the steaks rest while we finished the spinach, finely chopped some white onion for the baked potatoes (Mike taught me that, and even though raw onion can mess up my stomach for some reason, it doesn't here) and finishing setting the table.  Simple, luxurious, and so, so good.  

Resting...

Best photo we could get before saying "screw it" and digging in

If loving a good cup of decaf after a great meal makes me old, sign me up for Social Security

The Best Pork My Mother Has Ever Eaten

Tonight I present you with what has been described as the Best Pork My Mother Has Ever Eaten, or smothered pork roast with cauliflower, anchovy, & caper sauce.  They paired their meal with a glass of merlot and followed it up with dessert of blueberry pie.  At this time, it is not known whether it was made from blueberries painstakingly collected from the mosquito-ridden-Grand Marais-area secret blueberry patch that DOES NOT EXIST SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.

Mmmmm porky goodness!

Diary of a Metrosexual Dog

Today's post was submitted by James and Michele Malters on behalf of Nicky, and let's just throw it out there, big time points for presentation.  I'd like to see a little more green, perhaps a pop of red courtesy of julienned bell pepper - nonetheless, well plated my four-legged bro!

 

We should've seen this one coming

Maybe he had a little help from a friend in the sky...although Hook would have suggested nabbing the t-bone from the counter while Mom and Jim were setting this shenanigan up.

Korean Night! Yukkaejang, pajeon (street-food pancake) and sidedishes, including pickled herring for the Minnesota clan

Mike and I finally took down a few recipes from the cookbooks Jim sent us as a housewarming gift. The pressure was on - it's been at least two months since we got them and Jim expects results, people.  Four Korean cookbooks - we had to pick just two dishes because let's face it, a cuisine based on red pepper, garlic, and fermentation can be a bit tough on milquetoast-American bellies.  The hardest part was following the recipes exactly as written - where's the fun in that?  However, I have never had any of these dishes before and I wanted them to taste Korean - like the food Mike ate in Korea carefully prepared by elderly mamacitas, who Koreans call "ajummas" because they aren't Mexican.  Anyway, the yukkaejang recipe was pretty much by the book, but the pajeon (pancake-thingy) I messed around with a little bit. Who buys 2 oysters, 5 clams, 3 scallops and then shucks them all and carefully arranges them on a glorified pancake? Me, in five years when I'm not a perpetually broke student.  Maybe then I'll also have a better camera.  Until then, you're stuck with iPhone pics and maybe if Mike and I can get the lighting right good ones from his SLR with a broken flash.  Love, Angel

Armamentarium

Korean markets only sell red pepper powder by the kilo.  Not kidding.

Chopping off his cute head myself saved me $1.50/lb!

Pajeon - they're not just for breakfast anymore

Gambei!