Steak Frites

We made this before Jay left, but I forgot to post it! We absolutely loved this meal and I hope to make it again soon! A lot of fun!

Ingredients for steak:

1 1/2 pounds bone in rib eye steak

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon oil

Spicy Red Pepper Sauce (recipe below)

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley

The recipe calls to cook the steak in the oven for a little and then transfer to skillet and back to oven and serve medium rare - this is not the way that we wanted to make it so we grilled it instead! Go ahead and make the steak however you want, but you MUST make the sauce and fries!

Ingredients for Fries:

1 head garlic, loose skin rubbed off, halved horizontally

6 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds large boiling or baking potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning

Lemon wedges for garnish

Put garlic halves and oil in a deep, heavy bottomed pot and heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 320 degrees. Line a pan with paper towels. Use a slotted spoon to transfer garlic to prepared pan and heat oil to 360 degrees.

While oil heats, slice potatoes into shoestring fries. Make sure they are dry.

Increase heat to medium high and working in batches add the potatoes to the oil and fry until brown and crispy. Scoop fries from oil with slotted spoon and drain on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potatoes making sure the oil returns to 360 degrees before each batch.

Squeeze cloves from of the garlic halves and mince; reserve other half for garnish. Toss minced garlic with parsley, lemon zest, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Dump fries on top and toss. Mound fries on a platter, season with salt to taste and serve.

Ingredients for Spicy Red Pepper Sauce:

1/2 cup piquillo peppers (we used roasted red peppers)

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons mayonaisse

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Puree peppers, parsley, mayonnaise, olive oil, hot pepper sauce, mustard, garlic, and salt in a blender until smooth. (I used a food processor) Pour sauce into a bowl and set aside. Cover and refrigerate if storing, up to 2 days. Bring sauce to room temperature before serving.

Great meal!

Enjoy!

Baked Polenta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

This was a really easy meal and super yummy! First time trying polenta and it was very good! :) A meal full of flavor that I would definitely make again!

Ingredients for Polenta:

5 cups water

1 cup coarse-ground cornmeal

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano Cheese (I used our regular grated cheese!)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the water into a Dutch Oven, then whisk in the cornmeal and salt. Bake uncovered, for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and whisk. Return the polenta to the oven and bake until it thickens a bit more, about 10 more minutes.

Ingredients for Broccoli Rabe and Sausage:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound sweet Italian sausage links

2 tablespoons water

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound broccoli rabe, woody stems trimmed

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I would take this out!)

While the polenta bakes, cook the broccoli rabe and sausages: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and water, cover, and cook until just firm, about 5 minutes. Uncover the skillet, increase the heat to high, and cook the sausages, turning as necessary, until browned all over and the water evaporates, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and keep warm; leave about 1 tablespoon of drippings in the skillet and discard the rest.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic to the drippings, and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Add the broccoli rabe, crushed tomatoes with juices, and salt; increase the heat to medium-high,, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli rabe is tender, about 4 minutes. Nestle the sausages in the greens, spoon sauce over and around them, and cook until heated through.

Just before serving, stir the polenta until smooth, then stir in the cheese. Spoon the polenta onto a serving platter and arrange the greens and sausages over the top.

Enjoy!

Chinese Peppered Pork Chops

These were amazing! Easy quick meal with lots of flavor! :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons medium-cracked ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

6 1/4 inch thick loin pork chops (we used 2 butterfly cut pork loins..there was extra marinade but just enough for two!)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Put soy sauce, garlic, sugar, pepper and salt in a ziploc bag and mix together before placing pork chops in the bag. Rub the marinade into the pork chops and then let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet and place pork chops on the skillet, shaking excess marinade off before putting it on the skillet (because we used only 2 pork chops we could cook them at the same time, but depending on your pan size you may have to repeat the cooking process until all pork chops are cooked)

Once they are cooked through take them off the skillet and serve! We made two sides: one side was corn and the other was mashed potatoes. Great compliments to the pork chop and marinade!

Enjoy! :)