Steak!

Beautiful Steaks!

Steaks marinating in Fennel Rub

Cathy and I were planning a Steak Dinner, Guillermo called and said he was in town. We invited him and Charlie a friend to join us. Scott texted us that he had returned from Taipei, so we also invited him. We started with Margaritas and Wine on the front patio. We purchased 2 Rib Eye Steaks and a Porterhouse Steak from McCall's. We definitely had a lot of meat! We use a Dry Rub on the steak. You can get the recipe of this Rub on our blog of: March 20, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe. The recipe is from the Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali. I love the taste of the Porcini Powder on the Steaks. 

For a first course we had a Nectarine and Speck Salad.
In addition to the Steaks, Cathy made Creamed Summer Corn from a recipe in The Ad Hoc at Home Cookbook. We also made Smash Roasted Marble Potatoes from the same cookbook. Two excellent recipes.
It was a warm summer night and we enjoyed our company and food.

Smash Roasted Marble Potatoes

Ad Hoc at Home

2-1/4 pounds marble potatoes, washed and dried

About 1/4 cup canola oil

4 thyme sprigs, plus a few sprigs for garnish

Kosher salt

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter

8 cloves Garlic or to taste

2 tablespoons minced chives

Fleur de sel

I like the very small marble potatoes, especially when we can find them in a variety of colors. We toss them with salt, olive oil, garlic, and herbs and roast them until they're tender. Sometimes we serve them whole; sometimes we smash them lightly with a fork and finish them with some garlic confit, butter, and chives.

And sometimes we crush them gently and brown them in hot oil. When looking for little potatoes, remember that the smallest potatoes tend to fall to the bottom of the bin, so reach down there and pick out ones similar in size.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Toss the potatoes with oil to coat, the thyme, and salt to taste in a large bowl.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large ovenproof frying pan. Spread the potatoes in the pan. transfer to the oven, and roast for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size, until the potatoes are completely tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Drain the potatoes, discard the thyme sprigs and garlic, and transfer the hot potatoes to a bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the garlic confit. and chives and. using the back of a fork, smash the potatoes to combine them with the other ingredients. Serve garnished with thyme sprigs and a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

CRISPED ROASTED MARBLE POTATOES

Omit the garlic confit and chives. You will need a little more canola oil. When tossing the uncooked potatoes. toss with 12 unpeeled garlic cloves.

After the potatoes have cooked, discard the 4 thyme springs and allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle. One at a time, place each potato on a board and crush the potato lightly (with the heel of your hand or a meat mallet): the sides should split, but try to keep the potato whole.

Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the potatoes and garlic cloves and sauté. turning to brown both sides. Remove any excess oil in the pan. then swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to glaze the potatoes. Serve garnished with thyme sprigs and a sprinkling of fleur de sel.

Creamed Summer Corn

Ad-Hoc at Home

6         ears supersweet white or yellow com, shucked 1 large lime

3         tablespoons unsalted butter

Kosher salt

3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream

1/8      teaspoon cayenne

1-1/2  tablespoons finely chopped chives

With a sharp chef's knife, cut vertically down each ear of corn to slice off the kernels. Put the kernels in a large bowl, then hold each cob over the bow] and use a spoon or the back of a knife to scrape any remaining corn and the milk from the cob.

Grate the zest of the lime, preferably with a Microplane grater, set aside. Cut the lime in half.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the com. squeeze about 1 tablespoon lime juice, or to taste, over the corn. and season with salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until all the liquid has evaporated. concentrating the flavor, and the corn is beginning to sizzle. 15 to 17 minutes.

Stir in 3/4 cup cream, the cayenne, and lime zest. Continue to cook for 6 to 8 minutes. until the cream is absorbed by the com. Add up to 1/4 cup more cream if desired for a creamier texture. Add salt to taste and stir in the chives.