An Adventurous Steakhouse Dinner and Sides

This was a very ambitious dinner to make, but the end result was steak that melted in my mouth served with two exciting side dishes I'd never made before.

The smell of the steak, onions, garlic and thyme was awesome, but be sure to turn on the oven hood fan and maybe even open some windows. About halfway through searing the steak all the smoke detectors in my house went off!

Herb-Roasted Beef Rib-eye with Roasted Shallots
Recipe courtesy of Iron Chef, Geoffrey Zakarian

Total Time: 2 hr 25 min (yea, this one takes some time and effort)
Prep: 15 min
Inactive: 1 hr 15 min
Cook: 55 min
Yield: 2 to 4 servings (or in our case 2 servings twice)
Level: Easy (What? Bullshit, this is a lot of work)

Ingredients
One 2.5-inch-thick boneless rib-eye (1 1/2 pounds), tied with 2 pieces of twine to keep it together in a compact round shape
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
(I used an A1 steak seasoning and it was great!)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 stick of butter
10 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 head garlic, cloves smashed

Roasted Shallots:
Cook these before the steak so you can reduce the heat for the steak.
8 shallots, cut in half through the root, skins left on
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finishing
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

Roasted Shallots:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Season the baking sheet with the olive oil and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
Lay the shallots on the baking sheet cut-side down. Roast until the shallots are very tender, about 25 minutes.

Steak:
Season the steak rather liberally with kosher salt. Bring it to room temperature, about 1 hour outside of the fridge.
Preheat (or cool down) the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the paprika, cumin, mustard and a few turns of freshly cracked pepper in a small bowl. Season the steak with the rub. (I used the A1 rub, just sayin...)
Heat the canola oil in a saute pan over high heat until smoking.
Add the steak and sear on all sides, about 3 minutes per side.

Moment of truth. I am hoping not to burn a $30 piece of steak!!

Add the butter, thyme, rosemary and garlic.
Reduce the heat to medium low and baste the steak with the butter as it begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes (without burning).

I felt like a real gourmet chef doing this!

Transfer the steak to a rack in a roasting pan and top with a few pieces of the herbs and garlic and 3 spoonfuls of the butter.
Roast to an internal temperature of 120 degrees F for medium rare, 7 to 10 minutes. Allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes before slicing into 1/2 inch pieces.
Serve with the roasted shallots.

Sour Cream and Onion Hash Brown Balls
You can make this part ahead and reheat in the oven or microwave before serving.
The online recipe is BS, from a professional restauranteur who doesn't want you to be able to make his trademark dish. Here's how I did it.

Ingredients:
3 Idaho potatoes peeled and shredded (1 potato per 2 hash browns)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
1 egg
3 tbs flour
1 tbs. EVOO
2 tbs. butter
salt and pepper to taste
4 scallions diced small
2-3 tbs. low fat sour cream

Directions:
Brown the onions in a large skillet with the EVOO and butter.
Heat Canola oil about an inch deep in a large skillet or Dutch oven to screaming hot.
Squeeze as much water out of the potatoes as you can. Use a cheesecloth or just wring them out with your hands and pat dry on paper towels.
Mix potatoes, egg and flour in a large bowl.
Salt and pepper the potatoes liberally.
Grab small handfuls of potatoes and roll them loosely into balls, about 2-3 inches round. Don't pack them tight. Just enough to hold together. Don't try to make perfect balls. Let them have some character, with shreds hanging off.
Drop them carefully into the hot oil. Don't mess with them. Let them fry until golden brown, then gently turn them over to fry the other side.
Remove from oil to drain and cool.
Serve with a spoonful of caramelized onions, a dollop of sour cream, topped with scallions.

Big Mike's Apple Coleslaw

Looks almost good enough to eat, doesn't it?

I'm making pulled pork sandwiches tonight and I've been researching apple slaw as the perfect side dish for the pork. My recipe was done a step or two at a time until I was happy with the taste. It is sitting in the refrigerator now covered by cling wrap to let the dressing work its magic on the cabbage and apples.

So here is how it ended up.
This should make 4-6 servings.

Ingredients
1/3 head of green cabbage finely sliced and shredded
1/3 head of purple cabbage finely sliced and shredded
2 carrots peeled and julienned
2 green apples, peeled, cored and julienned
2 scallions finely chopped

Dressing
1/3 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup honey (maybe a little more)
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions
Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside in reserve.
Slice, shred and julienne cabbage, carrots, scallions and apples. Combine in a large bowl and mix. Lightly salt mixture and add a pinch of ground pepper.
Pour dressing into mixture and mix thoroughly. Cover with cling wrap and set in refrigerator to cool while all those flavors marry into the mixture (at least one hour).

I think an option I might try day two with the leftovers is to add dried cranberries to the mix. That sounds yummy!

This might also benefit from a dash of cayenne pepper, but I'll experiment more once I've nailed the basic recipe.

Big Mike's Texas Chili

Chili is the ideal one pot dish. You can make everything in one pot, serve it from one pot, store it in one pot and when you are done - clean one pot. What's not to like about that?

For this recipe, I've added some new twists to my standard chili recipe, particularly, adding some new peppers into the ingredients list.

Ingredients
2 Pablano peppers roasted, peeled and deseeded
1 red bell pepper roasted, peeled and deseeded
2 oz. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - diced small
1 medium onion
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 40 oz. can Bush's chili hot beans
2 14.5 oz. cans stewed tomatoes (I like the ones seasoned with Jalapenos, garlic and cumin)
1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
1 8 oz. can tomato paste
1 tbs. salt
1 tbs. black pepper
4-5 tbs. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
2 tbs. dried cilantro
4 oz. frozen corn

Directions
(Do this prep work ahead of cooking the chili. It's fun, easy and worth every extra minute.)
Preheat broiler to high
1. Place Pablano peppers and a halved red bell pepper on a cookie sheet (I like to use no stick aluminum foil), and place on the highest rack of the oven under broiler flames. Broil for about 10 minutes on each side, or until the Pablanos are black and bubbly looking. The red pepper will be blackened a lot too. Don't worry we like this!

2. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with shrink wrap to steam them. Set aside and let cool until they are cool enough to handle. When they are cool enough to touch, unwrap them and peel the loose papery skin off them by gently pulling on the membrane. It should come off very easily. Take out the seeds and chop into 3/4 inch pieces. Save in a bowl for later.

3. As long as you are chopping peppers, you can also take out your chipotle peppers and chop them up fine also. Save in a small bowl for later.

Two hours before serving:
4. Splash some olive oil in the bottom of a hot Dutch oven. Brown ground sirloin until about half done. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

5. Add onion, cilantro, red pepper, and a dash of chili pepper. Cook until onions are tender and meat is completely browned.

6. Everybody in the pool! Add chili hot beans, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, roasted peppers, chipotle peppers and remaining chili powder. Simmer over medium-low heat for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

One hour before serving:
7. Add frozen corn and reduce heat to low. Continue cooking on low and stirring occasionally.

8. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy with buttered corn muffins or a hardy crusty bread for sopping. It's even better the second day, so plan on a leftover party.

Amy's Swiss Chard with Honey Roasted Garlic

From Amy Thielen (food network)

This is the perfect side dish for Amy's fried chicken, gravy and mashed potatoes.

Ingredients
2 heads garlic
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 bunches (almost 2 pounds) Swiss chard, stripped of stems and cut into 1-inch pieces (10 cups)
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut the top 1/2 inch off each head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Set the garlic in the center of a square of heavy aluminum foil. Pour 1 teaspoon of the honey and 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over the garlic, replace the tops, and fold up the sides of the foil to make a package, crimping the top tight. Bake until very tender and golden, 40 to 45 minutes.
3. Transfer the baked garlic to a bowl, including all the juices in the foil pouch. When cool enough to handle, remove the garlic heads and carefully pop out the garlic cloves by pushing up from the bottom; try to keep the cloves intact. Add the remaining teaspoon honey and tablespoon olive oil and gently stir to combine.
4. Heat a very wide skillet over medium heat, and add the butter and pine nuts. When they begin to sizzle and turn golden brown, add half of the Swiss chard. Cook, stirring, until the greens wilt, a minute or two. Add the remaining chard. Once all of the chard is wilted, season with salt and pepper, and cook until most of the liquid has simmered off, another 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the honey-roasted garlic to the chard, mix very gently to combine, and serve.

Big Mike's Toastinis

These toastinis can be used as an appetizer, a side dish in an Italian meal, or as late night snack.

Ingredients

4 pc. Fresh baked sliced Italian bread

1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese

8 thin slices organic tomato

1 tbs butter

garlic salt

grated Parmesan cheese

oregano

cracked black pepper

Directions - pre-heat broiler

1. Lightly toast bread in toaster.

2. Lightly butter each slice.

3. Sprinkle garlic salt on each piece.

4. Sprinkle shredded cheese on toast to cover.

5. Add 2 pieces of tomatoes to each slice of toast.

6. Sprinkle with black pepper and oregano and coat with layer of Permesan cheese..

7. Broil close to flame until cheese melts or something catches on fire.

8. Dowse flames and eat immediately.