Red Meat Makes the World Go 'Round

Spring has reached Edmonton, at least for the time being. I'm sure we will still see another cold front, and perhaps a couple more snowfalls before it is actually spring. But for now, it is beautiful outside. I did a bit of spring cleaning yesterday, and then I took a step out of my normal hermit tendencies and went out in the world. I picked up some pasta and a bottle of balsamic vinegar from the Italian Centre. I went to Chapters and bought a couple books. It would have been an entirely perfect trip out in public, if it weren't for 3 things.

1) The small child who was accompanied by both parents at the Italian Centre, neither parent willing to control him in any way

2) The guy, who when saw me trying to cross the street (on foot) in the Chapters parking lot, debated whether or not he should let me cross, and then sped up, while turning his stereo on really loud, and proceeded to not let me pedestriate. I waved at him, using both hands but not all my fingers.

3) Remembering once I got home, that my car has a sunroof. A sunroof that should have been open the entire time I was driving around, but I forgot it existed.

The first two are huge pet peeves of mine. I know that kids have a mind of their own, and you can't control them all the time. But if your kid is a hellion, should you really bring him to a busy grocery store on a Saturday afternoon? Should you let them drive the "cute" little mini-cart? I think the worst is when a kid is driving the little cart, and runs into you, and the parent glares at you, like it's your fault you choose to stand in little precious' way. You don't see me hitting kids with my cart and then glaring at you for bringing them.

And I hate stupid drivers. The guys who drive really slow in the left lane bother me the most. In fact, I think cops should stop handing out speeding tickets, and crack down on the real hazards. The people who drive under the speed limit, the people who see your signal light when you're trying to get out of a lane with a broken down car, but they just have to get past you and not let you in.

Woooooo. Ok rant over. Spring is here, and life is good.

The other night I made a perfect meal. Steak with potatoes and money beets. I took a perfect New York strip, brushed it with olive oil, seasoned it with salt and pepper and cooked it for 3 minutes on each side in a skillet over med high heat. (Then I took it off the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes under foil). This will make a medium rare steak, which is the only way to eat it.

What is on top of this perfect steak? Steak butter. I made it by taking a 1/4 cup of white wine, the juice of one lemon, and a minced shallot, and boiling the mix in a saucepan until it reduced to a tbsp. I then let the mix cool. Once cooled, I added it to a half of cup of butter that I had whipped in a food processor.

Delicious! Also note the super cute little red dish. My sister E got it for me for my birthday. The white dish underneath is tear drop shaped and I got that for my birthday from C's parents.

I made the potatoes using a Chef Michael Smith recipe. You take a cooked baked potato that has cooled down and smash it by placing it on a flat surface and then pressing a plate on top of it. You drizzle it with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. and then bake for 30-40 minutes at 45o F. The reason you use a cooled potato is that a warm potato will crumble, and a cooled potato will hold its shape when smashed.

The exposed flesh will go crispy and brown in the oven, and the potato under the skin will stay tender and fluffy. Very very good.

About half way through cooking time I drizzle a bit more olive oil on the potatoes. I think it makes them a bit more crisp.

To make the money beets, I peel the beets (wearing rubber gloves), and then grate them. I put them in a saucepan with a bit of water and white vinegar, roughly 1/4 cup each. I put a lid on the saucepan and cook the beets on medium for about a half hour. Then I drain the liquid, add a bit more white vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Oh yeah, those are the money beets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_P1-ipWdWg

Watch that video if you want to know what money beets are. I do not know how to post the actual video on the blog. Sorry.