Okay, so I’m not just warming up Sunday’s pasta. Leftovers wouldn’t last me an entire week. I’m actually cooking the leftovers. It’s a strange concept, cooking leftovers, but hear me out. I’m frugal. That’s not a confession, but a proud fact. One of the ways we are frugal is by always shopping the grocery store weekly specials or the Costco quantities. If it’s not a deal, it doesn’t make our weekly menu (menu planning is a great way to be frugal, but that’s a different post). That often times leaves us buying value packs or family packs of meats. We’re a family of two, so we end up dividing up the packs into smaller portions for our meal planning. Often times there are stragglers – an extra steak, lamb chop, etc. Those go into a freezer bag for when one of us is dining alone. This week I feasted on NY Strip Steak with farmers market new potatoes, and grocery store sale mushrooms. Tough life, I know.
This is a unique post for me as I don’t share many recipes, but what you are about to read is my own big reveal. Because of my steaks, Mrs. Gourmand won’t order steak at a restaurant (not even one of the prime steakhouses like Ruth Chris); she hasn’t found one that equals what comes off of our grill. I’ll also share my adventure combining the potatoes with the mushrooms. This was an experiment, which while it was full of bold flavors, needs some tweaks. But I don’t mind experimenting with myself.
First, the mushrooms. Here’s what I did followed by how I would alter the recipe. I am a chef who doesn’t cook by measurements but by tastes and visuals so you’ll have to work with me here.
Ingredients:
- Farmers market new potatoes – 1 bag
- Button mushrooms – 1 carton
- Olive oil – 3 tbsp
- Butter – 3 tbsp
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Rosemary – 1 large sprig
- Red pepper flakes – 1 teaspoon or more depending on your heat tolerance
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese to finish
Steps:
- Drop your oil and butter in the pan and heat it to medium high
- Wash the potatoes and cut them into equal size pieces. Some of the little guys won’t need cut at all.
- Toss the potatoes in the pan once it is hot
- Quarter the mushrooms and chop the garlic and rosemary (I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but take the damn leaves off the sprigs first)
- Watch the potatoes and once they become slightly golden toss in the mushrooms
- Once the mushrooms look like they are starting to get cooked, toss in the garlic, rosemary, and pepper flakes
- After a about another 3 minutes, salt and pepper the concoction. Wait about 2 minutes and you are done. The potatoes should look golden and the mushrooms slightly charred. If they don’t, then cook longer.
But you don’t want to use that recipe. It didn’t turn out right. It tasted great but the portions were off. The potatoes to mushrooms balance was disproportionate and it made way too freaking much (don’t worry, the leftovers were used in omelets when wifey was back in town). Cut the amount of potatoes in half or double the amount of mushrooms. Also, don’t quarter the mushrooms. Either half them or cook them whole.
Now for the steaks. Do follow this recipe. A special thanks goes out to my Dear Olde Dad for coming up with the framework of this recipe. What is below I adapted from his classic recipe.
Ingredients:
- Steak of your choice and size. This recipe works with them all.
- Soy sauce – quarter cup
- Worcestershire sauce – quarter cup
- Thyme – a few sprigs
- Garlic – 1 clove
- Charbroil seasoning
- Pepper – to taste (no salt is used as the other ingredients contain enough of it already)
Steps – I’m not going to tell you how to heat your grill and cook your meat to the proper temperature. A true grill master already knows how to work his or her grill. The marinade can make up to four steaks. Also, I do not trim the excess fat off my steak unless it is a rib eye. The fat adds flavor, so keep it but eat around it.
- Chop the thyme.
- Combine the thyme, soy sauce, and worcestershire in a shallow bowl. Add the steak and allow to marinate for a half hour, flipping halfway through. I do this on the kitchen counter to allow the meat to come to room temperature and avoid shocking the meat when it hits the hot grill. Don’t over marinade or you won’t actually taste the steak itself.
- Cut the garlic in half
- When the grill and meat are ready, rub the garlic cut side down on both sides of the meat. Sprinkle Charbroil and cracked pepper on both sides to coat and create a crust.
- Cook steak to medium or less. If you prefer your steaks cooked longer, please refrain from using my recipe or from eating steaks altogether. You are wasting your money. Share the dog food with Fido instead as steaks cooked longer merely amount to dog food.
