A WeekNite Dinner Review

These are all Cuisine at Home recipes and they are wonderful!

Seared Flank Steak w/Shallot-Mustard Sauce
Oven Fries with Lemon-Fennel Salt
Green Salad with Feta and Fresh Fruit

1 flank steak, about 1-1/2 lb.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. corn oil
6 Tbs. cold unsalted butter (4 Tbs. cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
3 Tbs. finely minced shallot
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup low-salt beef broth
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon

Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Season the steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat an ovenproof 12-inch sauté pan over high heat until very hot. Add the oil to coat the pan and sear the steak on one side until well browned, about 1-1/2 minutes. Flip with tongs and cook until the second side is well browned, about another 2 minutes.

Put the pan in the oven and roast until the steak is cooked to your liking, 5 to 7 minutes for medium rare. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest, lightly covered with foil, while you make the sauce.

Set the same skillet over medium heat and add 2 Tbs. of the butter. When the butter melts, add the shallot and garlic and cook until soft and translucent but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium high, and boil until syrupy, 2 to 4 minutes.

Add the broth and thyme and boil until about 1/3 cup of liquid remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the mustard. (Don’t let the sauce boil after the mustard is added.) Stir in the 4 Tbs. butter cubes, a few at a time.

Stir in half the tarragon and season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.With a sharp knife, slice the steak thinly across the grain on the diagonal, drizzle with the sauce, and sprinkle with remaining tarragon.

We enjoyed the flavor of the steak with the Shallot-Mustard sauce. My Flank Steak was very large and 5 minutes in the oven brought it to the exact rare-to medium rare that we prefer. Leftover steak went into Fajitas wiht Pico de Gallo.

----------

Oven Fries

2 lg russet potatoes about 1 3/4 pounds peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4 -1/2” sticks.
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon-Fennel Salt

Put the sliced potatoes in cold water to rinse off starch. Remove potatoes after about a minute and drain. Dump water and refill with enough to cover the potatoes by 1 1/2 inches and add some kosher salt.

Put a baking sheet in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 450. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it comes to a boil turn the heat down so they simmer for about 3 minutes. Gently drain and place on paper towels to dry. Place in a bowl and gently toss with the olive oil.

Remove pan from oven and arrange the potatoes quickly on the sheet pan leaving about 1/2 inch between slices. Roast for about 15 minutes, turn fries over and roast again for about 6-8 minutes and turn again till nicely brown. Total cook time is about 30 minutes. Finish with Lemon
Fennel Salt.

Lemon Fennel Salt –
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 heaping tsp. white peppercorns
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Toast fennel, coriander and peppercorns in a small dry skillet over med. heat until fragrant, about 2 mins. Pour into a mortar or spice grinder and grind till a fine powder. In a small dish combine the lemon zest and salt with the spices.

The oven fries with their Lemon Fennel Salt was a real winner!! I kept the salt mixture and will use it on lots of dishes, but the fries will definitely be a repeat and soon!
-------

Green Salad
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch white sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 avocados - peeled, pitted, and cubed
4 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, sugar, parsley, lemon juice and garlic. Add the avocado, and stir to coat with the dressing.

Just before serving, add the salad greens, and toss to coat with dressing. Sprinkle sliced almonds and feta cheese over the top. You can add sliced pears or tangerines supremes.

The salad was nice, just nothing to write home about, but with toasted almonds and feta, it can't have been too bad!!
-------------
and for dessert - this wonderful pie!

Lemon Buttermilk Pie with Strawberry Topping 1

For the Lemon Buttermilk Pie - Whisk Together:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 T. all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 t. vanilla extract
Minced zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 Pinch salt

Pour into:
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

For the Strawberry Topping - Heat -- Pour over:
1/4 cup honey
Juice of 1 lime
2 pints strawberries -- hulled, halved

Preheat oven to 350°.

Whisk pie ingredients together in a large bowl until blended.
Pour into pie shell and place on a baking sheet. Bake until filling is just set, yet still a bit jiggly, 40 - 50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature; chill if not serving right away. (Let chilled pie stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.)

Heat honey and lime juice for strawberry topping until melted. Pour over berries and let stand at least 5 minutes. Just before serving, arrange on pie with a slotted spoon.
Cuisine at home, April 2004, Issue 44, p. 49

When I served the strawberries, I spooned them to the side of the slice of pie so we could enjoy the wonderful flavor of the berries, honey and lime. What a wonderful combination of flavors.

***************************
On to the 2nd Cod dish - from the cod from our little fisherman neighbor. This is an old Gourmet mag. recipe and I almost overlooked it because it just looked too bland, but I had everything for it, so I went ahead and made it. It turned out to be a wonderful comfort dish that is worth making and repeating!! The flavors are just perfect together. I had a bottle of L'Ecole No. 41, '05 "Walla Voila" Chenin Blanc to serve with it and it was an excellent match!!

COD, POTATO, AND FENNEL CASSEROLE

2 medium fennel bulbs (sometimes called anise; 1 1/2 lb total), stalks cut off and discarded, and fronds reserved for garnish if desired
1 1/2 lb large boiling potatoes
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 lb skinless cod fillet (1 inch thick), cut into 6 portions

Garnish: chopped fennel fronds or fresh flat-leaf parsleyAccompaniment: lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cut fennel bulbs crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick slices with slicer. Peel potatoes and cut crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick slices with slicer.

Transfer fennel and potatoes to baking dish and toss with garlic, salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons oil. Spread vegetables evenly in dish and bake, covered with foil, in middle of oven until just tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Season fish with salt and pepper and arrange on top of vegetables. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and bake, uncovered, until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.

My dish of potatoes/fennel was fairly deep, so it took a total of 45 minutes to cook thru. Served with roasted Asparagus with Balsami and Olive oil - Very nice!
********************************
Very nice few days of cooking and eating - but, very lazy when it came to the camera - do better!!