From Hot Tea and Honey to Homemade Comfort Food

So...I guess I was destined to get hit with an end of the summer cold, but I did not expect it to kick my ass quite this badly.  On Saturday, I felt GREAT.  On Sunday, I felt good, but had the twinges of a sore throat.  Hubby and I still went on a 90 minute walk so I was obviously feeling okay...but as the day wore on, I felt punier and punier.  And woke up on Monday morning feeling like absolute crippy crap.  Let's just say thank goodness for hot tea with honey, naps and Nyquil.  I was so thankful to have Labor Day off so that I could completely relax and attempt recuperation.

Today was more of the same, though it was a workday so naps were not part of the plan.  But I was lucky to have an easier workload than usual and by mid-day, I was starting to feel like I might be on the upswing.  Hubby brought home Campbell's soup for lunch (who doesn't love some Chicken Noodle??!!) and by 4 I decided that I needed to cook up the steak in the outside fridge so that it doesn't go bad.  Was gonna fry up the chicken, but it has a later expiration date and also needed to soak in buttermilk overnight, so I made a detour and went with a steak and potatoes comfort food menu.  I included some kale chips and SteamFresh green beans and had dinner on the table in about 30-45 minutes.  Do you like how big the servings of greens are?

I know you're tired of hearing it, but both the steak and mashed potato recipes came from Melissa D'Arabian.  Again, I seem to identify with her ingredients and style, but do have to giggle that even though I am copying from a FAMOUS chef who is PAID for what they do, I still end up making slight tweaks.  Please go to the links above (and below) for the original recipes, and my small revisions are shown below. 

French Cut Steak

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (1 pound) skirt steak, cut in half (I used flat iron steak cut into four pieces)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (I used olive oil)
• 1/4 cup butter, divided
• 2 medium sweet onions, sliced (I only used 1)
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup beef stock or broth

Directions

In a small bowl, combine spices and salt and pepper. Liberally season the steak with the rub and let rest 15 minutes on the counter.  Meanwhile, in a saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter over low heat. Add onions, season and cook until soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes.

In a large saute pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil with 1 tablespoon butter over high heat. Place steaks in the pan and sear until nicely browned, about 3 minute per side for medium-rare.  I do like mine medium rare, so I pulled mine off to rest about this time.  I put the other ones into the oven in the skillet to continue cooking so it could be more of a medium/medium well doneness. 

Once to your desired temperature, let the meat rest for 10 minutes.  Place the saute pan (that you did the steak in) over high heat and deglaze with white wine and vinegar until reduced by 1/2. Add onions to the pan with beef broth and reduce by half. Salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. (I did not add the extra 2 tbsp of butter).  Slice steak and fan to serve. Top with sauce.  You can see that the medium/medium well is on the left with medium rare on the right.  VERY flavorful.  I put the steak over the onions in the serving dish, but when I plated it above, I put the onions and sauce over the steak. 

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled, halved, and cut into chunks (I used smaller potatoes - about 10.  I did not peel them, but for "prettiness", I would peel them next time)
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra for cooking water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup buttermilk, warmed
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Bacon bits (my optional add in)

Directions

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil, then cook until the potatoes fall off a fork when pierced, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving about a 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Place the potatoes in a bowl and mix in the butter, salt, buttermilk, and green onions and stir to blend. Add a tablespoon or 2 of cooking liquid if necessary to obtain desired consistency.  Add in bacon bits if you'd like.  Salt and pepper liberally and serve.

As I said above, I made some kale chips and simple Steam Fresh green beans to round out the menu, and it was a delicious and "comforting" meal.

Tomorrow night is Trivia night, and then Thursday will be my first attempt at frying chicken...yet another recipe from Melissa :)  Gonna get a good night's sleep tonight, so g'nite and perhaps I will say hello to everyone tomorrow!