First of all - it's Thanksgiving week! How excited are you?! While my favorite holiday is the 4th of July, Thanksgiving is a very close second. I love that it revolves around eating and it is definitely the kickoff to the holiday eating season, as I like to call it. The weather is chilly (at least here in the mid-Atlantic region) and everyone is concentrating on making the coziest, homey-est food to keep us warm and satisfied. The recipes I am going to share with you today definitely qualify as cozy, homey, and satisfying!
Being that Thanksgiving is in eyesight, I wanted to give you a recipe that would be great for serving on the day itself - that would be the whipped potatoes. I didn't want to just make whipped potatoes and call it a night, since I do eat the recipes I share with you as my dinner! To turn this into a meal, I had the idea to use the potatoes as a bed for some hardy, marinated portobello caps, like I have gotten before at the local Ruth's Chris Steak House. I was lucky enough to work in the same building as a Ruth's Chris, as well as to be employed by someone who often treated us to lunch there. I was really impressed with the selection of vegetarian/pescetarian options RC offers. My favorite dish to get was marinated portobello caps, asparagus, and tomatoes, all over a bed of mashed potatoes. Portobello mushrooms are about the closest things vegetarians get to the flavor and consistency of steak, so it makes sense they would serve this at Ruth's Chris. I used to make that dish for myself at home all of the time, so I figured I would fancy it up a little and share the recipe with you!
Enter the funny story. I decided that this recipe would be the perfect thing to make for a certain someone spesh, since he loves mushrooms. He is also a meat-eater, so I decided to take the opportunity to cook a steak and give my readers the option of making this recipe with steak instead of or in addition to mushrooms (you're welcome!). I am a vegetarian who just so happens to be able to cook some really delish meat dishes (so I'm told!), but steak preparation is one area in which I'm lacking. I decided it would be best to ask for some help and guidance so that I could learn the way of the steak. I was informed that steak should be cooked on very high heat when using a cast iron skillet. OK, got it. What is not OK is adding a spoonful of butter to a searing hot pan while indoors. I now know this from experience. What happens when you do that, is smoke starts billowing up from the pan and your fire alarm goes off. The fire alarm goes off for a good 15 minutes straight. Your puppy runs and hides to get away from the noise and commotion and is traumatized for the rest of the night. That someone spesh has to eventually rip the fire alarms out of the walls to finally get them to stop screeching. And you are embarassed that the first meal you cooked for them has also resulted in your first emergency together. Ah well.
It was all good though, because in the end, the food still tasted fantastic AND we have a really funny story and memory to share. :-)
With that said, I hope my tale of woe will help you have a more successful cooking experience. Learn from my mistake and do not add butter to a burning hot pan! I adjusted the recipe below so that you add butter at a more appropriate time. ;-)
And with that, let's get cookin'!
The Steak House at Home
Servings: 2
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Marinated Mushrooms
Ingredients:
4 portobello mushroom caps
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon Italian dry herb blend
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (FCBP)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Start by washing your mushrooms. Use a damp paper towel to simply wipe off the excess dirt from the top of the mushroom caps, as well as the underside.
Cut the mushrooms into 1/2 inch slices, like so:
Note: If you are using two smaller ones, you are going to divide the rest of the ingredients between the two dishes.
Drizzle the balsamic vinegar and EVOO over the mushrooms.
Sprinkle with the minced garlic, Italian dry herbs, salt, and pepper.
When they are done cooking, remove the baking dish from the oven, and set the oven to broil.
Sprinkle the top of the mushrooms with the grated parmesan cheese.
Place the baking dish back in the oven on the top rack so that the cheese can get melty and crusty. Remove after three minutes.
Whipped Potatoes
Ingredients:
3 medium sized Idaho potatoes
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon frech cracked black pepper (FCBP)
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
8 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons chevre (goat cheese)
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons finely ground white pepper
Place a large pot filled 3/4 of the way with water on the stove over high heat. Bring the water to a rapid boil.
Peel the potatoes, discarding the peels.
Chop all of the potatoes into small cubes. Gently place them in the boiling water.
Allow the potatoes to cook in the water for 10-15 minutes, checking them periodically with a fork to see if they are softened. You want the fork to easily go through the potato and for the potato to kind of fall apart.
While the potatoes are boiling away, make the pumpkin component.
Set a small pot on the stove over medium-low heat.
Add the entire can of pumpkin puree to the pot, along with the chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of salt, FCBP, and sage. Stir to combine.
Back to the potatoes: Set a colander in the sink, and once the potatoes are ready, remove them from the stove and drain them in the colander.
Shake any excess water from the potatoes and then toss them back into the pot in which you cooked them.
Add in 1/2 cup of the pumpkin puree mixture, the goat cheese, butter, 2 teaspoons salt, and white pepper.
Now to the steak...
Marinated Steak
Ingredients:
1 thin cut steak - your choice!
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 teaspoon Italian dry herb blend
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
Place the steak in a baking dish and drizzle it with the vinegar and EVOO. Use a fork to flip over the steak to ensure both sides are covered in the vinegar and oil.
Sprinkle the surface of the steak with half of the Italian dry herbs and minced garlic. Flip over the steak and sprinkle in the rest of the herbs and garlic.
Place a heavy, cast iron skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
Add the butter and allow it to melt while the skillet is brought to temperature.
Once the butter has melted and is sizzling slightly, the pan is ready for the steak.
Use a fork to lay the steak in the pan.
It is up to you to what done-ness (is that how it's phrased?) you want your steak cooked. This one was done to medium-rare, so if you want yours more done, cook it slightly longer on each side.
Allow it to cook on the first side for five minutes, then flip over and cook on the second side for five minutes. When you're done, both sides should have a nice browned sear.
Remove the steak from the pan and set it on your serving plate.
Sauteed Spinach
Ingredients:
1 container organic baby spinach
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (FCBP)
Pinch nutmeg
Note: If you are not making steak with this meal, and only doing the mushrooms, you would cook your spinach while you are whipping the potatoes. You would prepare the pan, throw in the spinach, and come back to it all wilted by the time you are done poatato whipping.
If you are making steak, you would sautee the spinach while the steak is cooking. You would prepare the pan, throw in the spinach, and come back to it all wilted by the time you are done cooking your steak.
I didn't take any pics of this cooking - I was side tracked after the fire alarm went off! But it's super simple - you can do it!
Start by placing a skillet on the stove over medium heat.
Use the flat side of your knife to lay on top of the garlic. Give it a good whack with the palm of your hand. This will 'crack' the garlic.
Drizzle in the EVOO and add the cracked clove of garlic to the oil.
After two minutes, add all of the spinach to the pan. Sprinkle in the FCBP and nutmeg and use a spatula to toss the spinach in the oil.
Allow the spinach to wilt while you are either whipping potatoes or cooking steak, about ten minutes.
Once the spinach is all wilted, turn off the heat. Discard the garlic clove.
Now let's assemble our dinner plate!
Start by placing the cooked steak on a cutting board, and cutting it into slices.
Use a large serving spoon to add the whipped potatoes to the center of your plate. I did about three heaping spoonfuls.
Then, use a spatula to gather the sliced mushrooms or steak and lay them on top of the potatoes neatly.
Use a fork to lay the sauteed spinach around the perimeter of the whipped potatoes.
And here is what our steak plate turned out to look like! haha He assured me it tasted very good. My recipe, his cooking!
Serve with a glass of red wine and enjoy!
Salute!
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