steak with whiskey mustard sauce

This is absolutely amazing steak sauce. I'd say you have to try it, but I think I could get sued - it requires you to light the alcohol in the pan, and I don't want to be responsible for what happens. I have a pitiful range hood with a built-in microwave, so it's too low for this to be attempted safely again. But if you have a real range hood that sits more than 2 feet away from your stove top, you'll love making this sauce all the time.

Grocery list: 2 pound top butt steak, 2-3 shallots, 1/2 cup whiskey (or single malt scotch, which is what I used), 1 cup chicken broth, 2 T dijon mustard, 3 T butter, 1/2 tsp cider vinegar.



Let the steak sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes so it can come to room temperature; season both sides with salt and pepper. Finely chop the shallots, and measure out the liquid ingredients before you start (important - the flame will require ALL your attention later!).



Sear the steaks over medium-high heat in a fry pan, in a little olive oil, for 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and allow to rest under a tent of aluminum foil.



In the same pan, add a little more olive oil if the pan is dry, then saute the shallots until they start to turn translucent. Now, it's time to add the alcohol. The original recipe says to pour it in, and use a long-stem match to light the liquid in the pan on fire. Well, alcohol has a magic temperature where it will burst into flames on its own, so be prepared for this to happen. Go ahead and have oven mitts on, and pour in the liquid. If it doesn't ignite on its own, use the match. It will make quite an impressive flame for a few seconds, then it'll completely die down as fast as it appeared (within 5-10 seconds).



Next, stir in the chicken broth and mustard, and cook down until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup (it will thicken to a thin syrup consistency). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.



Slice the steak and pour the sauce over top to serve.

banana flambe french toast

Would it be completely ridiculous to admit I made such an indulgent breakfast on a weekday? Well, I did. No special occasion either. I just had 2 overripe bananas and a couple of half-stale loaves of brioche from the sale rack of the farmer's market that I had to get rid of, and a Thursday seemed as good a time as any. I've covered my yogurt french toast recipe before - it's SO easy, breakfast is done in 10 minutes, no exaggeration. This time I just made some bananas on the side. Try it and see what you think (my hungry bear said he liked it as much as the strawberry version, which is a good sign).

Grocery list: 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup milk, 2 eggs, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, brioche or challah bread, a couple bananas, sugar, orange liquor (I used Cointreau), orange juice.



Make the french toast as usual. While it's cooking, melt a few tablespoons butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Stir in about 1/2 cup orange juice and bring to a boil. Add the sliced bananas and a couple tablespoons sugar, and a generous splash (or 3) of Cointreau. It will simmer very quickly and turn into a nice syrup after a few minutes - just keep stirring. The longer you let it cook, the thicker the syrup will get. Pour over the french toast slices and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

beer battered fried shrimp

I never knew fried shrimp could be so easy... How have I not been making this for so many years? A actually didn't stop talking about these shrimp for 2 days - literally, each batch was gone after 5 minutes, and none ever made it to our plates. Next time I'll double (or triple) the shrimp.

Grocery list: bottle of beer, 2 cups flour, 1 pound shrimp (tails optional, but cleaned and deveined).



To make the beer batter, mix 1 bottle of beer with 2 cups flour and a generous pinch of kosher salt. Stir well till the consistency is like heavy cream. Heat vegetable oil a couple of inches thick in a large skillet till it shimmers. While the oil is heating, you can butterfly the shrimp so there's more surface area to catch the batter and get crispy (this is a Chef Sev secret techinque). Working with a handful at a time, coat the shrimp in batter then carefully transfer to the hot oil, and fry for 2-3 minutes per side.



When the shrimp are as crispy as you like, transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Season with a little more sea salt. I mixed up some tartar sauce as well (just 1/2 cup mayo and a few T of pickle relish, and the juice of half a lemon), but the shrimp would be fine with just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Enjoy while they're hot!

steak au poivre with brandied cream sauce

I know I'm not the only one who's obsessed with Cook's Illustrated's "The New Best Recipe" cookbook -- 1000 pages of the most helpful cooking guidelines ever published. Just like their magazine, they walk you through *why* certain ingredients or techniques are the best option. It's an educational recipe encyclopedia, if you will. The hardest part is trying to pick just one thing to cook when you start flipping through the pages... Last night I decided to try out their recipe for steak au poivre with brandied cream sauce, and it did not disappoint. It went very well with the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus below. I had to modify this since WF was out of strip steak (they suggested that I try flank steak -- it actually worked well since the sauce and the quick cooking method both contributed to softening up the meat).

Grocery list: 4 8-ounce strip steaks, 1/2 stick butter, 1 shallot, beef stock, chicken stock, brandy, cream, 1 tsp lemon juice, whole black peppercorns.



Start by crushing 1 T of peppercorns -- use a rolling pin and a large ziploc bag. Don't grind the pepper in a mill, or it will be too fine. Salt both sides of the steak, then coat one side with the peppercorns (rub the pepper into the grain as much as you can). Set aside and work on the sauce.



Melt 1 T of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat, and saute the minced shallot for 2 minutes. Add 1 c beef stock and 3/4 c chicken stock; increase the heat to high and boil for 8 minutes until it has reduced to about 1/2 c total. Pour into a bowl, wipe out the pan, and return to medium-high flame.



Add the steak, peppered side up first, and press the bottom of a cake pan onto the tops of the steaks. Cook for 6 minutes, lift up the cake pan and flip the steaks carefully with tongs so the peppered side is down. Return the cake pan and press against the steak firmly. Cook for another 5-6 minutes for medium. Remove to a plate and tent with foil.

In the same pan, return the shallot-broth sauce, and add 1/4 cup cream or half-and-half, plus 1/4 cup brandy. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits of meat and pepper from the bottom. Simmer for about 5 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk in 3 T of butter, one at a time, to thicken the sauce. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice and another T of brandy. Pour the sauce over the steak to serve.

lynn's chocolate kahlua cheesecake

I don't normally make a lot of desserts, and I'm one of those weird people that never craves chocolate. I've wanted to learn how to make this for A, knowing that it's his favorite dessert ever. The recipe comes from Lynn, a coworker who adores A (she says he reminds him of her son) and makes this for him every year on his birthday. My first 2 or 3 attempts were disastrous (first time, I didn't think it mattered if I used a regular cake pan instead of a spring-form pan, other times I didn't realize how long the cake needed to cool before removing the outer edge of the pan...). I'll try and give very specific directions so you can nail this on your first try.

Grocery list: chocolate graham crackers, butter, heavy whipping cream, 24 oz cream cheese, sugar, 3 eggs, 1/2 pound block chocolate (semisweet), dark cocoa powder, vanilla extract.



Start by making the chocolate crust: take one package of chocolate graham cookies (normally 3 per box -- just use 1 of them), and crush them with a rolling pin in a large ziploc bag. This should make about 1.5 cups of chocolate cookie crumbs. Melt 1/4 cup (one half stick) of butter, and stir this in with the crumbs and 2 T of sugar in a bowl. The consistency will still be crumby, but don't worry. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the spring-form pan, and partway up the sides. Freeze for 5 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.



There are 3 main parts to the actual cheesecake: the cream cheese base, the chocolate sauce that you mix into the base, and the chocolate icing. You can ignore the icing part until later, when the cake is cooling.



Next, work on the chocolate sauce. Start by chopping up the 1/2 pound block of chocolate and divide this (should be 3/4 cup + 1 cup). Melt the 3/4 cup chocolate chunks in the microwave, for a minute at a time, stirring in between, until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup kahlua and 1/4 cup whipping cream -- keep stirring till smooth. I actually used half and half in place of all the heavy cream in this recipe and it turned out fine, so whatever your preference.



Now, for the cream cheese base. I used 3 8-oz packages of neufchatel cheese (lower fat version of cream cheese); soften these by leaving out on the counter for about an hour before starting to cook. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and 1 cup sugar. Then blend in 1/3 cup powdered dark cocoa (I use Ghiradelli brand). Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each.



Now, with a big spoon, just stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract into the cream cheese mixture. Then stir in the chocolate sauce. Stir well, then pour all of this into the spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then turn the oven down to 275 and bake for 45 minutes more.



Here's the part I learned the hard way - patience is key. After 45 minutes, turn off the oven and open the door, but leave the cake there, resting. After about an hour, place the cake in the fridge for about 2 hours, then bring it back to the counter for final icing.



To make the chocolate icing, melt the last 1 cup of chocolate chunks in the microwave. Stir in 1/4 cup whipping cream and 2 T kahlua. It will seem very liquid-y, not like icing, but you're going to refrigerate it to harden. Now, take a butter knife and run it along the edges of the spring form pan to loosen the cake. Very carefully remove the sides of the pan. Pour the icing right on top, and using a spatula, carefully smooth the icing around, allowing some of it to run over the outer edges.



Return the cake the fridge for at least 4 more hours before serving.