I'm a firm believer that food tastes better when prepared and enjoyed with good friends. But there was a moment on Friday when I seriously questioned my belief after realizing I had offered to take charge of the main protein for dinner with two of our good friends and the words, "how does New York steak sound?" popped out of my mouth. What was I thinking? I'd never cooked steak before, yet there I was standing at the butcher's counter reaching for the freshly packaged steaks I had just ordered. I walked home (I love living that close to the market) wondering, "is it possible that even if a meal is horrible, can good company and a bottle of wine make it better?" After they were finished marinading I said a little prayer to the food gods, poured a glass of wine and hoped for the best. After a satisfying mussel appetizer and a couple of good-natured jokes about takeout on speed dial, I plated the finished steaks and we sat down to eat the main course. Whether it was the company or beginner's luck, the steaks were amazing (prepared medium) with fresh greens and a spicy shrimp & scallop ceviche. Since we had leftover salad, yesterday I pan seared a tilapia fillet, added it to the tomato and asparagus greens and enjoyed a light post-workout lunch. What do you do with leftovers after a big meal?
Some other highlights from the weekend? A horror movie marathon on Saturday (Dawn of the Dead and the 2004 remake of Nightmare on Elm St.), a new episode of Big Love, Spanish coffee at Urth and homemade chocolate chip biscotti (pics tomorrow).
BTW... For the steak marinade I placed a small shallot, 5 cloves of garlic, soy sauce, butter and balsamic vinegar into a blender and blended on medium for 15-20 seconds. I eyeballed the liquid ingredients and used about a 1/4 cup of melted butter to start. As I blended the ingredients, I added more of the soy sauce, butter and balsamic vinegar as necessary for taste and texture.
No comments:
Post a Comment