Tastefully Overcaramelized

Ann says

Well I’m not actually in Cape Disappointment anymore.  I am at home in this CRAPTASTIC weather we are having in Seattle.  Every year it rains a bunch in Seattle in June, which is fine because we usually get all this fabulous sunniness in May.  We like to do it different here.  But NOT THIS YEAR!  Oh no!  It has been gray and rainy since forever and there has been NO SUN AT ALL.   Except for one highly non-disappointing day at Cape Disappoitment.  The day was beautiful, warm, and sunny.  The day culminated in the most delivious Salisbury Steak I have even rested my tastebuds upon.  It was highly fantastic.

Alas, I have NO pictures of the steak.  You will have to be satisfied with desciption and some lovely pictures of the park.  But here is the thing about Salisbury Steak.  It is SO much better than you think it is.  The cube steak is actually pretty lean.  You can get it from your butcher in whatever kind of level of sustainability you like, and it is hella cheap.  You dredge in flour and brown in a cast iron pan.  You remove the meat and add ALL MANNER of delcious saucy ingredients like a can of tomatoes, beef broth, onions, celery, and worsterchire sauce.  Paprika!  Then, my friends, you braise it for like 2 hours!  While you are waiting you can have a gin and tonic by the roaring fire in the twilight right next to the ocean.

It is the best meal of your LIFE O_O

Do you know where we got this recipe?  From food-frickin-network is where.  Alton Brown.  Boy do I have something to say about him.  I love his show.  He is highly entertaining and I love science so it’s a lovely combination of two interests but I have tried a couple of his recipes and they failed like a giant whale.  His sweet potato pie was the worst pie I have ever had I kid you not.  But I saw him make that steak and I was trying to think of what to make on our camping trip and VOILA!  Magic happened.

Here is how it goes.  We switched out beef for chicken broth and had no bacon dripping so we did veg oil:

Salisbury Steak

2 pounds of cube steak, you can make it yourself like Alton says or just buy it like we did
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

As I said before.  Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour.  Brown in hot oil in a big cast iron pot or pan if you wanna do like we did.  Remove from pan and add choped veggies.  Once softened add tomatoes, broth, and the rest of the seasonings.  Simmer for 2 hours.  Devour.  We ate them with potatoes cooked in duck fat.

Also there was an interpretive center!

Filed under: Main Courses, Recipes, Travel, Uncategorized by Ann on June 13, 2010. Tagged with: camping, cape disappointment, cube steak, salisbury steak.
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Ann says

Oh my goodness Dudes and Ladies!  We had a really good time in New York.  You see, I didn’t really like New York AT ALL the first couple of times we visited for various reasons. Mainly it’s that you can’t seen the sky, from up high it looks brown, and people are mean there.  Then the next time we ate in Chinatown and went to the MET, which rocked.  So better, but still dirty and mean.  So this time it was still dirty and mean, but tastier and more fun and I got to make a new friend so SCORE!

The rundown:

Friday Evening:

Dinner at Tulcingo Del Valle (tongue taco and deliciousness). Abe says: Going to this place was kind of how I imagine it’s like for travel-show guys like Andrew Zimmern who go all over the world harassing locals. Walking into this restaurant we were greeted with enough blank stares from other customers we turned around and checked in next door to make sure we weren’t Doing it Wrong.

A trip to McSorley’s (didn’t allow women in until like 1970 by COURT ORDER).

Saturday:

Breakfast at the New York STUMPTOWN HOLLA with delicious rolls and Americano (Seattle is blessed with truly gifted baristas and New York should borrow some). Abe says: Ann hadn’t slept that well the night before, so you can tell she is extra pleased to have her hippy coffee.

Natural History Museum: I am terrified of GIANT WHALES, love GIANT SLOTHS, and had no idea there were mummified dinosaurs out there.

Le Bernardin:  In the grand tradition of getting drunk at ridiculous restaurants Abe pulled through for the team like a champ.  The food was amazing and the service was crazy town. Abe says: We’ll give the full rundown in our next post.

Drinks at our hotel, the Paramount, with Abe’s childhood friend and business partner, Mike and his girlfriend Kristin.  The service there sucked and my gin tonic was mostly tonic.   But boy howdy Mike is a funny dude and Kristin is an awesome lady.

Sunday:

Breakfast at Balthazar, an amazing little bakery and cafe in lower Manhattan that is packed with reservations for brunch on a Sunday morning, plus we had other plans, so we got pastries and coffee instead and window shopped.  I found a hanging lamp that I really like!

Abe says: About a block away we ran into a dumpling truck. I think dumpling truck bears repeating because in my mind this evokes mobility of a devastating strategic arsenal…of dough and pork. (He survived mustard gas and pepper spray; he’s now a seasoned veteran…) Ahem. The food is tasty so kudos to Anita Lo for that.

Lunch at Mile End, the sustainable-pasture-fed-house-smoked-meat-house-cured-salmon restaurant in Brooklyn that totally blew my mind about what Jewish sandwiches should taste like.  Damn that shit was good.  Also a very good, very savory, borscht.

MOMA:  Naked people as ART.  It was funny and beautiful and uncomfortable.  Also some amazing photography and mid-century stuff.  Good times.

Avenue Q in the evening!  Hilarious.  The internet totally IS for porn, my life kinda sucks too, everyone is definitely a little bit racist, and I wish I could go back to college so much that I actually applied.  That is a soundtrack I would like to buy soon.

Dinner with the lovely Mike and Kristin near our hotel; totally decent food, two glasses of wine, and some again fantastic company. Mike hailed a cab and I didn’t even notice, but I hear it was a sight to behold in that it was so subtle I didn’t even realize what was going on until they were getting in.  daaaaaaamn.

Monday morning:

Soup Dumpling! Ho man I heard about it from my good friend Kana who has had it in New York. We mentioned it to Mike and Kristin and they informed us that Joe Shanghai was required.  So we went there right when they opened.  It was totally empty but the second people that came in were two Chinese girls not speaking English, so that seemed promising.  We got pork soup dumpling and CRAB PLUS PORK soup dumpling and then I ALMOST DIED because it was so good. Really now, kids.  Fear for your LIVES.
The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine was amazing.  Huge.  Organ.  Arches.  Stained glass.  Gothic architecture is pretty friggin unreal.

We flew home and collapsed in a pool of our own ecstacy.  eeeeeeew.

Abe says

Phew. Let me keep this brief. NYC was great. Now back in Seattle, I will definitely try Dumpling Dojo, regardless of lack of soup dumplings or temporary location, as well as aptly-named I Love New York Deli particularly when it opens on the hill. In the mean time, Ann has glorious plans of making our own lox. We’ll keep you posted.

Filed under: Restaurants, Travel by Ann on May 5, 2010. Tagged with: anita lo, beef, deli, dinosaurs, dumplings, jewish, le bernardin, new york city, soup dumplings, stumptown.
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Hey DUDES

I got eaten by a job that I don’t really like all that well and boredom!  But somewhere in there I started making fresh pasta.  And guess what!?  I’m going to try to go back to school.  I’ll bet you are thinking, “oh no, more whining from McWhiny Whinerton.”  But it is a new day!  Maybe I won’t!  HAH

So cooking and eating really good food continues to sustain me. …literally. Very recently Abe and I had fresh linguini with shrimp in a white wine butter sauce.  I’ve had homemade chicken soup a couple of times.  Since I started this part time job I have been sick basically non-stop.  So yay for soup.

But Abe and I both agree that one of the best things we’ve eaten of late has been this fresh pasta I made.  Abe got me a green kitchen aid stand mixer with pasta attachment for my birthday (eee!) and I used that.  Fresh pasta is hella easy even if you don’t have a roller.  You just make little hand rolled noodles or something.  But anyway…combine that with the most fantastic ingredient ever and you have GOLD!  Duck confit, gentle reader.  ho yes. With VODKA sauce!  I mean really…it makes me cry a little.

This picture has it topped with some sauteed spinach because I was feeling bad about all the decadence, but I really just ate that off the top and then dove into everything else.  Give this a try, kids.  You’re gonna love it.

Duck Confit Ravioli

For the Pasta:

2 cups flour
3 eggs
water

With the flour in a large bowl, make a well.  Beat the eggs together and pour into the well.  Mix the flour and eggs together.  Add water a tablespoon at a time, mixing firmly, until the dough comes just together.  You want it to be pretty dry.  Knead it together, for about 5 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and kinda bouncy. Dover or wrap the dough and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.  In the mean time make the filling.

Once it has rested, you can start rolling the dough.  If you have a machine, follow its instructions.  If not, then just roll it out by hand on a floured board.  You need it to be in at least two even pieces.

For the Filling:

1 leg duck confit, heated through with the meat pulled off the bone, chopped
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper to taste, a pinch of salt, to taste

To fill the ravioli, use a teaspoon measure to place the filling in little mounds with about 3/4 inch of space between each one.  When they are all laid out, use your finger to spread a little water between all the fillings.  Then lay the other piece of pasta on top and cut the pieces out.  Press the edges of each piece together so they stick well.

Cook the pasta a little at a time in a large pot of salted boiling water until they all float to the top and cook through, about 3 minutes.  Place the cooked pasta into the heated sauce.  Toss and top with a little grated parmesan and a little bit of bacon too, if you like!

Sauce: store bought Vodka Sauce

Filed under: Main Courses, Pasta, Recipes by Ann on March 31, 2010. Tagged with: duck confit, fresh pasta, vodka sauce.
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