Tyler Florence's Rib Eye Dinner & Caramelized Onion Potato Tart

http://tylerflorencefridays.blogspot.com/

I love Tivo! There are a few Food Network shows that I automatically record, skim through and delete. This time, Tyler Florence's Rib Grilled Rib eye, Creamed Swiss Chard with panko crumbs and caramelized onion potato tart had me hooked. Tyler works and talks fast, but I like his no-nonsense way of rolling up his sleeves and how he gets right down to cooking.

As luck would have it, my local butcher shop had rib eye steaks on sale. I wanted to treat my husband to a special dinner to honor him for being such a great step dad to my son. My hubs likes rib eye steak, and my son had never experienced it.

This meal took over an hour, with prep work. However, it's worth every bit of it. The first thing to start are the potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 350F and caramelize thinly cut onion in some olive oil for about 15 minutes-- my mandolin works great for this recipe. In the meantime, I sliced potatoes really thin and evenly (the mandolin makes this easy) and added salt & pepper. Once the onions were cooked, I decided to switch pans since this would go into the oven.

The onions are added to the potatoes and seasoned with a bit more salt & pepper, then placed into the skillet. NOTE: I added one more clove of minced garlic, since some reviews said this dish tasted bland. I added a few dots of butter and put parchment paper on top, drizzled with olive oil so that it wouldn't burn.

Into the oven for 45 minutes... and on to the next dish:

For the Swiss chard-- I love the color of Swiss (or rainbow) chard. It's so pretty! Don't these look like arteries?

I discovered this wonderful green when it showed up in my CSA box at the beginning of spring. If you've never had Swiss chard, it's worth a taste. It's related to the beet. I think it tastes very similar to spinach, which I love. I made some delicious chicken enchiladas swiss chard with these, the first time I played with them. With this recipe, I messed up with Tyler's instructions by blanching the swiss chard whole (after removing the pretty red stems). No worries-- I put them into an ice bath after a few minutes. I figured I'd chop them afterward.

Tyler says to drain the Swiss chard and let it air dry. I have a trick, up my sleeve, that works really well for me.

Meet Mr. Potato Ricer. I think this is less labor intensive than squeezing the water out with a towel-- it's also less laundry to worry about. Of course, I use this for ricing sweet potatoes, and mashing ripe bananas...but that's another recipe. I chopped the swiss chard and then squeezed out the excess water and set it aside-- wishing I had made more. I wasn't sure if my son would like it, though.

Now, for the cream sauce for the Swiss chard. This, ladies and gentleman, was the highlight as far as I am concerned. I cut the cream sauce in half, using only one cup of heavy cream. For you calorie counters, I don't think fat-free milk would work. I figured I'd eat a small portion. So, I added bay leaves, two garlic cloves, fresh rosemary and thyme (from my garden) and let that slowly simmer-- like for 30 minutes. Don't boil it! Just keep it at a low simmer and it did thicken up. My whole kitchen smelled "herby" and "garlicky" and I was getting very hungry.

Next, I brought out my trusty cast iron skillet. (I really do need to buy a bigger one.) I only had room for 2 rib eye steaks, but I decided that hubby and I would split one. We like red meat, but we try not to overdo it. I liked that Tyler added olive oil to the skillet and then tossed in fresh rosemary and thyme. It crackles, which made my getting really close for a good photo a little intimidating.

I removed the thyme and rosemary onto a paper towel (for a garnish) and seared the rib eyes on both sides.

Perfect! Into the oven at 350F for about 12 minutes. It depends on the thickness of the steak and your oven.

While the steak was cooking, I melted olive oil, butter, thyme, rosemary and garlic slices into a pan-- then added about a cup of panko crumbs. OMG! This rocks!

By now, my boys are sniffing the air. I'm so looking forward to this meal and I can't wait to have the big "ta-da" with my potato tart.

I lifted the parchment paper... mmmmm. Next, I put a plate on top and inverted it...

Nothing! It didn't stick-- in fact, I think there was a little too much olive oil. No worries-- I blotted away the olive oil and plated this from the skillet.

I decided to strain the herbs and garlic from the infused heavy cream. I added the Swiss chard to the cream sauce and heated this on a low heat. I'm ready to put this all together.

Like Tyler did, I plated this meal by piling a little Swiss chard, then the panko crumbs. The potatoes were still very tasty looking. We loved it! This meal has so many flavors going on-- the texture of the panko crumbs, the creaminess of the swiss chard and the tender cut of rib eye. My son didn't like the Swiss chard, but at least he tried it. He's still bonding with green vegetables.

This is a 5 star meal, Tyler. It uses a lot of pots and pans, but it's worthy of entertaining company with. The total cost of this meal was less then $30.00, since I only used two of the steaks. The third one is frozen for something else. Yummy!

This week, I've made filet of beef au poivre, beef stroganoff and this rib eye dinner. I think it's time to focus on some fish, vegetarian and poultry for a change, don't you think? We don't always eat this way, though I could get used to it.

My food victories-- jams and puff pastry and Happy Father's Day

I have a confession to make. I have never worked with puff pastry and I have never made homemade jam. I have another confession to make-- I tend to over think things, over research things and still I let my fear of failure paralyze me. It's that perfectionist in me that I struggle against. That's my excuse for waiting all these years to work with puff pastry and to make jam.

Whew! I feel much better, now. For weeks, I've been seeing all kinds blogs, displaying a variety of delicious looking puff pastry concoctions. I finally decided to take out the box of Trader Joe's puff pastry that I had in my freezer for weeks... maybe months!

I had a bowl of peaches that was going to become peach preserves-- like about ten of them (on sale for less than $1.00 a pound). By Friday, I noticed I was down to four peaches. My husband spotted them, and figured they were fair game. So much for making preserves... so I figured now was the time to make peach turnovers.

After researching recipes (see what I mean?) I cut a small "x" at the bottom of each peach and blanched them for about 3 minutes (the peaches were just turning ripe).

Then, into an ice bath for a few minutes. The skins slipped right off!After slicing them, I put them into a container for Sunday morning.

This morning, I removed the puff pastry and read the instructions for the umpteenth time. I preheated the oven to 400F.

The peaches got about 1/4 cup of sugar, some lemon juice and a scant 1/4 cup of tapioca.

Once I cut the turnovers into 8 squares, it was time to fill them. Hmmmm, I barely used the peaches!I did an egg wash and sprinkled some raw turbinado sugar and placed them on parchment paper. Not fancy, but it's my first time...

15 minutes later, these were ready.

Wow! So easy and so delicious-- and a lot less expensive than the ones my son buys for $1.75 each. The rest of the peach filling will probably become cobbler or pie-- tomorrow. I had another project on my mind. So, today, I conquered my fear of puff pastry. Silly me-- it's as easy as 1-2-3. I can already imagine the possibilities-- savory meals and strudels. Yummy!

Saturday night, I bought 1/2 flat of fresh olallieberries from my neighborhood farm stand "The Farm". $10.00 made it a sweet deal, so I unpacked my canning kit I ordered from Amazon.com. For $50.00 and some shipping, it had everything I needed to learn how to can-- pot, jar, lids, and all the doo-dads and instructions. I read this a half dozen times, I tell you. I was ready!

I'm not going to post the recipe, because I haven't tasted the jam at the cooled stage. What I will tell you is that I'm shocked at how much sugar goes into jam! Wow!

I did the plate test (per the book) and I think that the berries reached the gel stage I wanted.

I boiled those babies and, as I write, I can hear the "pop" of each jar. Yes!!
As for homemade jam... it might not be cheaper than store bought. In fact, I think by the time I burned up fossil fuel with my gas stove, and my investment, I am breaking even. The point is, I know I made this myself. Plus, I am getting ready to learn how to can my own tomatoes, which are looking mighty promising-- if the sunshine will stick around. It finally came out today.

Last, but not least-- Happy Father's Day! My husband is stepdad to my son, but he deserves recognition for how patient and good-hearted he is to my 20 year old boy.

I have a fantastic special dinner planned for these babies! Aren't these rib eyes gorgeous? You bet...and so is the menu I'm making that I watched by recording this Food Network Chef:


Stay tuned... it's going to be "fantastic". I know it!

Olallieberry Buttermilk Pancakes and Candied Bacon

Finally! The weekend has arrived, though it's overcast and gloomy. What happened to our California sunshine, is what I want to know? I decided to treat my boys to homemade olallieberry pancakes and their very favorite candied bacon. Before I share these two recipes with you, I have been too busy to share photos of last weekend.

My husband, son and I took a lovely 30 minute trip to Gizdich Ranch to pick...er, buy ten pounds of olallieberries. The place was packed with folks, so I decided to spend $3.00 a pound on boxed fresh olallieberries rather than $1.80 a pound if we picked them ourselves. I also purchased a bottle of their olallieberry syrup, which cost almost $7.00. (I made a mental note to learn how to make my own.)

Tip: I buy Chinese restaurant style takeout boxes at a local restaurant supply (for pennies each) and freeze my berries. (Extra tip: I also use these takeout boxes when gifting guests with food to take home...I don't lose my personal containers that way, anymore!) These berries are highly perishable, so I don't waste time preserving them. Each box usually yields enough to fill a pie and they store easily in my upright freezer. If you don't know what an olallieberry is, I'm so sorry!

Think of them as a blackberry, boysenberry and marionberry all in one. They are sweet and tart, and my husband and son are crazy about them.

As special treat, I made candied bacon. Colleen, of the blog "Colleen's Recipes" (she's a sweetheart who blogs wonderful recipes just about every single day) posted that she didn't have success with hers. Well, Colleen, I'm going to show you how I finally perfected this recipe.

First, the bacon. Preheat your oven to 400F:

I use a baking sheet, lined with foil (for faster cleanup). I use a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet and line the bacon slices evenly-- I buy thicker cut bacon. I don't measure-- I just sprinkle brown sugar and then pop into the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, I removed my frozen berries (blueberries work just fine, too). I quick thaw them with some cold water.

Once I make my pancake batter and get the griddle ready, I am ready to go! Pay close attention to the bacon, though! The brown sugar can easily caramelize and then burn. As the fat renders, you might get smoke. After 10 minutes, I remove the bacon and turn them over with tongs. I sprinkle a little brown sugar on the other side and turn down the oven to 350F. Here' where you want to be careful, though. It can take 5-10 minutes more for the bacon to be ready-- I just check on it, to make sure I don't burn it. I'm speaking from experience!

For the pancakes, I drop some berries into the batter. The heat will finish thawing them out.

The bacon is ready...how good does this look? My boys are really happy. I can already see them eying the candied bacon, and calculating how many pieces they each get. I'm not surrendering my share! I don't eat bacon very often, but this is a treat.

What a breakfast! The sun is nowhere in sight, so it's a good day to bake. I have so many recipes I've bookmarked, I don't know where to start!

I would like to take this opportunity to express how much I appreciate each and every person who reads my blog. Those of you who, faithfully, leave comments-- it means a lot to me. Some of you leave comments, but I don't know how to email you! If I could, I would like to send you a personal note of thanks.

Food blogging is evolving into a hobby, a passion and a lot of fun. I've made a lot of wonderful foodie friends-- we speak the same language and love to talk about our passion in the kitchen.

Thank you!

PS: Go visit Colleen's blog. She makes comfort food and beautiful baked goods every weekday, bless her heart! Tell her I sent you and wear a bib-- I've bookmarked several of her recipes.

Work night fast dinner: Beef Stroganoff and a successful substitute

Do you remember the Filet of Beef au Poivre that I posted on Sunday night? I had one piece of tenderloin steak left so I decided to turn this into beef stroganoff. There are several versions, one which includes paprika and dill. I love dill, but my boys aren't as crazy about it. So, I went with my tried and true recipe version from Cook's Illustrated. Filet mignon can be costly, but I find that Costco sells a good quality filet at a very reasonable price-- so I buy it in bulk, and freeze it. While you don't have to use tenderloin steak, I highly recommend using a very tender cut of beef, because this is a fast dinner that doesn't allow for braising. The last thing you want is to be chewing rubbery meat. Gross. Back to this one pan dinner recipe...

The prep time took the most time-- slicing the tenderloin, chopping onion and mushrooms. I had to measure beef and chicken stock (Cook's Illustrated prefers a combo of both, saying the flavors meld together well, and I do agree), tomato paste (which I buy in a tube so I don't have to store or freeze the rest of a can), brown sugar and sour cream...

(No photos of my ingredients, because it's a work night and I'm flying in my kitchen!)

I started a pot of water and cooked egg noodles, according to package directions.

Wait! I didn't have sour cream, and I always do! Aaaaaack! I had a tub of Fage Brand Greek Yogurt, which is my favorite brand. I find it at Trader Joe's and the Fat-Free is thick and rich. So that's what I used.

My cast iron skillet is decades old, but it's well seasoned and I have really bonded with it...

I began by browning the mushrooms in a little bit of olive oil and then setting this into a bowl.

Next, I seared the filet strips with a pat of unsalted butter, and then added this to the mushrooms. The pan is deglazed with the beef stock, reduced and then added to the mushrooms and beef strips.

Next, into the skillet the butter, onion, tomato paste and brown sugar is added and cooked until tender-- just a few minutes. Last, the flour is added and cooked for a minute or two.

The chicken stock and white wine is added, and allowed to thicken for a few more minutes... and then the beef stock and liquid from the mushrooms and beef strips is incorporated back into the sauce. This is the point that I wanted to add fresh dill (which is growing in my herb garden), but my boys would have pouted. I think it would have been delicious.

For the final step, some of this sauce is added to the sour cream (or in my case, the yogurt) to temper it so it doesn't curdle-- then the mushrooms and beef are added into the sauce and warmed up.

Once the egg noodles were drained, I added some butter into the pot, returned the noodles into it and at the very end, I added fresh parsley from my herb garden.

I'd say this took 40 minutes from start to finish. If I had a prep cook, I could have shaved off 10 minutes...but I'm not a celebrity chef, if you know what I mean.

I particularly like making this fast meal in the winter-- true comfort food!