Cooking a Steak

Nothing tastes better than a well cooked steak. Everyone has their preference, from rare to well done, but the method involved is the same.


1. Start with a pan. Add a slice of butter, a glug of olive oil, a bit of chicken broth, some herbs, and garlic. On a medium-low heat, let the mixture come to rolling boil and reduce a bit before you add your steak. 
 

2. Season you steak with salt and pepper immediately before adding to the pan. Salt dries out what it seasons. If you add salt too far in advance, all of the great juices will come out on the plate instead of in the pan. 

 3. Let your steak cook. This is key. Don't raise the flame. Don't turn it over. Don't let it dry out. Baste the steak with its drippings and the broth, and add a little bit of broth over time as needed.

4. Turn the steak when you see it is at least cooked halfway through on the outside as below.

5. Once you turn your steak, let it cook again. Don't add any more broth at this point.

 

6. Every cut is different. On average, it will need to cook for another three minutes for a medium rare steak, five minutes for a medium steak, or seven minutes to a medium well steak. Test it out by touching the steak with your finger. Jamie Oliver has a fool proof method for determining how cooked a steak is:

      - If you can press the steak like you can press your cheek? Rare.

      - Your chin? Medium.

      - Your forehead? Well done.

 

7. Take your steak out of the pan and let it rest for about three minutes. It is still cooking, so give it time to finish.

 

8. Serve it and enjoy!

Lentils with Green Beans and Grilled Chicken

Quick, easy, always good. Lentils are a favorite of mine any time of year. Hearty soups in the winter, fresh salads in the summer, lentils add a something extra to a meal, and with 30% of their calories coming from protein they are healthy for you too.


In Italy, eating lentils on New Year's Eve symbolizes the hope for a prosperous new year, I say why only hope for prosperity once a year!


With the summer heat setting in, a heavy portion of lentils doesn't sound all that refreshing, but I have a suggestion for you - cook it like a risotto. Coat the beans with some butter and oil over a medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes then slowly add small portions of vegetable stock to the pan, stirring regularly and adding stock as needed for around 15 minutes. Add some fresh diced tomato and onion before turning off the heat. Serve as a side to some boiled green beans and char grilled chicken. Enjoy!

Sauteed Salmon with Pea Puree and Tomato Salad

There is nothing more refreshing to eat on a hot day than a piece of fresh fish and a tomato salad. Both are light and tasty, taking next to no time to prepare. Today I decided to shake things up a bit by adding a sweet pea puree. Pea puree is incredibly simple to make, and can add a freshness to a dish this time of year.

By adding mint or curry, you can take a simple puree to the next level. In my case I kept it simple, and in doing so was rewarded with a quick, easy, and delicious dinner.

Ingredients (serves 1):

1/4 lb piece of salmon

1 vine tomato

1 lemon zested

2 shallots

1/3 bag of frozen peas

For the pea puree: 

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the frozen peas.
2. Cook the peas for 5 to 7 minutes until they rise to the top of the water.

3. Drain water from the pot and add the peas to a food processor.
4. Roughly chop one shallot and add to the peas along with a cup of vegetable stock, drizzle of olive oil, and sea salt. 
5. Chop and grind in the food processor for about a minute, adding more vegetable stock as needed to ensure a smooth mixture.

Once you have the puree you can let it cool and make you tomato salad by combining the tomato, shallot, lemon zest, olive oil, and black pepper.  Sautee or grill a piece of salmon and combine your ingredients creating a fresh and healthy dinner that will satisfy your appetite on a hot summer night. Enjoy!

Mezze Rigatoni in Roasted Kumato Tomato Sauce with Grilled Chicken and Arugula

As someone who grew up in an Italian household, I have eaten more pasta than most people will their whole lives. I even eat pasta on Thanksgiving - although there is a divided stance within our family on whether this should be allowed. I had made a tomato salad earlier in the week and bought a few different types of tomatoes. The only remaining type when I went to make food last night was the Kumato.

The color of Kumato tomatoes varies from dark brown to golden green. This stark contrast from your typical red Camparis or yellow and orange Heirlooms made me buy them for my tomato salad in the first place. What I found when eating these unique Spanish-origin tomatoes is that they are incredibly sweet. With this in mind I decided to make a pasta dish with arugula, as the peppery greens would contrast the sweet tomatoes well.

Ingredients (serves 1):

4 Kumato tomatoes

3 Crimini mushrooms

1 Spanish onion

1 handful of arugula

2 thin chicken cutlets

1.5 cups of mezze rigatoni

For the Roasted Kumato tomato sauce:

1. Quarter and remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Press any possible juice from the seeds and flesh into a cup to be used later.


2. Place the tomatoes cut side down in a pan and drizzle olive oil over the top. Season with parsley. They will look as below.



3. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees farenheit.


4. Add the tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes until they begin to start shriveling as below.





5. Remove the skins and discard.


6. Add the tomatoes, juice from the roasting pan, juice from step 1, basil, and garlic into a food processor and mix until smooth. The roasted tomatoes will yield a vibrant burnt orange color.


7. Add to a pot on a low heat.


8. Chop the onion and mushrooms and saute with olive oil for about 5 to 7 minutes until golden over a medium-low heat.





9. Add the onion and mushrooms to the sauce and let simmer until serving.

Once your sauce is made simply grill a piece of chicken, chop into strips, and add to your sauce. Boil some water for your rigatoni and once cooked to al dente (normally 5 to 7 minutes) drain the water from the pot. Add in your sauce and fresh arugula, mixing until the arugula starts to wilt slightly. Enjoy!

Chopping an Onion

Onions have been cultivated for over 5000 years. They grow wild in various regions of the world. From China to Egypt via Rome and Plymouth Rock, onions have been consumed by the world's population in different places, times, and ways.

Chopping an onion is one of the most basic kitchen skills you could have. Once you get the basics down, you can get better and better, applying a similar chopping technique to other vegetables you prepare. The following steps are simple, repeatable, and time savers:

1. Make sure you have a cutting board and a sharp knife.

2. Secure the onion, keep your fingers in, and guide the blade of the knife with your knuckles while chopping of the stem end of the onion.

3. Place the onion cut side down, it should lie flat with the root end up.

4. Secure the onion and cut through the hard root top, splitting the onion in two.

5. Peel each half of the onion.

6. Chop one half at a time.

(If you are slicing the onion into thin strip, just finely slice from the cut end to the root end at this point.)
 
7. Secure the onion and slice 3/4 of the way from the cut end to the root end, as seen below. 

8. Once you've made your vertical cuts, firmly press on the onion and make one or two horizontal slices depending on how rough your onion needs to be, as seen below. 

9. Chop the onion from the cut end to the root end, as seen below.  Because of your cuts in step 7, the onion will come off easily in pieces. 

10. Repeat for the other half.

Onions are an important ingredient in any kitchen across the globe.  Finding a way to chop, dice, and slice them in a comfortable way and improving that skill is an easy way to become a more efficient cook.

Welcome

Welcome to Groom's Grub! I love food. Cooking it. Eating it. Talking about it. As I approach my wedding next summer, I thought that while my fiancee expresses herself through the intricate details of our ceremony and reception, I would find an outlet as well. Enjoy!