Rosemary, De-Thorned

If you don't cook with rosemary that often, you probably just have some dried rosemary in your pantry for those rare occasions a recipe calls for it.

Or maybe that's just me, but I use it in such small quantities here and there that I never use up all the fresh rosemary I would buy, and I can only infuse so many bottles of olive oil with leftovers!

Unfortunately, dried rosemary is immensely prickly, and you can't chop it up the way you can with fresh (tho frankly even fresh rosemary is quite prickly!) so you probably end up with spiky twigs in your finished dish.

Here is my forehead-slapping-ly obvious solution:

The good ol' Mortar & Pestle.

Place however much dried rosemary you need at the bottom, and add a pinch of kosher or sea salt (not table salt, as that is too fine to assist in breaking down the rosemary.)

Give it about a minute or so of really solid grounding, rubbing it against the sides as if stirring vigorously.

There may be a few stubborn twigs left (probably stems anyway) but you should be left with an only slightly coarse yet pungent powder that will dissolve nicely into gravy, or that you can use to stuff a roll of pork, chicken, or lamb, and not worry about anyone getting stabbed in the tongue.

It seems obvious, but if you don't use your mortar and pestle that often, you can forget that you have one!

Chimichurri Steak

 

I love chimichurri sauce. It can come in many permutations, and somehow overcomes my intense dislike of parsley due to the blending of other herbs, garlic, and vinegar.

I go just shy of eating it right off the spoon, but that would be denying the full experience which comes when you add beef to chimichurri.

Extra bonus: it takes about 5 minutes to make, tops.

 

I followed a recipe by Bobby Flay, because even tho his voice grates on my nerves in the extreme, the man makes some pretty good food. (R.I.P. Bolo)

Tho I'm amazed he managed to leave out some sort of pepper or chile, because while they do not belong in chimichurri, I seriously think Mr. Flay has some sort of OCD when it comes to putting chilies in his dishes. (He put them in the Vidalia Relish that was supposed to accompany this dish, so at least he's consistent.)

 

Ingredients: 1 cup cilantro, 1 cup parsley, 1/2 cup mint, 4 cloves of garlic (rough chop),  3/4 to 1 cup olive oil, 1/4-1/3 cup red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

As I am sometimes overpowered by raw garlic, I place mine in a bowl with some olive oil and microwave it for about 20 seconds to take some of the bite out of it (as I did not want to dirty a pan just for a couple cloves of garlic) before adding it to the food processor.

 

Give all the herbs a rough chop, throw them in the food processor, add the garlic and about half the red wine vinegar. You can stream in the olive oil or just add it and set the whole thing whirling, as you prefer.

Season and taste the sauce. Some people (like the Hubs) are very sensitive to vinegar, so if it's strong enough for you, stop there. If you like more kick to your sauce, add the rest of the red wine vinegar in and pulse to combine. 

I may dislike the burn of raw garlic, but I enjoy vinegar!

 

For the steak I used a super simple flank steak (actually half of one, as that will serve 2 people, if you're going by proper portion sizes...) but I made things interesting with some Danish Viking Smoked Sea Salt instead of just regular kosher salt.

Believe me when I tell you this salt is smokey, but in a delicious way, not a "what's burning?" way.

Your guests may wonder how you got that lovely outdoor grill taste when they know you never left the kitchen.

 

In a hot pan I seared the steak for about 4 minutes per side (medium-high heat) to get a medium to medium rare steak. Flank steak is a chewier cut, so you don't want to go rare on this one.

Let it rest about 7-8 minutes before slicing it against the grain to serve up, and slather with your homemade chimichurri.

 

I also made some kick-ass roasted potatoes to go along side, and I'm sure I've posted how to make those on here before. But as they take 45 minutes to an hour to cook, I had started them about half an hour before I started cooking the meat. I made the chimichurri then as well, as that gives the flavors time to meld before serving.

(Note: I did take the steak out of the fridge then, as searing cold meat is a no-no.)

I could seriously eat this meal for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. So you might want to make more steak than you need to ensure leftovers!

The chimichurri sauce should keep in your fridge for a day or two, but after that the freshness of the herbs in the vinegar will start to break down too much. (Pesto lasts longer as it has little acid.)

Try using your leftovers on eggs or in various salad dressings.

Get cookin'!

Note: I will be going briefly silent as I am helping cook/cater a friend's wedding of 130 people next week. I have never cooked in quantities like this, so I may be a bit nutty, but I will try to document what I make to post here later. Fingers crossed I've planned things out properly!

A Marathon of Quick Tips

Yesterday was the 2010 NYC Marathon, and the hubs ran it in 3 hrs 45 minutes!
Yaaaaaaaaaaay!!!
And he was still able to walk and talk afterward!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

I'm sure the fact that I helped him train this year accounts for his impressive time... or... you know... the fact that he is something of a natural runner. Something I have never been.
Also, I'm sure this inspired him to power through after Mile 19:

I'm awkwardly holding up a sign cheering him on and trying not to thwack him with it.

Awwwwwww....

I am torn between being very proud of him, and wishing for the sake of our old age and old knees that he would retire in the VERY near future. Unfortunately, something tells me he isn't retiring from marathon running any time soon, as he came home with literature on the Washington D.C. Marathon, as well as one in Rome this coming Spring.

He might be able to twist my arm into cheering him on in Rome... we are taking donations towards our airfare now. :)

In response to a recent reader's comment (a.k.a. - Why didn't you tell me that would happen?!) I'm going to throw a few more tips your way in this post.

Fresh Herbs:

Fresh herbs are wonderful. They can instantly brighten leftovers, bring an otherwise mediocre meal to life, perfume your whole kitchen, and do it all with basically zero calories.

Note: when using fresh herbs, remember that they contain minute amounts of water within them, so if you throw them whole into a pan of hot oil, they will pop and attempt to leap directly out of the pan, and can spatter you with hot oil at the same time.

Other than making sure your meat browns properly, that is also why you always want to make sure any protein you are cooking/searing is pat fully dry. It's not fun when your food spits back at you.

Garlic:

As you may have noticed from my recipes, I really enjoy cooking with garlic. Not only is it delicious, but it also helps your immune system fight off ills. I consider it a staple flavor in many of my meals.

Note: If you are following any recipes of mine in which I say to grate the garlic and then only give it about 30 seconds to cook in the pan, that is because I am using a superfine Microplane grater, and the resulting garlic is now a wet paste that only needs 30 seconds to cook before it could start to burn.

If you are in fact mincing the garlic in your home, or finely slicing, feel free to give the garlic a good 2 minutes in your hot pan to allow the flavors to sufficiently mellow.

Sauces:
When any sauce or gravy tells you to start off with onions and garlic, I suggest keeping your pan on medium to medium-low while they sweat out. Onions first, and when they are almost ready, the garlic. Once you have added either a liquid (stock, wine, etc) or a can of crushed tomatoes, then turn your heat up to medium-high to simmer. That way you avoid bitter and burnt onions and garlic.
Also, add your fresh herbs after the onions and garlic have finished cooking and the heat is still low. Then they won't act like popcorn in your pan.

Meat:
When I tell you "about 7-9 minutes" as a cooking time, say when a pork loin is finishing up in the oven, I'm telling you what I'm doing in my kitchen in my oven, based on whatever size cut of meat I happen to have that day. Even tho every oven can be set to 425º, that does not mean that every oven is actually at 425º, and a tenderloin can vary from .75 lbs to 1.5 lbs and require very different cooking times.
Because I cook every day, I generally have a feel for when my food should be done.
And yes, on occasion, I have cursed a blue streak after discovering my psychic cooking abilities have failed me and I have to somehow salvage undercooked meat.
But for Tried-and-True cooking times, the use of an instant-read thermometer is always a safe bet. Some ovens come with probes included, but if yours does not, you can easily pick up meat thermometers at just about any store that sells kitchenware.
I got the following charts from What's Cooking America (because I'm way too lazy to retype this whole thing!) Except for my thoughts on "Well Done"*.
And remember, large roasts and birds will continue to cook for a bit once you remove them from the oven, so it's good to take them out when they are about 5-10º shy of your desired doneness.

Beef and Lamb Cooking Temperature Chart
Roasts, Steaks & Chops
Rare	120 to 125 degrees F	center is bright red, pinkish toward the exterior portion
Medium Rare	130 to 135 degrees F	center is very pink, slightly brown toward the exterior portion
Medium	140 to 145 degrees F	center is light pink, outer portion is brown
Medium Well	150 to 155 degrees F	not pink
Well Done	160 degrees F and above	steak is uniformly brown throughout *(and a waste of good meat)
Ground Meat	160 to 165 degrees F	no longer pink but uniformly brown throughout

Poultry Cooking Temperature Chart
Poultry (Chicken & Duck)	165 degrees F	cook until juices run clear
TurkeyNOTE: A 12-lb turkey can easily handle 60 to 90 minutes of resting. During that time, temperature can rise 30 degrees if not exposed to drafts.	165 degrees F	juices run clear - leg moves easily
Stuffing (cooked alone or in turkey)	165 degrees F

Pork Cooking Temperature Chart
Roasts, Steaks & Chops
Medium	140 to 145 degrees F	pale pink center
Well Done	160 degrees F and above	steak is uniformly brown throughout
Pork ribs, pork shoulders, and beef brisket	160 degrees F and above	medium to well done
Sausage (raw)	160 degrees F	no longer pink
Ham
Raw	160 degrees F
Pre-cooked	140 degrees F

For more of my Cooking Basics check back to this post.

For Knife Skills and Care, take a gander back here.

Hope this helped.

The Basil Thrives & Wishes You A Happy 4th!

Besides a little human error that basically destroyed one whole stem of basil, the plants are doing just fine.

I know you were concerned.

As it is a holiday weekend, we must join the vast sea of lemmings heading towards the seashore via NJ Transit. Much grilled & BBQ'd meat will be consumed, and maybe when I get back I'll write about a soup I just made that will not only help your liver recover from the celebrations, but also help combat all the wondrous and varied animal products you may consume this weekend.

On that note I am off to partake of margaritas by the beach and watch small children ride in fire engines built in the 1940's.

Have a great weekend!

You Too Can Grow Fresh Herbs And Flowers!

I haven't had much in the way of cooking to post about this week. And when we ate out, it wasn't really anyplace to blog about (tho last night did include bacon cheeseburgers with the winner of this season's Shear Genius. Ultimate of random, I know, but the hubs has been friends w/ her boyfriend for about a decade, and they were in town celebrating her success so, they squeezed us in for burgers in the Meatpacking District.)

Anyhoo, a couple Christmases ago my in-laws gave me an Aerogarden. Some of you may roll your eyes, but when you like to cook and you live in a NYC apartment with no sunlight, it is impossible to grow fresh herbs, and so this is actually very convenient.
I took a break over the winter, not growing anything, but with Summer approaching, I thought it was time to get the fresh basil going.
So today I installed new grow lights and set 'er up.

Perched precariously in my kitchen window.

Looks as though I should probably dust the top a bit better...

There are only two domes because I am only growing basil this time around. And once it gets going, it takes up A LOT of space. So, two domes, spread out.
I will update you when the adorable little shoots come popping up. And you can see my lack of gardening skill as it grows.

Try to keep calm in the interim. I know the excitement is going to be hard to bear.

Side note: There has been an enormous crane noisily hauling pallets of "material" onto my roof all day. Now, our roof is finished quite nicely (at least it was last Summer) with a view of the river, so I do not know what all is being hauled up there or why. I am slightly concerned as to what is being planned up there.
What this does tell me is that it will still be quite some time before the roof opens up again.
Damn.