Fresh Direct had rib eyes on sale, so I bought a couple, thinking that I would cook one, we would split it, and then freeze the second. When I saw them, I realized that I should just cook them both!
Sous Vide Steak
Ingredients
2 Rib Eye Steaks, trimmed of gristle and excess fat
coarse salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
Method
1. Liberally salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder the steaks on both sides.
2. Place in a vacuum sealer bag and seal with 2 seals 1/2 inch apart.
3. Set up your water bath and bring to your desired temperature. I like medium rare steak, so I set the temp for 129°F, if you like medium, use 135°F, and if you like it more done than that, set it higher, just don't tell me.
4. When water bath is at the correct temp for you, lower the steaks into the hot water and set a timer. If your steaks are 1.5 - 2 inches thick, then 2 hours is good. If they are .5 - 1 inch thick, then 1 hour will work. You can't over cook the steak. It will never get any hotter than the water temperature.
5. Now the fun part, playing with fire. After cooking is done, remove steaks from the bag and gently pat dry on a wire rack over a sheet pan under the hood of your stove. Why under the hood? Because you are going to use a torch to sear the steaks on the outside. The visual draw back of sous vide is that the cooked protein does not look very appetizing. In fact, it looks down right gray. Light your torch and let it rip. Sear the top and sides well then flip the steak and do the underside. Be sure you have the hood on so that the heat escapes and you aren't melting anything plastic that is next to the stove.
6. Plate and serve.
Sprouts with Butter and Vegemite
Ingredients
1 lb brussels sprouts, washed and cut in half
1 T olive oil
1 glove of garlic, smashed and minced fine
1 T butter
1 T vegemite or marmite
Method
1. Heat a skillet large enough to hold sprouts in a single layer. Add the olive oil and the sprouts. Cook until slightly charred and almost cooked through. I did throw in a few left over broccoli bits from the fridge, if you look closely.
2. Add butter, vegemite, and garlic and coat all of the sprouts. Continue to stir and cook until the sprouts are cooked through. If you need/want more butter and vegemite, toss it in. No one is looking.
Tomato Jam
Ingredients
3 Pints cherry or grape tomatoes
2 small or 1 large Shallot, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
Olive Oil
salt and pepper
glug of white wine
Method
1. Add oil to a pan that can go from stove to oven. Heat and add the shallots and garlic and cook to soften them up without browning.
2. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper and the glug of white wine. Stir everything up to combine and try your best to level out top. Add a good additional glug of olive oil and put into a 350°F oven until the tomatoes have burst and the liquid is bubbling nicely.
3. Remove and hold. It will thicken up as it cools. Serve warm, not piping hot
Cheater's Baked Taters
Ingredients
enough russet potatoes to serve guests, washed and prick the skin generously
Method
1. Get a paper bag and put potato in the bag, fold it over and put in the microwave on high for 10 minutes. You can put 2 in a single bag, but you will need to flip the bag over after 5 minutes.
DONE.
