Friday, December 21, 2012

Random Musings

1. As a New Yorker, I think The Michael Kay Show, weekdays from 3p-7p on ESPN Radio New York 98.7 FM, is the best sports talk radio around. Michael and his co-host, Don (not Dom) LeGreca strike the perfect balance between hard sports and make bonding banter and entertainment. You should check them out. I think they are way better than Mike without eve Mad Dog (and maybe even with). They stream live on the net. You can also listen on the ESPN Radio app and on the Tunein app.

2. I'm having Krugman withdrawal

3. I love Holiday parties.

4. Winter weather without snow is just cold and gray.

5. Crazy Wayne and the NRA needed a whole week to come up with this? Really?? I just hope the legislators who take their marching orders from this wing-nut and his cohort feel it was worth the wait.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Delicious Steak au Poivre

As promised, here is the lowdown on the steak au poivre I made for dinner last night.  Although I promised a few photos, I got ambitious and decided to video the whole process on my trusty Droid Razr Maxx. The result is embedded below.  It's my first foray into video blogging, so please be understanding of the underwhelming production values, bad lighting and spotty audio.  The recipe, which is essentially my own which I have been making for years, and then standardized recently with the help of Alton Brown and "Good Eats", follows the video.

Enjoy, and leave your comments below.


Recipe for Steak au Poivre

Ingredients:
  • 2 tenderloin steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each and no more than 1 1/2 inches thick
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
  • 1/3 cup Cognac, plus 1 teaspoon
  • 1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
  1. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour prior to cooking. Sprinkle all sides with salt.

  2. Coarsely crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle, the bottom of a cast iron skillet, or using a mallet and pie pan. Spread the peppercorns evenly onto a plate. Press the fillets, on both sides, into the pepper until it coats the surface. Set aside.

  3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil begin to turn golden and smoke, gently place the steaks in the pan. For medium-rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side. Once done, remove the steaks to a plate, tent with foil and set aside. Pour off most of the excess fat, covering about 2 teaspoons but do not wipe or scrape the pan clean.

  4. Over medium low heat, saute the shallots until they are translucent.

  5. Off of the heat, add 1/3 cup Cognac to the pan and carefully ignite the alcohol with a long match or firestick. Gently shake pan until the flames die. Return the pan to medium heat and add the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Add the teaspoon of Cognac and season, to taste, with salt. Add the steaks back to the pan, spoon the sauce over, and serve.
'Til then, keep your knives sharp and your fingers out of the way!

DEW

Mike Huckabee is a Big Fat Idiot! (Apologies to Michael Moore)


My mother, may she rest in peace, spent her entire childhood and early adult life in Newtown, CT, the site of the recent horrific tragedy involving the senseless slaughter of 20 young school children. My grandparents lived there until they died. My very first bank account was at the Newtown savings bank. Sundays during my childhood were often spent at their little white two story home on Glover Avenue, a few houses in from the corner of Main Street. Newtown as I remember it was a sleepy little affluent Fairfield County town out of some Norman Rockwell painting. This tragedy saddens me on more levels than one can imagine.

Which brings us to Mike Hucksterbee and the Faux News Channel. On Friday, December 14, 2012 - another December "day that will live in infamy" - Mike Hucksterbee went on "Fox News and Friends" on the Faux News Channel to say this:


He then followed it up two days later, on December 16, 2012 with this "explanation":



In response, SumOfUs.org circulated an on-line petition to ask Faux News to censure Hucksterbee and remove him from the air. I signed this petition and shared it on Facebook with this caption:  "More outrageous huckstering from Faux News and their shill-of-the-day Mike Huckster-bee! Tell Faux Need that this is unacceptable now and always!" 

My 20 year friend and colleague Eric Turkewitz (author of the excellent New York Personal Injury Law Blog) responded:
DEW: Option two is to let him talk, and talk, and talk. And let the world see him for what he is.
There is no bigger advocate of the First Amendment than me, but Hucksterbee's comments disrespect the lives and tragic, senseless deaths of those innocent children as well as the suffering of all who mourn for them, most especially their families. While he had every right to say it, I think Faux News has a moral responsibility to take away his bully pulpit until he develops a more appropriate filter. As consumers, we have the right, and in my opinion, the responsibility to pressure them into doing so.


'Til then, keep your knives sharp and your fingers out of the way!

DEW

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Late Night Musings (no cooking)

I'd just like to say, to anybody that might be out there reading, that if you are not reading Paul Krugman's blog on the New York Times website every day, then you are not well informed on the U.S. and global economies. You (likely) don't know about VSP's, deficit scolds, bond vigilantes, the confidence fairy, the austerity bomb and why the U.S. is not in danger of becoming Greece, just to name a few.  I don't care if you agree with him or not, he is absolutely essential to a complete understanding of the economic issues facing us now.

Holiday Spirit(s)

Angel's Envy bourbon. For my money it just doesn't get any better. Lincoln Henderson has created something truly special here. Hand-crafted. Aged in charred oak barrels (of course.) Finished in port barrels, which is the real key.

So drink up, and have a Merry Christmas or other seasonal holiday of your choice and inclination.

'Til then, keep your knives sharp and your fingers out of the way!

DEW

Mai Tais

While I'm drinking one, I thought I'd share my own very good (I never said I was humble) Mai Tai recipe, so here goes:

2 shots sweet and sour mix
1 shot gold rum
1 shot pineapple rum (I prefer Malibu)
1 shot orange liqueur, like Gran Gala
1 shot amaretto
Dark rum for floating

Fill a large shaker about 3/4 of the way with crushed or cracked ice. Add all ingredients except the dark rum. Shake really well until very cold. Fill 2 lowball glasses about 1/2 way with crushed ice. Pour the shaken drinks evenly between the 2 glasses, leaving about 1/2 to the rim. Float dark run on top of the each glass. Garnish if that's your thing with an orange slice and stick of fresh pineapple. Pretend you are in Hawai'i.

Yum!!

Butchering a Whole Beef Tenderloin for Filet Steaks

I just finished butchering a whole beef tenderloin which I bought because it was on sale and had a coupon. I saved about $5.00 a lb.  Also, Barbara REALLY likes filet mignon, so it's good to have them in the freezer.

There is a lot of good advice on-line for this.  The best advice I have gotten came from the Alton Brown (one of my very favorite TV foodies) in Season 9, Episode 15 of Good Eats, titled "Tender is the Loin, Part 1", which you can watch here (and I strongly suggest you do when you have a chance.) The only change I made is to cut the "roast petit" into small steaks or medallions, rather than keeping it as a whole roast.

Later I will be making Steak au Poivre (there is a good recipe for this on the Alton Brown video above), and I will post the details and a few photos after I do.

'til then, keep your knives sharp and your fingers out of the way!

DEW

Welcome to the blogosphere!

So I decided to move fully into the 21st century and start a blog. As anybody who sees me can easily tell, I like to eat. But more than that, I love to cook, and can modesty say I have attained a certain level of competence with it. I particularly enjoy cooking (and eating) spicy foods. To that end, I have been pursuing knowledge and experience with a large variety of cuisines from around the world which feature hot spices in their offerings. My plan is to share my cooking experiences here on a semi-regular basis. Not all the cooking I share will be spicy, but I hope all of it will be interesting and useful. My current culinary obsession is with Ethiopian cuisine. In a couple of days I hope to be able to post a video chronicling my first efforts at making real Ethiopian injera bread from scratch. Keep your fingers crossed.  'til then, keep your knives sharp and your fingers out of the way!

DEW