Bone-in Ribeye Steak with Béarnaise + Oven-fried Potatoes + Turnips and their Greens + Dirty Gin Martinis

This was my first time ever cooking steak at home and probably the most meat I've ever eaten in one sitting so I decided that I had to go for toooppp quality stuff. Lucas and I went to this really cool butcher shop here in Williamsburg called Marlow & Daughters where they only sell free range meat and dairy. We spent a pretty penny on our steak so I had to be extremely careful about cooking the thing! The whole experience was completely crazy and I almost lost my mind, but thank god for my new instant read thermometer!

I've always wanted to try steak with béarnaise so I decided to give that a try. Here's what I did -

First, I cut up a bunch of potatoes and tossed them in salt, pepper and olive oil before roasting them at 425 degrees until they turned nice and crispy and brown. For the béarnaise I combined about 1/4 c of sherry vinegar (only vinegar I had, but you could use whatever kind you'd like) about 1/4 c of white wine with a sliced shallot, some thyme and a bay leaf. I let that reduce down to about half. Next, I whisked in two egg yolks off the heat and then slowly emulsified about 3/4 of a stick of butter. I added in a ton of chopped tarragon, and although not traditional, I also added in a bunch of chopped parsley.

Cooking the steak was crazy and you really don't even wanna know what I did. Well, it actually started out pretty well. I got a ton of advice from Lucas' dad Stephen who cooks a mean steak but after that everything got a little crazy. Basically, what he does is cook the steak in the oven at 300 degrees until it reaches 90 degrees. From here, he sears the steak for a minute or two on each side and by then it should reach an internal temperature of about 115. From here he rests it and during this time the steak should then reach 125-130 degrees for a nice rare-medium rare.

So, I did the whole oven thing and then seared it and then it just wasn't a high enough temperature on the inside, so I let it sear a little longer. I then took it out of the pan and rested it and it was still less than 110 degrees. Then I put it back in the oven for a little while, took the temperature and from there everything was ok. Phew. This might not sound that chaotic but I can promise, it was. The steak turned out pretty great but the béarnaise was definitely the star!

Anyways, while the steak was resting, I cooked the turnips and their greens in a little of the leftover fat from the steak. And that was our meal! I'm looking forward to next time, after having learned from my first experience with steak.

As for drinks, we had a couple of dirty gin martinis, my favorite drink of all time!

Fried Eggs on Buttered Toast with a Zingy Lettuce, Tomato and Radicchio Salad

I like my eggs fried in olive oil and super crispy around the edges. I think sunny side up eggs are lame, but they sure do look prettier in pictures.

Fried Egg with Pickled Onion + Homemade Mayonnaise + Manchego + Arugula on Toast

Sorry I haven't updated in a while... I've been working like crazy and haven't really had much time to myself over the past three weeks. I've been working in the kitchen at a restaurant called Rustic Canyon and I'm very happy to say that so far it's been a blast!

Anyways, this was actually my first breakfast home the morning after I got back from my euro trip and Barcelona was still fresh in my mind so I had to incorporate in some manchego cheese!

I started by quick pickling some thinly sliced baby onions with water, vinegar, salt and thyme. I basically let the mixture come to a boil and then turned it off and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

Here's what the onions looked like at the end:


I made a quick mayonnaise with an egg yolk, mustard, vinegar, salt and olive oil.


Arugula fresh from my dad's garden:


Frying eggs:


Manchego and mayonnaise on a thick piece of whole grain toast:

Arugula on top:

Finally, the egg and shallots:


It was deliciously creamy from the egg, mayonnaise and cheese, spicy from the arugula and tangy from the onions! Yum yum yuuum.


Tomorrow is the fourth of July and my dad invited over about a million people so we're gonna make fish tacos with coleslaw and pickled onions, some corn on the cob and an apricot/possibly caramel bread pudding for dessert.

Fried Eggs + Shallot-Thyme-Chili Crispy Potatoes

If you ask me, eggs couldn't be happier than when they're sitting beside shallot, thyme and chili. For that reason, I've made about a million variations on breakfast using these few ingredients (example 1, example 2). As much as I do love a couple of scrambled eggs cooked with caramelized shallots and spicy chilis, I chose to jumble up the equation yet again yesterday morning.

Fried is my number one favorite way to cook eggs. I like them cooked on super high heat in olive oil until the edges get crispy, over-medium in the center and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Nothing could be better. Except for maybe the eggs with a side of crispy potatoes that have been smothered in my favorite egg accompaniments.

To begin, I par-boiled the potatoes in some salted water until they were about 10 minutes away from being perfectly cooked. I drained the potatoes and sliced them in half lengthwise. In a big frying pan that could fit the halved potatoes in one layer, I briefly fried a smashed clove of garlic and a few sprigs of thyme in some butter and olive oil. After the oil had become fragrant from the garlic and thyme, I spread out the potatoes in the pan with the cut side facing down. This next step is an important one - don't touch the potatoes for about 5 minutes so they can start building a golden crust. Around 5 minutes into the cooking, I added in a sliced shallot and some sliced chili (as much as you think you can handle!). Season with salt. Flip the potatoes so they can get a little crispy all over. In the last few minutes of cooking, throw in a little more butter and sprinkle in some extra fresh thyme leaves.

On the side, I made the same radish and arugula salad as my last post. It was so delicious with a big bite of the potatoes and egg.

Scrambled Eggs with Shallots, Chili and Chives +Toast

This is a very delicious and easy breakfast to make. The recipe is for 2 people.

Ingredients:

- 1 small/medium shallot, diced
- 1 small red or green chili (serrano, jalepeno, whatever you want) seeded and diced
- About 1/4 cup of chopped chives
- 5 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons of cream
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Olive oil + butter for cooking

In about a tablespoon of butter and a bit of olive oil, sautée the diced shallot and chili over medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream and chives and season with salt and pepper. Once the chili and shallot have cooked for about 4-5 minutes,turn the heat very low and pour in the egg mixture. Stir frequently-ish until the eggs are done. Serve with buttered toast!

Medium Boiled Eggs on Buttered Toast

I like my eggs covered in black pepper.