Steak Cobb

One of the happiest cooking moments is to create something out of leftovers that you like better than the original meal. (A theme lately for me.)  Maybe you make chicken so you can have chicken sandwiches.  Or meatloaf for meatloaf sandwiches.  (I clearly remember my first meatloaf sandwich at Danny Izzo's house while I was in college; my mom didn't make meatloaf sandwiches.)  Grilled salmon for scrambled eggs, omelet, or frittata.  Roast pork for tacos.  Roast beef and/or baked sweet potatoes for hash.  Easter eggs for deviled eggs or egg salad. Steak for salads like the one above/below and lots of other meals.

We usually don't eat steak at all through the winter, but wait (as we do for hamburgers) for grilling time.  And then I cook two steaks anyway.  Because we like steak and eggs, steak sandwiches, frittatas with leftover potato, steak, and vegetables, or steak hash.  Or a new favorite of mine, Steak Cobb.

Now I don't know if anyone else makes Steak Cobb. I had the ingredients and it sounded good to me.  It makes leftover restaurant steak into a lovely, beautiful salad or gives you a reason to make an extra steak on the grill any time at all.  Here's how if you need directions other than from the photos:

steak cobb for one

• two cups fresh greens (I like spinach for this)
• 2 ounces leftover cold steak, sliced thinly
• 2 scallions (green onions-green and white parts) sliced very thinly
• 1/4 cup chopped red pepper
• 1-2 strips bacon, cooked crisply and chopped
• 1 boiled egg, sliced
• 1/2 - 1 cup sauteed vegetables (or fresh) of your choice   
• 1/2 tomato, sliced
• 1-2 tablespoons blue cheese dressing
• kosher salt/fresh ground pepper
• fresh lemon juice

1. Arrange greens in a large shallow bowl and top with steak and scallions.
2. Place bacon at one corner, sliced egg at another, vegetables at the third and tomato at the fourth.
3. Spoon dressing into the leftover space.   Don't toss this salad.  Dip its elements into the dressing and only use what you need; the blue cheese will overwhelm everything else otherwise.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and squeeze lemon juice over all.     

Things that make this fast and simple--mostly pantry info:
 I keep Nueske's bacon in 2- and 4-piece packages in the freezer so I can unthaw and cook it quickly in the microwave when needed.
  I "boil" eggs in the microwave for quick salads like this:  Spray a deep cereal bowl with PAM or grease lightly. Crack egg  in and, using a sharp knife, pierce yolk once and white several times.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on full power for one minute.  (Tightly being the important word here.)  Carefully remove bowl from oven, let sit a minute, tip out onto cutting board and slice.



 I keep blue cheese in the frig and make dressing in the food processor while the bacon cooks:
2 ounces blue cheese, 1-2 cloves garlic (chopped), 1/4 cup mayonnaise, pinch salt and pepper, 2 shakes hot sauce, 2 tablespoons milk blended well and tasted for seasoning. (approximate amounts)
Of course you can make this without a food processor:  Mash up the blue cheese with a table fork.  Crush the garlic with the flat side of a chef's knife and chop it well. Beat well with remainder of ingredients and adjust seasonings.
I am only without lemons if I'm leaving tomorrow on a plane and usually not then. 
When I cook vegetables, I cook enough for a couple of days or more--such as sauteed onions, peppers, zucchini, asparagus, green beans,  garlic, mushrooms, etc. 
I have pasta bowls perfect for composed salads and believe this makes a difference.  This will work on a plate, but not as well.  The ingredients are lost in a jumble, though they'll taste good, if you toss this up in a chili bowl.

... ... ... ...

If you're interested in helping solve a current and immediate hunger need, please read this blogpost on LEAVE IT WHERE JESUS FLANG IT.  Margaret Watson is an Episcopal priest on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota where many--elderly, handicapped, grandparents raising kids-- are hungry due to sequester cuts;  her own cupboards and freezer are bare.    Please write your congressional reps to end the sequester where it is creating more and more hunger or pain and/or drop a note in the comments on Margaret's blog to see how you might personally help.  Here are her own words:

But more importantly, the clients themselves have been cut off --they have received no monies since the beginning of March. They are coming to my door asking for heating fuel, food, clothes, diapers. Children are at risk. There are no Tribal programs that can assist these folks, they are mostly disabled, elderly with grandchildren in the home, or are desperate for work. Last night, after a funeral, I delivered left over food to people's homes. Funeral food to a family of six of baloney sandwiches, biscuits, two apples, two oranges and some chocolate cake.
I cannot afford to feed all the people who come to my door asking for help. I have emptied my own freezer, my own cupboard in order to help these desperate folks.

...    In the last six months, I have done 40 funerals --six infants, two teen suicides, and many, many folks under the age 40.

And food, shelter and heat are not the only problems here --the Indian Health Services were also part of the Sequester cuts. And the cuts are affecting the Head Start programs.

---from Margaret's post Shocked and Depressed.

... ... ... ... ... ...

Please help?
Alyce

Would You Bring a Side? Green Beans, Mushrooms, and Jasmine Rice with Tarragon and Mustard Vinaigrette

When it's green bean time, I often make a green bean salad with mustard vinaigrette.  Sometimes it has tomatoes and sometimes mushrooms or potatoes.  I'm fond of one-dish sides and am always looking for dishes easily served alongside a chop or a piece of grilled chicken or fish. 

Pork Tenderloin Salad with Blueberries, Oranges, and Sherry-Honey Vinaigrette

 I could look in my mom's frig and think there was nothing at all to eat in there.  I might even be found staring blindly into the freezer, hoping something would come to me.  Usually it was ice cream.  But let my mom loose in that kitchen and in record time, there was a full meal on the table.  Practice makes perfect.  The early bird gets the worm.  Hunger makes the best sauce.  Desperation is the mother of invention.  Whatever.  She knew how to bring it, as they say.  It seemed miraculous.

California BLT Salad

 
Shopping for one is fun at Chico's or Talbot's.  Even if you don't buy anything.
Shopping for one is not always quite so much fun at Kowalski's or Cub Foods. 

While I am not a great fan of boneless chicken breasts, they do hold a special place in my heart when I'm shopping and cooking just for me. As do salads of any ilk.  For this California BLT salad,  The Solo Cook can run into the store, buy a couple of boneless breasts, a ripe avocado (hopefully), a few Kalamata olives at the olive bar, and just about skip on home to make this salad.  Granted, you must have a few staples on hand waiting in your kitchen, and those would include tiny tomatoes, red onion,  bacon, a bit of gratable cheese, and salad greens.  Keep some bacon in the freezer frozen into 1-2 piece packages.  And, for greens:   a big container of spinach lasts a long while, makes a great salad, and is perfect for omelets, vegetables sides, and sandwich greens.

Poached Egg Chef's Salad

Poached Egg Chef's Salad--Yum

 When I lived in Germany, I was greatly amazed at the foods that arrived at table with a fried egg on top.  (Beer at McDonald's was another eye opener.)  I don't think I'd seen a fried egg on a pork steak before.  Or on a beef steak.  I got used to it.  The eggs were just barely over easy and if you pricked the yoke with your fork, the gooey orange centers became a decadent, yummy sauce.  My father would have loved it.

Fast forward to summers in Minnesota.  Hot nights and no energy for the grill.  A lovely bowl of any greens, some (any) vegetables from the market, two poached eggs and you're set.  A bit of tomato is great.  A light, but filling meal with no leftovers.  No special ingredients and lovely for one person.   Did I say quick?  Dinner!

Poached Egg Chef's Salad with Vinaigrette serves 1

2 cups fresh greens
1/2 cup chopped fresh vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, etc.)
1 scallion, minced (or 1 tablespoon shallot or red onion)
1 slice turkey or ham, chopped or sliced 1/4" thick
1 slice cheese, sliced 1/4" thick
3 cherry tomatoes or 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
1T grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 poached eggs*
1t fresh lemon juice

Vinaigrette:  Whisk together:  1 tsp white wine vinegar, pinch each salt and pepper, a tiny dab of Dijon mustard.  Then, continuing whisking, add 1T olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

In a large bowl, place cleaned greens and add the vegetables, meat and sliced cheese.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.   Add poached eggs, gently tapping the slotted spoon on a towel to remove excess water before placing  at the center of the salad.  Salt and pepper the eggs.  Squeeze the lemon juice over all and drizzle with vinaigrette.

*To poach two eggs:  Check out this wikihow clip.

Or follow my directions:   Heat 2" water to simmering in a small skillet.  Break one egg into a ramekin or small cup.  Slowly pour the egg into the water, stopping after the first bit of white is in..then continuing with the remainder of the egg.  Repeat with the other egg.  Cook 3 minutes or so or until the yolk is as done as you like.  Remove with a slotted spoon or ladle.  Tap off excess water before adding to salad or eating.  Eggs can be made ahead (undercook them a bit), stored in the frig and reheated gently in water right before serving.

Enjoy cooking and taking care of yourself,
Alyce

Tuna Salad (Not your Grandmother's) with Asian Dressing or How Not to be Afraid of Cooking Fish for YOU

Cook your tuna as you like...I like it fairly rare.

A piece of fish or two is a delicious, smart, economical, and healthy buy for the solo cook.  To begin with, you can buy fish by the piece.  You  not only get exactly the amount you need, but you get to pick your fish and talk to the fishmonger.   You might even get to talk to other people in line.  What are they buying?  How are they cooking it?  Ask them.  Soon they'll be asking you.

Fish inspires fear in many cooks:

• Is it fresh? (It should smell good if it's fresh.) 
• How do you cook it?  (If in doubt, drizzle with olive oil/salt/pepper,  saute/grill ten minutes per inch -5 if in sauce- and squeeze a bit of lemon on top at the table.  Some folks like salmon or tuna medium or rare.)  Unsure?  Cut it and look.  Is it opaque and or flakey (if a white fish)?  Then it's done. 
• Will it have bones?  (Make sure you have a good fillet, but still be careful.) 
• I don't know that kind of fish.  (So ask.)  Start with salmon and tuna.  They're bigger and more forgiving than skinny sole fillets..which are actually about the fastest thing in the world to cook.

To see some helpful videos about cooking fish, click here. (Free 7-day trial available.)

Shopping tip:  If you use the same place each time you buy fish, you'll come to trust them and they'll come to know you.

For the solo cook, I recommend buying two pieces of fish.  Cook them both at the same time and use the second piece for a salad or sandwich or snack the next day.  Cooked salmon is great stirred into almost done scrambled eggs; it also makes a great spread/dip.  (Mix into softened cream cheese, dill, onion, etc. and serve with bread or crackers.)  Leftovers create the need for invention and  the practice of invention makes a good cook.  When I made this salad, my husband liked it better than the original meal and said he'd eat it every week.  Interesting?

Here's the meal my tuna salad came from. I made an extra tuna steak and had enough salad for two, in fact.

I ran out of asparagus or would have used that in the salad.  Instead, I cooked a few green beans in the microwave.

Wine?  Dry riesling.  The Washington state ones might be more available than the German ones, but you can always ask.  If you can't find dry (above 10% alcohol), try any riesling and see what you think.

Mother's Day Brunch -- A Lesson from Cooking with Music

In honor of Mother's Day, here's a reprint of one of my favorite brunch posts from More Time at the Table...as I finish moving and travel.  Have a wonderful day!

  Here's a link to my article, "Quiche 101"  --Make some quiche!

Today was the first summer session of Cooking with Music at my house, which is a group of lessons or classes that combine food, culture, and music from specific countries or cultures.  French was first up--

MENU CHEZ MORGAN

Hors-d'oeuvres (appetizers):   Fromage avec pain  -- Cheese with Bread
Entree  (First Course)  Salad Printemps avec vinaigrette dijonnaise-  Spring Salad with mustard vinaigrette or....Everyday Chopped Salad (from Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food--we used the on-line video)
Plat principal  (Main Course)  Quiche  -Cooking with Music Quiche (Lesson on Pate Brisee; quiche w/ bacon and pruscuitto)
Dessert (Dessert)  Mousse au Chocolat -Chocolate Mousse with Whipped Cream and Strawberries

Beginning French Lesson was a great online video from Alain Le Lait

We began with

Bonjour!
Comment ca va?
Bien!  Tres Bien!  Et vous?
Pas mal.

And so on.

(Alain:  They loved Josette!)

I passed out notebooks and each student had a different color and their photo on the front.  Inside were maps of the world, Europe, info on the country of France, links to all of the sites we used in the lessons, all of the recipes and notes, and some coloring pages for the younger ones.

We went over the geography of France first.  Where was it?   While we did that, we listened to French folk songs...  But soon, if we wanted to eat before supper time, we needed to begin.  We made the mousse first and got it in the frig.   Next, we learned to make pastry dough ( Pate Brisee) and quiche filling.  That went in the oven while we watched a video on how to make chopped salad and made the salad.  Table set.  A little cheese.  Lunch was served.   It began to look like a piano lesson was going to have to be another day.

Merci! Merci!  to Jacque, Joel and Ellen.  Good cooks all!!!!
What are you cooking for Father's Day?

Here are a few highlights.

Working on liquid measuring technique

Using Le Creuset cookware on a gas stove...

Hot stuff in a Krups blender....

I get the taste test!

I want to see.

We all work together.

How to fill a quiche without spilling the filling.

Maybe.

Ok, How did Jamie chop cress?

Should we watch the video again?   Watch those fingers!

Oh, yeah.  That's a chopped salad.

Hey, I made that quiche!

At the table...finally!

Oh, by the way, you need to put a grace to music.  Here are the words:

Come, Lord.  Teach us to care, share and be grateful.  And most of all, teach us to love you and all you love.

We got a tune we're workin' on.

We did it!

Et voila! Mousse au chocolat:)  Another French food convert.

We'll have the piano lesson with French music another day!  Phew.

A bientot!

Green Bean Salad 2011 or Haricots verts avec fenouil, citron et champignons

My Current Bean Salad- Just for One

 Even today I wrinkle my whole face (not just my nose) at the words "bean salad."  I don't care what kind of bean salad it is or was.  I just have this awful smell of canned yellow wax beans mixed with canned red kidney beans, green beans and bottled Italian dressing in my nostrils.  "Ach" isn't a bad enough sound. Clench teeth; hiss out through the sides.  Pee Yew.  What a snot, huh?

Once, when we were newlyweds (or close), we moved into a neighborhood where the neighbors had a welcoming potluck for us.  Sweet.  Nice people, great neighborhood.  Except that when I asked what I could bring, the person organizing the meal said, "Oh, why don't you bring bean salad."  Now I may have only been 22, but I already hated bean salad and so replied in a stinky-sweet whine, "I don't know how to make that; could I bring potato salad?"  No way, she instructed me about how to make bean salad.   Said it was high time I learned how to make it.

Today, I would have pointed my finger down my throat (figuratively), and I sure as heck would not have brought bean salad.  In those "young wife" days, I did as I was told and gagged attractively through the making of it.   Chopped my onions and green peppers and mixed it up with Wishbone.  Yuck.

 2009 Bean Salad from 6-7-09 More Time at the Table post

 These days I make LOVELY green bean salads--several of them.  Interesting salads are a trademark (I think) of interesting restaurants or cooks.  While you and I adore green salads, isn't it cool when there's something very different?  Here's one you make yourself, putting your skills up there with a fine vegetable or salad chef.  This would also wow your friends at a dinner party where it might serve as a first course or third, a la francaise.  Did I mention what a healthy meal this is?  ( A serving of green beans contain over a quarter of the amount of vitamin C you need daily.  Move over orange juice.)  Stir in a bit of seasoned, dressed brown rice (use the same dressing) for a larger meal or to fill up your vegan boyfriend.  (Skip the Parm for him.)

Turkey Burgers and Guac with Salad or Chips

Turkey Burger  with BBQ Sauce and  Salad

While you're adding to your first pantry (or even if you aren't), a turkey burger is just a good meal anytime.  They're simple to make, easy to shop for, and the raw burgers freeze perfectly.   Most everyone loves a burger, but also hates the fat and calories of a burger made from ground beef.  Add a little salad, some guacamole and/or chips et voila, dinner is served.

 Buy a pack of Jennie O Italian Seasoned lean ground turkey, which comes in a little over a pound

package.  You won't need to buy other spices, etc.   Make yourself four or five patties.  Save out one for tonight's dinner and freeze the rest; use within 4-6 weeks.  Before freezing, you can put them in plastic sandwich bags, tupperware or between sheets of waxed paper and  wrapped in foil or a gallon freezer bag.  You can unthaw (perhaps two hours on the counter or overnight in the frig) to cook, but they cook fine frozen.(If you buy a pack of buns, freeze them, too--either individually in foil or by wrapping each one in plastic wrap and returning them to the bag.  Use them within a couple of weeks.)

Before you start to cook, put on some music.  Set your table with some things you like.  Find a candle and light it.  Give thanks and enjoy.  A meal for one is a celebration.

Chopped Salads and How to Use a Big Knife

  As solos cooks, your first line of defense could be a great salad.  There's never a problem with making a salad for one and, if you make a chopped salad, make enough (store without dressing or tomatoes) to last a few days.  That way, you'll get the most out of your shopping and get all the veggies you need. 

If you master a basic salad and understand fresh vegetables, you'll also be able to change that salad up:

• Add cheese or boiled eggs
• Add grilled chicken
• Add leftover shrimp from your take-out from last night
• Add chopped pepperoni from that two-day-old pizza in the frig
• Add homemade croutons (using up that old bread)

Most people never learn how to make a good salad, but you're going to.

I have a great recipe (below) for you, but first....  Watch Jamie Oliver's short video on chopped salad:

Watch Jamie Now!  Make a note of how he uses the knife, too.
 

Making Jamie's salad in my kitchen

 In fact, here's a basic, really quick video on holding and using a chef's knife:

How to use a knife!

Alyce's Salad Notes

• Buy greens you like, but buy good-looking greens and skip iceberg lettuce unless you crave a blue-cheese wedge.  Wash them well (Put them in cold water in the sink or a bowl for 5 minutes, swishing several times.)  Drain them well and lay them out on cotton or linen or paper towels. Wrap well and put in a plastic bag or a covered refrigerator container.  Alternately, you can spin them in a salad spinner.
• Add any vegetable or fruit you like or have.  Google salad recipes or go to epicurious.com (great site) and see lots of recipes.  Be brave and mix things up; the recipe police aren't coming.
• If you have fresh herbs, including parsley, just throw them in; you'll be blown away.  (In fact, you can make a great parsley salad and it's easy to grow.)
• Be loving to yourself and be creative:  Make salads you adore so that you'll eat them.
• Make your own salad dressings...  Ok, you might keep a jar of low-fat Ranch (bought in the produce section cold) for veggie dip or to mix with salsa for a great taco salad dressing or fish taco sauce ...also great for a grilled asparagus dip.)
• Most green salads benefit from a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper before (or instead of) being dressed.