Easy Shortcut Supper - wrapup

**pictures have been added to previous posts**


Final notes and thoughts on the menu:
Overall, I really enjoyed this meal, chewy meat and all. Troy thought that it was a bit overly fancy for everyday. I'm not sure that I'd really label it as an "Easy Shortcut" meal, like the name implied. There's a fair amount of chopping and prep, as well as a few ingredients that I don't normally keep on hand. So compared to just slinging steaks on the grill and chucking some pre-washed mixed spring greens in a bowl, it's a bit more work. As T said, it was too fancy for everyday, not fancy enough for company.

I did like the Soda Bread recipe and will definitely remember it for those occasions when I need a quick loaf of bread. And the blueberries were a very simple and delicious dessert. A little nicer than just eating them plain, but not as decadent as if you were to serve them with a shortcake and whipped cream.

The only real dud was the sardine salad, which I sort of expected. And even though I liked the herb butter for the steak, it's unlikely that I'll make it very often since we just don't do a lot of pan-frying around here. One huge perk to living in Texas is being able to grill year-round, and we take full advantage of it. So whenever I buy steaks or salmon or pretty much anything that can go on the grill, that's where it goes.

Blueberries au Citron

Ingredients:
1 lemon
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 pint (12 oz.) blueberries, preferably small wild ones

1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove 4 pees from the lemon and set them aside. Cut the lemon in half, and press it to obtain the juice (about 2 tbsp).

2. Mix the lemon juice and maple syrup in a bowl large enough to hold the blueberries.

3. Rinse the blueberries well in cool water, removing and discarding any damaged berries or foreign matter. Drain the berries well, and add them to the syrup mixture, along with the lemon peel. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

I made this recipe once before, when I first got this book. I'm embarrassed to admit, it was kind of awful, in large part because I think I used Mrs. Butterworth instead of real maple syrup. Gag. Thankfully, I now know better.

Cheats & Changes:
I zested the entire lemon with my handy microplane grater rather than shave a few slices with a vegetable peeler, as stated in the recipe. I think you get more lemon flavor, plus it looks nicer than having these large, inedible hunks of peel.

The Verdict:
T & I both really loved this. In fact, we snarfed it down so quickly (and straight out of the serving bowl, no less) that I forgot to take pictures before it was all gone. Oops. Just picture fresh blueberries, in a light syrupy glaze. And pretend that the picture is perfectly lit and in-focus.

The lemon juice and maple syrup was a surprisingly nice combo - very light and sweet and refreshing. I think it'd actually be a nice glaze for other fruits as well. I will definitely be making this again, in fact probably tonight since I have about a pound of blueberries still.

Soda Bread

Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Reserve 1 tsp of the flour and combine the remaining flour with the salt & baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add the milk, and mix gently and quickly with a wooden spatula until the mixture forms a solid mass.

3. Oil an aluminum nonstick baking sheet with the canola oil, and place the dough on the sheet. Using a piece of plastic wrap, press and mold the dougt to create a round loaf about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Sprinkle the reserved teaspoon of flour on top of the loaf and using a serrated knife, make two intersecting 1/4-inch deep cuts across the top surface of the loaf to create a cross.

4. Place a stainless steel bowl upside down over the bread, and place it in the 425-degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook at the same temperature for another 30 minutes.

5. Using a hamburger spatula, remove the bread from the baking sheet, and set it aside to cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.


This is also pretty straightforward recipe for a quickbread; it's almost like a giant biscuit. I do think it's funny that Jacques's version of Soda Bread doesn't use baking soda, but he does say that you can substitute baking soda and buttermilk for the baking powder and milk, respectively. I may give that a try. I was nervous about potentially sacrificing one of my nice metal mixing bowls to the oven gods, but it came out unscathed.

Cheats & Changes:
My mound of dough did turn out to be bigger than 7" in diameter and 1" in height, but it seemed to bake up just fine. Oh, and I used an canola oil spray on my sheet pan instead of rubbing the canola oil on it. I figured it was the same difference. I'll also note that I didn't need to use the plastic wrap to mold my bread, it was pretty dry. In fact, I had to knead it a bit by hand in the bowl to get all the flour worked into it. But I'm sure that will vary from person-to-person and place-to-place.

The Verdict:
T & I both really liked it. It had a biscuit-y sort of flavor to it. I do wish that it had risen a little more. It seemed a wee bit on the dense side, as you can see from this cross-section photo.


I think my oven may not have been quite hot enough when I put it in. I may crank the oven to 450 next time and leave it on that for the first 30 minutes. I also baked this at the same time as the potatoes and onions, so my tiny little oven may have been overloaded, which would also affect the oven temp and how the bread rose.

Roasted Potatoes and Onions

Ingredients:
4 baking or all-purpose potatoes (about 8 oz each), left unpeeled, but washed and any dark or damaged spots removed
4 medium onions (about 5 oz each), left unpeeled (Vidalia or Maui onions are a good choice)
1 1/2 tbsp peanut or safflower oil
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Split potatoes in half lengthwise, and cut the onions in half crosswise.

3. Pour the oil on an aluminum jelly roll pan. Sprinkle the salt over the potatoes and onions, and place them cut side down in one layer on the oiled pan.

4. Place the pan on the bottom rack of the 400-degree oven (or, if you want the underside of your vegetables very crusty, on the oven floor). Bake for 40 min until the potaotes and onions are tender when pierced with a fork, lightly browned on top, and dark brown on the underside.

5. Set the potatoes and onions aside to rest for 10 min., lift with a spatula and serve.


This is a pretty straightforward recipe, just cut everything in half, season and place cut side down on an oiled pan. One caveat though - make sure you put down some foil or parchment first. I've positively RUINED some of my nice nonstick baking sheets doing this in the past.

Cheats & Changes:
I used several smaller potatoes that I already had in the house instead of the large baking potatoes. I also ran out of room on my pan and only cooked one onion (a Texas 1015), since I knew that neither Troy nor I would really want to eat one whole onion each. I also realized after the fact that I'd cut in half lengthwise instead of crosswise, meaning that instead of having rings, I had "petals." No big deal, really, it just wasn't as pretty. I baked this on the bottom rack underneath my soda bread, so it took a little longer than the 40 minutes stated in the recipe. Not all the potatoes got as brown as I would have liked, but they were all cooked through and tasted fine. I made extra to use for hash browns or whatever later.

The Verdict:
T and I both loved this dish. I think we both tend to favor food that's simply cooked. The potatoes were a no-brainer since we both love potatoes in any form, but the onions were a bit of a surprise. They were nicely cooked through, sweet (definitely use a sweet onion if you can) and the carmelized bottom gave it a little more depth of flavor. Both of us thought that the dish did need more salt, but then again, we like our food salty. I'll definitely make this again as an easy side, especially if I already have the oven on for something else.

Shoulder Steak with Herbs

Ingredients:
4 beef shoulder blade steaks (chicken steaks), 5-6 oz each
1 1/2 tsp virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped shallots
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 c. fresh herbs (tarragon, chives, parsley, etc.), finely chopped

1. Heat a large, sturdy skillet (cast iron or heavy-duty aluminum, not nonstick). Brush the steaks on both sides with the oil, sprinkle them with salt & pepper and place in the hot skillet. Cook for 2-3 min over medium to high heat on each side for 1-inch steaks (medium-rare).

2. Remove the steaks from the skillet and place them on the platter. Add the shallots to the drippings in the pan and saute for 20 seconds. Add the water to the skillet, mix it in well, and cook, stirring until all the encrusted juices in the skillet have melted.

3. Add the butter and the herbs to the mixture in the skillet and cook for a few seconds, just until the butter melts.

4. Spoon the butter/herb mixture over the steaks. Serve immediately.


I have to confess, I'm not as well-versed on my cuts of meat as I should be. We studied them briefly when I was in cooking school, and I'm sure I took some sort of general test on the big cuts, but to my disappointment, we never got all that much into butchering and individual cuts. When this recipe called for shoulder-blade steaks, I have to say I was at a bit of a loss since it sounded totally unfamiliar.

So off I trekked to Central Market to ask at their meat counter. According to the guy I spoke with there, it's not a common cut anymore because most places don't hang their meat and butcher it on the spot. But he said that the closest thing to it would be a chuck roast/steak, which is from the same part of the cow, just minus the bone. I debated whether or not to just get a ribeye or t-bone or something like that, but I decided to try and stick as closely to the recipe as possible. I had the butcher cut a big chuck roast in half lengthwise and ended up with 2 very large 1 1/2-inch steaks that I cut in half. In retrospect, I probably should have gone with thinner steaks since it turned out to be difficult to get the steaks to cook through in a short time without incinerating the outside.

Cheat & Changes:
Just the cut of meat, as mentioned above. I also found that my pan got so incredibly smoking hot by the end that when I added the water to deglaze the pan, it evaporated almost immediately. I ended up adding closer to 2 tablespoons of butter at the end to make up for it. I figure a little extra butter never hurt anyone.

The Verdict:
Me: It was so-so. It would definitely have been better with a different cut of meat. Jacques picked this cut because it's inexpensive, and according to him, the connective tissue in this cut melts away during cooking making for a lean and flavorful steak. I have to heartily disagree. Barring the fact that I may have been led astray by the butcher, a chuck roast is something that I usually buy for stew or braising. I'll admit, I undercooked my steak quite a bit, which made it even chewier, and eventually I had to give in and throw it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to get it closer to medium rare. But even if I had not, I think it still would have been hard to eat and it also had a lot of unpleasant fatty bits.

I really liked the herb butter/sauce. I used pretty much the exact herbs he mentions in the recipe - tarragon, parsley & chives. Tarragon is definitely not something I use regularly, but I really enjoyed the flavor in this dish. And this sauce is such an easy extra touch, I can see myself doing this for fish or chicken or any other simple, pan-fried protein.

T felt pretty much the same as me about the cut of meat. In fact, when I asked him specifically about it, he confessed that he didn't care for it much at all, but again, he ate it. He thought the herb butter was nice, but unnecessary. I believe his exact words were, "it's fancier than it needs to be." T prefers his food to be simply prepared, so he can really taste the ingredients. Most of the time, I do too.

Easy Shortcut Supper

Tonight's dinner had highs and lows. For sake of readability, I'm going to break it down into separate posts, recipe-by-recipe.

Greens and Sardine Salad
Ingredients:
1 (4 oz) can sardines in olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 plum tomatoes, cut into 1-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 cups salad greens (Boston lettuce, escarole, and other varieties), trimmed, rinsed and thoroughly dried

1. Reserving juices and oil in can, cut sardines into 1-inch pieces. Place the pieces in a large salad bowl, and add the reserved juices and oil. Add all the remaining ingredients except the greens to the bowl and mix them gently.

2. At serving time, add the greens to the bowl, toss to coat them with the dressing and divide among four plates for serving. (Alternatively, arrange the greens on individual plates or on a large platter and spoon the sardine mixture on top.)


First off, a confession: Troy and I aren't really big fans of sardines. But we knew going into this whole endeavor that we'd have to keep open minds and that we'd more than likely have to eat things we don't normally care for. Although to be honest, I don't think I've eaten a sardine in the last 10 years and tastes do change over time. Don't quote me on it, but I think I read a factoid somewhere that your taste buds completely change over every 4 years or something like that, not to mention that they do get duller over time.

I tasted a chunk of sardine as I was making the salad tonight, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It was fishy, but not overly so. Not quite as briny or salty as I thought it'd be; it more or less tasted like tuna. I'll add that I think being packed in olive oil makes everything taste better, so that's probably a big factor.

Cheats & Changes:
I made only a few minor changes. I used 2 small vine-ripened tomatoes from the farmers market in lieu of the 3 plum tomatoes called for in the original recipe. I didn't chop up the sardines either because they were boneless and skinless and I knew they'd break up into small pieces on their own when I tossed the salad. I also left out about a tablespoon of the e.v. olive oil since there was so much of it packed in the with the sardines.

The Verdict:
I liked it, but didn't love it. There are two servings left that neither of us wanted and sadly, since the greens won't keep well in the fridge, it's going to end up in the trash.
T: Didn't care for it (he's not a fan of canned tuna either), but he ate it.

Would I make/eat this again?
As printed, probably not. The addition of the sardines wasn't so wonderful that I'd go out of my way to keep them on hand, never mind that Troy won't eat them. And without them, it's otherwise just a basic green salad with a red wine vinaigrette.

Book One, Menu One

So as mentioned before, for my first cook-a-book I'm going with one of the first cookbooks I ever bought, Jacques Pepin's Kitchen: Cooking with Claudine. The premise of the book is that he is teaching his adult daughter how to cook, both for herself and for others (it's a companion book to a PBS series). The book is organized into menus, and I'd say it's targeted at beginners, with a nice progression; some of the menus toward the end do get more complex. I like that there is a pretty wide range of menus and ideas in the book. There's a section for "the busy single," as well as cooking for dinner parties, but for the most part, the recipes serve 4.

To kick things off, I'm going to go ahead and do the first menu listed, which is called "Easy Shortcut Supper."

Tonight's menu:
Greens and Sardine Salad
Shoulder Steak with Herbs
Roasted Potatoes & Onions
Soda Bread
Blueberries au Citron

Back later with details and photos.