Recipe: Father's Day Steak Dinner
My father loves food; I inherited it from him. We often plan vacations around where we want to eat, or plan the day based on what our next meal might be. One of the many places my father and I differ is that my father would call himself frugal; I would call him cheap. My dad loves a good deal. So when a deal and a meal comes together, he’s always on board.
When my mother and my father first married in Kansas City, they were extremely poor. They have shown me the shack they used to call home that the knew had rats who had lived there before they moved in and would be there long after they left despite their best efforts. So, one story that my mother would always tell to show how much my dad loves a good deal is that they would go to a restaurant called Nickels. I’m sure Nickels got its name back during the Great Depression when they probably sold items on their menu for nickels. They had a $5 Steak Dinner. I can’t imagine that steak was any good… or even what cut of beef it might have been, but my father didn’t care. For him, steak is always a luxury and to be able to get one for $5 bucks was always worth it.
Growing up, my father preferred local holes-in-the-walls than fancy restaurants although if a doctors convention was hosted at an expensive restaurant, you could count on my father being there. To get a free meal at the great French restaurant Le Papillon was always something he hoped for and often received. The one place we did spend money in regards to food was at Steakhouses. My father has always loved Steakhouses, whether a chain like Stuart Anderson’s or Hungry Hunters or Alexander’s for a big event; he loves steak.
For father’s day, I have almost always cooked some sort of meal as a gift for my father. So this year, I went back to his favorite: a Steakhouse Dinner.
I have done so many variations on a Steakhouse dinner that I have another blog post about another Steakhouse dinner I did. I admit, I inherited my love a good steak from my father as well.
What makes a good steak? First, the cut of meat. My father and I prefer ribeye to most other cuts of steak. I always make my mom a slow roasted filet instead as she prefers the leaner meat and also it cooked more but still tender. But for us, there’s something about the fat content of a ribeye that just makes for the best flavor. Also, for me, a great steak is almost always on the bone. The bone provides flavor itself; the meat closer to the bone always has a much deeper flavor. Second, what makes a good steak is a proper sear. You have to get it the pan hot. Really hot. Scorching hot. You want to sear it, then put it in the oven. Third, what makes a good steak is letting it rest. After you’re finished searing and roasting the steak, you need to let the meat rest about 10 minutes. I also like putting a dollop of butter on top as well while it rests to let that butter ooze down the steak. Finally, what makes a good steak is salt. Steaks can be marinated with a lot of variety of flavors. Here, I did a wet marination, which is not always something I do, but the most important thing by far is salt. A good piece of meat should be well salted before cooking, helping to get it that crust, and then sprinkled with course salt right before service.
Do these things and you will have a great steak dinner.
My father’s favorite side dish is mushrooms, followed by some form of potato. He loves a good baked potato, but it’s father’s day, I’m not just going to give him a baked potato. Then you need a vegetable side of some sort. My mother is not a huge steak eater, so I always make sure there’s something she loves. Haricot Verts are a perfect side dish. Easy. In this case, I also sauteed them in butter, lemon, and topped them with roasted tomatoes.
I’m not a baker and my father doesn’t have too much of a sweet tooth, but he loves lemon meringue pie. My mother however hates it. It’s ironic that their tastes are so different. I think my mother, growing up poor, was forced to eat instant pudding way too much and so pudding pies are not her thing. So, I decided to make a icebox lemon pie. I love how easy these are and this recipe from Epicurious worked so well. Here is the link for that: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lemon-ice-box-pie-109558
So thank you Dad for always providing for me even when you didn’t agree with the profession I was pursuing. I am glad that we have such a great relationship now.
Steak House Dinner
Potatoes Au Gratin
8 yukon gold potatoes
1 cup of milk
1 ½ cups of cream
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Salt to taste
½ cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Peel Yukon gold potatoes and then slice into thin and equal slices. Remove the ends as they are never equal. In a pot on the stove, fill with the milk and cream. Toss in the two garlic cloves, bay leaf, thyme sprig, white pepper, nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of butter. While you are continuing to cut the potatoes add the sliced potatoes into the liquid.
Once all of the potatoes are sliced and in the pot, turn on the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring carefully. You do not want to break up the potatoes. Then when it boils, reduce to a simmer and let simmer for 10 minutes. Some Au Gratin recipes call for the potatoes to be put in the oven raw, but I always find that I end up with undercooked potatoes, so I like to start mine on the stove. It also allows me to flavor the milk/cream.
When the time is up, take the other tablespoon of butter and butter a standard 9 inch baking dish. Using a slotted spoon, place the potato slices in the baking dish and form one layer, then use another spoon to spoon a little of the milk/cream liquid, making sure to leave out the garlic, bay leaf, and thyme sprig. Then using the slotted spoon, spoon the rest of the potatoes on top and again spoon a little cream liquid. You most likely will not need all of the liquid. Top with Parmesan cheese and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
Truffled Mushrooms
(A variety of mushrooms, whatever is available; the following are what I used this time)
1 portobello mushroom
6 crimini mushrooms
6 king trumpet mushrooms
12 small shitake mushrooms (again, you can use any combination. I try to make sure that they are all in similar amounts)
1 garlic clove
¼ cup white wine
1 sprig of thyme
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 shallot diced
1 teaspoon black or white truffle oil
1 teaspoon truffle salt
(obviously if you can get fresh truffles, buy 1 and shave it over the mushrooms at the end in substitution of the truffle oil and salt)
Begin by cleaning the mushrooms, wiping them with a damp cloth and the setting aside. For the crimini, portobello, and shitake mushrooms, remove the stems and then either slice or dice. For the king trumpet mushrooms, simply slice them lengthwise.
Place a large skillet on the stove and pour the 4 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan. Turn on high heat. While the oil is heating, diced a shallot and then mince a clove of garlic. Remove the thyme leaves from the stem and set aside.
When the pan is smoking, carefully add the mushrooms to the pan. Stir immediately. You do not have to salt at this point. Allow the mushrooms to caramelize in the pan, stirring regularly. When they are fully caramelized, add in the shallots and stir, cooking it until translucent. About 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic, again stir for about another minute. At this point, take the skillet off the heat and deglaze with the wine. Return to the stove carefully as it could flame up. Add thyme. At this point, cook until the liquid is gone. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Toss with truffle salt and oil. Serve immediately.
Green Beans with Roasted Tomatoes
1 lb of Haricot Verts
1 pint of tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
2 lemons zested
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil + the oil used for the tomatoes both to roast them and to cover them afterwards
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Earlier in the morning or the day before, make the roasted tomatoes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
On a roasting sheet, cover it with aluminum foil and then pour the cherry tomatoes out onto the sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for an hour until they are shriveled. Remove from the heat and place in a container and cover with oil. These will keep for a day or two. They will be sweet, almost like candy.
Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Heavily salt. Make sure that the haricot verts are de-stemmed. Place in the boiling water. Blanche in the water for 2-3 minutes at most. You don’t want them fully cooked. Immediately remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water to shock them. Once they are cool, drain the water off. You can store the green beans for several days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
When you are ready to eat, place a large skillet on the stove and add the butter as well as the 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan. Turn the heat on to medium. Immediately add the two crushed garlic cloves so they will flavor the butter. Once they are browned, remove them from the pan. Add the haricot verts and toss with the butter and oil. Add the lemon zest to the green beans as well as salt and pepper and toss once more.
Plate the haricot verts and then spoon the tomatoes over.
Steak
2 ribeye steaks
1 tablespoon of butter
½ cup of good olive oil
2 tablespoons of peanut oil or other flavorless high burning oil
Salt and Pepper
4 garlic cloves
8 sprigs of thyme
The day before, place the steaks in a container and pour on the olive oil. Crushed the 4 garlic cloves and add them to the container. Also toss in the thyme sprigs. Salt and pepper. Refrigerate to marinate overnight.
An hour before you are ready to cook, remove the container with the steaks and let it come to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Place a skillet that is not non-stick on the stove and turn the heat on high. Allow to heat up for 3-4 minutes. Take the steaks out of the container and pat dry with a paper towel. Salt both sides of the steak liberally. Then, using a drizzle of the peanut oil on both sides of the steak. Sear one steak at a time, about 3-4 minutes on each side until really well browned. Then flip and sear the other side. When done, place on a sheet tray and into the oven for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove. Place a ½ tablespoon of butter on each steak and then place an aluminum sheet over the steaks and allow to cool for 10 minutes. When you are ready to serve, place it on a plate and then top with a few sprinkles of course salt.
Serve.
