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Feb 15, 2007 - 02:22 PM |
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surf 'n' turf minus the surf... |
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So I had this rather interesting meal planned for the wife for last night... unfortunately things didn't quite go as well as I was hoping.
To begin with, I had intended to leave the office an hour early so I could do some last minute shopping for ingredients and whatnot and it would still allow me enough time to prep and cook. Sadly, I didn't leave the office until thirty minutes after I actual ending time. So now I have lost a good ninety minutes. Not happy...
I have a couple of recipes for the meal and am just needing to pick up some final items. The main parts of the meal are already at my place having been delivered earlier in the day and still packed in dry ice.
Going through... finding the different items... making certain adjustments based upon what is available or not within the store. Really need to get a Bristol Farms closer to home. It would help me out a whole lot more when it came to shopping for odd ingredients.
So home I rush... grab the box and start to open it up. Inside looks like something that could have fallen off of the international space station or Mir... insulated bubblewrap is inside this box... with enough packing tape that nothing could get in or out. So I start digging through my set of knives to find something that won't destroy the bubblewrap but get through the tape so I can get to the items buried deep within.
Got it... tape it sliced... and I can peer within the casing. Only to find insulated layer pads and one particularly deviant looking device warning me not ot touch it due to dry ice (which was not present any longer). Under all of that I finally found the items I was looking for... still in their frozen state. Hurrah!!!! Frozen meat = no need to freak out about possible spoilage.
Pull out the items... set them up and snap photos (still on camera).
Two 8oz Kobe Beef New York Steaks
Two 1lb crocodile tail fillets
Croc tails go immediately into the freezer. Better to deal with them in their frozen state to preserve the juices within the meat.
Kobe beef immediately goes into a large pot and placed under running cold water to thaw out the meat as quickly as possible.
Next I am going over recipes. I had the recipes I had found online for both items. And then within the box there is a rather thick envelope... inside are several recipes on how to prepare both items. I like the recipes sent with meats... at least for the kobe beef... a lot less prep work. But needs to be done right anyway otherwise it's goodbye expensive chucks of meat.
Step 1: thaw the meat and store in fridge until ready to cook
Step 2: prepare an herb-butter sauce to go over the steaks when cooking. Basil, parsley, garlic, butter, salt, and pepper.
Step 3: get some cognac, warmed, and pour it over the meat when ready to cook. Light the cognac and allow the flames to go out on their own.
Step 4: pour half of the herb-butter sauce over the meat.
Step 5: place meat into broiler for three minutes
Step 6: turn meat over, pour remaining herb-butter sauce over the meat. Cook for another three minutes.
Step 7: serve
the steak was served medium rare.
The sides were mangos that were going to be used for a mango sauce for the croc tails but due to time constraints I did just the one item and already had the mangos cut up, so I turned it into a sidedish.
Tossed the mangos into a sauce pan. Added a bit of water. Tossed in some cinnamon and coriander. Let that simmer for a bit and came out with a nice little mango compote.
The second sidedish were almost like a fried asparagus. Prepped the asparagus like normal. Rinsed. Cut off the stems. And then steamed them.
After steaming I then rolled out the big pan... poured in some peanut oil... heated it up. Then placed in half of the bunch for a bit... being sure to roll/turn them. Moved out of the pan onto my drip tray... and did the second half of the batch.
All served up with a nice Gewürztraminer from up the coast (we're not into red wines... and prefer the sweeter whites as opposed to dry whites). Overall the wife was pleased with everything.
Tonight I'm probably going to work on the croc tails... if not then it will be for this weekend since there is a Ducks game tonight and wife is working late. Thanks Disney... you know how to fuck up my plans for cooking :P
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