Hobby Photography Day: Cooking

Here's the first post in my Hobby Photography series. I decided to start somewhere pretty easy, and since I need to eat every day, and since there's such an established style for it, I am starting with a cooking post.

So what's on the menu? Marinated Steak Strips over Garlic Rice with Scallions.

 doesn't that look tasty?

But first... it has to all come from somewhere.  What you will need for this dish:

In order from the top down that is:

• White Wine (some of this is for drinking)
• Garlic
• Scallions
• Steak
• Salt (a pinch)
• Bay Leaves (3)
• Rice
• Rosemary (1/2 tsp)
• Sage (1/4 tsp)
• Olive Oil
• Thyme (1/2 tsp)
• Black Peppercorns (12)
• Butter (don't worry, not the whole stick) 

Not pictured, but you will also need:

• Flour 
• Honey (optional)
• Red Pepper Flakes (for heat, or because they are pretty)

The Marinade:

Chop up about 3 scallions and 2 cloves of garlic

Pour a cup of wine into a medium sized bowl, and add to it 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the chopped garlic and scallion, and the spices. Whisk together, then add the steak, cover and let sit, refrigerated, at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours. (more is better) If the meat isn't completely covered, you can always add more wine until it is, then stir once more before setting aside.

The Rice:

To jazz up an otherwise ordinary rice I like to add some minced garlic (about 1 clove per cup of rice) and i like to toast the rice before boiling.  Melt about a tsp. of butter with a tsp. of olive oil per cup of rice. Add the garlic, and cook it until it is translucent, but not yet browning. Add the rice to the pan and stir frequently until the rice turns from transleucent white to opaque white.  Add water (about 2.5/1 for a water to rice ratio serves me pretty well) and cover. stir occasionally to prevent sticking, and try not to burn it, because just like for me, that will make you sad.

The Sauce:

I love me a good sauce.  And since we already mixed up the meat a marinade, my simple solution to sauce is to reduce my marinade, and to add a thickener. For dish consolidation, and because I work in small volumes it goes in the other order. Start with a Roux in a sauce pan large enough for your marinade.

Cook equal parts butter and ordinary unbleached flour, stirring constantly, until a paste is formed, and be careful not to burn it or everything will taste like burnt toast. There isn't a photo of this process because the chef and photographer are the same person, and the cooking can go wrong in seconds at this point.

Strain the marinade into the roux, and stir until you are sure there isn't roux stuck on the bottom of the pan still. Simmer and reduce by two thirds. Allow this to cool, and remember, the sauce will thicken up as it cools, so don't judge your sauce by it's boiling thickness. If you like having a sauce that is more glaze like, only reduce by half, and add a tablespoon of honey or brown sugar.

The Meat:

Take your meat out of the marinade.  Definitely remove the bay leaves, as you don't want to eat those, but feel free to strain the meat, scallion, and garlic out of the marinade all together, and just cook it all in the pan. I removed the bits for photographic reasons, but they would make a fine addition to be served up all together.

Brown up the meat. Get your pan ready with a little oil over medium to medium-high heat, and put the meat on just before the oil starts to scorch. It's pretty simple. don't over do it or it will get all dry and tough. I added a little wine in the last minute or so in the pan to deglaze and get as much of the flavor stuck back on the meat instead of on the pan.

The Scallions:

I went with a simple green side dish. You cant get much easier than blanched greens. Scallions have a mild onion flavor, and they are green, so they must be good for you, right?

To blanch, boil some water and get an ice bath ready (a large bowl of ice water). Boil the scallions for under a minute then scoop them out and get them in the ice water to shock them, which preserves color and stops the cooking process. This left the scallions slightly crunchy but with a milder cooked onion flavor instead of the raw bite. very pleasant. Do this step right before serving so that the scallions don't get slimy from sitting around being wet.

and so you don't have to scroll back up, here's the plated complete meal again, garnished with red pepper flakes because they are pretty (I mean for heat).