Amp Up Your Steak With This Winning Combination!

Here in the Midwest, we can get a little high-and-mighty on the subject of steak. I’m just saying, it’s true; most real beef lovers in the Midwest wouldn’t any more dare to smother a perfectly gorgeous and marbled piece of meat with steak sauce than we would cook it until it’s brown and chewy all the way through. 

We have high-quality beef in our area of the country (lucky us) and for those of us who adore this very thing, we tend to grill our steak with very little adornment. Salt. Pepper… Sometimes we’ll get “crazy” by substituting seasoned salt or garlic salt for the salt. But, most true steak lovers agree; let the flavor of the meat come through.

On rare occasion there is cause to dress beef with other flavors. Beef tenderloin is one such cut that (as I’ve covered in this blog before / see the recipe from my March 21, 2011 posting) pairs well with a sauce or filling. The flavor of beef tenderloin is delicate and less “meaty”. It’s also more of an “occasion” cut in terms of when you would serve it. For another great coffee and beef recipe combination see this link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/filet-of-beef-roasted-with-coffee-beans-in-pasilla-chile-broth-recipe/index.html . It’s a recipe my family has enjoyed for years. But steak; think ribeye or strip cuts, is VERY meaty and satisfying in that one complete-on-its-own flavor. 

I’m not sure my husband and I have ever marinated or rubbed a strip or ribeye steak before grilling it. However, the last Dinner Club, our coffee-focused meal, changed my mind on our firm “nothing but salt” stance on steak. The gent that prepared our entrée did rub the ribeye steaks for each of us in a delicate, yet delicious seasoning blend that enhanced and complimented the “beefiness” of a well-marbled ribeye steak. 

I could taste the meat through and through. I could detect the smokiness of the paprika and a barely-there hint of sweet from the brown sugar, but none of it turned me off. All of the flavors in their combined effort made me appreciate the effort and made me willing to give it a try myself in the future. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it here again: Dinner Club is a great way to expose yourself to new foods and new experiences in dining! Try it out! 

Our steak entrée was accompanied by a delightful potato side and I’ve included it below with the steak rub, straight from the man who prepared it for us. Barbecue this weekend and give this new-and-improved steak and potatoes a whirl! 

Jon’s Ribeye Rub (enough for two ribeye steaks)

2 T very finely ground Kona-blend coffee

1 T dark brown sugar

2 t. pink salt

1 t. smoked paprika

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

 Lightly oil the steaks with olive oil. Dust the steaks with freshly ground black pepper and the rub mixture about 4 hours before grilling to desired doneness.

Here’s the potato recipe as well. Enjoy!

 http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/102498

Scalloped Potatoes with Three Cheeses
3/4 cup (packed) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
3/4 cup crumbled Danish blue cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/3 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan (about 1 1/4 ounces)

4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

3 cups whole milk

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Mix cheddar cheese, blue cheese and Parmesan in small bowl.

Arrange half of potatoes in prepared baking dish, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle onion over, then flour. Dot with 2 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle half of cheese mixture over. Top with remaining potatoes, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 2 tablespoons butter. Reserve remaining cheese.

Bring milk to simmer in medium saucepan. Pour milk over potatoes (milk will not cover potatoes completely). Cover baking dish tightly with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Uncover dish (liquids in dish may look curdled); sprinkle potatoes with reserved cheese mixture. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and cheese is deep golden brown, about 45 minutes longer. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Cover and rewarm in 375°F oven about 20 minutes.) Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Bon Appétit
November 1999
by Rick Rodgers

Our Coffee-Focused Meal was Rich, Savory and Delicious!

For Dinner Club this month we explored coffee as an ingredient. Sometimes it’s great center in on a specific flavor and see how many ways it can be enjoyed. And I was actually able to sleep afterward! (Full stomach / wine with my meal! J ) 

Our appetizer course was a coffee-pecan brie. It was ooey-gooey delicious and, according to the couple who made it, very simple to prepare. They baked it in the oven and served along with crusty baguette to spoon it over. Fantastic! The coffee element in this dish was slightly sweet and included Kahlua coffee liqueur, but it wasn’t overly “dessert” sweet. Just the right combination with brie and the pecans. Here’s a link to the recipe for you to try if you’d like: 

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/appbrie/coffee-pecan-brie.html  

We then had a cream of porcini mushroom soup with coffee. Even the mushroom “haters” in the group really enjoyed this creamy, rich and savory soup. This was my portion of the meal to prepare and, being me, I did not follow a recipe. I did use one for inspiration and I’ve included the link for you. I’m sure it’s amazing just “as is”, but the original didn’t call for coffee. I substituted out beef stock for the chicken broth and added in one tablespoon of instant espresso powder for the delicate coffee-beef combination that suits one another so perfectly just as it did in our entrée for the night.

Don’t hesitate to play with recipes now and then yourself to achieve the results you desire. When we were searching for soup elements for this particular meal there simply weren’t many to be had that included coffee as an ingredient. Knowing that beef and coffee flavors pair so well with one another and that mushrooms and beef do as well, I made the connection and found a way to pair mushroom, beef and coffee together in the same dish. Here’s the link to the original recipe. Try it on its own or with my adjustments and see what you think:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/cream-of-porcini-soup-with-quail-eggs-recipe/index.html

Our salad course was a contender for “best dish” for the evening. The fresh greens with coffee vinaigrette sounds strange, but the coffee was a delicate, yet noticeable element and presented in the dish as a smoky aroma to the nose more than on the tongue. It was a gorgeous, colorful plate and just a drizzle of the dressing was perfect. Overdone would be too much. Here’s a link to a coffee vinaigrette for you to try: 

http://gildedfork.com/coffee-vinaigrette/  

Our entrée included my “best dish” for the night and I’ll expand on that next week, but on to more important items for now… Dessert! 

They say homemade cakes can be difficult to get right. I, myself, am not a baker and possess neither the patience nor skill to pull off something like our coffee-chocolate layer cake with mocha mascarpone frosting! That’s a mouthful to say and it was a mouthful of sweet, moist perfectly-“coffee-eye” deliciousness! I couldn’t finish my piece after the meal, but I wanted to. The gal who made it really did an amazing job, and who doesn’t want to finish with chocolate cake?! Here’s a link. Try it if you bake!http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2009/04/coffee_chocolate_layer_cake_with_mocha_mascarpone_frosting

I’ll expand next week on our “best dish”. You should definitely tune in for it if you’re looking for something new in your world of basic steak! Keep reading and thanks!

Some History on Cinnamon and Then Our Next Menu!

Our last Dinner Club focused on the “secret ingredient” of Cinnamon. (See my last blog entry for a fantastic recipe) Having declared our friend, Eric, the supreme chef among us (at least for the night J ) we’re ready to move on to our next Dinner Club this weekend. Before I tell you what our next meeting is all about, I wanted to share with you some basics on the age-old ingredient of cinnamon. 

First, there’s not just one kind of cinnamon. According to the Penzeys Spices website, www.penzeys.com:

“There are two main types of cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon is native to Southeast Asia, especially southern China and northern Vietnam, and has the strong, spicy-sweet flavor most Americans are familiar with. Vietnamese and China cinnamon are the sweetest and strongest varieties, with Korintje cinnamon having a smooth flavor with less bite. Our cinnamon sticks and Korintje cinnamon both come from the southwest coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. It grows wild on the government protected slopes of Mount Kerinci, where the cinnamon gets its name. We stock the top Korintje A grade, although there are also the lower B and C grades, which are the types of cinnamon usually sold in supermarkets in the U.S.”

 “The second type of cinnamon, Ceylon, or "true" cinnamon, has a much different flavor. It is less sweet, with a more complex, citrus flavor. The special flavor of English and Mexican sweets comes from Ceylon cinnamon. We like to recommend Ceylon Cinnamon for baking with fruit—especially in apple pie.” – quoted directly from: www.penzeys.com

There is much about the historical significance of cinnamon on the internet. For example, www.wikipedia.org offers this:

“Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC, but those who report that it had come from China confuse it with cassia. The Hebrew bible makes specific mention of the spice many times: first when Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon (Hebrew: קִנָּמוֹן, qinnāmôn) and cassia in the holy annointing oil, in Proverbs, where the lover's bed is perfumed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon; and in Song of Solomon a song describing the beauty of his beloved, cinnamon scents her garments like the smell of Lebanon.”

There’s so much interesting reading on this spice and its uses that I can’t possibly keep going here, but if you’re interested in exploring the different types of this special spice and its uses in your cooking, I encourage you to do some reading online and visit your local spice store. We have a Penzeys store here in Omaha and it’s always a fantastic resource when your cooking requires – or you desire – something more unique than what your local grocery has to offer.

So, now it’s on to our next Dinner Club, and our next special focus ingredient. Not a spice this time, but another element that has been significant in history and in cuisines and cultures worldwide: coffee.

Our meal this weekend is centered on coffee, from the appetizer all the way through soup and dessert. We may be a bit wired afterward, but I know we’ll enjoy! This time we’re back to our usual planned menu; no surprises; although we are continually surprised by how delicious and enjoyable our meals together continue to be! Here’s our menu for this weekend: