NY Strip with Blue Cheese, Bacon and Crispy Onions

By Iron Chef Leftovers

DSCN0288 — Early on in the cooking process, the bacon and sacuce are not yet in their happy places.

Mrs. Iron Chef loves bacon wrapped tenderloin. While I love cow, this is probably my least favorite part of the animal – it has very little flavor, is very expensive and can be picky to cook with since you don’t have any protection from overcooking because of its lack of fat. Personally, if you are talking supermarket cuts, give me a nice bone-in rib eye. This past Valentines Day, I wanted to do steak, but I didn’t want to do tenderloin, so I went with my compromise cut – the New York strip. It has a fair amount of fat, so it is a little more forgiving to cook, has a more beefy flavor and is still fairly tender. In case you are unaware, the strip is the muscle the run parallel to the tenderloin on the back of a cow – when you get a t-bone steak, the larger side is the strip, and the smaller is the tenderloin. This is the recipe that I came up with – it is pretty simple to put together, cooks relatively quickly and really looks impressive when done.

The Software
2 NY strip steaks, 6-8 oz each
5 strips of bacon, cooked crispy, fat reserved
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup Marsala or port wine
2 tablespoons of cognac
1/2 onion, sliced thin
3 oz blue cheese
1 oz butter
salt
pepper

DSCN0291 — The steaks after being salted for 10 minutes. See how much liquid has come out of them?

The Recipe

The Steak
About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the steaks from the fridge and season on each side with salt. Put the steaks on a wire rack over a plate. This is going to draw out water from the meat and will lead to a better sear.
Cook the bacon in a large skillet until brown and crispy. Crumble after it is cooked.
Remove from the pan and reserve the fat. Wipe out any brown bits that remain.
Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel.
Heat the skillet on medium-high heat, adding 1 tablespoon of bacon fat until barely smoking.
Add the steaks carefully.
Cook on the first side for 4 minutes. DO NOT MOVE THE STEAKS UNTIL THE 4 MINUTES IS UP.
Flip and reduce heat to medium and cook to desired doneness (it will be roughly 4 minutes for medium rare).
Remove to a plate with the side that you cooked first facing up.
Allow the steaks to rest for 8 minutes.
Wipe out any fat and hit the pan with a shot of wine and deglaze. Add to the sauce.

The Sauce (this can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge)
In a medium saucepan, combine the stock, wine and port over medium heat.
Reduce the contents by 2/3 this should take about 30 minutes or so.
When ready to serve, over low heat, whisk in the butter and any accumulated juices from the steak.
Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Spoon over steak.

The Onions
In a heavy bottom pan add 3 tablespoons of bacon fat over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook until they become crispy, stirring occasionally, making sure they do not begin to burn. This should take about 20 minutes or so.

DSCN0290 — Onions on their way to crispy goodness.

The Assembly
Heat your broiler and adjust the top rack to the position just below the broiler element.
In a bowl, take the blue cheese and mash with the back of a spoon until soft and spreadable.
Place the steaks in a broiler safe pan and spread the cheese on top. You should have about 1/8 inch layer on the steaks – you also don’t need to worry about going to the edge, the melting cheese will take care of that for you.
Place the steaks under the broiler for 2 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Check it after 1 minute and every 30 seconds after that – it can go from bubbly to burnt in a hurry.
Remove the steaks to a plate. Drizzle with sauce (and any melted blue cheese from the pan) and top with crispy onions and bacon crumbles.
Serve to a happy wife.

DSCN0299 — The final product. I am drooling on my keyboard as I am typing this.

Notes
I use Point Reyes Blue out of California. I consider this to be the best cheese on the planet and I love the balance of smoky, sweet and pungent that it brings to the dish. You can use just about any blue cheese you want, depending on your tastes. I also highly recommend using a grass fed beefsteak for this – they have a more pronounced beef flavor that blends well with the blue cheese and bacon. You want the beef as dry as possible before you sear it – it will form a much better crust this way. You don’t need to worry about pre-heating the broiler; since you are using the broiler just to melt the cheese you don’t need to get the entire oven hot to do it. If you don’t want to use the broiler, you could do this on the stovetop in a pan with a lid, but I would highly recommend only cooking the steak on the second side for 2 minutes before trying to melt the cheese. A blowtorch is also effective in doing this (I am not joking – try it sometime). I served this with some skillet-fried potatoes and seared zucchini medallions, but you can use whatever sides you would like. Be careful adding salt to the sauce – the blue cheese might be salty and you might end up over salting everything.

What I’ll Be Watching: Thursday And Friday

by A.J. Coltrane

By request. The NCAA tournament games on the opening Thursday and Friday that I think will be the most watchable and/or interesting.

Full schedule here. All times Pacific.

Fab Melo has been suspended for the tournament. Adjust your brackets accordingly!

(12)VCU vs (5)Wichita State, 4:15 Thursday on Tru TV — VCU was last year’s Cinderalla. They’re an up-tempo pressure team. Statheads love Wichita State this year and their highly efficient offense. It’s a contrast of styles. (My pick: Wichita State)

(10)West Virgina vs (7)Gonzaga, 4:20 Thursday on TNT — It’s Gonzaga. The game is being played 75 miles from the WVU campus. It looks like an entertaining matchup to me. (My pick: WVU)

(11)Texas vs (6)Cincinnati, 9:15 Friday on CBS — Texas may win this one. (My pick: pass)

(11)NC State vs (6)San Diego State, 9:40 Friday on Tru TV — I think that this is another potential upset, though I don’t think it’s going to be a pretty game. Texas/Cincy will likely be the more entertaining game, if you have to choose between the two. (My pick: NC State)

(10)Viginia vs (7)Florida, 11:10 Friday on Tru TV — Virginia (with former WSU coach Tony Bennett) will slow it down, Florida will shoot a bunch of threes. Another fun contrast of styles between two fairly evenly matched teams. (My pick: Florida)

(10)Purdue vs (7)St. Mary’s, 4:27 Friday on Tru TV — Good, smart veteran guys for both teams. It should be well played and competitive. (My pick: Purdue)

All the games will be televised, either on CBS, TNT, TBS, or Tru TV. If I’ve picked a game that turns out to be a loser there should be something else that’s fun to watch at the same time. Flip around.

It’s The Most, Wonderful Time Of The Year..

by A.J. Coltrane

Ain’t she a beaut?

My favorite sporting event of the year, by far.

I will now go apologize to the Super Bowl.

I’m Coo Coo for Coq au Vin

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Coq au vin is the perfect example of how French peasant food has become haute cuisine – a dish that is traditionally made with an old rooster so that it does not go to waste has become a $20 a plate staple in most French bistros. Traditionally the dish not only calls for an old rooster (good luck finding one of those today), but involves marinating the bird in wine for several days and a long, slow braise to produce a delicious, rich, filling and nutritious meal. I have several recipes for coq au vin, all of which are a multi-day process, except for this one. It comes from the 10th edition of the ~~Betty Crocker~~ Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. While the end result of this dish is not as rich and flavorful as a more traditional recipe, the prep and cooking time is significantly less and it could easily be put together and made for dinner in one night (It can be done, start to finish in less than 2 hours).

The Software
2 1/2 pounds of chicken parts, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 –18 pearl onions or shallots, peeled
1 1/4 cup red wine, preferably Burgundy or a lighter Pinot Noir
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 tablespoons parsley
Salt
Pepper

The Recipe
In a 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Don’t use a non-stick skillet for this.
Season the chicken and add to the pan, skin side down.
Note: You want about 1/2 inch of space between the pieces. If there is not enough space, brown the chicken in 2 batches.
Cook for approximately 8 minutes until it begins to brown and flip cooking for another 8 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pan, drain off the fat and reserve two tablespoons, being careful not to lose any fond on the pan.
Add the 2 tablespoons of fat back to the pan and reduce the heat to medium.
Add mushrooms, carrot and onions and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add garlic, parsley, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf and wine and bring to a boil.
Once at a boil, add the chicken, reduce heat and simmer covered on medium-low until the chicken is done, about 35-40 minutes.
When chicken is cooked, remove from the pan to a plate and discard bay leaf. Leave the vegetables and wine in the pan. Increase heat to medium.
In a separate bowl combine the flour and butter and mash with the back of a spoon until a smooth paste is formed.
Whisk the paste to the sauce and stir until it begins to thicken and bubble.
Cook for one additional minute after it begins to bubble and taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Turn off the heat and return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan for 2 minutes.
Server over a bed of noodles using the remaining parsley and bacon as a garnish.

Notes
Most of this recipe is copied as is from its original source with a couple of modifications in techniques added by yours truly. The original recipe calls for chicken parts – breast, drumstick and thighs, but I would highly recommend only using thighs – they are fairly uniform, they are much harder to dry out and will produce the best flavor in this dish. I prefer shallots to pearl onions in this dish, as I like their flavor more. You need about 1 – 1/1/2 cups of sliced shallots for this dish. Traditionally this isn’t served over anything, but it works well with egg noodles, fettuccini, rice (really good over risotto) or mashed potatoes. The searing of the chicken could probably be done ahead of time and then everything thrown into a slow cooker – I have never tried it, but it is a braise, so it should work. There are a few techniques with this that I would love to try at some point so be on the lookout for the variations of this recipe some time in the future.

Road Trip Review – The D.N.A. Project

By Iron Chef Leftovers

A few weeks ago, I saw an announcement for the DNA project – a joint brewing project between three of my favorite breweries: Diamond Knot, North Sound Brewing and Anacortes Brewing. The collectively brewed 3 beers and released them on Tuesday, March 6th at the new Anacortes Brewing owned – H20 restaurant. Of course, being the sucker for beer and having nothing better to do on a Tuesday night, I trekked the 75 miles each way to Anacortes for the release. All three beers were great, and it was an overall fun night; well worth the drive. Now for the beers:

Hoppy Lager by Diamond Knot
Smells like a summer day – a lager that you want to drink on a sunny, 75 degree summer day on your back patio. Crisp and dry with a barely noticeable hint of hops. Lightly malted with a short, clean finish, enhanced by a hint of hops as the beer fades from the palate. A fine lager and one I would order in a second on a warm day, but not the beer I was in the mood for on a 35 degree evening.

4 sheepshanks out of 5

Red Rye Oat – North Sound Brewing
A red ale. Distinctive rye character on the nose with subtle whiffs of oatmeal. Slightly sweet and malty with hints of hops. A long finish of oats, rye and caraway. Dry, almost tannic on the tongue (in a good way). Reminds me of a very light rye bread.

4.5 whinnies out of 5

Big Black and Hoppy – Anacortes Brewing
A black IPA. Plenty of malt on the nose with a hint of hops. The initial taste is a hop bomb on the palate with a slight lingering bitterness, but not cloyingly hoppy nor overpowering with its alcohol despite its 9.8% ABV. Floral notes give way to a wonderful chocolaty and malty finish. Extraordinarily smooth; hangs around on the palate for a very long time (I mean minutes worth of lingering) in a wonderfully pleasant way. Reminds me of both a stellar IPA and a wonderful porter. Perfect for a cold winter day and paired wonderfully with the burger I had for dinner.

4.5 blackouts out of 5

There are 2 more release events scheduled for these beers – on March 13th at the Empire Ale House in Mount Vernon and March 21st at the Diamond Knot Alehouse on Front Street in Mukilteo. I would highly recommend trying all 3 of these beers at one of these events – especially since you will have the opportunity to talk to the brewers at the same time.

UW Basketball Loses At The Line

by A.J. Coltrane

The UW men’s basketball team lost to Oregon State earlier today, 86-84, damaging their chances to make the NCAA tournament.

During the game, the Huskies went 12-26 from the free throw line (42.6%). That’s bad.

By coincidence, tonight I started researching team stats in earnest, to prepare for the upcoming wagering. I figured I’d look to see what teams were terrible at free throws; maybe I’d find a hidden achilles heel.

As it turns out, the Huskies were at 61.2% on their free throws through Wednesday, ranking 329th out of 345 total teams. That’s bad bad bad.

It was only a matter of time until that bit them in the behind. Ouch!

An Affordable Dutch Oven

by A.J. Coltrane

In his book, My Bread, Jim Lahey recommends using a 5-quart cast iron dutch oven to bake the No Knead recipe.

Here’s a very affordable option: The Lodge 5-qt, at about $32. It’s widely available, the picture below is taken from the Target website:

It’s an easy expense to justify too — figure that one large delicious loaf of bread will cost somewhere around a dollar to make; the dutch oven will pay for itself in no time!

How can you resist?!

GNOIF: You Are My Density — The Recap

by A.J. Coltrane

GNOIF #4 Recap — GNOIF: You Are My Density (Trying for a “Back To The Future” Theme. Note the Star Fluxx, Rocketville, Omega Virus, and Robo Rally… that was the big idea anyway..)

Games That Got Played: Agricola, Flash Duel, Star Fluxx, Magic The Gathering, The Omega Virus, Ticket to Ride Card Game, Ticket to Ride Europe.

gnoif4games — The white boxes are Dominion and Magic The Gathering.

Games That Didn’t Get Played: Caesar and Cleopatra, Settlers of Catan, Dominion, Lost Cities, Mr. Jack (pocket), Robo Rally, Rocketville.

We’re now getting to the point that people who learn games at one GNOIF can teach them to people at a future GNOIF, and as more people get more comfortable with more games it makes the games themselves go faster too. Ticket To Ride Europe required no introduction and wrapped up pretty quickly; even something as complicated as Agricola didn’t need host involvement to get going. Good progress!

Early in the evening I played a few games of Magic The Gathering. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy M:TG — I haven’t played it in ages, but we trotted out some of my decks from 1999 and had a good time. I could have played more.

Guests brought The Omega Virus, a “talking” electronic game from 1992. It’s a timed game, so it’s fast paced and kind of hectic, and we all had a good time. Ultimately JC was able to pull out a win at the last minute. (Which was much better than the “computer” winning…I’ve never been called “Human Scum” before, but now I think I’ve been insulted that way about fifty times.)

I’d be interested to hear what everyone thought of what they played. Thanks for playing all!

The Top 101 Restaurants in the Country

By Iron Chef Leftovers

The website thedailymeal.com, released their list of the 101 best restaurants in America. Seattle did fairly well, sporting 3 restaurants on the list, with Canlis coming in the highest at number 31. Here are the Seattle restaurants that make the list:

96. The Walrus and the Carpenter
70. Herbfarm
31. Canlis

Portland, despite the same number of restaurants on the list, did better in the overall rankings:

69. Beast
62. Le Pigeon
12. Pok Pok

Of the 6 on the list from the Northwest, I have been to 2 of them – Canlis (once) and Le Pigeon (four times). Honestly, Le Pigeon is a much better restaurant than Canlis and I can think of at least a half dozen places that I would rank ahead of Canlis just in Seattle.

Overall, the list is predictably dominated by restaurants from New York and San Francisco, which should surprise no one.
My problem with this list, and list like it, is that you end up with a lot of places on the list that have been around for a long time and, while they are excellent meals, are very dated and on their list because of their reputation. A couple that jump out: Peter Luger in NYC, Katz’s Deli in NYC, Al Forno in Providence, RI, and Canlis. I have eaten at all of these places. Canlis (which I have been meaning to review for a few months now) was a fine experience and well prepared, but was horribly expensive and didn’t really leave me thinking I have to come back to this place. Peter Luger and Al Forno were both the same way as Canlis and Katz’s is an overpriced tourist trap.

That being said, I think this list does a pretty good job accounting for newer restaurants and probably got the top 10 close to right.

One thing that I did notice – Boston, which is apparently on the short list for the next Top Chef season along with Portland, only had 1 restaurant on the list – O-Ya at number 88. Just another reason Boston is not really a great location for Top Chef to visit.

Gail Simmons in Seattle

By Iron Chef Lefrovers

If you happen to be free this Thursday morning and in the Fremont neighborhood, you might want to stop into the Book Larder on Fremont Ave. for a talk with Gail Simmons, of Top Chef fame. She and the boys will be in town promoting her new book from 9:30 – 10:30.

I may just have to come down with a case of something.