Day 10 Redux - And Dinner, Too!

Pan-Fried Sirloin with Salsa Verde (pgs 120-122 & 45)

Brussels Sprouts Gratin (pg 295)

My main goal today was to get caught up with laundry, so I was eager to cook some more for dinner tonight. ANYTHING to avoid laundry. And, no, I'm not caught up with the laundry. Anyway, I tackled 2 new recipes and another variation on an old one for dinner tonight.

I've pan-fried pork chops and wanted to try my hand at some beef tonight. It was some sort of sirloin with a very long name on the label. I can't believe how easy it is to cook meat! I always thought it was one of the dark arts, that you had to make a pact with the devil to be told the secrets of cooking meat. Even with a spatter guard, pan frying makes a heck of a mess on the cooktop, but it's so quick and easy and Randy cleans up. (I just don't want to push my luck in that regard.)

To top the steaks I made the second of Alice Waters' Four Essential Sauces: Salsa Verde. Basically it's gremolata gussied up. A lot of chopping and zesting, but my skills are improving, however slowly. I am now certain that it's way easier to zest a fresh lemon than a frozen one. Should have guessed that one.

Accompanied by Brussels Sprouts Gratin. We LOVE brussels sprouts. I was thrilled to find another way to prepare them. Somehow I've managed to live all these years never having made a gratin (or much of anything else in recent memory). This was not a low-cholesterol dish what with the cream, butter and bacon. But my-oh-my was it tasty! Alas, I used Progresso bread crumbs, not home-made. There are limits and I'm not a purist.

I wasn't quite as organized tonight as usual. My mise en place wasn't in place. I was in a hurry and learned, once again, that rushing this step just doesn't pay off. Nonetheless, I'm feeling more confident overall. I'm paying strict attention, too, to presentation. If I'm going to do this, it's going to be beautiful on the table. Period.

The veggies were creamy without being mooshy. The steaks were delicious. The salsa was a nice fresh-tasting addition. Another terrific meal.

9 recipes down, 296 to go