Thursday, April 12, 2007

Dinner at my house, boys!


Sure you ain't comin', MFT?
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9 comments:

My Frontier Thesis said...

At a glance I thought that was asparagus beside that nice cut of beef (as of late I've been finding some pretty decent asparagus: set oven to 350, snap ends, lay it in a baking dish with either olive oil or butter on top, sprinkle with course sea salt, and put in oven for ten to twelve minutes) .

Good work on the green onions. Mashed potatos to the left, yes?

Tell me how you prepared it all first, and then I'll tell you if I'll show (with a bottle of Ferrari-Carano Siena 2004, of course).

4/12/2007 10:24 PM
My Frontier Thesis said...

...and one more note: from the looks of the meal, it appears as though you've established Epicurean presence in Boston.

4/12/2007 11:08 PM
Mr roT said...

MFT, I make asparagus these days the same way as those green onions: on the cast-iron grill with salt and olive oil till well-streaked brown.
Sometimes I'll finish them with some lemon at the table or do them in the skillet instead.
The rest was straightforward except the mashed spuds which had some Taleggio in 'em.
Of course the steak is a prime aged rib-eye from Colorado.
That dinner was accompanied by a couple bottles of Stone IPA, but lately I've been drinking the big Argentine Malbecs.

4/13/2007 1:44 PM
My Frontier Thesis said...

Yes, the rib-eye is one of the more under-rated cuts of meat. I enjoy New York Strip from time to time, but the most crucial part (not that I'm telling you anything new) is to simply find a steak with good marbling. And I figure in a couple more minutes of grilling time between the December-to-April months in Dakota -- yes, outdoor grilling any month of the year.

Do you have a place where you can grill steaks outdoors? I don't know the Boston city fire ordinances, but I've had real good luck with this model of Weber. When I don't want to fire the big grill, I often use it at home (just outside the frontdoor, of course), and took it many times out on the plains during our week and a half long archaeological fieldwork sessions. You can find 'em at Home Depot. I think I paid about fifty bucks or under for it. The little gas cans run about two to three bucks, and they last for several grilling sessions.

I'll try grilling my asparagus next time. I really enjoy raw green onions (and raw onions in general). I'll give that a go on the grill too.

Sometimes I'll cut an apple in half, scoop out the seeds and replace it with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter, and stick it on the grill on low-to-medium (adjust heat however seems necessary) for, oh, ten to fifteen minutes. Good for after dinner. Better with a scoop of vanilla icecream dusted with fine-ground espresso and a shot of bourbon over the top.

4/13/2007 4:18 PM
My Frontier Thesis said...

Also JJ: looks like you're also of the home-chef school of thought that a good cut of meat is best-enjoyed in its pure state — sans sauces, marinades, or any of that French bordelaise garbage that Fancy Restaurants use. I recollect that the Italians are pretty apt at letting a good cut of meat speak for itself, too.

4/14/2007 12:48 PM
Mr roT said...

True enough. Still, the same thing day in, day out...you might like a sauce sometimes. I like a good Bearnaise with my rib-eye or a good strong mustard like Maille.

4/15/2007 2:49 AM
Mr roT said...

I like your ideas on grilling. It's not illegal here, but it is a pain in an apartment house to drag stuff out the basement and then carry steaks up three flights of stairs...
I cook inside though I like grilling plenty. I am a fan of the Weber, generally speaking, but have had better results with an Old Smokey a buddy of mine had in College Station days.

4/15/2007 2:51 AM
My Frontier Thesis said...

JJ, I served up some of your grilled green onions the other night. They tasted great, but were so stringy that everyone was in danger of choking — no matter how long one chewed, the stringy nature of green onions couldn't be overcome. I'll return to asparagus on the grill, and continue eating green onions, but just in their raw, crisp state.

I didn't factor in the verticle when thinking about grilling in Boston — North Dakotans rarely think verticle when it comes to civil engineering. (Here's a pic of the only skyscraper in the state.)

Tell me about this Old Smokey? A grilling contraption I'm guessing? I'll google it.

When it comes to good steak, I'm still a purist: only course ground pepper before grilling, and some olive oil and sea salt just after taking off the grill. Maybe I'll change my ways... someday.

4/15/2007 1:10 PM
Arelcao Akleos said...

Is someone stripping FCP of its visual elan?

4/19/2007 1:27 AM

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