Steaks Ste. Kathryn

Steaks Ste. Kathryn

Years ago, my son and I were vacationing in the bayous of South Louisiana, staying in a little cabin near Pierre Part. One day, when we were fishing with a local Cajun, a short fellow with white hair and a long white beard, we were talking about the local restaurants. 

He recommended Café LaFourche in Donaldsonville. He said we have to try their Swamp Steak. We did and we were treated to a real feast. It was a large ribeye steak, charred medium rare, served smothered in Crawfish Étouffée. It was a real decadent way to over-indulge! That was always one of my son’s favorite meals. 

Last year, he and I were camping on Lake Ste. Kathryn in the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. One day during that trip, we caught a basket of large bluegills and other sunfish. He asked me if I could use the fish to make a version of the swamp steak. I had two big porterhouse steaks in the cooler and I said we could try. Thus Steaks Ste. Kathryn came into being, and if I say so myself, they were delicious. Here's what we did.

2 large, thick porterhouse steaks

Cajun seasoning

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/2 cup of flour

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 stalk of celery, chopped fine

1 medium bell pepper, chopped fine

3 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1 can of beer

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1-1/4 lb. blue gill fillets

Preparation

Light a charcoal grill. Season the steaks on both sides with cajun seasoning. Set them aside. While the coals are getting ready, heat a large cast iron skillet. Add the oil and flour and stir with a wooden spoon over medium high heat until the flour approaches a carmel color. You can’t let this scorch, keep stirring until the right color is reached and then immediately add the chopped vegetables.

Stir and let the vegetables soften. Add a good sprinkling of the cajun seasoning along with the white pepper and cayenne. Add the beer and stir. After it simmers for a minute or two, you should check to see that it isn’t too thick. If needed, add a little more beer. You want this to simmer for fifteen minutes, stirring often. It should have the consistency of gravy. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

When the charcoal is ready for the steaks, add the bluegill fillets to the étouffée and stir. Let them simmer gently while you cook the steaks. Grill the steaks directly over the hot charcoal until they are charred on the outside and medium rare inside, about three or four minutes per side.

Serving

To serve Steaks Ste. Kathryn, place a steak on a dinner plate next to a big pile of rice. Now smother both with loads of the étouffée. All you need now is some fresh bread and butter, a bottle of Tabasco and a good bottle of Bordeaux. The only thing that would make this meal better is to eat it overlooking Lake Ste. Kathryn. I know this from experience!

Pork Pasties While Having To Make Do

Pork Pasties While Having To Make Do

One Saturday about a year ago, I was having people over for dinner and was planning to serve pasties. I went to the store and picked out a nice piece of boneless pork country ribs. I like that cut for pork pasties because you get a lot of meat for the price. I went from the meat counter to the produce section to get the rest of the ingredients. That’s were the problem occurred.

One of the things I like best about pasties is the rutabaga flavor that shines through. To me, rutabagas are essential for good pasties. I looked and I looked, no rutabagas. Darn. I even asked and the produce guy said, “Sorry, we’re out of rutabagas.” He had a look on his face that indicated he couldn’t fathom why anyone in their right mind would even want a rutabaga.

Well, time was short and I had to improvise. I saw they did have a bag of small white turnips. I bought those and went home to make dinner. All in all, everyone was happy and the pasties were good. The turnips were similar enough in flavor to the rutabaga so that they worked just fine.

3-1/2 cups of flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 cup of olive oil (approximate)

water

1-1/4 lb. of boneless pork country ribs

3 medium sized turnips

1 medium onion

1 carrot

6 medium to large potatoes

1 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 tsp. cajun seasoning

1 tsp. white pepper

corn meal

Preparation

Add the flour, salt and smoked paprika to a large mixing bowl. Add about a half cup of olive oil and stir with a fork. Keep adding the olive oil and stirring until the flour has the texture of little pebbles. Add water a little at a time until the pasty dough comes together. You want it to be wet enough to knead easily. Form it into a dough ball and place it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. 

Slice the pork in small thin slices and place it in a large mixing bowl. Using a food processor, chop the peeled turnips, onion, carrot and potatoes so that the pieces are roughly the size of a kernel of corn. Don’t get all hung up on getting the size perfect. Just chop vegetables and place them in the bowl. Add the seasonings and mix well.

Roll out pieces of dough into circles about 10” in diameter. Put the ruler away! Don’t measure, guess. Place about two cups of the pork mixture on one half of the circle. Fold it over and roll up the edges of the dough with a twist.

Place the pasties on cookie sheets which have been sprinkled with corn meal. Use a knife and make four slits in the top of each pasty. Bake at 370º for about an hour.

Serving

Place a pasty on each plate. Add a pile of sautéed broccoli next to the pasty. You’ll also want a bowl of pea soup to start out the meal and, of course, fresh baked bread and butter. I like red Zinfandel from California with my pasties, so, you will too.

Norman’s Broiled Asparagus

Norman’s Broiled Asparagus

There was a time, not that long ago, when you could only get asparagus in the springtime. Today, it seems that no matter what time of year it is, you can always find fresh asparagus. If for some reason you can’t, you can find it frozen in most groceries. Trader Joe’s always seems to have frozen asparagus.

Now, I know that this will bother some people. They’ll complain that if you buy it off season, it is shipped in from somewhere far away, sometimes even from the other side of the world.  This, they claim, is a waste of energy and bad for the environment. Buy local and buy seasonal, they exclaim. 

If I have a choice, I'll buy local.

Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to buy local in the summer when farmer’s markets and fresh produce, are everywhere. But that ‘buy local - buy seasonal’ plan can only take you so far. For example, if you only buy local, seasonal produce in the Chicago area, you won’t have much to choose from in January. Last I checked, not much grows in Northern Illinois during the month of January or February. Pretty slim pickings if you ask me.

I have a better suggestion. Pick out the vegetable that goes best with your main course, regardless of where it comes from. If you do that, you may not be politically correct, but you’ll have a good meal. If you’re serving steaks or chops, go ahead and serve asparagus! Even in September, it’s the right thing to do.

1 lb. or more of asparagus spears, trimmed

Olive oil

Cajun seasoning

Grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

This will taste best if you broil this in the same cast iron pan that you broiled a thick steak, lamb chops, pork chops or even burgers. The fat from the meat will season the asparagus. This will also work on your charcoal grill. Just grill instead of broiling and it will taste great. 

Before you start cooking your meat, place the trimmed asparagus in a plastic bag. Drizzle it with a little olive oil and sprinkle it with some cajun seasoning.

Once your steaks or chops are broiled, leave the broiler on high and remove the meat to a platter. Place the asparagus in the hot cast iron pan and spread it out to cover the whole pan. Broil the asparagus until it just starts to brown. Using tongs, rotate the asparagus around so that they turn over and broil again until they are evenly browned. Remove the asparagus to a serving plate and sprinkle them generously with parmesan. Serve immediately.

Serving

I love broiled asparagus with charred lamb steaks, but a thick porterhouse steak, charred rare, is great too. Place a big pile of the asparagus next to the steak. Now add some steamed wild rice, or pan fried potatoes. You also need a crisp, Greek salad and fresh homemade bread with butter. Pick out a good Malbec from Argentina and you’re dinner is ready.

Spaghetti With A Heavy Meat Sauce

Spaghetti With a Heavy Meat Sauce

Here is yet another version of spaghetti with meat sauce. I don’t know if I’ve ever made two batches exactly the same. Spaghetti with meat sauce is always satisfying for me any time of the year, but especially as the weather gets colder. It is always a crowd pleaser when you have people over for dinner.

There is no limit to the different sauces you can create with some good Italian sausage and a can of ground tomatoes. Heck, you can simply fry the sausage in some olive oil, add some garlic and basil and then the tomatoes and just let it simmer twenty minutes. If you do that you would have a great pasta dish. But, you see, I just went to the trouble to write out this version so you should feel obliged to make this a few times. 

olive oil
4 - 5 cloves of garlic smashed and minced

2 onions - sliced thin
1 red bell pepper - sliced thin

1 green bell pepper - sliced thin
1 hot peppers - sliced thin
1/2 lb. pancetta - sliced into thin little pieces 

2 lb. Italian sausage - sliced into chunks
1/2 tsp. savory
1 tsp. oregano
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1-1/2 cups dry red wine
1 lb. spaghetti

Preparation

Heat your braising pan over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Add the onions, peppers and the pancetta and cook gently for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. Now add the garlic and stir.

Add the savory, oregano, red wine. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for about 20 minutes, uncovered to reduce. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for another 20 minutes. Stir and taste the sauce for salt and pepper. 

You know what? I just decided that you should add a little Tabasco in too, why not! Turn the heat off and cover the pan.

Put your pasta water on to boil (Look, I know I didnʼt list the water in the ingredient list but come on, you have to cook the spaghetti. What, are you really going to pour the sauce over the dry spaghetti sticks? Just cook your spaghetti and quit complaining).

Serving

Serve the spaghetti smothered in the sauce along with a good tossed salad, a steaming bowl of soup and crusty bread - toasted and rubbed with garlic and doused in good olive oil. Now add a bottle of Nero dʼ Avola wine from Sicily and you can call it dinner.

Pork Chops Marsala

Pork Chops Marsala

Cook a lot. I eat two of these myself.

I hope my housemates aren't getting tired of pork chops. I think I served them a lot last week. One night we had smoked pork chops broiled and served with leftover pasta. The next night we had thick pork chops broiled in white wine. Then, later we had leftover pork chops with pasta. Three out of seven days. Is that too often?

I don't know. I do cook pork chops a lot, don't I! A lot of times when I cook pork chops, I’m cooking for a big group. Pork chops are easy to cook in large numbers, either on the grill or under the broiler. Some times, however, I like to cook them just for myself. When I do, this is how I like to fix them. I find two of those big, thick pork chops are the perfect ending to a long day at work. The other advantage is that they are quick and easy to prepare. I often skip lunch and am quite hungry by the time I get home. Quick and easy is important on days like that.

4 pork chops, at least 1” thick

Cajun seasoning

Olive oil 

1 cayenne pepper, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, smashed and minced

4 branches of rosemary

1 bunch green onions, sliced thin

1 cup (approximate) sweet marsala

1/2 cup chicken stock 

1 tbs. flour

1 tbs. butter, room temperature

Preparation 

Season the pork cops on both sides with the cajun seasoning. Heat a large oven proof skillet until hot. Make sure the skillet is large enough to hold the pork chops in a single layer, otherwise you’ll look kind of foolish. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet and then add the chops. Sear them on one side then turn them over. Add the cayenne, garlic rosemary branches and onions.

When the chops have been seared on both sides, add the chicken stock and enough Marsala to go halfway up the sides of the pork chops. Bring the liquid to a boil and place the skillet under the broiler. Broil the chops until they are nicely browned on both sides, about ten to twelve minutes altogether. While the chops are broiling, place the butter and the flour in a cup and use a fork to stir the butter and flour into a paste.

Remove the skillet from the broiler and place it back on the stove. Place the chops on a platter and bring the liquid in the skillet to a boil. Add the butter-flour mixture to the skillet and stir over medium high heat to dissolve the paste. Simmer and stir for about 4 minutes to thicken the sauce. Place the chops back in the skillet. Let it simmer for another minute, turning the chops in the sauce a few times.

Serving

Serve these chops on a warm plate, smothered in the sauce. Add wild rice and steamed cauliflower along with fresh baked bread. Drizzle a little of the Marsala sauce over the wild rice too, might as well. Now add in a crisp salad. I would also open a bottle of Pinot Noir to round things out.

Norman’s Beef and Mushroom Pie

Norman’s Beef and Mushroom Pie

Now that we are in mid-September, the weather is beginning to get that fall feel to it. My cooking definitely changes a little. I start making more soups and stews. I also like making meat pies too. This is one from my Wednesday night dinners that always got good reviews.

Most people believe that a pie crust should be delicate, light and flakey. But for some types of meat pies, I believe my olive oil crust is the only way to go. Instead of a crust that is light, flakey and easily crumbled, my olive oil crust is harder and more brittle. My crust is dense in texture and explodes with a fruity olive oil flavor that is perfect for this kind of pie.

Stop rolling your eyes. You absolutely need to make my olive oil crust for this pie. It is good for you. I recommend it and it is the right thing to do. I will know if you use a store bought crust. Really, I will.

Now if you really insist on that traditional butter or lard based crust, than go ahead and make that. But ... aw, who am I kidding. Go ahead and use that store bought crust if you must. 

Crust:

2-3/4 cups of flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground savory
1 tsp. white pepper
olive oil - extra, extra good 

water

Filling:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 lb. round steak - cut into bite sized pieces 

1/2 cup of flour

1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground savory 

1/2 tsp. ground cayenne 

6 shallots - sliced thin

4 cups chicken stock
2 lb. sliced mushrooms - assorted types including shiitake
1/2 cup chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt, savory and white pepper and mix well. Start adding olive oil - the best you can get - to the flour. Stir. Add more. Stir. You keep adding olive oil and stirring until the flour takes on the appearance of little pebbles. When you think you have enough olive oil, add two more tablespoons just in case. 

Now start adding water - about two teaspoons at a time. Stir between each addition of water to mix well. Donʼt be in a hurry. Keep adding little bits of water and stirring until the dough starts to form. You know its ready when you can randomly grab a pinch of the mixture and squeeze it into a nice little dough ball. You want it wet enough so it comes together easily. When it is ready, knead the dough by hand for a few minutes and then form the dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic and set it aside.

For the filling, place the flour, white pepper, savory and cayenne in one of those zipper bags, add the pieces of beef and shake well. Heat a large dutch oven. Add the olive oil and brown the meat in batches. As it browns, remove the beef to a platter, and repeat until all the beef has been browned. Add the shallots and mushrooms to the dutch oven and stir for a few minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring it to a boil while stirring to loosen any flour stuck to the bottom. 

When the stock is boiling, sprinkle a little of the left over seasoned flour on the beef and add it to the stock along with the parsley. Stir and taste for salt and pepper. Let it simmer on low until it has the thickness of a nice gravy. While it simmers, you can prepare the pie crusts.

Divide the pie crust dough in half. Roll each half out on a floured surface until it is at least 2 inches in diameter larger than your pie pan.

Place one pie crust in your pie pan. Using a slotted spoon, place the beef and mushrooms in the pie. Add enough of the liquid to soak the filling without getting too close to the rim. Place the other crust over the top of the pie and fold the edges under and crimp them to seal the pie. Make 10 holes in the top crust - about the size of a pea - to let out steam. Place the pie on a cookie sheet in case it bubbles over a little. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until the crust is nicely browned.

Serving

Serve this pie with steamed broccoli and a good crisp salad. Donʼt forget the fresh baked bread slathered with plenty of butter. Now, if you went to the trouble to make this pie, you might as well serve it with a fine Cabernet Sauvignon from California.

Lithuanian Cottage Soup

Lithuanian Cottage Soup

You didn’t know that I was an expert on Lithuanian food, did you? Have you ever tried Lithuanian food? Actually, I haven’t either. This, however, does not stop me from proclaiming myself an expert on Lithuanian cuisine. 

How can I be so confident that this soup is an authentic representation of the soup served in Lithuanian cottages? Very simple, if I was a Lithuanian living in a cottage, this is the way I would make soup. You really shouldn’t doubt me on these things. 

I'm not sure I believe him. 

Some ethnic stores carry Lithuanian sausage. If you can not find any, you can use Polish sausage (fresh, not smoked). If you use the Polish sausage, you will have to call this Polish Cottage Soup. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is. 

1 cup red beans

2 large Lithuanian sausages, about a pound

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 cup chopped cabbage

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

1 large tomato, chopped

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. white pepper

2 quarts of chicken stock

2 tbs. barley

1 cup broken spaghetti or other pasta

Preparation

Sort the beans and place them in a small pot and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and then let them soak for at least an hour in the hot water. Drain them and they're ready to use. (If you want to cheat, you can use a can of red beans.)

Take a large soup pot and heat it over high heat. Add olive oil to coat the bottom. Cut the sausages into bite sized pieces and brown them on all sides. Add the onion, celery, cabbage, carrots and parsley. Let them cook down for about ten minutes until the onions soften. 

Add the chopped tomato, the oregano, paprika and white pepper. Stir and cook until the tomato starts to break apart. Add the chicken stock and the barley. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for an hour or two until the beans are soft. Add the pasta and cook for another fifteen minutes.

Don't forget to make some homemade bread too!

Serving

Serve this soup as a first course, with fresh baked brown bread and lots of butter.  Make a salad too, why not? For your main course, serve braised pot roast, stewed tomatoes, and roasted potatoes. Now open a bottle of Petite Sirah and ring the dinner bell