March 07, 2008

Steak Dinner

I've always wanted to try cooking steaks, mainly because it's a challenge to get the meat cooked just right. A few days ago, I suddenly had a craving for steaks, and being the cheap arse that I am, instead of eating out, I thought I'd make it at home instead.

And what a fun time cooking it was. And for those of you wondering *ahem ahem*, I made all this from scratch. No pre-made sauces :p

I took the classic steak recipe from the Australia Table magazine (March 2008 edition), and the rosemary-roasted potatoes from the Cook With Jamie (Oliver). It's so good to finally have my own kitchen!

Steak Dinner

Classic Steak

Ingredients
2 tbsp barbeque sauce (I used HP)
1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used Lea & Perrins)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150g steaks (I used sirloin; fillets would also taste great)
1/2 cup chicken stock

Method
1. Combine barbeque sauce, Worcestershire sauce and garlic in a shallow bowl.
2. Add steak and turn to coat.
3. Season steaks with crushed salt and black pepper.
4. Leave to marinate for a couple of hours.
5. Heat a lightly oiled (I used olive oil) chargrill or frying pan on high.
6. Reserving as much marinade as you can, cook steaks for 2-3 minutes each side for rare, or until cooked to your liking.
7. Combine reserved marinade and stock in a small saucepan on high.
8. Bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until slightly reduced.
9. Drizzle steaks with sauce, and serve immediately.


Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Rosemary-Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients
Waxy potatoes, peeled or scrubbed and cut into 1" cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Rosemary (fresh sprig with leaves picked. I used dried rosemary though, which tasted just as good)
Olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, skin on and smashed

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 220C/425F/gas 7.
2. Place potato cubes in a large pan of cold, salted water and bring to boil.
3. Drain them immediately in a colander and allow them to steam for a couple of minutes until they dry out a bit.
4. Heat some olive oil in a roasting tray.
5. Add the garlic cloves and potatoes.
6. Season and toss together until well coated.
7. Place in the over for about 20-25 minutes, shaking the tray every so often, until the potatoes are golden and crispy.


As for the vegetables, I'd much rather steam the broccoli and carrots, but seeing that I don't have a proper steamer, I just boiled them, and splashed some extra virgin olive oil and crushed black pepper on them.

I really loved how the potatoes turned out - crispy and delicious. Should have put it longer in the oven though, to give it nicer golden-brown. Oh well, there's always a next time, no?

12 comments:

PabloPabla said...

Phooiyo! This looks professional! Well done! Mmm....yum....Aussie beef!

Anonymous said...

Damn! Those steaks sure looked yummy ... I'm hungry now!

Lingzie said...

oh my gosh!! they look so goooooood!!!
how did the meat turn out? was it nice and tender? i have this phobia of cooking steak because i'm afraid it'll turn out tough and rubbery...
but i would love to try out the roasted potato recipe soon! :)

beetrice said...

hahaha..turning into a flogger (food blogger) now are ya... :D

hungreee...*goes off to look for food*

the Constantly Dramatic One said...

Okay. I'm hungry now. Hitting Victoria's Stasion.

Ta.

Kamigoroshi said...

I'm not a steamed veggie sort of person so I usually have salad with mine. With the basic herbage and balsamic and extra virgin olive oil dressing. Toss in sundried tomatoes, feta and self made croƻtons for good measure.

I don't marinade the meat either. At least not with anything wet. I know we have a tendency to do that, but I find that if we use a frying pan, as opposed to a BBQ gril, the steaks steam instead of charring.

So what I do is I take rump steak (cause I am a poor uni student), cut the fat off the edges and press them as hard as I can onto the meat. Then I take fresh rosemary (from my herb garden), and press them where the fat is. Salt and pepper and I'm good. Sear them on one side then the other. That would be a medium rare. I'd lower the heat and put for another 20 seconds for a medium.

The fat pressed into the meat gives it a kind of marbled fat distribution tenderizing the meat. The rosemary melts into the meat too making it taste great.

Then with the grits on the pan, I pour in a bit of red wine, some tarragon and a bit of onions from the roast potatoes. Scrap the pan till the bits come off. Simmer till it becomes this thick sauce and pour over the steak. Instant yumminess.

littleComma said...

wow .. impressive ! tai-tai in the making huh?

Kok said...

Goshh...this looks real good! You can really cook!:)

Anonymous said...

that looks yum

Trinity said...

awww.. I have many potatoes here right now..wanna try the recipe!! Yay!

btw, I see you also good at photoshop from this lay out.. whatelse you wanna know, Tine?

Tine said...

Pablo: I'm sure it isn't as good as how a pro like you would do it, but thanks!

Kyels: Hehe, go go eat eat!

Lingzie: Thanks! The meat turned out real good. Tim had a hand in cooking the steaks as well so his turned out a nice medium :)

Beetrice: Nah ... just gives me something to do ;)

Constant Drama: Oooh, have a garlic steak for me :p

Kamigoroshi: Thanks for the tips! I'm definitely going to give it a try, the sauce, I mean. Sounds a lot easier than what I did ;)

Litte Comma: Thanks ;) No lah, like what I told Beetrice, it just gives me something to do.

Kok: Wow, thanks! No one's ever told me that I can really cook. Tee hee!

XY: Thanks :)

Trinity: Yeah go try it out. It's really easy :)

Actually would like to know how you did the scrapbooking of your photos. That's something I have yet to learn :(

Harter House Meat Market said...

No pre-made sauce? That's quite impressive! Getting the meat cooked just right is the main challenge of cooking perfect steaks. Choosing the right thickness of the steak is essential, too, because if you're not careful, you can cook the outside part just right but the inside might remain undercooked. Your Rosemary-roasted potatoes are a golden perfection! It goes well with the steak. I can't wait to try this recipe! Thanks for the share! :)

Liz Peters