In the late Summer, I picked up a copy of
America Test Kitchen and Cooks' Illustrated's "Cooking for Two" anthology for 2010. Marshall and I get by with following recipes originally written for larger servings and deal with leftovers. Unfortunately, most of the pasta recipes
say they serve 4, when they actually could easily serve 8, and we're left with overflow amounts of leftovers, more than what our nightly dinners or daily lunches could tackle. This collection of recipes seemed right up our alley. I already loved working with
Cooks' Illustrated's recipes and having them already scaled down for us is great. All of the recipes looked like they could easily be used for us, even with enough leftovers to cover an extra night. There were also many recipes that we walked away with and that I will write about in this blog.
The first is a dish I had never heard of: Steak Pizzaiola. This rather comfort-like dish, according to the article, evolved from a throw-together dish created by Italian pizza-makers to make their lunch: taking a cheap piece of steak and simmering it in leftover pizza sauce. Customers took notice and wanted to eat it, as well, so cooks upgraded the cut of steak and used marinara sauce with roasted peppers and mushrooms. What the editors and cooks at
Cooks' Illustrated set out to do was to create a sauce with the impression that it had been simmered for a day, but could be prepared after a long day at work. I managed to easily make this after coming home from dinner and both Marshall and I were surprised at how tasty this dish was. The steak was cooked perfectly and the sauce on top was delicious. It reminded me a little of my mom's pasta sauce, which is almost like a chunky stew rather than a thin sauce. The entire meal was warming and perfect for a cool summer evening. I would imagine this would be even better for a winter meal with the thick sauce and the seared steak. It can also be easily "jazzed" up for having company over!
Sometimes I have a problem coming up with side dishes. I have an even harder time coming up with side dishes which aren't starches. With steak, I automatically think potatoes, but with both Marshall and I keeping our starches to a minimum, both of us are sometimes at a loss for a satisfying vegetable side. Salads are good, but sometimes a main dish calls for a warm or cooked vegetable side, with which I really don't have much familiarity. Last year, I picked up a special edition of
Fine Cooking called "Eat Smart with Ellie Krieger". Marshall and I were introduced to
Ellie Krieger on Food Network and we both really enjoyed her show which focused on healthy and balanced eating. Her recipes were approachable, easy and really healthy, but were actually delicious. She also recognizes that certain ingredients cannot be substituted, like cheese, but teaches how best to use them in moderation while keeping the essential flavor.
One dish that has become a household favorite is "Dirty" Broccoli. I have said before that I absolutely love broccoli. I can easily eat broccoli all day every day, but Marshall, which he enjoys broccoli, simply cannot hang with that. This dish, though, is fantastic. Long spears of broccoli, quickly steamed in the microwave (which I've learned recently actually helps retain the most nutrients compared to other cooking methods) and sprinkled with homemade seasoned breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs are so tasty, we could easily eat just that and be completely satisfied! With the broccoli, there is just enough flavor to enhance the broccoli without completely drowning out the flavor. This was a fantastic side dish to the Steak Pizzaiola!
