So tonight it’s more steak. Along with some savoy cabbage, asparagus and broccoli. The red stuff is cranberry jelly. I was going to make a pepper sauce with cream but I’ve been thinking about the amount of fat I eat and had second thoughts.
Click on the image for a higher resolution version.
Steak and vegetables with some cranberry jelly (Nikon D90)
I am hopeless with presentation. That said, I liked the way the steak was cooked.
Before Christmas 2011 I shed about 7 kg through a concerted effort of reducing my portion sizes, eating less and avoiding sweets. I also did a little exercise (without going overboard).
I’ve gained all the weight back through a combination of bigger portion sizes, eating more often and consuming sweets and desserts.
I want to feel more comfortable in my clothes and fasten the top button on my business shirts which is my indicator of a good healthful weight.
Seafood is always good and a big protein burst which will sate my appetite.
Today was a quiet one. I’ve eaten well, walked a little and spent some time thinking. I also spoke with my parents on the telephone. A pleasant quiet Sunday.
After last night’s dinner I slept in and awoke feeling a little full but not uncomfortably so. After grocery shopping and a coffee at a local café I went for a stroll along Lake Ginninderra. You can see the route here.
I’ve always thought that imitation is a valid form of flattery. I thought about Bron’s various French Toast creations and thought I’d try some. I made mine with a piece of Brioche, an egg, some milk, vanilla and sugar. I also had some blueberries and cream with maple syrup with the toast.
French toast made with Brioche, cream, maple syrup and blueberries
About mid afternoon I started feeling a little peckish and thought about a cheesy snack. I had some salami and thought a platter of salami and blue cheese would be ideal.
Salami and blue cheese
For dinner I had some Atlantic salmon in the refrigerator and some puff pastry in the freezer. Along with a sweet potato and Gruyere the decision was easy. In the sweet potato and Gruyere cheese dish I added some broccoli and green beans. In the pastry parcel I had the salmon, some cheese and a couple of asparagus spears.
A couple of friends have said I need to include images of food after the first cut. So I’ve included a shot of the pastry cracked open.
Sweet potato, beans and broccoli. An odd combination I know, but hey there are vegetables in this with cheese. CHEESE, therefore it must be good.
The salmon in puff pastry
Plated up
Cracked open, the salmon was cooked nicely and creamy.
I know I should not have but I also had ice cream for dessert.
Bron's Homemade Eggs Benedict. Runny yolks are good.
A lot of thought and some research went into preparing for this evening’s meal. Wagyu beef is an expensive investment. The returns in terms of delicious flavours need to be maximised through careful cooking. The last thing we wanted was for the meat to be mishandled in any way.
Without an induction stove top we worked out our plan of attack. The meat was chilled and then the board dressed Jamie Oliver style to apply the seasoning. One side was cooked for 90 seconds and the fillet was turned and placed on a low heat hob with the lid on for 45 minutes. After cooking it was rested for 10 minutes. During this time Bron prepared a Jamie Oliver horseradish mash and we also had asparagus and peas.
Just look at how beautiful this piece of meat looks. It's good enough to cut thinly and eat raw.
The rib eye fillet looks gorgeous. Unctuous, gorgeous, beautiful, YUM…
Seasoned after seasoning the board as per Jamie Oliver
Don’t worry, this is not too much salt.
Bron's plate
I dissected the lean fillet from the fatty deckle. Bron prefers the lean fillet and I love the fatty deckle. The lean fillet was delicious and went well with the horseradish mash and peas.
My plate
I love the fatty deckle and all its succulent juiciness. The sauce was simply a white wine reduction with a little Dijon mustard and cream in the beef’s pan juices.
The tastiest meat and fat I've ever had
The deckle meat is on the left. It was separated from the lean fillet by a nice piece of fat. The fat tasted amazing. It was not a ‘fatty’ texture at all. It melted in my mouth and was full of flavour.
Today Bron invited me to a picnic lunch at Yerra Beach on Lake Ginninderra. There’s not much better than homemade sandwiches at a picnic or at the beach. To be honest, they’re always better on a sandy beach where there is surf. I’m sorry if I sound like a snob, I really do prefer surf beaches.
The weather was a little cool so I was wearing a hoodie and a pair of shorts. Bron had bought some nice crusty rolls, French onion dip, hummus, pesto, carrot sticks, brie, tasty cheddar, ham, salad leaves and tomatoes. We were able to assemble sandwiches at the Lake. After lunch we had Weston’s Wagon Wheels.
Yerra Beach. TAMS needs to come and cut the grass. The grass seeds had my allergies going.
Another view. The grass is lush.
There's playground stuff too.
And here is the sandwich. Bread smeared with French onion dip and filled with ham, brie, baby spinach, tomatoes, and cucumber.
Tonight I had some sweet potato and thought I’d do fritters again. I mentioned to Bron I still had puff pastry from last night and she suggested sausage rolls. I went and bought some pork mince, a pear and an onion. I still had some diced prunes from last night.
I made a potato and sweet potato bake with some Gruyere cheese and cream. The sausage rolls were simply the pork mince, onion, pear, prunes, some chilli flakes, pepper and an egg to bind.
Lots of ingredients to make sausage rolls and a potato bake.
The potato and sweet potato bake with Gruyere cheese.
This looks disgusting but it was full of goodness.
Sausage rolls ready for the oven.
The potato and sweet potato bake out of the oven.
Side by side. My main dishes for tonight.
Two hot logs of goodness.
Plated up.
On my dining table.
This was a pretty filling meal. I’ll have left overs tomorrow night.
I had two meals today. I know that’s not ideal but each was quite filling. Not as filling as yesterday’s but filling just the same. I woke up this morning without much of an appetite and then I remembered Bron was going to make Crème Brûlée French toast this morning and my appetite came back with a vengeance.
Beef Wellington is one of my favourite meals. It is so rich and unctuous especially when made with Pâté and mushroom Duxelles.
New york strip steak, butter, onion, prunes, mushrooms, and parsley
Laid out I have almost everything ready. New york strip steak, butter, onion, prunes, mushrooms, and parsley.
Browned steak resting and cooling
Browned steak resting and cooling until room temperature.
Duxelles being prepared. Onions sautéed with prunes, and mushrooms (The secret ingredient is anchovies)
Duxelles being prepared. Onions sautéed with prunes, and mushrooms (The secret ingredient is anchovies) You can’t taste them in the finished product but they add a richness to the dish.
Duxelles being prepared. Onions sautéed with prunes, mushrooms and parsley
Lots of parsley is required
Nearly ready to prepare. Puff pastry laid out.
A sheet of Pampas puff pastry.
Steak coated with Pâté
The steak needs to be coated with Pâté.
Duxelles on the puff pastry
Cooled Duxelles in the puff pastry.
Beef on the pastry
Everything ready to be wrapped.
Wrapped and egg washed
The beef is wrapped and the pastry egg washed.
Plated up sans sauce
Plated up with carrots, asparagus and beans. Sauce to come.
With a pepper sauce
I love making pepper sauce with green pepper corns in brine.
On my dining table with a bottle of ginger beer
Plated up on my dining table with a bottle of ginger beer and my MacBook Air ready to eat.
After yesterday’s meal and with the steak and Pâté today I hope I don’t have a gout attack this week.
I mixed the sweet potato, Gruyere cheese and onion and lightly packed into a Pyrex dish. I beat an egg and added to some pouring cream and added to the dish. I added chilli flakes, pepper and asparagus spears and then topped with a little more Gruyere cheese.
On the weekend we went to Costco and amongst other things bought steak. We bought New York strip steak. This cut is becoming more popular in Australia.
On Sunday night Bron cooked. Last night I did. I love steak.
I was so happy to leave work at 1730 AEDT tonight. It meant I got to my kitchen a bit after 1800 AEDT. I have so much work e-mail to get through as well as personal e-mail so I thought a bit of skinless chicken thigh and some vegetables.
I had a good day when I think about it. It was busy and there were lots of things to do. On the good side I got to see Bron and I spent time with team mates talking about food and cooking and eating. I also had a very positive meeting with one of my bosses in the morning.
Chicken, sweet potato, avocado, asparagus and broccoli
The sweet potato was tossed in a little flour with the chicken. The chicken and sweet potato was cooked in the oven at 150 °C for 45 minutes. The avocado was just ripe. The broccoli and asparagus were simply zapped in the microwave.
