The Yeah It's Another Steak

Steak is what's for dinner. I have always loved steak and have posted plenty here. Here's another simple favourite served with a baked potato and pickled jalapenos.

Giving it a nice quick sear in the cast iron skillet.

The final product, as always when I make steak, was perfect. I probably don't serve it cooked well enough for restaurant work, but it's got a great sear and very cool, very red centre.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Queens of the Stone Age - Make It Witchu. 

The Bison Ragu

This entry, like the previous ones and the next three or so, were all off-the-cuff recipes I came up with while standing in the grocery store or riding the subway or into my empty fridge. This one came to me at work while eating lunch.

Ingredients:

- olive oil
- four cloves garlic (minced)
- half a yellow onion (chopped)
- salt
- pepper
- one pound ground bison meat
- 12 ounces diced tomatoes with basil (opened)
- 4 dried chilies with seeds removed and roughly chopped
- spaghetti (enough for however many people decide to show up)

First make sure you set up the water to cook the pasta. I'll assume you can time this right alongside the sauce because you're not a dunderhead.

Heat the olive oil at medium-high. Add garlic and onions and cook about five minutes or until the onions are translucent and the garlic is slightly brown. Then add the ground bison, season with salt and pepper, and brown. If there's a lot of liquid left over when the meat is browned, drain some of it.

Next you're going to add the tomatoes and chilis. Mix thoroughly and simmer for ten minutes.

Add the sauce to the pot with your drained pasta and mix. Whatever you do, do not let the cat get in the pot!

Your soundtrack for this entry: Björk - Play Dead. 

The Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Braised Endive

Something I've been thinking about a lot is how I could eat less bacon. Since I gave up keeping kosher I've probably single-handedly kept Applegate Farms in business some weeks. I've been fairly good about that this week, but have been thinking about these bacon wrapped chicken thighs for quite some time.

Now, presentation-wise I wasn't really thinking here. The final dish was face-punchingly good, but probably could have used some more panache. Maybe a little basting for the thighs and perhaps some creative cutting up of the endive with some garnish.

But I mentioned it was very tasty, right?

For the chicken I simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, then wrapped in bacon. Pre-heat the oven to 400. While it's heating up sear the thighs over medium high heat on both sides for about three minutes each side. Then place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.

The endives I simply braised in butter.

Cooking in my trusty skillet.

Oh laws yes the tasty bacon fat.

As you can see the final product looks bit barren (and poorly shot), but the bacon did not overpower the taste of the thighs and the endive was buttery goodness.

Your soundtrack for this entry: Zedd - The Legend of Zelda (Original Mix).