Oranges and Avocados

This has been a week of simple comfort cooking at home: slow-roasted ribs and mac and cheese for company, arroz con pollo, broccoli soup, lots of greens. No real innovation, just easy delicious meals. I’m still getting the hang of recipe writing, remembering to take pictures (the food gets cold!), figuring out what other people will want to know, what other people want to eat. Believe me, you want to eat those ribs, but I didn’t take a picture. I did take a picture of steak night, a rare occasion in the Calvo kitchen.

Steak, sprouts, spuds

I don’t cook many meals that adhere to the traditional meat, starch, veggie triumvirate. I guess you could say I’m not a meat and potatoes girl. I usually care more about the green stuff on the plate than what it accompanies, in this case, plain and simply delicious Brussels sprouts. But when I want me some meat and potatoes, it is this skirt steak and these potatoes. Other than the oven time for the potatoes, this meal took about 15 minutes of active preparation.

My favorite beef is the Montana Ranch Piedmontese skirt steaks sold at Marconda’s Meat in the Farmers Market. They are raised without hormones or antibiotics and are allowed to forage. The meat is supremely tender and has luscious flavor. Leave steaks out at room temperature before cooking, so the shock of going from refrigerator cold to cast iron hot doesn’t make the meat tough. Season well with salt and pepper before cooking. Skirt steak is a thin cut that cooks very quickly. I like it medium rare, so I cook it about three minutes per side in a very hot cast iron pan with a pat of butter, then about five more minutes in the oven.

These were red potatoes, one per person and one for the pot. Peel and chop the potatoes into small pieces. Put these in a bowl with several sprigs of chopped rosemary, salt, pepper and a generous pour of olive oil, then stir. My mom would say to add a “glug, glug” of oil. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast at 400 for about 30 minutes, stir occasionally so they brown evenly. They are done when they taste like clouds of rosemary love.

A note to Brussels sprouts haters: you are doing it wrong. These cute little cabbages are slightly sweet and nutty. This is a simple and foolproof way to prepare them. Cut off the base of each if it has browned, and cut each sprout in half. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a good deal of salt. Taste the water before adding the sprouts (don’t burn your tongue like I always do!), it should taste like the sea. Add the sprouts and blanche for about four minutes for a soft but sturdy bite. Taste one to see if it is done to your liking, then drain. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan with a tablespoon of olive oil, sauté the Brussels sprouts for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper.

Here’s how to do it all at once:

Set out and season the steak.

Cut the potatoes and put them in the oven.

Open the wine. Take a little break.

Stir the potatoes.

Heat the cast iron.

Cut the Brussels sprouts.

Start the water for the sprouts.

Check the potatoes.

Cook the steak in the cast iron.

When the steak goes in the oven, cook the sprouts.

Pour more wine.

Eat!