Bistro-Style Steak with Sauce Marchand

This is a good-sized piece of meat on a small plate. I was only able to eat about half of it. The rest will go into a dinner salad. Check out the Thai-Style Steak Dinner Salad in the Dinner Salad section of this blog.

2 rib steaks, ½ to ¾ inch thick or up to 1 inch
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup minced shallots
½ cup dry red wine or a bit more
Salt and pepper to taste for the sauce

1. Trim the steaks of external fat. Pat them dry; sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme, pressing the seasonings into both sides.
2. Heat a heavy nonstick skillet or cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the butter. When it has melted and is near sizzling, put the steaks in the pan, searing them for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, depending upon the thickness of the steaks and how you like them cooked. (Four minutes per side works for a 1-inch room temperature steak, if you like medium rare.) Keep the heat high, but don’t let the butter burn. (I hate testing for doneness by cutting into the steak, but sometimes you just have to do it.) When the steaks are done to your liking, remove to a warm platter and loosely cover with foil while you prepare the sauce.
3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the pan juices. Return the skillet to the heat and add the shallots; sauté until they are translucent. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits clinging to it.
4. Reduce the wine by half (it will thicken), then stir in the remaining butter. Taste for salt and pepper; add more as desired. Pour the hot sauce over the steaks.

2 servings with plenty left over 
Adapted from editors Michael Bauer and Fran Irwin’s The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook

These are both lovely dishes to have with your steak:

French Potato Salad

Oven-Roasted Asparagus
This is the first asparagus of the season and I just couldn't resist passing along a recipe which many of you probably already know. It is a great easy way to prepare this harbinger of spring.

Tomato Cheese Tart

Pie crust for a low-sided 12-inch pizza pan, partially baked and cooled, see recipe below
12 ounces Swiss, Emmenthaler or Gruyere cheese (or other melting cheeses), cut in thin slices
2 or 3 large fresh tomatoes, cut into ½-inch slices
OR
7 medium Oven-Roasted Tomatoes (14 halves)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
OR
3 tablespoons finely cut fresh basil, see instructions below
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Coarse salt for garnish

1. Sprinkle the fresh tomato slices generously with salt and place them on a cake rack to drain for about 30 minutes. Pat them dry with paper towels.
OR
Drain the roasted tomatoes if they have been sitting in their accumulated liquid.
2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
3. Arrange the cheese slices, slightly overlapping, in the bottom of the cooled crust and place the drained or roasted tomatoes side by side on top. Sprinkle with a few grindings of black pepper, the dried or 1 tablespoon fresh basil and the grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 25 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the top of the tart is lightly browned. If the top isn’t quite brown enough, you can put the tart under the broiler for a minute or two, watching it carefully.
5. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of basil chiffonade just before serving. Serve hot or warm.

4-5 servings
Adapted from the Time Life Series Food of the World M.F.K. Fisher's The Cooking of Provincial France

How to Shred Basil (Chiffonade)

1. Stack the basil leaves on top of one another.

2. Roll them tightly lengthwise.

3. Cut the roll crosswise into tiny shreds.

 4. The end result should be a pleasing tangle of basil-y goodness.







  Pie Crust

For a 12-inch pizza pan with low sides:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut roughly into ½-inch pieces
7 tablespoons ice water or more if necessary

1. Combine the flour and salt in the container of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter and flour are blended and the mixture looks like cornmeal, about 10 seconds.
2. Add the ice water to the mixture. Pulse until you see the mixture coming together. If it doesn’t after a couple of additional pulses, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
3. Dump the contents of the container onto a sheet of plastic wrap and mold it into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk; bring the plastic up around the dough to cover it completely. Either freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes. (You can also refrigerate the dough for a day or two or freeze it almost indefinitely.)
4. Sprinkle a smooth countertop or a large board with flour. Unwrap the dough and place it on the work surface; sprinkle the top with a little flour. If the dough is hard, let it rest a few minutes to warm up just a little.
5. Roll with light pressure, from the center out. Continue to roll, adding a small amount of flour as necessary, rotating the dough occasionally, and turning it over once or twice during the process. When the dough is about 1/8-inch thick, place your pan upside down over it to check the size. You want your circle of dough to be about 2-3 inches bigger than the pan it will go into.
6. If the size is correct, move the dough into the pan by folding the dough in half and placing the fold in the middle of the pan. Carefully unfold the dough and press it gently into the outer edge of the pan.
7. Trim the extra dough about 1 inch above the rim. Fold the dough above the rim in half (to ½ inch) and crimp with your fingers to make a decorative edge. With the scraps, you can fill in any part of the circle that’s missing.
8. Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes or the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Partially Baked Pie Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2. Prick the dough all over with a fork to help prevent the crust from poufing. (You’ll see what I mean when it happens.)
3. Tear off two pieces of aluminum foil. Press the sheets crossed over each other to conform to the dough, especially on the sides. Weight the foil with a pile of dried beans or rice, pie weights, the bottom of a 12-inch spring-form pan or a tight-fitting skillet or saucepan—anything that will sit flat on the surface and hold the dough in place. Sometimes I just do the foil and don’t weight it with anything and it’s just fine. The pouf goes down.
4. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven; remove the weights and foil. Prick the bottom, once again, with a fork.
5. Bake for another 4-5 minutes or so until the crust is just starting to turn a light brown and the bottom looks set.
6. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and M.F.K. Fisher’s The Cooking of Provincial France.

Fruit Salad with French Fruit Salad Dressing

You can use most any fruit that you happen to have in your fridge. I used blueberries, one mango, one pink grapefruit, and one orange. I could have added an apple and a giant papaya but thought they didn't quite fit the mood. I served the salad on a couple of small romaine leaves with French Fruit Salad Dressing, see recipe below, on the side.

3 servings or for as many as you have fruit to serve
My own devising

French Fruit Salad Dressing

¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoon lemon juice or juices from the bottom of the fruit bowl
¼ teaspoon dried mustard or ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon honey

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl or a small glass jar. Stir them with a small whisk or a fork until they are smooth. Or shake them in the jar with the top on.
2. Taste for seasonings. Add more salt if necessary.
3. Shake or stir before using. I put it in a bowl on the table so that we could serve ourselves.

Makes ½ cup
Adapted from Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker’s 1953 Joy of Cooking

French Potato Salad

2 pounds small cooked potatoes, see instructions for cooking below
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoon chopped green onions or chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1. Scrub the potatoes.
2. Steam them, using the instructions below, or, if you must, boil them in salted water for 10-13 minutes. I tend to over-cook the potatoes when I boil them, so I'm a great fan of steaming.
3. Whichever method you choose, when the potatoes are done, drain and cool slightly. Peel if you’d like.
4. Cut the potatoes into quarters or sixths, depending on the size, and place them in a large shallow serving dish.
5. Pour the wine over the warm pieces and toss very gently. Set aside until the potatoes have absorbed most of the wine.
6. Beat together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl until the salt has dissolved. Gradually add the oil and whisk until thickened. Stir in the green onions or chives.
7. If any of the wine is lingering in the bottom of the dish, pour it out. Then pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss gently. Recheck seasonings and adjust if necessary. Remember that potatoes often need lots of salt. Sprinkle with parsley.

6 servings
Adapted from The New York Times Sunday Magazine, July 8, 2001

How to steam potatoes

1. Place a steamer basket in the bottom of a large pot. Add water until you can see it coming up through the bottom of the basket.

2. Place the potatoes in the basket. Turn on the heat, cover the pot,  and steam the potatoes for 20-30 minutes or more, depending on their size. Check the water under the basket and add more if it's needed. Best to add hot water if you can.

3. Test the potatoes after 15 minutes by sticking one of them with a sharp knife. They are done when the knife goes through the potato with no resistance.

Ginger Pots de Crème

I have fussed over this recipe repeatedly because I didn’t seem to be able to get the excellent ginger flavor I wanted. I tried many different solutions and finally found the one that worked: using my trusty micro-plane. I am satisfied that if you make this lovely dessert, you too will be totally pleased with its deliciousness.














2 cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
5 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and grated with a micro-plane
2 yolks and 2 whole eggs, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon salt
Diced candied ginger or Raisin Ginger Compote, see recipe below

1. Combine the cream and the sugar in a saucepan. Bring it to the point where it is just barely boiling and the sugar has dissolved. Add the ginger. Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let it steep for 1 hour or longer.
2. Strain out the ginger, pressing to release as much liquid as you can.
3. Add the eggs and egg yolks to the cream. Stir gently to mix well. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer.
4. Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
5. Pour the mixture into 5 or 6 4-ounce ramekins. Place them in a baking pan and add enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the custard is just set 40-50 minutes. The custard should be soft in the center when lightly shaken. They will firm up as they set. Remove from the baking pan and cool. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
6. Before serving, garnish with the candied ginger or Raisin Compote.

5-6 servings
Adapted from Annie Somerville’s Fields of Greens

Raisin Ginger Compote

½ cup golden raisins
¼ cup chopped candied ginger
¼ cup ginger syrup (If you can’t find this, use ½ cup maple syrup)
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup bourbon but you could use Madeira, sherry, or marsala

1. Place the raisins and candied ginger in a bowl. Add the remaining liquids and let the raisins and ginger macerate for an hour or more.
2. Spoon some of the fruits and the liquid over the pots de crème and serve.

Makes about 1½ cups
My own devising