Category: Steak

July 2003 – What’s In The Fridge?

Hello, retro food lovers!  Let’s take a trip back twenty years to July 2003.  While where there, why not pick up the current copy of  Delicious Magazine and try to make a meal with ingredients that we can find in our fridge.  I set a rule for myself with this one that at least 2 ingredients for each meal had to come from my fridge.  For the purposes of full disclosure, I have also listed items I have used from my freezer, pantry and those I bought for the recipes.  Before we head to the recipes, let’s set the scene for what else was happening in July 2003!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl was #1 at the box office, followed by Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Bad Boys II.  Doesn’t sounds like I would have been going to the movies a lot in July 2003!  Instead, I was likely staying at home reading the best-selling Da Vinci Code by Dance Brown and listening to Beyonce’s Crazy in Love.  But enough about me, let’s get to our menu!

The Menu – July 2003

 

What's in the Fridge Menujuly

BROCCOLI, PANCETTA AND FETA PIZZA

There was a cheese fondue in the magazine which very nearly became the entree for our July 2003 menu but in the end I chose the pizza.  The recipe comes from an advertisement for Ardmona Rich and Thick Chopped Tomatoes which was absolutely brilliant and why I decided to use this recipe over the fondue.  The advertisements which ran for a number of years featured celebrities not known for their intelligence advertising pureed tomatoes!  Rich and thick tomatoes from the rich and…you get it.  The ad certainly caught my eye!   Also, this was the only recipe in the magazine where I did not have to buy any ingredients, although I substituted a few:

Fridge ingredients

  • Broccolini (subbed for the broccoli in the recipe)
  • Proscuitto (subbed for the pancetta in the recipe)
  • Feta cheese

All of these were leftovers from other things I had made which would have otherwise likley gone to waste

Other ingredients

  • Puff Pastry – from the freezer
  • Tinned tomatoes – from the pantry

Broccoli Pizza

 

Broccoli and Pancetta Pizza Recipe

Pizza recipe

 

Beef Carpaccio with Parmesan, Horseradish and Raw Beetroot

This is a Jamie Oliver recipe that I made to use up some leftover beetroot.  I generally hate beetroot but the fussiest eater in the world likes it so we had half a beetroot in the fridge left over from a roast dinner he had made.  A lot of people, including me, give Jamie Oliver a hard time but seriously…this might be one of the best things I have eaten all year!!!  It was perfectly pitched.  Everything went together so well.  It was an absolute dream of a dish!  10/10 Mr Oliver, this one was outstanding!

Fridge ingredients

  • Beetroot
  • Horseradish (originally from our garden)
  • Sour cream (instead of the creme fraiche in the recipe)
  • Parmesan cheese

Other ingredients

  • Thyme – from the garden
  • Lemon – from the garden
  • Olive oil, salt, pepper – from the pantry

Bought ingredients

  • 1 steak  – I was not going to buy a whole fillet for two people!
  • Rocket -(this cost all of 36 cents!)

Beef Carpaccio

Carpaccio recipe:

Carpaccio Collage

 

Chocolate Chestnut Log

On first reading, I thought this would be a cake.  Instead, imagine a melt-in-the-mouth mousse with a swirl of chestnut surrounded by a swirl of chocolate chestnut.  Delicious but very rich!!!! (Not thick though).  If the carpaccio was something I would gladly eat every day, this is a dish I would save for special occasions. 

Chocolate Chestnut Log

Chocolate Chestnut Log Recipe:

Fridge ingredients

  • Butter
  • Egg

Other ingredients

  • Sugar – from the pantry
  • Brandy from the drinks cabinet
  • A can of chestnut puree which had been in the pantry for far too long!
  • Cocoa powder – from the pantry

Bought ingredients

  • Dark Chocolate 

My Nigella Moment  – Fillet of Beef Bourguignonne

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious.  In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in either because I made it and it was really good, or I just didn’t have time to make it but it was one of the most appetising things in the mag!

I feel a bit sorry for the cheese fondue recipe in the July 2003 issue of Delicious Magazine.  It got pipped at the post for the starter and again for the Nigella moment.  Those of you who know me, and whose jaws are dropping that I didn’t pick the fondue (twice), take a look at this picture:

Fillet of Beef Bourguignonne (1)

The perfectly cooked beef, the glossy sauce, the wine-soaked onions – this dish looks so beautiful and luxurious to me and something that I would definitely cook if I was having a group of people for dinner.  Something this size though would feed us both for a week.  I’m holding on to this recipe though!  Next time we do magazines in my Foodies club, this is exactly where I am heading!!!! 

Well, the July 2003 issue of Delicious proved to be an absolute treasure trove of recipes and definitely filled the brief of being able to base a meal, largely on ingredients that were in my fridge!  

 

 

May 2003 – The Letter P

Welcome friends to Twenty Years Ago today, where we find out what the good people of 2003 were eating via a magazine of the time and a self-imposed challenge by which to deliver a menu. Today’s magazine was Super Food Ideas from May 2003 and the challenge was to build a menu that featured the letter P.

But first, let’s set the scene by having a quick peek at what was hot in May 2003. The Matrix Reloaded was number one at the office followed by X2: X Men United and Bruce Almighty. Topping the Australian music charts through that same month were “In Da Club” by 50 Cent, “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake and “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence. Also, sneaking up on those charts was another favourite of mine, “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes so for my mind, May 2003 had some pretty good music and some fairy average films. In book sales for the month, The Da Vinci Code was #2 and The Devil Wears Prada was #8.

So, pop some JT on your speakers and open that bottle full of bub, because we are going to party like it’s your birthday with a menu featuring the letter P.

The Menu – May 2003

May Menu

Chicken Liver Paté – To Wake You Up Inside

There were actually a few options for the starter – the paté which I chose, a prawn cocktail and some mini potato cakes with smoked salmon and creme fraiche.  I literally eeny meeny miny mo’ed these three recipes to choose one.  The pate was easy to make and was quite delicious.  It was a little grainier than bought patés but that probably says more about my food processor than any real flaw in the recipe.  

Chicken Liver Pate1

Chicken Liver Pate Recipé:

Chicken Liver Pate

 

Pepper Steak – To Rock Your Body

The pepper steak main was delicious!  And another classic to go with the very traditional starter!  And although I am trying to limit my consumption of red meat, this is likely to go on high rotation!  

Pepper Steak

Pepper Steak Recipe:

Pepper Steak

 

Pecan and Date Syrup Pudding

I was soooo disappointed that I didn’t have time to make this.  I even bought all the ingredients but, the weekend I had planned to make it, I also realised we had most of a bag of apples that were getting a bit old…so apple pie it was.  However, as I said I have all the ingredients so this pudding may make an appearance in the coming weeks.

Pecan and Date Syrup Pudding Recipe:

 

Pecan and Date Syrup Puddings

 

 

My Nigella Moment  – Chilli Crab

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious.  In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in either because I made it and it was really good, or I just didn’t have time to make it but it was the most appetising thing in the mag!

I mean…who does not love a Chilli Crab.  I mean…who does not love Chilli Crab.  We had the most memorable chilli crab in Malaysia.  We went on a tour to see the fireflies where part of the tour was dinner.  The restaurant looked pretty basic – plastic plates and cups, definitely catering to the tourists going to see the fireflies so we were not expecting much.  Then they brought out the chilli crab!!!  It was amazing.  So fresh and tasty.  It was divine.  So expectations were high on this one.  Could I do our memories of chilli crab justice?  

Chilli Crab

I am not going to blow my own trumpet to say this was as good as our Malaysian meal.  For a start, it was not followed by cruising down the river watching fireflies, it was followed by a night on the couch watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall which was this week’s film club choice!  BUT…this was AMAZING!!!!  A seven-nation army couldn’t hold me back from this one!  

Chilli Crab Recipe:

Chilli Crab

Oh my gosh, Super Food Ideas delivered on the P recipes!  This was a great month of eating for me culminating in that chilli crab…possibly the best month yet!  And the pudding still to come!

So tell me, if you were making a menu featuring the letter P, what would you make?

And have a great week!

 

 

 

 

Steak Frites with Bearnaise Sauce – Dining with The Dame 5

“Hello crime readers and food lovers!  The Secret of Chimneys is Agatha Christie’s fifth novel and it is a standalone thriller even though in the tv version it is turned into a Miss Marple mystery.  Chimneys introduces us to Superintendent Battle who will return in future novels.  On the menu for tonight’s dinner is a classic Steak Frites with Bearnaise Sauce.  I have chosen the French nomenclature today because it sounds so much more classy than the English alternative of steak and chips!  I think the Dame would have approved!   

Steak Frites1

Oh, and just so you don’t get confused like I did over the title, Chimneys  refers to a country house, not actual chimneys!  The tv version was filmed at Hatfield house which was the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth 1.  And totally gorgeous!

The Secret of Chimneys – The Plot

Oh Lord…where to start?  This one is complicated!

So, let’s start it in Zimbabwe where we meet our hero Anthony Cade. A friend gives him the memoirs of a Herzoslovakian (yes really) aristocrat to take to publishers in London along with some incriminating letters written by a woman called Virginia Revel.  Through a series of escapades, Anthony meets the real Virginia Revel and gets an invitation to Chimneys, but only after having disposed of the dead body in the study…

Rght about now, I usually do a bit of a summary of the novel.  Well, I bought a big pile of Agatha Christie novels on eBay and the back cover of The Secret of Chimneys has done it for me.  Here is what it says

“Stolen letters, a foreign envoy; a shot at one of England’s historic houses; detectives Britishm French and American; secret passages, a fabulous jewel, a mysterious rose emblem; an organisation called the Comrades of the Red Hand; an international jewel thief…”

I couldn’t have done it better myself!

Sadly, the Secret at Chimneys also contains some racial slurs and stereotypes that are definitely on the nose for the modern reader which diminished my enjoyment of this “light-hearted thriller”.  

 

The Covers

The first three on the top row are the one I read, my favourite and I don’t even know what is happening here!!!  As lovely as it is, I also feel the French cover looks like it was designed by someone who had never read the book!

Chimneys collage2

 

The Recipe – Steak Frites with Bearnaise

“He thought longingly of such things as rump steaks, juicy chops, and large masses of fried potatoes.  But he shook his head ruefully, glancing at his wristwatch”

The Mystery of Chimneys, Agatha Christie

Here’s the recipe.  I used oven fries but this recipe has all the instructions to cook your “mass of fried potatoes” from scratch if you so desire!  I also used dried tarragon in my bearnaise because winter!

Other Food Mentioned in The Secret of Chimneys

Have a great week!  Oh and I’m so excited, my next post will be a collab with Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers!  Stay tuned and stay safe!

 

Name Plates: Steak Diane

Hello people of the internet and welcome to another edition of “Name Plates.”  This is where we take a look at the real-life people behind our favourite meals.  Today we are looking at the classic American dish of Steak Diane.

Steak Diane 2

 

What is Steak Diane?

Steak Diane is a panfried steak served with a sauce made from the pan juices from the steak, cream, brandy and Worcestershire sauce.   Of course there are thousands of variations on this but if we hone it down to it’s core, this is what makes a Steak Diane.

Back in the day, the steak was dramatically flambeed at the table!  No wonder it became so popular.  Who doesn’t love a bit of theatre with their meal!  How many over zealous patrons ended the night with burnt off eyebrows do you think? But hey, nothing speaks of a good night out like first degree burns right?

I did not flambe my sauce because I am a total klutz and the world is already going to hell.  I don’t need to be setting my kitchen on fire as the cherry on top of that particular pile of woe. 

It tasted pretty good regardless!

Steak Diane 3

 

Who Was Diane?

There are hundreds of theories on the Diane that inspired the sauce which inspired the steak.  One is that it was named after the young daughter of Chef Beniamino Schiavon who “invented” the dish at the Drake Hotel in Manhattan in 1948.

Another theory has the dish evolving from the Roman times where plates of game meat were often given in honour to the Goddess of the Hunt, Diana.  Over time and in France, these became known as dishes prepared “a la Diane”.  Soldiers stationed in France in World War I took versions of these dishes home and over time, Venison a la Diane became good old Steak Diane.

I actually believe that, in all probability, this is the origin of Steak Diane.

My Preferred Origin Story

I wanted to raise a less familiar theory, one that I found on this website.

Let’s take a little trip in the Wayback machine to London in 1938, specifically Mayfair, and even more specifically to a restaurant called Tony’s Grill.  Head chef at Tony’s was the eponymous Tony Clerici.

September 30 1938 was a dark day for Alfred Duff Cooper (yes, I know he has a dumbarse name but bear with me on this, he’s one of the good guys).  The Munich Agreement which allowed Hitler to “annex” Czechoslovakia was signed that day.  War was averted but for people like our boy Duff, this was only giving licence to that Nazi madman.

He and his friends gathered at Tony’s Grill for a dinner and some talk of doom and gloom.  I can almost guarantee that the phrase “thin end of the wedge” was used.  More than once.  Ditto “slippery slope”.

Recognising that the group were not in their usual jovial (ie big eating, big drinking, big tipping) mood, Tony Clerici wanted to inject some joy into the evening.  He did so by preparing a dish in honour of Duff’s beautiful and glamourous wife, Lady Diana Cooper.

And voila, Steak Diane was born!

Is this the face that launched a million steaks?  I really hope so!

Can we all forget about the other origin stories and enjoy Steak Diane as a celebration of anti-fascism?

The Recipe

I used the Steak Diane Recipe from the Australian Women’s Weekly Retro Cookbook.  And I must say….I think I got a pretty close resemblance!

Here’s the recipe. I added a tsp of Dijon Mustard into my sauce as well as it appeared in a number of Sauce Diane recipes I looked at, even though it is not contained in the recipe below.

Steak Diane recipe

Variations

As with many of these classic recipes there are a millionty one recipes on the interwebs.   Here are some variations to type not ingredients to the sauce:

Modern Day Diane

As ever, I get to choose a modern-day person to whom I would dedicate a Steak Diane.  This one was possibly the hardest one yet.  The early runner was Diane Lane, who starred in one of the movies that shaped my childhood, The Outsiders.  I ADORED the book of this film.  Sodapop Curtis was one of the first loves of my life and I cried a river or two when (spoiler alert) Johnny died.  Diane Lane is perfectly cast as the beautiful Cherry!

However,  in the end, Diane Keaton pipped her at the post.  What is not to love about Diane Keaton?  She is an outstanding actress, a style icon, a director, producer, photographer, real estate developer…is there anything she cannot do? If anyone deserves an eponymous  steak it is surely she.

Steak Diane

The above picture is a scene from The Godfather which is our current film club pick.  I am going to try to watch 1 (tonight) and 2 (tomorrow) before our meeting on Wednesday.  Good thing I have my reduced working week day off on Wednesday in case that plan goes awry!  I have never seen any of The Godfather films so this is a real knowledge gap for me.  Such a knowledge gap that I had no idea that Diane Keaton was even in it!  Okay, I have 6 and a half hours of movies to watch so I need to get moving.

Have a great week.  Stay safe and stay gold!

Joan Crawford Inspired Dinner For Two

A few weeks ago Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers invited her readers to celebrate the launch of her book of Joan Crawford recipes by taking part in a cookalong.  I was so excited to be a part of this and I set Melbourne Cup Day as the day because strangely enough, I was going to be at the races on the actual day.

Jenny very kindly provided us with three of Joan’s recipes.  One was for Crepes Suzette.  Having recently had Crepes Suzette expertly cooked for me at the Lotus Blanc in Cambodia, I thought I might give this a miss.  I wasn’t sure my attempts at flipping and flaming would compare. However, I was well and truly up for the other two, starting with

Joan’s Crawford’s Danti-Chips

Joan Crawford's Danti-Chips
Joan Crawford’s Danti-Chips

I was so excited about these. I was even more excited when the jars of devilled ham were two for one at the local supermarket.

And then, dear readers, I made a newbie, amateur, doofus mistake.  Because logic should tell you that when you are confronted with a jar of pink paste called Devilled Ham, you just need to accept that all it contains is ham and…other….stuff.  Don’t ever go wondering what that other stuff might be.  For the love of all that’s good in the world….

DO NOT EVER READ THE LABEL ON THE BACK  OF THE JAR OF DEVILLED HAM.

And yes, I am shouting at you.  Because it was over a week ago and I still feel sick thinking about it. And you know, Deviled Ham was one of my pleasures in life.  Admittedly not high on the list but it was there.  And now it has gone.  Forever.  Just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

I’m not going to tell you what was in it.  Just don’t read the label.  Even though now you really want to.  I know you do.  do not give into the temptation. Imagine that jar of Peck’s Paste is local Nazi Colonel and you are an oversexed French Cafe owner hiding some English airmen and a priceless painting of The Fallen Madonna with The Big Boobies and resist!

(And if you had absolutely no idea what that last bit was about, your parents obviously didn’t watch enough British sit coms during your formative years….

You can find out more about that particular tangent here:

‘Allo ‘Allo)

So anyway, I chose the vegetarian option.  I used a mushroom and spinach tapenade for my chips.  He had the devilled ham, Far be it from me to spoil anyone’s enjoyment of life the way mine has been destroyed.  Plus, we have two jars of it to get through.     Ignorance?  Bliss.

These do look really pretty though don’t they?  And they tasted really delicious.  I added some chopped up pickled chillies to my pickle garnish and they went really well with the other flavours as well as adding a little colour.

Danti-Chips2
Danti-Chips2

We ate these mid’-afternoon whilst watching the races. And believe me, it took no time at all for that plate to become this…

Where have all the Danti-Chips gone?
Where have all the Danti-Chips gone?

 STEAK WITH ROQUEFORT

Later on in the evening it was time for the second of Joan’s recipes and….it’s making my mouth water even as I think about it.

Ooooohhhhh yeah…Steak with Roquefort come on down. (Although technically mine was Steak with Stilton as the local supermarket does not stock Roquefort).

Joan Crawford's Steak with Roquefort
Joan Crawford’s Steak with Roquefort

We had this with some kale and beans  I also doubled up with a book club recipe and made the Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes from Persiana.  Which were also super!

Steak with Roquefort
Steak with Roquefort

 

Persiana Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes
Persiana Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes

Meal to remember!!!!!

Steak and any sort of blue cheese is amazing.  And Joan’s little twist with the….not telling…you need to buy the book to find out….is awesome!

Oh, and if, like me you happen to have some leftover corn chips from the Danti-Chips and some leftover roquefort mixture from the steak you can combine these with any leftover kale and some very finely chopped red onions to create a delicious spin on Nachos the night after!

Leftover Nachos

Hopefully Joan would approve!!!

Thanks Jenny for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this!!!!  I loved the recipes and can’t wait to see the rest of the book!

 I think it’s only fair this week to have the sign off to come from the lady herself.  Have a fabulous week – maybe think about how you can add some old Hollywood glamour into your life.  And buy Jenny’s book!  If the recipes I tried are any reflection it will be awesome!!!

Link here:

Cooking with Joan Crawford

And remember