Steak with a Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

Steak with Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

This is a great little recipe for the summer or winter. It is a very impressive meal on the table as it has such a rich dramatic taste. My kids and my wife love this recipe. Serve it with some rice and maybe a bit of steamed fresh broccoli.

Ingredients:

Steaks … I like using prime rib in thin slices without the bone for this recipe. Get them cut about 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick pieces. Cut them in to medallions that are about 3 – 4 inches in diameter. You will need two medallions for each person.
3/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Mustard, use either Grey Poupon or a brown mustard … not generic Yellow.
4 Tablespoons of butter
2 Cloves of Garlic, Smash and Chop (you can use 2 tsp of chopped from a jar)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
4 tablespoons of gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
Fresh Parsley, just a bunch of parsley tops to put in a bunch on the plate.

Pound the steak medallions with a meat tenderizer or the bottom of a coffee cup so you have 1/4 inch thick medallions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside for about 5 minutes.

Mix together the balsamic vinegar, sugar and the mustard. Set this mixture aside.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Make sure the pan is hot before you add the butter. Add butter and melt then add the garlic and a little salt and pepper and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add the medallions to the skillet. Do not cover the pan. This will make a bit of a mess but it has the right flavor this way. Add a little salt & pepper to the top of the steaks. Cook for about a minute, when the steak is browned on one side turn them over. Cook for an additional minute, if they are browned on both sides, the steaks should be done. Remove the steaks from the pan and set aside.

Turn the heat of the pan up to high. Let the pan heat up for about a minute. Add the balsamic vinegar mix to the pan and then deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. The mixture will start to bubble. Turn the heat down to a medium. Stirring occasionally, cook this mixture for about four minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the sauce in a small bowl.

Put about a tablespoon of the sauce on the plate first then place two over-lapping medallions on the sauce. Drizzle a bit of the sauce on top of the steaks. Sprinkle some of the Gorgonzola Cheese over the top. Put the remaining sauce in a nice bowl on the table with the meal. It is nice to pour over the top of the steak as you eat it.

Caio …

PS: Go Italy …

Can't Buy a Lobster Because WHY?

Many of you may have heard the Whole Foods Market announced that they no longer would sell Live Lobster in their stores. They have made this decision after seven months of study to determine that the Lobster is mistreated in the trek from ocean, to ship, to shore and finally to that little tank in the store. They said it was cruel to place all these lobsters together in a tank and then have little kids (my daughter always does this) tap on the tank with their fingers. Because of this cruel punishment the chain would not longer supply live lobster in their stores.

They will however, "continue to sell frozen raw and cooked lobster products from suppliers meeting specific quality standards for humane treatment, handling and processing." This is according to Margaret Wittenberg, vice president of quality standards for Whole Foods Market.

I can tell you hear the dripping sarcasm in my fingers as I type. So Whole Foods thinks it is so wrong to throw a lobster in a bucket of salt water or on dry ice. Transport the water tank or dry ice container from Canada to ... say Charlotte, NC ... then have the lobster transferred to another tank of salt water in the store where every kid in southeast Charlotte will tap and bang on the glass. I can see the logic in these thoughts. It does seem like the LARRY (the lobster) would suffer a bit in this process. But it is OK, according to Whole Foods to KILL THE LOBSTER BY FREEZING IT TO DEATH OR BOILING IT TO DEATH! I say this because they will still sell frozen cooked or raw lobster.

Maybe I am the only one who thinks this ... but if you are willing to kill the lobster then it is quite alright to beat up on it a bit so that you can get it to a local store so I can KILL it in my own house. Anyway ... I think this is a silly statement by a Chain to protect a lobster. All this writing has given me an idea.

Remember the POT? Well I think it is time to break out the POT and get some water boiling. I think I will be cooking some LIVE Maine Lobster in the POT in a few weeks!



The news article on the lobster ban can be read here:

Yahoo News Article

To be fair I have also included the link to the news release by Whole Foods here:

Whole Foods Web Site

Have a GREAT weekend ... and do NOT forget the Dad's.

Ciao, Mark

Another Artist I Love

I love this painting by a good friend of mine Mark Dobbs. His work is very inspiring as it helps me to focus on the simpler things in life. This picture, in particular, reminds me of sitting by the upper Niagara River in Tonawanda, NY in the summer time. I can almost hear the water rushing by me as it heads towards the falls. I can smell the char-grilled hot dogs from behind me and I can feel the grass at my feet. Like I said Mark's work reminds me of things that are easy. Visit the gallery section of Mark's web site. I know that you will enjoy his work.

Mark Dobbs Studio

Have a great day!

Ciao,
Mark

Apples and Gorgonzola Cheese Appetizer

YEA! We have completed our move. We moved from one subdivision in southeast Charlotte to another subdivision about 1.5 miles away! We have downsized and it feels nice. We only moved into the house on Saturday and already you can tell Cindy lives here. The paintings by Patsy are all up on the walls. Her work means so much to us and it is so beautiful. I am working in front of this one while I type. We so love Patsy's work!



Take a look at more of her other work here ...

Patsy Howell Art Work

The other way you can tell this is feeling more and more like our house is because we are sitting down, having a glass of wine and an appetizer. Tonight it was simple but it tastes so good.

Use a nice apple ... say a Fiji or a Braeburn apple. Cut the apples into slices that are about 1/8 of an inch thick. Then cut thin wedges of the gorgonzola cheese and place the cheese on top of the apple slices. Serve it as is ... you will love the combination of the sweet-tart apple with the stronger and robust flavor of the gorgonzola cheese. Of course if you would like to make substitutions go right ahead ... try any blue cheese or any type of apple ... pick your favorite ... whip up this SIMPLE appetizer and enjoy a moment with your spouse or a special friend.

Ciao, Mark

Daddy Daughter Dance ... what a fun night

Recently our church held the annual Daddy-daughter dance. Sophie and I had so much fun. I wanted to share some of the pictures from the night. Here is a picture of Sophie and I before we left for the dance ... we had an appetizer and a glass of sparkling cider. How gorgeous was my date????????



This is one of Sophie at the dance. She should have been exhausted ... I had been dancing with her for about an hour at this point.



Here is a shot of the the room filled with Dad's and their daughters!




So what do you say to a group of girls growing up in Southeast Charlotte? Where plastic breasts are acceptable and keeping up with the Jone's is a family sport! I was blessed and honored to be able to speak to these girls and I got to tell them about how GOD's creation is much like a piece of orchestra music ... where the song builds and builds with each addition of a musical instrument the song starts with a bang and then builds to greater and greater heights much like how GOD created the light, then the earth then the land, the sea and then the animals and fish and birds and then man ... but there there is a crescendo ... to the story ... GOD created Woman! The crescendo is the key and the heart to the song ... just like Women are the key and heart of this world! So I got to tell these girls ... that are becoming women ... that they are GOD's most treasured part of creation. I also tried to make the point that none of the girls was beautiful because of what they were wearing ... how their hair was done or their nails ... but because GOD thinks that each and every Girl and Woman IS beautiful. I closed with a verse ...

Psalm 45;11, the KING is enthralled by your beauty

Italian Sausage and Salami Sandwich

Hey Gang ... I am sorry that I have not blogged lately ... I am in the middle of a move and life and all it's stress is baring down hard. I feel like the house of cards I have built over the past few years ... while our finances have slipped away is about to collapse ... keep me in your prayers. We are closing on the sale of our house on June 12 ... (I have to tell you that I came on here to tell you that I can not blog ... but then I wrote down what we had for dinner last night ... I love to blog about food.)

So what has made me smile the past few days ... well of course food ... try this for a quick dinner ...

1 Loaf Italian Bread
1 pound Italian sausage, removed from the casings
1 small onion, chopped
4 oz feta cheese crumbled
8-12 slices of hard salami
2-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
1 cup of lettuce, romaine or ice berg, chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Saute the Italian Sausage in a pan making sure you keep crushing into small pieces as it cooks. When the sausage is cooked add the onions and simmer for about 1 more minute until the onions are just a bit tender. Remove the pan from the stove and drain off the fat. Return the mix to the pan and stir in the feta cheese and set the mixture aside.

Split the loaf of bread in half length wise. Spread the mayonnaise on the top and bottom of the bread. Spread the mustard on the bottom of the bread. Layer the salami on the bread. Pile the sausage, onion and feta mixture on top of the salami. Top with the lettuce. Drizzle with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Close the sandwich and then cut into slices and serve with a lot of napkins!

Enjoy it ...