Jef's Birthday Dinner

This previous Monday it was Jef's birthday so I wanted to prepare a special meal. Instead of re-writing it here, I am going to paste a chat that I had with two girlfriends of mine. It pretty much explains everything and yes, this is really what we talked about...

The menu went something like this

French Onion Soup with Emthenal Cheese

Pan seared sirloin

Mushrooms

Mashed potatoes

which

doesn't sound that exciting

but just you wait...

so I got home at 5:30 yesterday

and having already prepped my onions yesterday

I started my soup

so with a couple tablespoons of butter and oil

I let those cook down for an hour

till they were sweet and tender

then I deglazed the onions with some Apple Cider Vinegar

to give it a little tang

after about 3 minutes, i added in the garlic and the beef and 

chicken stock

then let it cook for 30 minutes

I removed it from the stove and set aside

While the onions were reducing

I baked a cake

which isnt that impressive because it was from a box

but just FYI

I did it

now here is where I am going to toot my own culinary whistle

I had the mushrooms, potatoes, and steak all going at the same time

Phase 2:

I got the water going for the mashed potatoes

these arent your average mashed potatoes

I bought purple potatoes from the farmers market

so

I cleaned and peeling them and added them to boil water

in the meantime I prepped my steak

So while those are boiling

I cut my 16oz. sirloin in 2 (in my cookbook it says that you should ask the butcher for a loin that isnt cut so you get even steaks)

I seasoned with kosher salt and pepper

and then added to a pan with olive oil on medium heat

every 3/2 minutes

I turned sides

even on the side, sides

after each 4 sides had been cooked

I added 2 tbsps of butter and 2 sprigs of thyme

I let the butter reduce till it was brown butter

then after i flipped I spooned the brown butter over each side

meanwhile

I quartered my mushrooms and added them to a pan with olive oil

seasoned with salt and pepper and let cook for 2 minutes

then I removed them from the heat and added in shallot, garlic and thyme

oh and more butter

then I added in the mushrooms again and let them all cook

remember I am still basting my steaks

so its crazy right now

finally my potatoes are done

I strain them and put them back in the hot sauce pan

to get all the extra water out

then put them in the food processor with heavy cream and butter

sea salt and pepper

and i pureed till those suckers were smooth

before I knew it, it was time to put the soup back in the oven to melt the cheese

10 minutes later everything was on the table

If I ever have time to update this blog, I will write out the recipes (they were from my new Tom Collichio Cookbook!)