Cooking with Blobby

I'm not starting out with this just because two of my most popular posts were cooking ones. It just happens I tried something new on NYE to make for 710.  

In theory, it sounded good - duh!, why else would I make it? - and it was ok. I feel I'm missing an element that could elevate the dish. 

710 had to point out to me - again, duh - that I don't normally cook with red meat. That is not untrue. And even when I do, it's ground beef. 

Either way, I'm not used to it, or the intracacies that might come along with that. 

Anyway, I tried making Garlic Butter Steak with Parmesan Cream Sauce. None of this is probably for vegans.  

Ingredients

1 lb (450g) sirloin steak, cut into bite-sized pieces 

Salt and pepper to taste 

2 tbsp (28g) butter 

5 cloves garlic, minced 

1/2 cup (120ml) beef broth 

1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream 

1/2 cup (50g) grated Parmesan cheese 

Fresh parsley for garnish

Pasta (optional)

All pretty simple. I found it best to mince, cube, pour and grate before ever turning on a burner. Things go pretty quick once cooking begins. 

Instructions

• Season the Steak: Season the steak bites with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook the Steak: In a skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the steak bites and cook them until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the steak from the skillet and set it aside.

• Prepare the Garlic: In the same skillet, add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant.

• Make the Sauce: Pour in the beef broth, scraping the bottom of the skillet to release any browned bits. 

• Stir in the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Simmer until the sauce thickens.

This may have been the problem. The sauce didn't really thicken. That and I probably didn't season the meat enough with salt. 

Return the steak bites to the skillet, coating them in the creamy sauce

Cook the noodles (should you want to serve this dish over pasta or crusty bread), as the package directs. For a change of pace, I used egg noodles instead of more traditional pasta. 

• Garnish and Serve: Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
• 
  

It was all ok. But you know, I strive for better than 'ok'. I thought the meat was a little tough - 710 disagred. I actually salted my food, which I almost never do outside of the cooking process. That helped a bit. 

I still think it was either missing a punch of flavour or the sauce wasn't as thick as I expected / wanted. Or both. 

Our (read: my) is for us to each pick out 5 new recipes we want this upcoming year and for me to try them out - and possibly add to our general rotation. We will see how that goes. 

As we are allegedly moving into a polar vortex mode for the next week or two, I'm guessing hearty soups and such will be on the menu.