Monday, January 17, 2011

Love At Steak

To begin my latest blog entry, I'd like to apologize for the highly questionable pun used in the title. I decided that a good natured play on words would be an excellent way to get the ball rolling on this piece, and engage my readers. After entering a search online for all pop culture items with the word "stake" involved, the best I could do was a 1987 comedy called Love At Stake starring Patrick Cassidy of CSI: Miami fame. Admittedly this was a major shortcoming on my part, and as a member of this class I promise to severely limit the amount of bad 80's comedy film puns I use on this website.



Following many of the readings in this class, it became evident to me that family was going to be a major component of this class. Anyone can merely type up recipes for food items they find appealing, but it's the experiences that come with those meals that make writing about it worthwhile. While I'm not sure how common a reaction this is, I found it very difficult to come up with a mainstay family recipe. Sure, I have a loving family, but increasingly I found the sentence "one meal I've always eaten with my family was..." to go without a conclusive ending. I've recognized one meal, however, to be linked to my history of living at home: steak! Wonderful, wonderful steak!

Living in New York with my mother and sister had many positive qualities; one of the foremost being food selection. Our supermarkets had a vast amount of choices for potential meals. While we typically prepared chicken in many of our dinner's, my family and I always acknowledged the temptation and overwhelming deliciousness of steak. The occasion for a steak dinner would rarely be one of special significance. We treated steak in the same manner that some would treat a cold beer following a long day of work. My mom, sister and I all would forget our day's challenges with our couch, The Simpsons, and a steak grilled to perfection.

The method we use in preparing steak is simple enough. We'd begin by grilling up side dishes to go along with the steak; cut up red peppers, diced onions, and mushrooms. After they were done cooking, it was time to cook up the steak. The steak should be lightly salted on each side; not enough to create an overwhelming change of flavor, but rather bring out the beefy flavor. Prior to grilling, I'd create a mixture of sauces to pour on the steak in midst of the grilling. Typically the sauce would consist of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and lemon juice. While it may not be orthodox to use it on the steak while grilling rather than letting it marinade beforehand, steak in our household was rarely an event planned in advance, and as such, we had to make due with the circumstances at hand. After the steak was blackened, I'd lay it down gently next to the peppers, mushrooms, and onions, and would serve it with a side of spinach, to create the false impression that "healthy" was the primary focus of this meal. Steak nights were few and far between, but as anyone in my family would attest to, they were immensely satisfying.

1 comment:

  1. "Anyone can merely type up recipes for food items they find appealing, but it's the experiences that come with those meals that make writing about it worthwhile." That's exactly right.

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