Sous Vide Sirloin Steak and Brussels Sprout Salad

I've been interested in Sous Vide cooking for some time now.  Until fairly recently, sous vide cookery was priced beyond most home cooks.  Even if someone wanted to spend the money for a sous vide cooker, you ended up with a huge appliance taking up space on your counter.  Over the past few years sous vide circulators have come on the scene reducing both the cost and kitchen foot print of sous vide cookery.  Last year I ordered a new sous vide circulator that was coming on the market and have used it frequently.  I got the Joule, by ChefSteps, and I'll be doing a review post in a few days.

Our local warehouse store had a sale on Sirloin Butts a couple of weeks ago and I took advantage of the situation.  Sirloin steaks have great flavor and I cut some thick steaks to cook sous vide as a test.  I'm happy to say it turned out quite well.

Starting the post sous vide sear

The Brussels sprout salad was inspired by a guy on Instagram that goes by the name, Bacon Dealer.  He has some awesome pictures of smoked and grilled meats as well as his home made Bacon and Pancetta.  Bacon Dealer developed a broccoli salad and over time got it to taste like he wanted.  Once I found out what he used I told him I'd be adding my own spin to it.  Here is the post with his broccoli salad with the ingredients in comments, Bacon Dealer.

The sirloin steak was cooked according to the program in the Joule.  I seasoned each side with salt and pepper then did a quick sear on each side.  The steak was put into a zip bag with 3 cloves of crushed garlic, and some sprigs of thyme and oregano from our herb garden.  Then a bit of olive oil was splashed all over the steak and it was ready for the cook.  I chose 129F for the cook and with a steak the thickness of this one it cooked an hour.  After the cook, 2 Tbs of butter were melted in a hot skillet and the steak was put into the skillet along with everything in the bag with it.  The steak got a quick sear, about 45 seconds, on each side.  While it was searing, the top side was getting basted with the oil and butter mixture in the skillet.  Once both sides were seared, it was time to slice.

Ready to slice

Before I sliced the steak, I made a quick pan sauce to top the slices.  I added another 2 Tbs of butter to the skillet and let it melt.  Then I added 1/4 cup or so of Brandy and let the alcohol burn off.  A little extra simmering to reduce it a bit and it was ready.

Nicely done

The Brussels sprout salad was mostly prepared while the sous vide cook was taking place.  I waited until the steak was almost done before dressing the salad.  It is a quick salad and easily adjusted to suit your family's tastes.

Brussels Sprout Salad

8 oz Brussels sprouts
4-6 oz Pancetta lardons
2-4 oz Cheddar cheese, 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup Craisins
1/4 cup Pistachios
1/4 cup Pecans
1/4 cup fermented red peppers, julienned
 Apple cider vinegar
Olive Oil
salt

Thinly slice the Brussels sprouts and place in a bowl.  Dice the Cheddar cheese and add to the sliced spouts.  Put the Pancetta lardons in a skillet and cook until just brown.  You don't want your Pancetta crispy like bacon.  Add the freshly cooked and drained Pancetta to the bowl with the sprouts and cheese and toss to mix.  Do a rough chop on the Craisins, Pistachios, and Pecans and add them to the bowl and toss to mix.  Take a bite and add salt if needed.  When ready to serve, splash vinegar and olive oil over the salad and toss to mix.  Add more of each if the salad is too dry.  Serve and enjoy.   

A fine tasty meal.  The steak is ready for the pan sauce.

Since the salad was all we were having with the sirloin steak we had a larger than usual portion.  If we'd had a potato as part of supper then we'd have gotten 4 servings out of this recipe.  I used fermented red peppers because I still had some and they came from my garden.  You can use either fresh red pepper or pickled pepper as a substitute. 

If you've been thinking about getting into sous vide cooking then I highly recommend the Joule.  Sous vide cooking is not fast but the results are worth the wait.

Give this salad a try the next time you want a salad or just need to add something green to your supper.  I think you'll be pleased.  If you try it, let me know what you think.

Uncle T

Frog Leg Salad

Sadly, we live in the city so places I can easily get to for frog hunting are nonexistent.  Even though there are small lakes close to us, I've never heard a bull frog.  If I knew there were bull frogs there I would definitely take an evening ride along the shore.


Happily, we have a good international market close by, Grand Mart.  Yes, I know I've mentioned them before but it is a great store.  Some time back, I had gone to pick up a couple of things and I happened to spot frog legs in the freezer section.  I didn't hesitate.


We'd gotten in the habit of eating salads on Tuesday and Friday as part of the Fast Diet.  Even though we are not following that at the present, we still do salads on those days time to time.  After all, a salad is quick and easy to fix.


Frozen frog legs are much easier to work with than fresh frog legs.  Fresh frog legs still have nerve action remaining so the legs tend to kick and jerk while you fry them.  Freezing them eliminates that problem.


To make a frog leg salad, all you need is 3 - 4 pairs of frog legs per person and a salad for each person.  Any salad will work but we prefer a mix of greens rather than a single type.  The salad pictured is leaf lettuce and Romaine from the garden.  When we have them I also add beet greens and sometimes carrot greens.  I generally use a vinaigrette to dress the salad.  Once you have the salad all you have to do is fry the frog legs and dig in.


Fried Frog Legs


3 - 4 pairs per person
2 cups flour
2 Tbs salt
2 Tbs pepper
2 Tbs garlic powder
oil


Add the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a bowl and mix well.  Work your way up to the measurements of the salt, pepper, and garlic powder to make sure you get the flavor you want.  Heat oil in a skillet, a 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep.  Once the oil is hot, dredge the frog legs in the flour mixture and place in the skillet.  Once you can see the flour is browned on the bottom turn them over to finish frying.  Once browned to your satisfaction, let drain on a rack or on paper towels.  Once all the frog legs are fried and drained, arrange them around the edge of the salad bowl and serve.

Frog Leg Salad

The left over flour mixture can be placed in a ziplock bag and be stored in the freezer until the next time you fry something.  It can also be used to make a seasoned roux for making gravy or a béchamel sauce for making macaroni and cheese.  I always have a bag in the freezer ready to use.


This salad can also be made with a nice fish fillet, I use tilapia and white bass, or a boneless chicken breast.  When we have the chicken breast I slice it thinly and lay on the edge of the salad bowl in its original shape.  Sliced thin the pieces can easily be cut with a fork to desired bite size.


Give this a go sometime to up your salad.  Let me know what you think about it once you've tried it.


Uncle T

Butternut Squash Two Ways and Pan Fried Salmon

A week or so ago we made the drive back to Tennessee to visit family.  We carried a couple of boxes of goodies for family members.  We took stuff from our garden that the good wife had canned, pickles, pinkeye purple hull peas, black berry preserves, etc.  I took some samples of my bacon and sausage.  This is a variation on my childhood memories.  It seems like every time we visited my maternal grandparents we ended up with jars of preserves or containers of frozen corn or peas.  Then, my grandparents had the most productive garden and now I seem to have the most productive garden.


We did bring some stuff back courtesy of the good wife's sister.  From her garden we had some butternut squash and some purple peppers.  The peppers were sweet with a nice fresh flavor.  I much prefer their flavor over green bell peppers.  They are excellent sliced thinly and added to a salad.  I need to try to find them for my garden next year.  We also brought home a loaf of homemade sour dough bread.  I must say, that is some most excellent bread and she has been making it as long as I can remember.

A nice purple bell pepper

For the butternut squash I was wanting to do something different.  I know, there is nothing wrong with roasted butternut squash but there has to be more variety.  An idea came to me while I was watching SEC football on Saturday afternoon.  A quick Google search didn't turn up anything like it so I had my dish.  What I came up with was butternut squash waffle fries.  That accounted for the solid neck portion of the squash and the rest was cubed up and saved for another meal.

Butternut squash waffle fries and Pan fried salmon

The two meals with the butternut squash also featured pan fried salmon.  I first came across this method 8 or 9 years ago while we were living in Texas.  I don't remember if I found it online or saw it on TV.  What I like about this method is it's quick, gives nice crispy salmon skin, and it's easy to get the salmon to your desired level of doneness.  As a bonus, if desired you can use the butter and salmon juices left in the skillet as the base for a pan sauce to pour over the salmon.


Pan Fried Salmon


1 skin on fillet per person
1 stick butter, softened
kosher salt
pepper

Make sure the scales are off the salmon skin.  Pat dry both the flesh side and the skin side of the fillets.  Leave skin side up.  Coat the skin with a layer of the softened butter. Sprinkle some kosher salt all over the butter coating then add a little pepper.  Lay the fillets in a hot skillet skin side down and sprinkle additional salt and pepper on the flesh side.  When the cooked line is about halfway up the fillet, gently flip it over.  The skin should me nicely browned and crisp.  When the cooked lines meet in the middle the salmon is done.  The salmon will be completely done and flaky but will still be moist.

To make a pan sauce to pour over, add 2 - 3 more tablespoons of butter to the skillet.  Once it has melted and is sizzling, add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of bourbon to the skillet.  If you want to be dramatic and can safely do so, you can burn off the alcohol.  If you don't think you can safely do it then just let the mixture simmer for a couple of minutes.  Once the alcohol has burned off, add 1 Tbs of mustard and 1 1/2 tsp honey to the skillet.  Stir to combine and let simmer until reduced to the consistency you want.  Spoon over each fillet.

Fried butternut squash, pan fried salmon with pan sauce, fresh salad

Butternut Squash Waffle Fries


1 Butternut Squash neck, peeled
oil
salt


Using the waffle blade on a mandolin, cut the squash using the smallest thickness possible.  Once the squash is sliced, let is sit until the oil gets hot.  I used my outdoor fryer with peanut oil and got the oil to 375F.  Immerse the waffle cut squash in the oil and fry until browned.  Drain well and lightly sprinkle with salt.  Serve and enjoy.

Fried Butternut Squash


1 Butternut squash, cubed.  In this case I used just the seed end of the squash.
bacon grease
salt
pepper
roasted cumin


Season the cubed butternut squash with salt, pepper, and roasted cumin.  Heat bacon grease in a skillet, use 2 - 3 Tbs.  Once hot, add the squash and give it a good shake.  Let the squash cook until it starts to brown then toss the skillet to get the squash flipped.  Continue cooking until the desired level of brown is reached.  Serve and enjoy.


Both these ways of cooking butternut squash are tasty departures from the norm.  The waffle fries weren't even thickness due to the difficulty of getting it to cut smoothly.  As a result, many of them were crispy on one part and crispy with a soft inside at the other.  The little bit of salt was just enough to emphasize the sweetness of the squash.  The cubed squash had a similar texture all the way through but the addition of the cumin and the flavor imparted from the bacon grease made the flavor something else.  Both of these methods will be put to use again.  I don't usually grow winter squash but I may need to next year.


The salmon and butternut squash, either way, would be good accompanied by a salad.  The salmon and cubed squash was accompanied by a simple salad.  The salad was Romaine, Red Leaf lettuce, sliced onion, sliced purple sweet peppers, sliced carrots, tossed with apple cider vinegar salad dressing and topped with freshly fried bacon pieces.  Given the time of year, only the pepper was home grown.


Give this salmon and these butternut squash recipes a try in your kitchen.  I think you'll be pleased with the results.  If you do try them, let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Lasagna with Brussels Sprout and Endive Salad

Way back in the time when I was dating my good wife, I decided to cook for her.  I like to say that my cooking sealed the deal to win her over.  On that occasion, I fixed lasagna, garlic bread, and a lemon ice box pie.   The lasagna recipe I used was one I'd gotten from my mother, I don't know where she got it.  It has evolved over the years as I tend to cook it according to how I want it to taste.


Last week was the good wife's birthday and she requested the lasagna for her birthday supper.  She also wanted fresh hot bread and a salad.  In the end, I also ended up making cupcakes to go with the meal since cupcakes are easier to share with friends and neighbors.  The cupcakes will be a separate post.


Before I get into the recipes, I'll give a word of warning.  We are not Italian and if you want to take exception to the recipe just know, I'm not going to change it.  If you  think it should be a certain way, start your own blog.  That was brought on by reading too many complaining comments on other blogs. 


For the salad, I had to come up with something different because the good wife wanted something other than the usual mixed greens with additions.  I got to looking in my garden at what was left from the fall planting that could be used for a salad.  What I had was Brussels sprouts, endive, and kale.  I went with the Brussels sprouts and endive which I'm sure you figured out from the title.  Since the Brussels sprouts are raw, this is a good way for people to try them since many that don't like  them are put off by the smell of them cooking.  Since they are thinly sliced, they'd never know they were Brussels sprouts unless you tell them.  I dressed it with a lemon vinaigrette.  I also don't use the standard proportions for a vinaigrette.

Brussels Sprout and Endive Salad

Brussels Sprout and Endive Salad


14 Brussels sprouts
1 small head of endive
6 - 8 slices of bacon, cooked
1/3 cup almonds


Thinly slice the Brussels sprouts and place in a large bowl.  Cut the endive leaves from the ribs and slice to the same width as the Brussels sprouts and add to the bowl.  You want to end up with equal amounts of the Brussels sprouts and the endive.  Chop or crumble the bacon according to how done you cooked it and add to the bowl.  Run the almonds through the chopper until they are small chunks and add to the bowl.  Toss the contents to mix well.  Just before serving add the lemon vinaigrette.  Serves 4.


Lemon Vinaigrette


1 lemon
olive oil
1 pinch kosher salt
1 - 1.5 tsp mustard, which ever you have on hand


Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small jar.  Pour in olive oil until you have twice as much olive oil as lemon juice.  Add a healthy pinch of kosher salt and the mustard.  Put the cap on the jar and shake to combine.  Pour over salad and toss until you get the salad coated without it dripping off.


Lasagna


1 lb hot Italian sausage
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/3 bottle of Merlot or red wine of your choice
6 - 8 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced small
2+ tsp salt
2+ tsp pepper
3+ Tbs Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
12 oz cottage cheese
2 eggs
fresh pasta sheets or dried lasagna noodles
shredded mozzarella cheese


I package my hot Italian sausage as bulk but if you have linked sausage remove the casing.  Brown the sausage in a pot making sure to break it up into small pieces.  Remove the sausage from the pot.  Add the garlic and onion to the sausage grease and sautee until the onion is translucent then add the tomatoes and tomato paste.  Stir to combine.  Add  the 2 tsp salt and pepper and the 3 Tbs Italian seasoning and stir.  Taste and adjust if desired.  Stir in the wine and bay leaves and return the sausage to the pot.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover.  The longer you let it simmer the better it gets. 


In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese and the eggs.


Make the fresh pasta sheets or prepared lasagna noodles according to package directions.


Spoon a little of the meat sauce onto the bottom of the pan.  Lay down a layer of pasta sheets/lasagna noodles being sure to over lap well.  Spoon half of cottage cheese and egg mixture onto pasta and spread evenly.  Top this with a good layer of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Pour in half the meat sauce.  Repeat the layering process.  Bake for 45 minutes in a 375F oven until bubbly.  I used a glass pan this time so it took a bit longer.  Let it sit for 10 minutes then cut and serve.

Lasagna hot from the oven

The bread was made using the same recipe I've adapted from a technique/recipe from Artisan Bread with Steve.  Most of his recipes vary a bit depending on the type loaf but I found one that I can tweak a bit to serve for several different uses.

Hot crusty bread

The good wife enjoyed her birthday supper and the boy declared the salad the 2nd best he'd ever had.  The best he said came from a restaurant and was as much about the presentation as the actual salad.  The flavor from Brussels sprouts and endive only a few hours from the garden was out of this world.  I'm making a variant of this salad using kale and store bought Brussels sprouts for Easter dinner to see what difference we can taste.  We also determined that it had been close to 5 years since I've made lasagna.  I'll have to make sure to keep it further up in the rotation.

Time to dig in

I hope you give one or both of these a try.  I think you'll like them both.  If  you try them, let me know what  you think.  Remember, have fun in the kitchen.


Uncle T