Week 2: Day 2 (Texas, Baby!)

Steak with Coganc Sauce 

Ingredients

• 4  servings frozen waffle fries
• 3  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1 1/2  pounds  strip or skirt steak
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3/4  cup  cognac or brandy
• 1/2  cup  heavy cream
• 1  small head romaine lettuce, torn
• 1/4  small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2  ounces  blue cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
• 1  tablespoon  red wine vinegar

Directions

1. Cook the fries according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steak with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook to the desired doneness, 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
3. Remove the skillet from heat and carefully add the cognac. Return to medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the romaine, onion, and blue cheese with the vinegar, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve with the steak, sauce, and fries.

I am of the opinion that a lunch or dinner should have protein, a starch and a veggie.  I like that this meal has all three.  Although, if  this was being served at a gala, the salad would be served first, and then the dinner would come with an additional vegetable.  

Ease of finding Ingredients/Price:  F.

Almost all things here are easy to find, but this gets an F because of the cognac.  If you live in a dry county, you have to drive a good distance to get to the nearest liquor store.  If you live in a wet county, but are under 21, or have lost your license, you need to get someone else to get you the cognac.  Also, the cost of the cognac increased the overall cost by about 30 percent.  A bottle that is about 3/4 cups costs $8.  Steak is a costly piece of meat, but it's still more economical than eating out.

Ease of Preparation:  A-

Overall, not that hard.  but it does require you to "stir until thickened."  Being a proffesional eater, but an amateur cook, I find that phrase to be discouragingly vague.  How thick, exactly? Also, I forgot to pick up frozen waffle fries, so I tried making the potatoes associated with Week 1: Day 5, but that was a slight failure.  The recipe also does not tell you how long to cook the steak if you like it medium.  I have a meat thermometer that denotes the proper temperatures for each level of doneness, but the tools are only as useful as the cook.  I stabbed the meat with the tip of the thermometer, and it would not get hotter than like 120 degrees.  I finally got impatient and stacked all my steaks and stabbed them all at once with the thermometer, and the temperature shot up to well above well-done.  A friend of mine who majored in nutrition later told me that you should stab the meat sideways as to fully cover the thermometer.  Overall this recipe is pretty easy, but it takes some prior knowledge to get it to a level that I would consider "real simple."  

Taste/Leftovers:  A

The steak would have been better at a medium to medium well level, but that is not the fault of the writers or editors. The salad dressing was fun and easy to make, and it tasted pretty good too.  The sauce wasn't bad, but it was pretty boring. I ended up asking the boyfriend to get A1.  I had a friend over, so the three of us finished all the food.

In conclusion, use waffle fries, like the recipe tells you, use A1 instead of cognac sauce, and stab your steaks sideways using this chart to guide you, and all will be well.