Every day we cull through things happening, and we wind up wanting everything we write about. Procuring it falls upon our delivery driver because after all this time I might be an official recluse. Last Thursday was a particularly big drive-thru schedule for our driver. There was biscuit mix pick-up from GW Fins and pizza for that night’s dinner. But the most interesting thing she got was from Fogo de Chão, which was selling raw meat by the pound. We unapologetically love this chain interloper. As salad bar fanatics and buffet fans, it is hard to beat the lunch salad bar of first-class ingredients beautifully arrayed for your pleasure. We love their feijoada. But mostly we love the combination of all of this, culminating with sizzling roasted meats on a sword. The place smells divine and tastes even better. Particularly, we love their special Brazilian cut called Picanha, so when we saw this was available for home cooking, we had to try it. Reasonably priced, we got a pound of it for $12.99.
With that in the refrigerator, today was designated a major cooking event. Steakhouse menu of Steak and Frites with creamed spinach and a fresh Mediterranean salad. We fired up the Big Green Egg and crusted the Picanha with sea salt and cracked peppercorns.
The girls here have a veggie obsession and apparently, a pathetic life. We get jazzed counting the number of vegetables we have consumed in a day. It was titillating to assemble a salad of roasted bell peppers, sliced cucumbers, nearly-shaved purple onion, tomatoes, avocado, crumbled feta, roasted garlic, and chopped parsley, drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.
It is a cause for me to eat spinach every day, so creamed spinach may be one of the main reasons I go to steakhouses. Today would be the first time I attempted it at home. I had a pretty good idea what I needed, but a quick search online confirmed my instincts. We left the pinch of nutmeg out. It’s a good thing our daughter hit the stores early and shopped for an apocalypse, because we are out of nothing. Shallots are just an arm reach away. The creamed spinach was a fantastic surprise. It was, to my taste, better than the ones in the restaurants.
But the thing that most interested us about this meal was the Frites. Of the many contributions to American culture made by Ron Popeil in the twentieth century, my favorite is without a doubt the Kitchen Magician. Clearly I descend from a long line of suckers because my mother purchased one of these in the Seventies, and we may have used it twice. When we split up the house-of-origin belongings, I asked for the Kitchen Magician and received puzzled looks from my siblings. This gadget has enjoyed a robust new life in the Fitzmorris household. Countless bistro fries were happily churned out by the crank of this plastic wonder. Today we dragged it out again for the first time in years and undertook an important challenge.
The challenge,..from my soapbox: I am aghast at the cooking oil campaigns that have been so successful that Americans unwittingly have a very unhealthy 1:16 ratio of Omega 3s to Omega 6s in their diet. It should be 1:1. I would use olive oil for frying but the heating temp needed for frying renders it useless. I have read that coconut oil works for frying. Today we tried it. If Hola Nola can fry their tortilla chips in coconut oil, we can try potatoes. We scooped a large serving spoonful into the bistro fry saucepan. When it melted it made for an inch of frying oil. The first batch came out quickly and was totally greaseless. The first bite had a hint of coconut but it wasn’t offputting. And it was just the first bite. This was a happy discovery, though no one needs an excuse to eat more fried foods. When I do need to eat them again, I will do so with a clear conscience. The ingredients list was simple. Organic coconut oil. Contains coconut. Period.
The steak was great, though it just wasn’t as exciting coming from our grill as if it had arrived at the table at the end of a long sword. A Picanha is a top sirloin not often seen in the States, but called a rump cap when it is. I’ve only seen this on the sword - never raw, and there is a lot of fat on it. Almost a third of the weight was an inch of fat on top of each of the three pieces.
It was deliciously tender and had a great flavor. We’ve had a lot of great meals in a lot of steakhouses, but this one was perfect, out on the little table on the deck in the gorgeous spring weather.
Bistro Fries
4 large white potatoes
I jar of coconut oil
Peel and cut the potatoes with a mandolin. Unless you have a Kitchen Magician.
Scoop a half cup of coconut oil into a medium saucepan and heat until melted. Test a potato in the oil, when it sizzles add the others. Keep turning until golden brown. Drain and add salt.
Creamed Spinach
1 T butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
3 bags baby spinach, chopped
⅓ cup heavy cream
4 oz cream cheese
3 oz parmesan cheese
Cracked pepper to taste. (optional)
Melt butter in a large skillet.
Add chopped garlic and shallot.
Add cream and cream cheese and parmesan cheese.
Add spinach until wilted.
Mediterranean Salad
¼ small purple onion, sliced thin
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
½ cucumber sliced thin and halved
1 roasted orange or red bell pepper
1 cup crumbled feta
4 cloves roasted garlic
2 T chopped parsley
The juice of a whole lemon
⅓ cup olive oil
Layer all ingredients and top with garlic and parsley. Pour olive oil and lemon mixture over the vegetables.
