Made a nice steak dinner last night following several of the recipes from Tom Fitzmorris's book, Tom Fitzmorris's New Orleans Food. Entree- Strip Steak Bordelaise (pg 155). The recipe calls for a whole bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux to be reduced to a cup's worth of liquid. I hated to see so much wine evaporate. I may have to try this again as I don't think I quite followed the directions too well. For those interested in the bottle of wine- Bogle Vineyards Cab. 2006. This was quite good by itself. Not too much tannin (not that I'm any sort of real wine connoisseur). it was raining outside so I decided to purchase cast iron grill skillet with which to broil the steaks. It worked really well. As usual I need to pay more attention to cooking time- let's just say that they turned out WELL DONE. Loved hearing the butter sizzling away in the skillet. Sides- Mashed Potatoes and Broiled Asparagus Parmigiano (pg. 225). Sonya tells me that my potatoes are a but too lumpy, but seasoned well. The asparagus was wonderful. I'd make this again in a heartbeat. Growing up I hated asparagus. I wouldn't touch the stuff. Somehow a few years ago I decided to give it another try and I found that when well prepared it is good- especially when grilled or broiled. For dessert I made Heavenly Hash- a treat found here in Louisiana during the Easter season- Chocolate, nuts, and marshmallow in lumps all mushed together. Tom has a recipe for this on page 292.
Made tuna steaks under the broiler on Monday night. Again- well done- past where I wanted them. I will eventually learn this skill. First time I've ever prepared them and even cooked as far as I did I feel that they turned out well.
Other news- Papa Johns just opened a location near the house. Finally. We've been stuck just far enough away from two other locations that we couldn't get delivery from either. I usually find PJs pizza to be better than Domino's. The crust is better and I like the sweeter sauce. Great stuff. Another pizza joint replaced the recently defunct Hogie and Deaux's. I always thought the name as really clever. Their pizza was decent. This new place called Roma's has a New York style crust. The kind of slice that flops down on itself and the only good way to eat it is by folding it in half. Gave it a shot during the week too. Not too bad. I also ordered a Meatball Parmigiana hoagie. The meat mix was a bit odd. Perhaps they had veal in there or something, I dunno. Sonya enjoyed it. When I dropped by there was only one guy working the entire place- prepping, cooking, taking orders, the works. We'll see how long they last. I wish the guy luck. We'll give him another try. Got to support the local guy.
