Braisd

A few nights ago (would have written this sooner, but my Internet's been down since Friday--ahhh, the woes of blogging), Doug and I were headed out to dinner with my sister-in-law and her husband, but Kaya had a playdate staying for dinner and my mom was over hanging out with the kids.  What to do about feeding them all and still making our double-date night?  I checked out my fridge and found that I had some delicious homemade pesto left over from a dinner a couple of weeks ago.  That makes for a speedy pasta.  Add a little steak and sauteed brocollini and you're golden.  So, here's a quick and easy meal to whip up for those nights that you're going out and the kids are staying in.  

6 New York steaks, 1 inch thick (Whole Foods has these on major sale right now in their "Extreme Butcher Buys" section--so I went with the 1 inch thickness--but typically, I like these steaks  2 inches thick and then I slice them on the bias when I serve them--I'll save that for a future post)

olive oil

coarse sea salt, to taste

freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

Pat meat dry and place in a glass baking dish to marinate.  Season one side of each steak with salt, pepper and rosemary.  Drizzle one side of each steak with olive oil--just enough so the surface of the steak is covered with olive oil.  You can use your fingers to massage the olive oil in.  Flip the steaks over and season the other side with salt, pepper and rosemary and olive oil.  Steaks can be seasoned and kept in the fridge overnight, covered with plastic wrap.  Make sure to bring the meat back to room temperature before grilling.  

It was cold out when I made these, so I opted to grill the steaks on my stovetop grill pan--a great way to get the grill flavor without actually grilling.  Grill over medium heat until done to your liking.  Let meat rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

Awesome Pesto Recipe (based on the Three Basil Pesto recipe from epicurious.com)

2 garlic cloves

3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (I toast my pine nuts by heating up a non-stick pan on medium heat, adding the pine nuts and shaking the pan around until the pine nuts are golden--make sure you pay close attention, I've burnt a lot of pine nuts in my day!)

2 cups grated parmigiano reggiano

2 cups grated pecorino romano

5 1/2 cups basil leaves

2 cups packed flat leaf parsley leaves

zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup olive oil--you can use more or less, depending on how you like the consistency of your pesto

Pulse garlic in a food processor until finely chopped, then add nuts, cheeses, a large handful of herbs, lemon zest and 1 teaspoon pepper and process until chopped.  Add remaining herbs one handful at a time, pulsing after each addition, until finely chopped.  With motor running, add oil and blend until incorporated.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.  Pesto can be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.  Toss with your favorite kind of cooked pasta (al dente, of course) to serve.  For a pound of pasta, I use about 6-8 tablespoons of pesto and, if the pasta seems dry, add a bit of the pasta water and a bit of olive oil to moisten it.  Sprinkle with more grated parmesan to taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste--I like to finish this pasta off with Maldon sea salt.

Cheers.