Category Archives: French Fridays with Dorie
French Fridays with Dorie: Bistrot Paul Bert Pepper Steak
This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie taught me an new technique for cooking a steak. At our house, steak is always grilled or broiled. We never have it any other way. However, I tried Dorie’s way of making steak, bistro-style.
The steak is rubbed with a generous amount of coarsely crushed peppercorns (I didn’t have Sarawak, but used India Tellicherry from Penzeys Spices) and then seared in a hot cast-iron skillet with a little added butter and olive oil. Dorie’s recipe called for filet mignon, but I try to eat only meat whose provenance I know, so I used a thick boneless sirloin steak from our CSA share from Chestnut Farms. I’m sure the sirloin wasn’t as tender as filter, but it didn’t ruffle my conscience.
Searing the steak was rather smoky. Even running the exhaust fan on high couldn’t keep the smoke at bay. It didn’t help that the potholder caught on fire. I also made the brandy cream sauce, choosing to ignite the brandy, which seemed like a more fun option than boiling it down. It turned out that the flavor of the sauce wasn’t for me. Overall, I did like this recipe.
For me, my takeaway from this recipe was similar to the Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce. I learned a new cooking technique that I will use again, even though I won’t repeat the accompanying sauce.
For accompaniment, I made my new favorite potato recipe: Roasted Potatoes (from The Essential New York Times Cookbook) and the classic steakhouse vegetable side, Creamed Spinach. It was a hearty and delicious meal.
As a bonus recipe, here’s my version of Creamed Spinach. I’m always surprised by how cooking drastically reduces the volume of greens. This dish is rich, so it goes farther than it looks like it will.
Creamed Spinach
Serves 2-4
1 lb fresh spinach, coarse stems discarded, torn into 1-2 inch pieces, washed very well, and drained
½ small onion, diced
1 Tbsp butter
¼ cup heavy cream (also works with light cream or half-and-half)
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Saute the onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, with any clinging water. Stir to distribute onion throughout the spinach. Turn up the heat to medium-high, cover, and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
Stir in cream and nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Check out how my fellow FFwD bloggers interpreted this week’s recipe here. We don’t post the recipes, but consider getting your own copy of the book, Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table. You’re always welcome to join in the fun!
French Fridays with Dorie: Mustard Bâtons with an Asian Flair
This was actually the first recipe I made after I bought Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, before French Fridays with Dorie even started. I was happy to see this recipe on the docket because they were relatively easy to make and quite delicious.
Mustard Bâtons is yet another one of Dorie’s versatile template-more-than-recipes to add to your repertoire. The first time, I made this recipe “straight” with a fresh bottle of Dijon mustard and a seed medley (flax, toasted sesame, black caraway, midget sunflower, poppy, & anise seeds) on top. They were the perfect elegant nibble to serve at a reception.
This time around I wanted to be a little more creative. I checked out the pantry shelves for inspiration. I found a little jar of something called Goma Shio, also labeled Rice Seasoning. It’s meant to be a Japanese condiment, though my jar was made in China. It contains just black sesame seeds and large crystals of salt and sugar. This inspired me to go with an Asian theme. I had some dried wasabi that I thought I could mix into Dijon mustard, but then I spotted a jar of Trader Joe’s Sake Wasabi Mustard on the condiment shelf of my fridge. A little taste confirmed that this mustard had enough bite to use as is.
The hardest step in this recipe is rolling out the puff pastry. I’m good at rolling things out, though I found it a challenge to get a true rectangle. No worries, I cut the sides straight, and the ends are just a little curvey.
I liked the sweet and salty flavors from my topping. I think a little sprinkle of sugar and salt would be nice with plain seeds. I also think of a light sprinkle of seeds on the inside would be fun. You wouldn’t see them, but they would taste good!
These crispy treats were a treat to nibble on. There were some leftover that I served with salad for lunch the next day. They were a little soft after the night in a plastic container, but a quick crisp-up in the oven would fix that.
Overall, I give this week’s recipe a hearty thumbs up. This is the kind of recipe I love. The steps are simple and anything could go inside or on top of the batons for an endless variety of elegant appetizers.
As always, I love to see my fellow FFwD bloggers did with this week’s recipe. I’m sure they’ve been very creative. Check out their links at French Fridays with Dorie. We don’t post the recipes, but Dorie has posted the recipe on her site, so you can find it here.
First Try at Mustard Batons
A Plateful of Happiness 