With the pandemic raging we couldn't to see our daughters, since they did not know if they had been exposed.
Gatherings in general were frowned upon between people who were not living together because of their unknown exposure.
Now this is true, we met a couple at our retirement condo who are exactly like us... I have compiled a list that would tell you much about me how we are alike, these are just some:
1. daughters named Amanda (It was the most common name from the years they were born)
2. daughters living on E70th st. NYC one block away from each other
3. husbands: tall and have mustaches, drink many glasses of water in a restaurant with dinner, have big heads with hair, social, were in sales, have Rolex watches as only jewelry, but don't wear them anymore. used to walk miles everyday, have phone numbers 1 digit away from the last number of ours.
We all love to eat out at restaurants, but haven't so as to be safe from exposure to Covid.
And, we both haven't left our homes for over 14 days except to buy groceries.
And, we all love a good steakhouse dinner. So for NYE we made steak and our favorite sides pretending to be at our favorite steakhouse.
2" thick Porterhouse Steaks
Start the night with a signature cocktail: Dick made a no calorie margarita mix with plenty of tequila.
A cheese board of snacks is always a crowd pleaser; with different cheeses, soft, hard, smoked or whatever your crowd likes, sliced meats can be hard like Italian salami or soft like liverwurst. Pickles, olives or both and crackers of different variates with some fruit to cleanse the pallet.
A hearty ham and pea soup (made from leftover Christmas ham) followed the strong drink:
Ham and Pea soup with quina:
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 pounds of ham, diced ( keep some out to garnish the bowls)
1 bay leaf
1 pound dried split peas
1 cup quina
8 cups of water
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Place the butter in a large soup pot over medium low heat. Stir in onion, clery, and sliced garlic. Cook slowly until the onions are translucent but not brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
Mix in ham, bay leaf, and split peas. Pour in 8 cups of water. Stir to combine, simmer slowly until the peas are tender, about 2 hours. Stir occasionally, season with salt and black pepper to taste.
How to make the steak like a steakhouse?
Ingredients:
2 -2" Porterhouse steaks
2 TBS vegetable oil
2 TBS sea salt
2 TBS coarsely cracked black peppercorn (put them in a plastic bag and bang with a hammer)
4 TBS -1/2 stick of butter
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 5-7 minutes.
3. Pat dry the filets, brush with oil and cover the filet with the salt and pepper mixture.
4. Add the steaks to the hot pan searing evenly on all sides for about 2 minutes. This can create a lot of smoke so be alert and make sure the area is well ventilated. I opened windows, put on kitchen vent and even put on the vent in the bathroom.
5. When there is a good char on the steaks remove from heat and top each with the butter. Cook the filets for 8-12 minutes in the oven. (120 degrees for rare, 125 degrees for medium-rare, 135 degrees for well done) Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
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