Last weekend I ventured out into the overcast city in search of supplies for my long awaited red wine steak. I was absolutely thrilled that it wasn't pouring rain! The sky was threatening to open-up at any moment, but only a light mist came down.
For me, when their is a weather forecast for rain and instead it is dry, that is like a snow day for a school kid! I feel as though I have somehow gotten one over on mother nature, I have a day full of possibilities and freedom from the misery of a drenched city to sludge around in.
Anyways, it was with this sense of elation that I set-off. I wandered down 5th Avenue to the Madison Market, which turned-out to be a total bust. Lots of crafty boothes and about four restaurants with tent offerings. I bought a cider doughnut for a dollar, just to try this much lauded Autumn treat. It was terrible! It tasted to me like an overdose of baking powder. Ugk... On to Union Square and my beloved Trader Joe's. The rain was playing games with me as I trudged along, picking-up and then going back to a mist. It became humorous to me as I relaxed into the belief that it was simply toying with me and no severe storm was coming.
I bought a bottle of my favorite white, a Spanish sparkling wine at the wine shop and a bottle of tempranillo with a fantastic picture of a floating hog. Now, I was not going to purchase a young, light Spanish red. I was making steak! I was thinking something a bit more full-bodied. I put the pig down, but I just could not walk away! That apathetic floating hog captivated me! Fuck-it, the hog pleased me and I was sure the steak would be fine!Next door I did battle with the crowds at the TJ's and my anxiety grew about the sheer volume of groceries I would have to carry home!
I left the Joe's with what felt like a bag of boulders and grunted my way over to the East Village Meat Market. What a place! The little butcher shop was immaculately clean and a Young polish man was standing there feeding us all perogi's. They were fabulous and I made sure to tell him so.
I asked the butcher if they had tri-tip steak or triangle roast, he told me in his thick polish accent that they did not. I asked him what the closest cut was that he did have and he proceeded to pull out a rump roast. He cut exactly the portion I wanted and trimmed it beautifully. I was worried about the cost, but my hunk o' meat came to just $7.54. Elated, I drug my bag of goodies over to the bus stop on 1st Avenue for my final ride home.
The sky's did open-up on Saturday night, just after I had my groceries put away and my mis en plas together for our steak dinner. Ahhhh, what a great day!
I cut the steak into three smaller steaks, patted them dry and rubbed each one with salt and fresh cracked pepper. I seared them on the range until they were crisp and caramelized, then put the entire skillet into the oven above the crisping sweet potato fries. Pulling out the sizzling skillet, even with a towel and hot pad, burned the shit out of my hand, the battle scare of which has lasted me all week in various states of healing. Never-the-less, I soldiered-on, deglazing the pan with red wine and finishing the sauce with two generous pads of butter. The resulting dish was spectacular. The sauce was so rich and flavorful, D. would have licked the pan had it not been searing hot! The steak was flavorful and moist. This dish made me realize how much can be done with a simple hunk of meat!
I attended Beard on Books at the James Beard House yesterday with Kaitlin and promptly fell in love with the organization. Perhaps I can find a way to join, despite the high membership fees!
The joy of creating that dish, with the searching and cooking and surprising results has stayed with me this week. Every time I look down at my nasty scarred finger I smile. It is a battle wound in the truest sense, a badge of honor in my pursuit of culinary adventure. Sometimes I step outside of myself and say "How could you possibly want to dedicate your life to food? That is going to get so boring!" I suppose that seems like it could be true, but in everyday moments it is what I think about, in the pursuit of adventure it is my vehicle, the joy of creating one simple, perfect meal carries me along. So maybe it will be enough. Perhaps this passion is about more than the calories we put in our mouths.
As I reflect on this, I continue to see food as The Great Equalizer, as the one thing that is needed and enjoyed world wide. It is a window into a culture, into the homes of those around the globe. I began my Eating and Cooking Around the World blog on Sunday. My first country is Korea, as my friend Kyung invited me to Baden Baded for dinner on Monday. My experience has been chronicled in said blog and I plan on going to K-town for ingredients this weekend. My recipe of the week, courtesy of Korean inspiration is short ribs and spicy rice cakes. We will see how I fare!
This weekend I am going to take Gus out for a birthday drink, go shopping in Ktown, explore Brooklyn (again) at the Brooklyn Flea and perhaps a Halloween party. We'll see. I missed my EWI Chinese dinner in Flushing last weekend, it was just too far, too expensive and I just plain didn't feel like it! I still have gotten out and enjoyed my friends and my city, so perhaps my plans need not be set in stone! My life plans certainly arnt!
I have been advanced to the next round of selections for the Foreign Service Officers selection process, meanwhile I have applications out at 9 different graduate schools, 3 different disciplines, I am starting a new job in 3 weeks and I could not be happier! I feel like the pieces of my life and passion and skills are going to come together in ways I can't even imagine yet. As I mentioned before, God is the Chef d'Cuisine of my life, I am merely trying to learn how to enjoy it. In that vein, thank God tomorrow is Friday!
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