Middle age brings all kinds of challenges, none more annoying than the slightly more delicate stomach and the tendency to keep on weight. So, working up some New Years' Resolutions, and one of them will be to make sure that we have a weekly meal schedule. I let this slide a bit this last Fall.
Never again.
Sample schedule, to match my wife and daughter's rigorous schedules.
Sunday: Chicken (or some other leftover producing food)
Monday: Salmon and asparagus and couscous (or other fish)
Tuesday: Pasta (vegetarian) and broccoli (Also: prepare Tuna for Wednesday)
Wednes.: Tuna and/or leftover pasta
Thursday: Leftovers (Sunday food) plus greens
Friday: Nice meal. Or frozen pizza. Depends on weekend schedule.
Saturday: Wildcard.
I'm going to experiment with other dishes and add to this post some other schedules. Frankly, I would like one more vegetarian option in here.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
chuck steak
Here's one that could become a standby, although it is a bit much for three. We ate it for two nights, and still have leftovers.
Chuck Steak.
I did not even know there was such a thing, truth be told. I was familiar with the chuck roast. With ground chuck But as a steak? The front shoulder is the hardest working part of any cow. It is flavorful, to be sure, but needs slow roasting to break down the fibrous tissue. Steak hits the grill and comes off within ten minutes (maybe fifteen, depending on whether it is two or three fingers thick). No dice.
So, enter sous vide.
I seasoned the steak heartily with four seasons rub, but then added additional salt and a ton of cracked black pepper.
Then I dropped this steak into a hot water bath the night before at 129 degrees and set the timer for twenty-four hours. Come morning I added about two cups of water to the pot. It had lost another two by the twenty-four hour mark.
The grill was prepared to high heat. I melted some butter in a pan, added olive oil, salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar. The steak got the hot treatment for about three flips, one and a half minutes a side.
The cutting board got an olive oil pour, salt, and chopped parsley. I dropped the steak on that, flipped it, and sprinkled the remaining parsley over it.
The result: a tender, tasty, meaty steak. Easy for a weeknight meal. One can pan sear it rather than start a fire, to save on time and trouble.
Chuck Steak.
I did not even know there was such a thing, truth be told. I was familiar with the chuck roast. With ground chuck But as a steak? The front shoulder is the hardest working part of any cow. It is flavorful, to be sure, but needs slow roasting to break down the fibrous tissue. Steak hits the grill and comes off within ten minutes (maybe fifteen, depending on whether it is two or three fingers thick). No dice.
So, enter sous vide.
I seasoned the steak heartily with four seasons rub, but then added additional salt and a ton of cracked black pepper.
Then I dropped this steak into a hot water bath the night before at 129 degrees and set the timer for twenty-four hours. Come morning I added about two cups of water to the pot. It had lost another two by the twenty-four hour mark.
The grill was prepared to high heat. I melted some butter in a pan, added olive oil, salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar. The steak got the hot treatment for about three flips, one and a half minutes a side.
The cutting board got an olive oil pour, salt, and chopped parsley. I dropped the steak on that, flipped it, and sprinkled the remaining parsley over it.
The result: a tender, tasty, meaty steak. Easy for a weeknight meal. One can pan sear it rather than start a fire, to save on time and trouble.
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