WHAT TO WRITE?
I just did a lap around the apartment followed by a dose of Lana and then a bit of Haddaway to get the blood flowing and the feet tapping. It's working. I'm on my 3rd round of the song on repeat and I'm on the verge of having my own dance party, which is great and all, but the only words that are flowing right now are "baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more..."
My head is now officially bopping and my shoulders swaying. By the end of this post I will likely be wearing my pink patent leather pumps and drinking a margarita. And here I was thinking I'd have a quiet night at home curled up in my slippers while Zach is out at a hockey game with a friend. (5th round). Solo nights when you are used to dinner for two can be either awkward or awesome. Awkward hits when you try and follow your usual cooking-for-two routine and you end up with too much effort expended, too many dirty dishes, and way too much food. Awesome on the other hand can take a few forms. It can be breakfast for dinner, or maybe some cheese and good salami on toast, or it can even be a steak. As you can see from the picture I went with the latter. I never make steak. Ever. I don't know what's gotten into me, but I've been craving steak recently. Maybe it's because I feel like everyone around me has an iron deficiency and I have slight hypochondriac tendencies. (6th round).
I bought a steak at the market, salted it with Maldon sat on both sides and let it sit while I started the hash. I've had a butternut squash sitting in the corner of my kitchen for at least a month now. It had a few big soft spots, but I was able to find some vibrant orange flesh so I sliced it into small strips and sautéed it in butter with an onion. When the hash was soft I pilled it to one side of the skillet and added more butter to the pan, about a tablespoon. (8th round). I let the butter foam and when the foam had subsided into a slick coating I slipped the steak into the pan. It sizzled for about 3 minutes, maybe a bit more, before I flipped it to the other side for another 4 minute sizzle. I put some lettuce on a plate with a bit of raspberry vinaigrette and then spooned the hash out of the skillet followed by the steak. All in all it was a one-pan twenty minute meal.
It was amazing. One of the best dinners I've had in a long time. I ate it while reading the New York Times Magazine Food issue that my mom brought over for me. It's an old issue, which many of you read over a month ago, but I have a question for you if you read it. What did you think of Christopher Kimball's comment "Cooking is about putting food on the table night after night, and there isn't anything glamorous about it."? Night after night can indeed get tedious and tiresome, but I'd like to believe there is a little bit of glamour left, hidden somewhere in your favorite chocolate cake that without fail makes people oooo and ahhhh. And what about when you set a few candles on the table, invite some friends for dinner and make a simple roast chicken and drink glass after glass of red wine? Isn't there a little glamour left in that? Maybe I should show Christopher Kimball by pink patent pumps, which are the definition of glamour. Note to self - store pink pumps with the apron and wear them when cooking!
(11th round)
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