here are some more photos of my home that i took a while back. i love to document the changing landscape of my kitchen and space, depending on what i have going on, various pop-ups i am prepping for, and, of course—depending on the season and what produce I have on my countertop.
here is the latest report from my kitchen—
the story behind the purée
if i am honest, i suppose i don’t really make too many purées. i mean, i puree lots of things, but usually to make a sauce or a dip component—or soup—never for a purée specifically, if that makes sense.
perhaps i associate it with a 70’s vibe of cooking, which is definitely not a bad thing—if thats what you were thinking. i love a bit of cooking nostalgia.
or perhaps purée sounds a bit too ‘cheffy’, like ‘foam’, which we all know—i am not. i’m all about simple, delicious food. however that comes to be—and this purée is just that.
now, this purée came to be because, unfortunately, i have been in immense pain again—with my RA. if you are not familiar with my health struggles, you can read more here.
we both were craving steak last week—something that only happens once in a blue moon these days—but when the craving hits, we simply must have steak.
of course, with steak—for us anyway, comes au poivre. on the odd occasion, i make a chimichurri-type sauce (i made a really good vinegary green sauce) to accompany our steak, but usually, we want peppery-creamy goodness.
and indeed, in this instance—we wanted the peppery-creamy goodness, but dairy free! and so entered my idea for a creamy cauliflower purée!
we got a really lovely NY strip from our local butcher.
a note on meat - if you are going to buy meat, i urge you to buy the best meat you can afford—whatever that may be. we tend to eat less meat for many reasons but in part due to expense. but when we do, we choose the highest quality.
with steak, i always like to get it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking so that it can come to room temperature. as soon as the cold steak is out of the fridge, i will open the paper that it is usually wrapped in and then heavily salt it there and then. you can wrap it back up loosely and then leave it to season and come to temperature right there on the counter.
i always cook over high heat in just olive oil and sometimes when i flip the steak, i will add in a a knob of butter and some garlic—but not this time, as i am currently avoiding dairy.
i like to sear my steak at high heat, as i love it almost burnt on the outside—or extremely charred, put it that way. it imparts so much flavor without having to do a whole lot. i know this will cause a stir with some people, because there are many opinions on how to cook steak. but this is how i like to do it. hard and fast, and then with rest—it always comes out perfectly medium rare.
how long to cook on each side, really does come with practice and time. but as a rule of thumb, for the way i like to cook my steaks specifically—hard and fast, i would say 4-5 mins on each side for a steak that is 2 inches thick. adjust from there depending on thickness.
once cooked on both sides, set onto a plate to rest for at least 10 minutes, preferably 15. this is an absolute must.
as soon as the steak is fully rested, cut on the bias (against the grain of the meat) and serve. this steak goes particularly well with the cauli purée below.
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