Saturday Steak Night

I went to the gym this morning and did a round of the weights machines, some cycling, the cross trainer and then ran 5k at a bit of a silly pace on the treadmill (felt a tad faint when I got off).  650 calories burned on the latter apparently, which is just as well given the dinner I have just polished off.  I probably won't be able to move tomorrow after doing weights but need to be back on form for my BLT class on Monday evening (not bacon, lettuce and tomato unfortunately, something much less fun).

I took myself off to the butcher this morning as normal and ordered the usual - one rib eye and one fillet.  I struggle to eat a rib eye these days and Colin the cat is fat enough! 

Got a strange looking butternut squash in my veggie box this week, along with some delicious-looking portabello mushrooms so decided to cook those along with some courgettes and savoy cabbage.  We decided on roasted/sauteed potatoes (not sure if you sautee in the oven).

I attempted to do courgette 'ribbons' but I think I need to practice a little more.  They were a bit shabby.  Maybe I need a better tool than a peeler....

The butternut squash was diced and mixed with olive oil, chilli flakes, ground coriander, ground cumin and a little ground ginger and roasted at 220 degrees for quite a while.

The potatoes were diced and par-boiled then covered in olive oil and sea salt and roasted along with the squash until crispy.  Mr W likes his potatoes well-done.

The savoy cabbage was sliced and fried in a little olive oil before adding a splash of water and simmering gently.  A generous amount of salted butter was added before serving (I only buy Brittany or Normandy butter with sea salt crystals - I don't believe in 'low fat' cooking although I am careful with salt generally).

We have tried various ways of making garlic mushrooms and the most subtle way is to ever so slightly crush whole cloves with a knife then fry in olive oil before removing.  This gives a less harsh garlic taste and also ensures the garlic doesn't burn and turn bitter.  There is nothing worse than bitter burnt garlic, I have ruined many a meal in the past by frying crushed garlic for too long.

Mr W has his steak medium and I have mine rare. The secret is a very hot pan to get some colour on the steak.  Mine is pretty much flash fried and done.  We always rest the meat for at least five minutes and today we finished it off with some garlic and herb butter (home-made with my Brittany butter, crushed garlic and chopped parsley). 

I tried with my presentation tonight and even hollowed some tomatoes to serve the horseradish in - bit 1970s but I do like to faff :) 

The finished article was delicious, very pleased with the result.  Check out the horseradish holder, haha.

No pudding as yet but I have some blueberries and pomegranites in the fridge so may so something with those, or may wait until tomorrow.  Thinking of maybe baking tomorrow if I get chance.

Oh, almost forgot...  I allowed myself a glass of a rather nice Bordeaux that my Dad bought us last Christmas but better leave it at one, wine and cigarettes go hand in hand unfortunately and I refuse to cave this time.  Food definitely is starting to taste better too so better watch the old waistline and keep going to the gym.

Looking forward to Sunday dinner already, my favourite meal of the week.  Not sure how it will go without the bottle of wine I usually drink whilst preparing but I'm sure I will end up with a lot less burns :)

Ciao for now, enjoy the rest of the weekend.