New York Steak with Baby Greens and Grilled Nectarines

Summer grilling and stone fruits are two things that go pretty perfectly together at our house. We love grilling peaches, plums and nectarines. G makes a fab grilled peach dish with balsamic vinegar that we look forward to every August when the peaches come in.

Grilling is also so very forgiving to these fruits that struggle to ever get sweet enough in the state of Washington.

This Thai steak salad dish is the perfect vehicle to showcase grilled nectarines.

Recipe:

New York Steak with Baby Greens and Grilled Nectarines ( adapted from The Best of Vietnamase & Thai Cooking)

Dressing:

1 TBLSPN minced shallot

3 TBLSPN champagne vinegar

2 TBLSPN dijon mustard

3 TBLSPN olive oil

2 TBLSPN water

1 tsp agave nectar ( you can use sugar instead)

Salt & Pepper

Salad:

1 # Grilled New York steak

1/4 # baby greens

3 grilled nectarines, sliced

3 TBLSPN Thai basil leaves

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

Combine dressing, mix well and set aside. Grill steak & nectarines. After letting steak rest slice to 1/2 inch thick.

In salad bowl, toss the greens, sliced nectarines, basil, onion & steak with the dressing. Serve in a mound in the middle of the plate.

Cowboy steak & Jalapeno Cheddar Potatoes

G worked meticulously all day  in the yard as he does keeping it beautiful  for us to enjoy  which worked up a meat & potatoes kind of appetite.

He was craving new york steak so he had picked some up earlier in the day.

He found a recipe for Cowboy Coffee- Rubbed Steak with Jalapeno Cheddar Fried potatoes in our Cuisine At Home Grilling cookbook/magazine. He also grilled some corn to complete his menu. This was a meal he was excited to make.

First he created the

Cowboy Coffee rub for the steak:

1 T. ground coffee

1 T. sea salt

2 t. black pepper

1 t. each ancho chili powder, garlic powder, dried thyme and sugar

He let rub sit awhile while he prepared his potatoes. Yes, we do seem to be on a jalapeno kick lately don't we? Does anyone love jalapenos as much as we do out there?

Jalapeno Cheddar fried potatoes

1 lb. potatoes cut into 1 1/2 " pieces

2 T. peanut oil

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 jalapeno, sliced

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup Mexican style shredded cheese

First, cook potatoes in sauce pan with salted water for 10 minutes; drain. Heat oil in cast iron skillet (this was key in our opinion). Add scallions and jalapeno; saute 1 minute, then season with salt & pepper. Off heat sprinkle with cheese.

Pretty much my only contribution to this meal was opening a bottle of Spanish Monastrell wine called Wrongo Dongo made my favorite wine region of Spain Jumilla.

G grilled our steaks and I set the table. The steaks looked spectacular.

We pulled the corn from the grill

and we were set to eat.

The rub on the steak was very flavorful. Not being a coffee fan I was slightly leery of what the rub might taste like. Not coffee at all. But a wonderful rounded spice flavor. The potatoes were amazing. Spicy: YES! But also amazing. We'll surely be making this meal again this summer I'm sure.

New Years Eve Dinner 2010

As purposely planned this year we pulled off a very quiet evening for two to ring in 2011. We started off with a glass of wine at our fav local wine bar down the street Pour at Four. G had the Mathews Claret, T the Otis Kenyon Cab.



Wine at Pour @ Four

We then came home and started preparing our meal. While cooking we enoyed a bottle of Solena 'o4 Syrah, Del Rio, Rogue Valley. (Solena Cellars is a favorite stop during all our Willamette Wine trips in Carlton, Oregon.) It was perfect to keep us focused on creating our meal.

Solena '04 Syrah, Del Rio, Rogue Valley

T made a Romaine Wedge salad with apple, red onion, smoked bacon and a creamy mexican ranch dressing. Topped with chile glazed walnuts. It was good, but T believed it was just missing something, maybe something with a sweet note to compliment the heat better. G thought it was pretty good the way it was. (Of course 
G was just excited T didn't use a recipe, he believes we don't always need a recipe. T believes her food turns out better when a recipe is followed.)

We then proceeded to make our dinner. First G decanted a bottle of cab that we've been sitting on from a 2005 Walla Walla trip, Pepperbridge '02 Cabernet Sauvignon to accompany our meal. T made some Snake River Farms American Style Kobe beef rib eyes. Several years ago we tried an Ina Garten recipe for Steak House Steaks with a blue cheese sauce that T believes is the best steak recipe that we use.

G made a Fine Cooking recipe he'd been wanting to try, Browned Cauliflower with Anchovies, Olives & Capers. He also made one of his favorite dishes; Porcini Mushroom Rissotto.

Snake River Kobe Ribeyes before

Snake River Kobe Ribeyes after

Greg's Browned Cauliflower

We were very happy with our meal and menu as a whole.

 We played a bit of after dinner Wii tennis & golf to work off our overstuffed feeling and make it through to midnight. Tough for us "usually asleeep by 10" kind of couple.

 But we made it through to toast in the new year with a sip of T's fav Sophia Blanc to Blanc sparkling wine.

We look forward to a great year of food, friends and wine in 2011!