Birthday Giveaway Winner & Steak!

Why yes, I did recycle this image.

Afternoon folks!

Wrapping up the giveaway today. I opted not to cut out hundreds paper slips this time, deciding instead to use Random.org's number generator. I hope folks will forgive me and my lack of pretty photos to accompany the drawing.

However, I do have pretty photos of what I've been doing with my birthday gift, the SousVide. The results where a bit better than the EasyBake oven (which is now the property of the Little Humble). Up until this week I had never tried a SousVide steak, but I had heard many amazing things about it.

So, is the hype true?

Being able to make steaks like this fills me with a sense of tremendous power.
As though I could make hungry, carnivorous men do anything I wanted... anything.
Even fold laundry.


Yes.

So good, that while I was having my lunch of SousVide test-steak, I was sending text messages. Knife in one hand, phone in the other, telling folks I was eating the most amazing steak and maybe using one or two choice curse words for emphasis.

Coarse Sea Salt, Cracked Pepper & Butter
The basics, ready to be dropped into the warm water bath.

Who would of thought a steak cooked in a pot of 130°F water in a plastic bag could be so uncannily tender and good? Quickly sear the steak in a hot cast iron skillet with a little butter and... nom.

No doubt, this machine being offered up to home cooks strikes terror in the heart of steak house restaurants everywhere.



Granted, the machine is really expensive as far as kitchen appliances go (serious $$$). Had it not been given to me, I'm not certain that I would have bought one, as it seems like an extravagance for someone who eats meat rather infrequently (though, I'm sure it's usefulness isn't limited just to perfect steaks).

For folks who wish to try cooking SousVide style without the price tag, I'm almost certain that you could do the exact same thing with some patience, a Foodsaver, and a good digital probe thermometer. In fact I see it being done here, here and here.

Sous vide for the steak hungry masses!
(and for those who need their laundry folded for them)

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Okay, let's get down to the birthday Giveaway! Sorry to keep the anxious folks waiting while I talked about steak.

So, last week I collected all of the entrant's IDs/Email addresses and added them to a rather lengthy spread sheet. With one quick click at Random.org, I selected the my Birthday Giveaway's winner...



Number 145! Come on down!

Let's see... the lucky person occupying the 145th cell on my spreadsheet was...

Jamie! Congratulations.

Hello again, and happy birthday!

The one thing I really need is a new knife set. My boyfriend and I recently moved, and as we no longer have roommates, we no longer have their fantastic knife set. My mom has offered me her old knife set, but I think that thing is older than I am, and the years have not been kind to it.

I'm currently a student (studying molecular and cellular biology! and my boyfriend is on the job search, so we don't have much money to drop on a nice set. I follow you here and on facebook. Thanks!

Jamie

Jamie, as someone who has gone through her fair share of decent quality knives (sets of J. A. Henckels, Global, Wüsthof and Shun) I'm a big fan of my Globals and the ridiculously sharp edges I can keep on them. They cut far better than some of the more expensive chef knives I've worked with. They have great balance, they're light weight so my hand doesn't tire out and with maintenance, they're sharp as a scalpel. A bit dangerous, actually. They glide through food so easily that I actually cut myself a few times when I first started working with them.

Cooking for engineer's has a great writeup on knives for folks shopping around.

Happy shopping Jamie! I'll be in contact via email soon.

To everyone else, thanks for taking the time to read my blog and enter. I really enjoy seeing folks come out of the woodwork to talk about kitchen gear and things they want to make (am I weird?). Jerry, get that Chef's Choice sharpener, I have it and it rocks. Dimi, the set of copper canelé molds is exactly what I would have spent the certificate on. They're just not the same when made in silicone (sigh).


To CSN, thanks again for letting me host a giveaway from your site.

I'll see everyone tomorrow. I have something yummy prepared.

-- Ms. H

Hey! Where's My Swan Neck Pudding, Wench?

I stumbled across two 15th century cookbooks this week! If that isn't a neat foodie-find I don't know what is.

So I've been reading through these cookbooks and I'm amazed at what they ate. There are some interesting things on the menu, and I'm not just talking about ol' Vlad:



Medieval banquets included now-uncommon meats like porpoise, seal, whale, peacock and swan.

I know what your thinking, finally a cookbook to tell me what to do with all these exotic dead animals I previously had no had recipes for!

Too many swan guts laying around needed a use? Why not try some delicious Chawdwyn?

Take Gysers, lyuers, and hertes of Swannes, or of wilde gese; And if þe guttes be fatte, slytte hem, and cast hem there-to, And boile hem in faire water; And then take hem vppe, And hew hem smale, and caste into þe same brotℏ ayene, but streyne hit þorgℏ a streynour firste; And caste thereto pouder of peper and of caneƚƚ, and salt, and vinegre, And lete boile; And þen take þe blode of þe swan, and fressℏ brotℏ, and brede, and drawe hem þorgℏ a streynour and cast thereto, And lete al boyle togidre; And þen take pouder of Gynger, whan hit is al-moost ynougℏ, And caste there-to, And serue it forthe.

Swan bits with blood and ginger.

Om nom, right?

Now I'm thinking, about about the menu at Medieval times? What gives there? Where is the Chawdwyn?

Of course, I'm referring to the is a chain of dinner theaters in the U.S. which offer dinner featuring staged medieval-style games, 'sword-fighting', and jousting followed by a 'tournament'.

To my European and UK readers who were not aware of this silly concept, we Americans are strange... but you probably already know that.

photo credit: Phil Guest via Wikipedia

For the poor souls who have not had the pleasure of dining at Medieval Times I have their menu here, reprinted from their website:

Medieval Times' noble guests feast on garlic bread, tomato bisque soup, roasted chicken, spare rib, herb-basted potatoes, pastry of the Castle, coffee and two rounds of select beverages. A full-service bar is also available for adult guests. Vegetarian meals are available upon request.

The vegetarian meal includes tomato bisque soup, garlic bread, large Portobello mushroom cap stuffed with whole grain, rice and bean blend, large skewer of roasted vegetables, hummus with pita chips, pastry of the castle and two rounds of select beverages. (Please advise your server of special meal requests once you are seated at your table.)

Then you wash it all down with a big mug of Pepsi. Rock on.

Never mind the fact that potatoes and tomatoes are native to the Americas and did not make an appearance in any European cuisine until it was brought back by the Spanish in the early 16th century. Oops?

Don't get me started on the absurdity of the garlic bread. Though it was likely cultivated before the 16th century it was still a rare ingredient in any medieval English cuisine. Coffee is equally silly.

So what do you do when you crave some real medieval fare?

Skip Medieval times and start cooking from this online cookbook. Don't worry, not every recipe requires you to swipe animals from your local park/zoo/aquarium/pet store. Several recipes use more accessible ingredients.

Take this stew for example:

vj. Beef y-Stywyd.—Take fayre beef of þe rybbys of þe fore quarterys, an smyte in fayre pecys, an wasche þe beef in-to a fayre potte; þan take þe water þat þe beef was soþin yn, an strayne it þorw a straynowr, an sethe þe same water and beef in a potte, an let hem boyle to-gederys; þan take canel, clowes, maces, graynys of parise, quibibes, and oynons y-mynced, perceli, an sawge, an caste þer-to, an let hem boyle to-gederys; an þan take a lof of brede, an stepe it with brothe an venegre, an þan draw it þorw a straynoure, and let it be stylle; an whan it is nere y-now, caste þe lycour þer-to, but nowt to moche, an þan let boyle onys, an cast safroun þer-to a quantyte; þan take salt an venegre, and cast þer-to, an loke þat it be poynaunt y-now, & serue forth.

Ability to read Middle English not so great? Don't worry, I've roughly translated it for you.

Medieval Beef Stew:

Take fair beef of the forequarters, and cut into fair sized pieces, and wash(?) the beef into a good pot. Than take the water that the beef was soaking in and strain it through a strainer(remove the scum?) and set the same water and beef in a pot and let them boil together. Than take cinnamon, cloves, mace, grains of paradise, cubebs (substitute allspice/black pepper?), and minced onions. parsley and sage, an cast into the pot, let them boil together.

Take a loaf of bread and soak it with broth and vinegar, and than draw the bread through a strainer and set aside. When the stew is nearly done, cast the bread mixture into the stew but not the bread too much (not the mulch?) and let it boil, and add the saffron and the salt. "Look (to see) that it be thickened enough and serve it forth. (With a mug of Pepsi)

Enjoy!

Oh, and if someone makes this stew and sends me photos, I will love you forever.

Roasted Sesame & Ginger Steak

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One last 'normal' food post before I get back into making sweets again. This is a simple meal of seared, marinated steak and dipping sauce. I'm using leftover rib steaks for this recipe, but any tender steak well suited to pan searing will work just as well.

Not so Humble Roasted Sesame & Ginger Steak Marinade:
marinates 4 steaks
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sake
1 teaspoon sugar
green onion

In a skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds until they begin to brown and pop.

Add the toasted sesame seeds to a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and blend until the garlic and ginger are finely chopped. Add your steaks to a large zip-lock bag and add the marinade. Turn the bag to coat the steaks and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Cook the steaks on the grill or in a hot skillet for a few minutes on each side, turning once. Slice and serve with green onions and the following dipping sauce:

1/4 cup tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon black vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil paper thin slices of ginger

Oh and for the frilly green onions, just quickly slice... er... well let me make a quick diagram:



Make sense? A little? Well, just cut the onion into two inch lengths and cut along the lines leaving the center intact and then place in cold water for about 30 seconds until the ends curl.