Steak with Bernaise Sauce

By the time I managed to grab the camera, P had nearly devoured about a 1/4 of his steak.



Notes on How to cook the perfect steak:

• Fresh meat from the butcher. Do not freeze it. I'm not sure about you, but the steaks I've cooked even if defrosted 1 day ago from the freezer just never tastes the same.
• Try to get a good thick cut. (I usually go for the Rib Eye or New York Cut).
• Prepare the steak by rubbing it with some olive oil and season with Salt and Pepper.
• Steaks should be at room temperate before cooking
• Heat up a heavy based pan on medium high heat. (I use a Cast Iron grillpan).
• Try to turn steaks only once. For a medium-rare steak cook for 3 mins on each side.
• Once you remove it from the pan, set on a rack and place in a pre-heated warm oven (about 120C), and let the steak rest for about 4-5 minutes.

Bernaise sauce

• 3 Tbl Sp of White Wine
• 2 Tbl Sp of White Wine Vinegar
• 3 Egg Yokes
• 3 Tbl Sp of Melted butter
• A Squeeze of Lemon juice
• Salt & Pepper
• Tarragon or Shallots (finely chopped - if you have it)

Bring the White Wine and Vinegar to a simmer in a saucepan. Simmer until it reduces to about 1/2 the amount. Let it cool slightly. Whisk in Egg yokes. While its blending, add in melted butter and the mixture should start to increase in volume. Add Tarragone or shallots (if using) and season with Salt & Pepper. Taste the sauce and if required, add in some lemon juice.

Serve at room temperature with Steak.

Chocolate Souffle

I think the hardest thing about posting about making souffle is not about the egg whites. Its about getting my camera ready to snap a reasonably postable photo before the souffle deflates..!!

You can see from my picture below, that I once again didn't think ahead. ie. plate setting, background and having my camera at arm's length. I only just managed to snap away at a couple of shots (which only 1 turned out to be properly focused) before the souffle started to deflate.

Here's my favorite recipe (serves 4)...

• 3 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
• 5 tablespoon Sugar (plus a bit more for dusting)
• 1 teaspoon. Cornstarch
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate (70% coco, chopped)
• 4 Egg Yolks
• 7 Egg Whites (room temp)
• Icing Sugar \ Coco powder (for dusting)

Butter the 4 souffle dishes. Now sprinkel sugar to coat the souffle dish. Tap out any excess sugar. This step ensures that the souffles will rise properly. Place disk in the fridge to chill until required.

In a heavy pan, slowly add milk to cornstarch, stirring constantly until smooth. Keep stirring and bring to a boil. Continue to stir for another 5 mins. Turn down the heat to low. Stir in chocolate, 2 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in egg yolks one at a time. (This may be kept refrigerated up to two days in advance).

Whisk egg whites until it starts to foam. Add in 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue to beat to soft peaks. (Do not over beat your egg whites!).

Stir 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate base to lighten it, then using a spatula, gently fold the lightened base into the egg whites.

Pour into the prepared souffle dishes. Tap the souffle dish a couple of times on a flat surface to distribute the mixture evenly.

Place the souffle on a baking tray in the lower half of a preheated 180C degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve the souffle straight from the oven. Sprinkle with icing sugar or cocoa powder.

Now I just have to find a receipe for all the leftover egg yokes... I'm thinking either custard.. or bernaise sauce to go with the steak tomorrow night.. :)

Pork Braised in Milk

Ok.. I must admit when I first read this post .. I thought.. 'Pork braised in Milk.. really ?!'

Interesting concept... But I wasn't really sure how it would turn out. I always have a bit of pork neck in my fridge though (courtesy of my local Asian butcher), so I gave this milk braising recipe a try. The result ? Well.. It doesn't really look pretty, but just as ChubbyHubby put it.. the pork turned out to be 'Tender & Soft'. Actually it was really tender, and the streaks of fat throughout the piece of pork neck was really tasty.

Pork Braised in Milk
Recipe adapted from ChubbyHubby ~ Pigfest

Marinate, then wrap the pork in glad wrap and refrigerate overnight:

• 700g Pork Neck
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon thyme seeds (crushed)
• 3 stalks fresh sage (leaves roughly chopped)
• Salt & Pepper

Drizzle the pork with some olive oil, then on a medium-hot pan, brown all sides of the pork, then set aside.

In a dutch oven, bring the following to boil then reduce down to a simmer:

• 1 1/2 cup full cream milk
• 4 lemon rind peels
• 1/2 stick cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 140C, then place the pork into the dutch oven with the milk mixture. Place the contents in the oven with the lid on for about 40 mins. After that, turn the piece of pork over and let it continue to braise for another 30 mins with the lid off.

Pork should be cooked nice and pink when the center of the meat reaches about 140C. (I used a meat thermometer to test this). After the 30 mins, take the pork out of the dutch oven, and let rest on a plate for about 5-7 mins before slicing up the pork.

Place the dutch oven on top of the stove, and bring the remaining braising liquid to boil to reduce down to a sauce. The sauce would be rather lumpy at this point in time, as the milk has curdled together. Although it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing... the sauce is really flavorful. You can always pour the reduced sauce into a blender, and blend it until its smooth. ChubbyHubby recommends this, but I've never really been bothered for the couple of times I've made this recipe. Serve the sliced pork with the heated sauce spooned over it.

Not pretty.. but it sure is tasty ! Or maybe its just my phototaking skills.... :(