Day 16 - Meat & the Movies

I woke late due to my 4am finish and with a major hunger. It was straight to poached egg and waffle which was lovely but really just an appetiser for what was coming next. Gerry went to work early so it was lunch for one again. I still had sweet potato left so I decided a quick and scrumptious meal would be baked sweet potato with bacon and avocado.  The whole thing would take around 10 minutes to create from start to finish so I set to work. I popped 2 slices of wiltshire-cured bacon under the grill and scrubbed a sweet potato.  This was wrapped in paper towel and went into the microwave for 4 minutes. Next I chopped up 1oz of avocado, a tsp of light mayonnaise and 1oz of red onion.  I put some baby leaf salad in a bowl and waited for the bacon to turn crispy.  Once it was done it was a case of cutting it into strips and mixing in the with the mayonnaise and avocado.  The sweet potato went into the bowl and the topping added. Quick and delicious.

Sweet Potato with Bacon & Avocado

I do feel like I wasted the rest of the day a little. I remained in my pyjamas and did very little except watch back to back movies on TV. I first watched Robert Altman's ensemble piece 'Short Cuts'.  At 180mins long it did seem a little epic but I found myself drawn into the lives of the LA residents and their struggle with death and infidelity. I can certainly see why Altman was nominated for Best Director at the 1994 Oscars. If you can stick with it then its certainly a film I recommend.  The way the lives seem to intermingle is especially satisfying.

I then watched something at perhaps the complete other end of the spectrum, Suburban Girl with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin. I had intentions of not liking it despite being a fan of both actors.  I wasn't too sure how the younger girl falling for the older man scenario would pan out without falling into a horrible cliche.  However, it was surprisingly refreshing.  The two leads had good chemistry together and it wasn't as predictable as I suspected it might be.  It also had a nice little turn from Maggie Grace, who I thought was discarded woefully early in Lost.  Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

Gerry informed me that she was being fed at work so the plans I had for a sizzling Korean beef dish for us both went on hold. I kicked back with a Chang beer and revised my plans. I had a piece of steak left over and a tummy to fill.  Once again I massaged the steak with 1tsp of groundnut oil, salt and pepper.  I then whisked together the following ingredients to create a dressing:

• 1 finely chopped garlic clove
• 1 tsp sugar
• A dash of maple syrup
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 1 finely chopped shallot
• The juice of one lime 

This I left for around 30 minutes or so while I prepped the other ingredients for the dish.  I rinsed and steamed 1oz of jasmine rice cut up around 2oz of cucumber cut into strips and half a green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped.  Again, same as yesterday, I heated a griddle pan for 5 minutes and then cooked the steak for around 2minutes on each side to give me a medium-rare result.  The steak was actually much better cooked than yesterday and I think because I used groundnut oil instead, which as I've said is better at high temperatures. This rested for around 10minutes or so while I plated up the rice with the cucumber and chilli mixed in. I thickly sliced the steak and put it on top of the bed of rice. I then drizzled the dressing along the top.  The result was a tangy thai beef style salad. The sweetness of the dressing perfectly complemented the richness of the steak and the slight heat of the chilli. This recipe is a keeper!

Thai Beef with Jasmine Rice

Day 15 - Comfort Food

I had a late night and today an early morning. I have to skip down to the tube station to retrieve my ipod which had fallen onto the track after said late night. It really was the worse luck after it flicked from my pocket as I waited to get off and slipped through the smallest gap between the train and the platform. Brilliant. However, the staff were actually surprisingly helpful and promised they would retrieve it after the line closed for the night. Lo and behold they kept there word so off I went home with the ipod no worse for wear.

Music troubles sorted I turned my attention to food. I was tired from last night's soiree and wanted something filling and comforting. What better way to satisfy both needs than steak and chips. I purchased the necessary ingredients and headed home. I was in the midst of planning out the evening's meal when I got a a call for work that evening. After so few shifts this month and a rescheduling of a few things I agreed. This meant that dinner plans became lunch.

I chopped up a sweet potato into wedges and popped them in the oven with some groundnut oil for around 40mins.  I added in a halved tomato for the last ten minutes or so too.  Meanwhile, once the steak had come to room temperature, I marinated the steak in sesame oil, soy sauce, seasoning, and a spicy blend of meat salt. It was a slightly odd combination but I'd run out of olive oil and thought I could try and give it a slightly eastern flavour with the sesame oil.

Over the years I've managed to learn to do a pretty good steak and found its all about the timings. I heated a dry griddle pan over a high heat for 5 minutes. Then added the steak, making sure the fat was kept close to the side so it too could cook. I let it cook for 2 and a half minutes on each side and then rested it for 10minutes. I popped it on a plate with a green salad, the wedges and tomato. Lunch was served.

Steak & Chips