Menu by weather…

Over the weekend, we had some gorgeous sunshine and warm temperatures! It felt fantastic to be sweating while scrubbing our back deck’s railings.

I took out a flat iron steak from the freezer with visions of making grilled flank steak with fresh veggies and a starch. It didn’t happen. Martin invited us over for a pork roast dinner and a game of cards called 5 Crowns which is super fun and addictive. My winning streak came to an end last night. 

We always have dinner with Martin when he invites us because he is a chef and cooks excellent food. He is also fun to watch cook; I learn a lot from watching him being a visual learner. 

Martin’s wife and my friends Eileen passed away suddenly two years ago. Whenever he invites us, he has a craving for something and would never make it for himself. It’s always last minute, and we rarely have to decline. 

Most widows may agree they don’t want to cook a big meal just for themselves. So he cooks for us and others, which is a great deal for us! We always have such a good time while we are at it. 

Usually, I cook whatever I had planned to make before his invite the next night. Today is a rainy and nasty day, not suitable for grilling a summer steak and veggies.

I decided to make a trifecta of old-school classics, perfect for a shitty weather day like today. 

Last year, I wrote about each of the meal components I made tonight. There is a separate blog post with recipes included.

Older or foodie people always laugh when I mention the names of these dishes, and they always add an “I haven’t thought about that dish for years!” Lol 😂 

Steak Diane is one of my major league hitters that is a home run every time. It is Sam’s favorite. His eyes get glossed over when I tell him I am making it. Here is my blog link for Steak Diane if you aren’t sure what it is and want to make it.

I used my grandmother’s cast iron frying to sear and cook the flat iron steak. I have found that cooking steak intimates many people, and it doesn’t have to be.

Before I got good at making steaks both indoors and outdoors, I watched many YouTube chef videos. The biggest fear I had was killing the meat in other words overcooking it and ruining it. We like our steak medium-rare and not well done. Steak is too damn expensive to screw up.

What took the fear away for me was a thermometer. Clever huh? I have no shame using a temp probe to watch the temperature of my steak. All that touching the back of your hand to check for doneness is a bunch of bullshit for home cooks. Seriously, get a thermometer and decide how you like your steaks done. 

This is how easy it is. I pull my medium-rare steaks off the grill when it reaches 130-degrees. The steak goes up 5-degrees in temperature after it comes off the grill or out of the pan. A perfect medium-rare steak is 135-degrees. Nailed it! 

Rare 120-degrees 

Medium-rare 130-degrees

Medium 140-degrees 

Medium-well 150-degrees

Well done 160+ degrees

I used to keep my steak on the grill until the thermometer read 135-degrees, and it was always overdone. Once I started pulling it off 5-degrees before I had perfect steak.

I don’t use this method for poultry or pork. I don’t take it off the grill or out of the oven until it reaches temperature or a bit over. You can’t fuck around with chicken, or everyone will get sick. Chicken must always be cooked to at least 165-degree and for pork 145-degrees.

To go with the Steak Diane, I pulled three twice-baked potatoes out of the freezer I made a couple of months ago. Whenever I make them, I double the recipe for another night, like tonight. The oven does all the work.

People forget about twice-baked potatoes even though everyone goes nuts for them. They are a perfect side dish for steak. Here is the link to Twice Baked Potatoes.

I decided on Green Beans almandine since I had green beans that needed to be used. I was going to quick char them on the grill when I was cooking them outside, but these would do.

Green beans almandine is an old-school veggie side dish that you never see on a plate anymore. It’s a shame because they are easy to make and delicious. 

Here’s the Green Bean Almandine post to learn more about them. It’s funny that the post reads a lot like this one; you’ll see if you read it.

I love these dishes, and they are my go-to’s whenever I have the ingredients on hand, and I am not sure what to make. 

These old-school classics are just that because everyone loved them, and they were on every restaurant menu back in the day. I like to bring these dishes back and share them with people or, in some cases, introduce them to people.

It’s interesting to think about what current food trends will be considered old-school classics in 40 years. What do you guys think? 🤔 

I am going with avocado toast! Definitely!