Bistrot Paul Bert Pepper Steak
The Start:
The Finish:
The verdict:
Well... here's the thing, my new French Friday friends will think I'm some sort of complainer that doesn't like anything! It is definitely true that I have a very high bar when cooking for myself, and this one didn't quite do it. It was ok, but I'm not sure I'd reach for this one again. I made it last Sunday and have been thinking for awhile why our family didn't love it when we definitely should have, and here's what I've come up with:
1. I've been a vegetarian for over 2 years. Yeah, that's probably a big reason why I didn't like it! I eat fish, and use dairy. And, I do have bacon once in awhile (I'm weak for it) and steak 1-2 times per year (because I also love it). And there are times when I eat meat for politeness (i.e. eating turtle in Japan was necessary). But, it (meat) just doesn't taste as good to me anymore. except maybe bacon.
2. When I do prepare meat I've become super picky about what I buy. So, these are grassfed local steaks. The kids were so *excited* about having steak for dinner! But, then they didn't really like it. And I think it was because it wasn't the cornfed stuff we've all become accustomed to. I also think my family has gotten very used to grilled steak, me included, so the pan fried version was not the steak we know and love.
As a side note I also made potatoes from the book (essentially au gratin).
The start:
The finish:
I really liked the garlic flavor (huh, how did that not get in the photo!), if I made them again I would definitely lighten up on the cream.
4 comments:
I don't think you're a complainer! I can imagine that after two years of mostly sticking to a vegetarian lifestyle a seared piece of meat is not on the top of your great eats list. Grass-fed meat is naturally leaner than corn/grain fed too. At least you have access to that! Your potatoes look so creamy and decadent. I need to look into incorporating them in a menu soon.
If you were a vegetarian and agreed to eat turtle in order to be polite...you are the official opposite of a "complainer" :) Good for you to keep it real. I hope that you enjoy next week's recipes more and I am sure that you enjoyed the adventure regardless..I know the rare week is not a hit around here but I still like the journey. Nana did not try this week's recipe (she shared a family recipe)but posted a pizza rustica. Closer to the bacon side of the spectrum but not sure a vegetarian would be interested :)
Sometimes, it's just about the process. Some weeks are definitely not winners for me, but I am always glad I gave it a shot. I am pretty sure some bacon recipes are on deck for this month!
I think there will be very few of us that like every single recipe we try in this cook-a-long. It's the learning and experimenting and the discovery of those "it" recipes that make this group so much fun.
Post a Comment