Mid-Week Dinner: Pork Steaks, Baked Potato & Peas

Thursday nights are and will always be Boys Nights! But here's the thang: I still have to feed my family before I can go anywhere...
I arrive home from the office and immediately pop on my apron and crack a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Ready to cook! Out with the griddle pan, on with the gas. This needs to be a quick dinner - I need to leave. The guys are waiting...

Ingredients:
3x Pork Steaks
Spice (Salt, Paprika, Steak & Chops)
Can of Petit Pois Peas
Knob of Butter
1T Brown Sugar
3x Medium Potatoes
Knorr Garlic Sauce
Beetroot Salad

I must quickly tell you about Knorr's range of instant sauces... these things are wonderful! I particularly like the fact that they have launched a recipe website where all the recipes use Knorr products! Check out http://www.whatsfordinner.co.za. It is simply marvelous!

Method:

The Potatoes
1. Bring the kettle to the boil.
2. Prick the potatoes with a fork and place in a microwave dish.
3. Cover with boiling water and place in the microwave (Yes, I use a microwave!)
4. Cook on High for about 18 to 20 minutes, checking potatoes nearer the end of the cooking time. If fork goes in easily, it is cooked.
5. Drain and set aside.


The Steaks
1. Heat a griddle pan until smoking hot.
2. Season the steaks.
3. Fry the steaks.

The Peas
1. Empty contents of tin into a small saucepan.
2. Apply heat and bring to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and drain.
4. Add a knob of butter and tablespoon of brown sugar.
5. Put back on heat and dissolve butter & sugar, stirring softly (to not break the peas)

The Sauce
1. Empty contents of packet into a measuring jug.
2. Add 250ml boiling water, stir like crazy.

Plate and Serve, with side order of beetroot salad! ... and then run away to boys night...

News: Celebrations are the Order of the Day

Celebrations are the order of the day. Finally, all the legalities are over and I have received a very generous offer of employment from Coronation Fund Managers.

I am just waiting on the Finance Department to tweak the package slightly and I will put pen to paper - Today!

This means: Philip, you can exhale now... Tonight, I crack a bottle of champagne!

As you know, this blog is about food. Problem is, my cooking is unfortunately going to be taking the back burner for a little while. I am moving Coronation to new premises in around 2 weeks and I am expecting to be working quite a few late nights in the foreseeable future. I am not going to get much cooking done - Takeouts may become the order of the day for the next 3 weeks. Sorry Cheffie. I promise to update as regularly as possible though. Be sure to check back for updates.

Weekend Meals: Sunday Roast

Well, the weekend is over and it is back to the grindstone. Memorable events this weekend: Friday evening with our friends & Sunday's Roast! I am sorry to say that I am not a big fan of Sunday roasts... I think this can safely be attributed to a childhood memory: Every Sunday, mom made a roast for the family. It was either roast chicken, roast pork or roast leg of lamb.

And the rule was to eat everything or 'no dessert!'. As a child, that was torture! To make things worse, my mom always used to say 'Your brother is coming around later and he is going to eat your dessert'... Aaaaghhhh!

I am going to let you in a little secret regarding preparing Sunday lunch. This is a Ssshhhhh Secret! Nobody is to know...

Ingredients:
2kg Leg of Pork
6 Potatoes (small, whole and peeled)
Dash of Sunflower Oil
Edgemead Superspar (Ssshh!)

Method:
1. Before the morning Church Service, quickly preheat the oven to 140 deg Celsius.
2. Spice the pork with your favourite spices.

TIP: For amazing crackling, dust with mustard powder

3. Pour a little oil into your roasting pan, add the pork and potatoes. Coat everything with oil.
4. Pop in the oven until after church (about 3 hours)

On your way home from the service, pop on at Edgemead Superspar. They prepare entire Sunday roasts and are very reasonable. I like to prepare my own meats and then buy the veggies at the Spar - yesterday, I bought yellow rice, sweet potato and cauliflower and cheese sauce. I bought sufficient for 4 adults (my dad and his new bride were invited) and 2 children (Celine had a friend over) and it only cost R60. Now that is value for money.

5. Remove the potatoes and set aside (in the warmer drawer is a good place)
6. Turn up the heat to about 220 deg C. for another 30 minutes. Check internal temperature of the pork with a meat thermometer. It should be 170 deg C.
7. The last 5 minutes of cooking, turn on the grill and make the crackling... Mmm!

Carve and server steaming hot. Best accompanied by shredded beetroot and an apple sauce. I also prepared some peas, as one of the vegetables.

Serve with a Riesling or Pinot Nior. Sunday lunch is starting to grow on me again...

Mid-Week Dinner: Steak, Baked Potato & Creamed Spinach

Let me open by apologizing for the lack of blog yesterday. When I got to work yesterday at 6:15am, I hit the ground running! I had all the right intentions: I will get time to blog... I will get time to blog... Clearly, that did not happen.

Driving home, I start thinking of what to make for dinner. I remember that I promised my sister we would come around for coffee AND I promised the guys I would be there for the regular Thursday Boys Night. My thoughts turn to ' What is really quick and easy to make?' due to the obvious time constraints.

After fetching Celine, I pull in at 'my friendly Spar' in Welgelegen. Straight to the meat counter and what do I find: Very well priced, individually packed, vacuum sealed, sirloin steaks. Bought three (around R20 each). Off to the fruit and veg isle. Baby Spinach... Oooh, I'll have some of that. Mushrooms... and that! Dinner starts taking shape in my head!

Ingredients:
3x Sirloin Steaks
Robertson's Steak & Chops Seasoning
Pack of Baby Spinach - roughly chopped
1 Onion (Medium) - diced
1 tub of Cream
1x Punnet of Button Mushrooms - quartered
3x Potatoes (Medium)
Pinch of salt
Dash of Olive Oil
1 t Cornstarch, dissolved in little water

Method:
1. Heat a dash of oil in two small saucepans on your stove / burner.
2. Divide the diced onion evenly between the pans and saute until translucent.

The Spinach
1. Add your spinach and a pinch of salt to the one pan, adding a splash of water to get the steaming process started. Cover with a lid and turn to a medium - low heat, allowing the spinach to wilt. Not longer than 4-5 minutes.
2. Once the spinach has wilted down, add 1/4 tub of cream and bring to a boil.
3. Add 1/2 the cornstarch liquid and allow to heat through (at least 2 minutes). Keep stirring. The sauce with thicken.
4. Remove from heat, cover with a lid and set aside.

The Mushroom Sauce (speedy version - not my famous one)
1. In the other pan, add your mushrooms to the onions. Fry them off for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
2. Add the remaining 3/4 tub of cream and a pinch of salt.
3. Simmer until the cream reduces slightly, about 10 minutes. This needs constant attention as you don't want it to boil up.
4. Add the remaining cornstarch and simmer, stirring until the sauce thickens.
5. Set aside.

The Potatoes
1. Bring the kettle to the boil.
2. Prick the potatoes with a fork and place in a microwave dish.
3. Cover with boiling water and place in the microwave (Yes, I use a microwave!)
4. Cook on High for about 18 to 20 minutes, checking potatoes nearer the end of the cooking time. If fork goes in easily, it is cooked.
5. Drain and set aside.

Frying the Steak
1. Heat a griddle pan until smoking hot.
2. Spice steaks with Steak & Chops Spice (Robertson's). Do not salt.
2. Fry the steaks. These steaks were about an inch thick and we like ours medium rare. Cooking time for this: about 4 minutes per side.

Plate up and serve - refer to picture posted above! That brings me to the wine. Most definitely a Merlot...

Enjoy!

Takeouts: Ribs and Chips

With all the happenings yesterday, I was not inspired to cook... not in the least. Have you ever felt like that? Your day is drawing to a close, you are tired, sad and angry at the same time and now you need to 'create' a culinary masterpiece. Well, matey, I was not having any of that last night! I did a cop out and we went to get my favourite take-out for rib & chips.

Let me tell you this: Until you have had the Rib and Chips from Delicious Fish & Grill in Plattekloof Glen, you have NOT had rib and chips! Who would have ever thought that a little Fish Shop would and could ever serve up the best ribs in Cape Town? I must also say that their calamari is also top class!

Delicious Fish & Grill
cnr. Hendrik Verwoerd & Haydns Street
Plattekloof Glen
Telephone: 072 181 6283
GOOGLE MAP

A Truly Sad Day

Today was truly a sad day for me... We had to say farewell to a very special part of our family - our beloved Rottweiler, Sencha.

In loving memory of 'My Big Boy': Born on Christmas Day in 2001. We were so excited to fetch you at the airport, eagerly waiting for the plane to land and deliver you to us. I remember it as if it was yesterday: A big ball of fur with huge paws!

Growing up with Celine, side by side, over the years - you became one of the 'Truter Clan'. Your pain and suffering is now over... You will be sorely missed!

Rest easy, my boy!

Reportback: Stellenbosch Wine Festival (2008)

Where do I start? I think I shall start by saying that I will definitely not be going back to this event... Yes, it is unfortunate. The event was well organized and planned, parking was provided, security was catered for... BUT they let too many people in! I can best describe this event as a 'student mob'! I should have realized that going on Saturday would not be such a good idea... and I should never have taken my 9 year old daughter with either! You live and learn, they say.
I squeezed my way through the droves of people to reach only a few of the tasting desks, before giving up entirely.

My wife and I don't often share the same taste in wine. We did however agree on these wines:

Neethlingshof Shiraz (2003)
Neethingshof Cabernet Sauvignon (2003)
Mooiplaas Rosalind
Long Ridge Merlot
Long Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon
Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon

The plan was to buy a bottle or two at the wine shop, just before leaving. I spent 10 minutes in the wine shop, trying to find the above selection and eventually just gave up. You could not move around and the queues to pay were just ludacris! I ended up putting down the wine I had already selected and walking out. Yes, the experience was horrendous! It reminded me of my younger days, partying at Comic Strip or Illusions...

For me, the best two things about this festival:
- The Eye Candy ('twas wonderous!)
- Aloe Pickle spread by Totally Wild

Totally Wild focuses entirely on the development and manufacture of food and beverage products made from aloe Ferox plants which grow wild in the southern and eastern Cape regions, in their natural habitat.

It is truly AMAZING! Look out for this in your supermarkets and give it a try. A great serving suggestion: It would make a chicken breast much more interesting. Or maybe even served with steamed fish? Mmmm... I think I'll give that a go.

In summation: Great concept, too many people. But don't take my word for it - take a trip through to next year's Stellenbosch Wine Festival and experience it for yourself.

Fine Dining: Coronation Fund Managers... (After)

Wow! What a function... It was great. Not at all what I expected. Mel and I arrived and were greeted at the front desk - soon to be Coronation's new reception. We went through and had a glass of Pongratz Sparkling wine and continued on to the canteen area. I don't know if canteen is the correct word for our staff restaurant - the word just does not do it justice!

This place is kitted out, I tell you... What I would give to have a kitchen like this. Once the 'green with envy' colour drained from my cheeks, I noticed the theme: Construction! A perfect theme for the evening...

From scaffolding to napkins wrapped in 'Danger' warning signs. It was really well presented.

The evening turned out to not be a sit down dinner. This was perfect as it gave everyone a chance to circulate, chat and even make new friends. Waitrons came out with trays of little tasty morsels - From prawns to lamb. The presentation of the food was exquisite.

Coronation's canteen will be run by TS Africa, under the watchful eye of Chef Shannon. If last night's food was anything to go on, we are in for a culinary experience when we move to our new building in August.

I can't wait!

They say it is all about location. Location, location, location - Coronation got it right with this new building: With all this fine dining happening on the 7th floor, a Virgin Active gym will be opening soon on one of the lower floors.

Now I have no excuse!!!

P.S. I said I would mention my colleagues name in my blog this morning. Here goes: Laaiqah, this is for you...