Couple-of-Minute Steaks and Potato Ragout

Hhhhmmmmm what to say about this one? I had never made "minute" steaks before, or even knew what they were. I had cube steak before and wasn't real fond of it so that was why I opted for the "minute" variety. Although after I cooked them last night my Dad told me he had always heard cubed steak called minute steak so who knows?


All I can say about minute steaks, at least the ones we had, which were eye of round, they are meat. Edible meat? Not so much! I cooked them medium rare but seriously could not even chew one bite and get it down. They were so tough and so chewy with absolutely NO flavor. They also were super small so there is no way this recipe would feed 4 people. At least not the people in my house.


Now those of you that have been reading for a bit know how Kevin feels about any steak other than ribeye. It is simple, he feels there IS no other steak besides ribeye. After last night he is more sure of that than ever!


The potatoes were good though. Maybe if I had gotten some small thin cut ribeyes it would have been a good meal, but a meal of just potatoes? Bad, bad, bad...


I will suggest that if you make the potatoes, which I think you should, make SURE you dice them small. The recipe says 1/4 inch dice and I didn't listen so well. Many of mine were closer to 1/2 inch and they just weren't done all the way through, but the flavors were great. Kevin said this was a keeper as a side dish recipe. I used little yellow tomatoes in place of regular cherry tomatoes. I cut them in half and let them sit face down on the pan surface for a bit to make them really sweet. That was a good idea.


The most I can say about this recipe is, thank goodness it is over. I will post it so you can get the potato part, and if you choose to make it please use a better cut of meat! Oh and I would recommend using McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning in place of the black pepper.


Couple-of-Minute Steaks and Potato Ragout


Ingredients
4 minute steaks or cubed steaks
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
black pepper
4 tablespoons EVOO
2 medium sized baking potatoes cut in 1/4 inch dice
4 sprigs of thyme leaves, chopped
1 sprig of rosemary leaves, chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter


Directions
Season the minute steaks with the Worcestershire sauce and some pepper. Let the steaks hang out while you start the potato ragout.


Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with about 2 tablespoons of the EVOO. Add the diced potatoes to the skillet and spread them out in an even layer. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and let them brown for about 2 minutes, resisting the urge to shake or stir the pan. Once browned on one side, go ahead and give the skillet a stir and shake. Then leave it be for another 2 minutes. Add the thyme, rosemary, onions, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and chicken stock, bring the mixture up to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are tender, 5 to 6 minutes more.


Once the potatoes are almost tender, preheat another large skillet over high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO for the minute steaks. Season the steaks with salt and then add to hot skillet. Sear the steaks for 1 to 2 minutes per side.


While the steaks are cooking, add the cherry tomatoes and parsley to the potatoes. Toss and stir to incorporate. Heat the tomatoes for about 1 minute. Turn the heat off and add the cold butter, stirring constantly until the butter has melted. Serve the minute steaks with the potato ragout.


serves 4

Mega Meatball hhmmmmmmmm

OK, I knew it was going to happen, but hoped it really wouldn't, I didn't like this recipe. It is so sad to me that I found one this quick. It wasn't a total bust. The kids liked it, Melissa and Seth. But Kevin and I were left feeling kind of like "Eh, that's it?". 


Both of us commented on the fact that there was a ton of meat with no real sauce to counter balance it. The meat was kind of bland. I think if it had been a mix of sausage and sirloin it would have been better? I am not sure. 


I used fresh sliced mozzarella cheese instead of the shredded kind. That might have been a mistake as well because the cheese as well was just kind of "there" no real flavor. It just seemed like nothing came together in this recipe to really make it happen. So sad.


At least it looked good. Maybe it was me, so if you try it let me know how it comes out!

Mega Meatball Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 pizza dough, store bought or from your favorite pizza shop
• A palm full all-purpose flour or cornmeal
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons – 2 turns of the pan
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary leaves, a couple of sprigs
• Coarse salt
• 1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Black pepper
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• A handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella or brick mozzarella, your choice, sliced or grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

On a round pizza stone or pan or on a rectangular baking sheet, using flour or cornmeal to dust the dough, spread out the dough to form your crust. If you are using a baking sheet, drizzle pan with extra-virgin olive oil then set crust in place. Poke the pizza dough in several areas with the tines of a fork. Drizzle the dough with extra-virgin olive oil then season it with finely chopped rosemary and a little salt. Place in oven 10 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the meat. Brown and crumble meat a couple of minutes, then add onions and garlic. Season the meat with salt and pepper then work in the tomato paste using the back of a wooden spoon to combine. Stir in the cheese, parsley and oregano.

Remove pizza crust from oven and top with meat. Arrange cheese over the pizza, working to edges. Return the pizza to the oven and bake until cheese is golden, another 10 to 12 minutes.

Pizza Meatballs