Steak and Potatoes

We had a very American, Midwest sort of meal tonight. Meat and potatoes. A nice rib-eye steak with lots of marbling and Russet potatoes to be exact. 

Not wanting to fire up the BBQ grill, I searched for a more indoor-friendly way to cook steak. Finally, settled on Alton Brown's Pan-Seared Rib-Eye recipe... except, we don't have a cast-iron skillet at home. So we improvised a little. Started the steak on the stovetop over high heat in a heavy frypan (happened to be non-stick), then transferred the steak to the oven to broil for a few minutes on each side. Nervously, I checked the steak for doneness. Eureka! Perfectly medium done. 

We paired the steak with baked Hasselback potatoes. Recipe and picture can be found here. Check it out! What a fancy and more eye-pleasing way to serve potatoes!

A few more details on the steak: 

-Let the steak come to room temperature a few hours before cooking. 

-A simple seasoning of olive oil and salt and pepper turns out great. We had some steak seasoning at home and used that today. 

-Our steak was about 3/4 inch thick. On the dry skillet on high heat, we seared the steak for 30 seconds on each side. Then we transferred the steak to a hot ovenproof pan in a preheated oven on broil. We broiled the steak for 3 minutes, flipped the steak, and another 3 minutes. Then remove the steak from the oven and pan, and rest the steak for about 5 minutes prior to serving. This resulted in a medium-done steak. 

Harvest Time Means Zucchini Bread Time

I seriously think whoever came up with zucchini in bread is a genius. It's the best way to eat your veggies!

More is better, right? I upped the grated zucchini from 2 cups to 4 cups, since I had an awfully large amount of zucchini to use up! To create a healthier baked good, I've heard of substituting applesauce for oil in bread recipes (carrot cake, banana bread, etc.), but I typically don't have applesauce on hand. Instead, I subbed plain yogurt for oil in this recipe and it turned out perfect! No on could taste any difference. Also, now that I'm living back home again, I gotta remember to cut down on the sugar for my hyper sweet-sensitive family! The original recipe is from Allrecipes... but I think my adaptation is healthier without sacrificing taste!


Zucchini Bread
modified from allrecipes.com

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
Heaping 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans (8x4) or 24 muffin tins.
2. Beat eggs, oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Add in 3 cups of flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. 
3. Topping: In a small bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mixture should be crumbly with the size of peas. Sprinkle topping over batter. 
4. Bake for 40-60 minutes (shorter time for muffins), and until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.