Blame Alton.

Posted on | Wednesday, February 9, 2011 | 2 Comments

We're on our fifth snow day this month. I'm becoming a pro at this whole being cooped up with a rambunctious four year old thing. Thankfully this storm wasn't nearly as bad as the previous one. It left a good four inches outside but aside from that nothing major to report. It's already begun to melt.


Knowing that I might be stuck indoors for several days again I began looking though Food Network's recipes earlier this week. I found one of Alton's that seemed interesting, describing a dish called "Swiss steak" which involved vegetables and cube steak. Knowing nothing about cube steak I naturally went out and purchased a one pound package. Live a little, right?

Today while I was avoiding my homework and piling laundry I looked up the recipe again and decided to give it a whirl. The worst case scenario would be that it tasted awful. It called for several things I don't have (such as a Dutch oven), but I figured I could improvise. I doubt a Pyrex baking dish is THAT much different than a Dutch oven.

The ingredients were simple enough; white medium white onion chopped coarsely, two celery stalks finely chopped, a can of diced tomatoes, garlic, oregano, beef broth (although I substituted with chicken, shh), and of course the steak. I'm happy to say my slicing and dicing skills are improving with practice.

The first step was to dredge and brown the meat then set aside. Easy enough.

Then in went the veggies. The onion and celery first, followed by the tomatoes garlic and herbs. It smelled pretty wonderful by itself at this point, which made me hopeful that the dish would be equally scrumptious.

Now here is where things got tricky. The recipe calls for cooking everything in a Dutch oven for one and a half to two hours. The closest oven-safe cookery I had on hand were my Pyrex casserole dishes. I decided to go for it. I've made casseroles before and although it might change a few things about the dish I doubted that it would cause in irrevocable damage. I added the broth per the recipes directions and in it went for an hour and a half.

I won't lie, it didn't look pretty coming out of the oven. It smelled wonderful, but I had second thoughts eating something that looked like it might have come from medieval Europe. Thankfully I am stubborn and adamant on trying everything once. I served myself a small plate and after trying it I've decided it isn't that bad. Not something I would serve on the weekly (or monthly) basis, but it was fairly satisfying and easy to make dinner.

Remind me to leave the cube steak the the professionals next time, though.

Category:

Comments

2 Responses to “Blame Alton.”

  1. --Sharon
    February 9, 2011 at 6:35 PM

    I am buying you a chef's knife when you move here. A GOOD one. <3

  2. Dottie
    February 10, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    Chicken fried steak! Dredge cube steak in salted and peppered flour, fry it until it's crispy, and then make gravy in the pan. It's great with mashed potatoes!

Post a Comment

About

Photobucket I was born and raised in California. I have also lived in Hungary, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, and I will be moving again this summer. Kael is my incredibly awesome kiddo who is growing up far too quickly, and Alex is my fiance who makes me happier than should be legally allowed. I write about them a lot. I'm mildly obsessed with cooking and photography. I write about those things, too.

Followers