Steak, Biscuits and a Parisian Snack - Aug. 12th

Beef was on sale that week, and my parents stocked up. We ended up having steak for dinner. For the sides, we were planning to make biscuits, steamed beans, sauteed onions, and baked potatoes.

Since biscuits take the longest to make, my mom started on it. She didn't have a recipe while making this. She just made it by feel.



Once they were baked, they looked like this.



Unfortunately, these didn't taste like biscuits. They tasted like dry scones, probably because she used added half butter and half lard, instead of just butter.

I made the potatoes by adding vegetable oil, a handful of Italian seasoning and a bit of chili powder to add a little kick. Crispy outsides with fluffy insides. Yum.



If I could do it again though, I'd crank the oven higher and add more oil, Italian seasoning and chili powder to get a stronger flavour and crispier potatoes. Maybe add a bit of garlic, too.

The beans and onions didn't take long. We steamed the beans and sauteed the onions with more Italian seasoning.



The steaks were seasoned with Montreal steak spice and thrown on the barbeque. (Sorry for the blurry picture)



I wish the biscuits turned out like biscuits and not dry scones, that way I'd have carbs to fill up on. The steak wasn't flavourful - other than the steak spice on the outside. We don't marinade the steak for more than an hour or so, which I don't understand. A marinade would improve any steak. Anyway, dinner was so-so.

Thankfully, Lucy and Jimmy went out after dinner and came back with some cheese, a few baguettes and wine.



Lucy's comment: We bought havarti cheese with carraway seeds, a double creme brie (slightly warmed in the oven), and a bottle of wine (Deinhard Green Label Riesling). Though the flavours didn't exactly mesh together, they were still delicious. I'm going to have to pay more attention to the combination of flavours next time.



We grabbed a few things we had in the kitchen: fig preserves, fine herb liver pate, nectarines, and smoked salmon. The baguettes and cheese were warmed in the toaster oven and everything was then assembled onto the plate.

Everyone enjoyed the Parisian-inspired "snack." I particularly enjoyed it, since I thought dinner was disappointing.