An Announcement

I am finally back to the blogging world, and I have an announcement for all of you who have been waiting and praying I would come back (I know you’re out there, even if you are being awfully quiet…)

I am a full-time writer!

I know this is a decision that usually takes a lot of people years in the corporate world to come to, and as a 21-year old recent college grad, it may seem a little hasty on my part.

But after one month at what I have to admit was an awesome job, I realized that my heart wasn’t in it: writing is my first love, and I’ve known since I was very young that it was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I even sent at 20-page “novel” to the address on the back of a Penguin Classic when I was 12.

I’m mainly going to be focusing, once again, on novels, but I’ll also have a lot more time to update you all on what’s been going on in my kitchen. And let me tell you, a lot has been going on.

I moved into the BF’s place, and instead of paying rent, I am responsible for the food… I’m not really sure how I got such an awesome deal, but there you go. On top of everything, moving away from the touristy and expensive 7th arrondissement (a sort of Parisian equivalent of Carnegie Hill, financially anyway, for you New Yorkers) meant that I moved closer to where the “normal” people live in Paris. Amongst other things, this means that my grocery store is up to my American standards: whereas in my old Franprix I could barely turn around without knocking someone over, the Champion down the block has two floors and all the choice I could ask for.

I’ve been whipping up a whole variety of things, and I have many more up my sleeve, which means that I have backlogged posts up the wazoo. They’ll all be making their way on here in what will (hopefully, finally) be daily posts! But first I want to share the dinner I made the night after I decided to quit the job and make writing a full-time affair.

It wasn’t anything crazy, but Alex said it was the best thing I had ever made. Granted, this might have to do with the fact that it involved steak, and anything that involves steak is an A+ in Alex’s book.

I used to be afraid of making steak until I conquered the fear about a year ago. I still don’t make steak very often, but this was a special occasion. When I do make steak, I don’t use a recipe; I just follow the same basic formula I learned last year. I leave the steaks out for about half an hour, salt them right before they hit a combination of hot oil and butter, cook them for a minute and a half per side, and run the fan and pray to God the fire alarm doesn’t go off.

When they come off the grill, I add some black pepper. I’m not sure why I do it in that order… I think I was afraid of burning the pepper once, and now it’s just automatic. At any rate, this provides a perfectly seasoned medium-rare steak (based on the cuts I buy: entrecôtes).

Also on the menu were roasted vegetables. I read a post this week about making sure your man has enough to eat while also ensuring that your jeans still fit, which is exactly how I approach side dishes in my house. Roasted veggies at home were heavy on the potatoes, but I make mine heavy on carrots (and this time, zucchini, which was on sale).

I toss quartered new potatoes, chunks of carrot and a peeled, quartered onion with salt, pepper, olive oil and herbes de provence and roast them in a hot oven. When they’re getting closer to done, I add thinly sliced zucchini to one half of the pan (my oven heats hotter in the back. We’re working together to find a solution.) I love making roasted veggies with a hands-on dish like pan-fried steaks because they cook themselves. I stick my head in every once in awhile to stir things up and see how it’s going, but for the most part, I just let them go for half an hour without paying any attention.

Which means that I have time to make a third dish: salad.

I know that I’ve explained it on here before at some point, but I feel the need to reiterate: salads are my favorite creative medium. It all stems from the fact that when I first started cooking, forever and a day ago, salads were the first part of the meal my mom was willing to relinquish, and I pounced on the offering. Throwing together a creative salad is second-nature now, and salad is on our table most nights of the week.

This salad was a combination of bagged winter lettuce (frisée, red leaf, baby spinach, radicchio), cubed beets (which come cooked and prepared in a vacuum-sealed bag here… something that makes my aunt endlessly jealous), slices of Granny Smith apple, and goat cheese croutons: a staple of my mom’s. I make a simple vinaigrette in the bottom of the bowl and throw in all the ingredients, beets first so that the lettuce doesn’t start to wilt, and then when the roasted veggies are done, I throw the croutons (rounds of baguette topped with chèvre and just a bit of fresh ground black pepper) under the broiler so the cheese can melt.

I considered not sharing any real recipes today, but I realized that sometimes this simple kind of food– food that has started to become second nature for me–isn’t. I can certainly remember a time when it wasn’t this easy for me, when I set my pans on fire and cursed a lot in the kitchen. (OK, I still do that last one.)

So I am going to give you the recipes, but look at them as a starting point. Find out what works for you and go with it. And have fun, of course. That’s what this whole thing: the blog, the decision to make writing the center of my life, and even making dinner every evening, is about. Have fun.
Pan-Fried Steaks

2 entrecôte steaks
2 tsp. olive oil (not extra-virgin)
1 tsp. butter
salt and pepper

Take the steaks out of the fridge and place them on a plate. Allow to come to room temperature, about half an hour.

Heat the olive oil and butter over high heat in a heavy-bottomed skillet. When the butter stops sputtering, salt one side of each steak and place them, salted side down, into the oil. Salt the other side. Allow the steaks to cook without moving them.

After a minute and a half, flip the steaks and allow the other side to cook. When a minute and a half has passed, remove the steaks to a plate and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Allow to sit ten minutes, covered, before slicing.

Roasted Vegetables

5-6 new potatoes, skins on, quartered
1 onion, peeled and quartered
3 carrots, scrubbed but not peeled, cut in thirds and halved
2 small zucchini, sliced into thin coins
1 tbsp. olive oil, separated
1 tsp. herbes de provence
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Prepare all the vegetables. Keeping the zucchini to the side, toss the rest of the vegetables in a baking pan with the olive oil, salt and pepper, reserving 1 tsp. of the oil.

Place the baking pan in the oven and allow the vegetables to cook for half an hour, stirring every so often. When the potatoes are nearly cooked, push all the vegetables to one side of the pan, and lay the zucchini slices on the empty side, sprinkling with salt and olive oil. Try to lay them with as little overlap as possible.

When the zucchini are cooked, after about ten minutes, use a spoon to toss all the vegetables together and add the herbes de provence.