The Crescent City Farmer's Market sports an incredible bounty. From fresh seafood and citrus to vegetables and dairy, the market has the food you want to cook. Recently we picked up some rib eye steaks, collard greens, feta and garlic chevre, and a loaf of olive and sweet pepper focaccia.
The bread was consumed rapidly as good, fresh bread does not stand a chance in our house. The steak and collards were the focus of a recent dinner. The collards were rinsed and dried, then added to a dutch oven loaded with diced bacon, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, a bay leaf and some duck stock. The simmered on low heat, partially covered or partially uncovered depending on your view of life for around 6 hours while I took a nap. Here are the collards pre-saute.
The rib eyes were pretty big so Lindsay suggested only cooking one. That was a great idea. I made a dry rub of salt, pepper, and brown sugar and let the meat soak this up for about an afternoon. Then grilled the steak on a hot grill for 4 minutes each side (rotating the steak 90 degrees after two minutes to get those pro looking marks). Let the steak rest then slice across the grain.
Those collards put off an enticing aroma. Their flavor is nearly indescribable-hearty, wet, smoky, spicy, and slightly bitter. Perfect with a dash of hot sauce or vinegar.
We drank this with a 2006 Nieto Special Reserve Bonarda which was a great match to both the greens and the beef. Then we watched Carolina get smoked by the Cardinals and that made us both very happy.The collards cost $1. The steaks were a little bit more expensive at $24, but it is grass fed local beef. And we still have one other steak. We don't count wine as an expense in the 2009 Economical Challenge.
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3 comments:
Was the Galatoire's info erroneous?
Erroneous is too strong of a word.
We were kindly asked to remove the information for the time being so as not to interfere with ongoing negotiations. Not wanting to stand in the way of business development in a city in dire need of more business deals, we obliged. Our civic duty for the year thus fulfilled, we have gone back to goofing off.
It was a tough decision either way, but it is hard to say no to a request from an old friend.
They threatened to only let you eat upstairs, didn't they? That's about as bad as being disbarred in this town.
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