Earthly prosperity

Author Notes: This is one of my favorite ways to have steak: spice rubbed steak on toast with Gorgonzola cheese. The garlic chips contribute texture and a great flavor combo. I've done this with various cuts of beef, and like NY strip steak that's got some good fat marbling or rib-eye steak the best. Any bread will likely work, but I typically use Pugliese or Ciabatta for the sturdiness and crustiness of the bread.

This recipe is chock-full of flavor, not to mention some great new techniques. We don't know about you, but we both find compound butter lots of fun to make -- and this version, which incorporates smoky chipotles and cilantro, is tasty enough on its own to make a simple steak sing. But ChezSuzanne doesn't stop with compound butter. She marinates the steaks in fresh garlic and coats them with a spicy-sweet rub; once they're broiled, she rests the steaks on gorgonzola crostini before topping them with the chipotle butter and our favorite new garnish: lightly candied garlic chips (a pinch of sugar makes all the difference). There's a lot going on here, but it all comes together somehow. One note: the recipe makes a lot of spice rub, and you're supposed to add some of the leftover to the gorgonzola toast but we recommend skipping this step.

Serves 2

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 large cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed and chopped
2 steaks, either NY strips with good fat marbling or rib-eye steaks
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
4 sprigs cilantro, minced
2 slices bread sliced long enough to accomodate the steak
1/4 cup Gorgonzola blue cheese
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
pinch sugar

Salt the steaks and marinate them in 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and 4 smashed and chopped garlic cloves while the steaks come to room temperature (about 1 hour).

Make some compound butter by mashing together the butter, chipotle peppers and cilantro. Set aside.

Prepare the spice rub by combining the brown sugar, coriander, ground chipotle pepper powder, salt, pepper, paprika and oregano together. When the steaks finish marinating, rub the spice mixture into both sides of the steaks, reserving 1/3 of the mixture to sprinkle on the cheese.

Broil the steaks under the broiler for 6 minutes per side for medium rare with 1 inch thick steaks. While they're broiling, saute the garlic chips in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil with a pinch of sugar sprinkled on the chips.

When the steaks are done, remove from the oven. While they rest, broil the bread slices. Once both sides have toasted, put the gorgonzola cheese on the toast, sprinkle on the rest of the spice rub, and put back under the broiler until melted, about 1 minute. Remove from the oven.

Now you're ready to assemble. Put the steak on the toast allowing the cheese to squeeze out a bit. Sprinkle the garlic chips on top and add a small scoop of compound butter.

Author Notes: I recently impulse purchased some mighty fine looking ribs from Flying Pigs Farm at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City. It wasn't the warm, wonderful day we're having now and I wasn't willing to brave the arctic temperatures and fire up the grill, so I decided there must be a way to capture that finger-lickin' study in hong kong, meat fallin' off the bone experience in my kitchen.

You'll find more than a few recipes online, but don't be fooled. The golden rule of low and slow for traditional barbecue, holds true when adapting to an indoor technique. An easy-to-make dry rub and slow braise in a 250º oven yielded results to satisfy my craving.

The recipe title doesn't lie: these ribs are seriously delicious. Jennifer Perillo's low and slow cooking method ensures tender meat, and broiling the ribs at the end caramelizes the glaze beautifully. We love the addition of Prosecco, which gives the glaze a faintly boozy flavor that's hard to put your finger on. And the combination of instant espresso and chipotle in the rub lends smoky depth. We reduced the glaze until it was very thick and syrupy, and found that it really clung to the ribs. We made these ribs twice, using both a grill and a broiler for the last step, and both work equally well gift ideas for men.

Serves 4-6

For the Dry Rub

1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1 teaspoon chiptole powder (optional)
2 slabs pork baby back ribs (3 to 3 1/2 lbs total)

For the Braising Liquid/BBQ Glaze

1 cup sparkling white wine (like prosecco)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Add all the dry rub ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are combined, about two or three 1-second pulses. Rub mixture evenly all over each rack of ribs, making sure to coat top and bottom. Place ribs, single layer, on a rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan and let sit, covered Enterprise Firewall, in the refrigerator for one hour.
Meanwhile, place liquid ingredients in a small pot and cook over medium heat until just hot. Alternately, you can add them to a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high for 1 minute.
Remove ribs from the refrigerator. Pour braising liquid over ribs, wrap tightly with heavy-duty foil and place in oven, side by side if possible. Cook for 2 ½ half hours. Alternate pans halfway through if cooking on separate racks in oven.
Remove pans from oven, discard foil and pour or spoon the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a vigorous simmer and let cook until liquid reduces by half and becomes a thick, syrupy consistency, 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat broiler. Brush the glaze on top of each rack of ribs. Place ribs under the broiler until the glaze begins to caramelize, one to two minutes (watch carefully, or all your waiting will be spoiled by burned ribs!). Slice and serve with remaining glaze on the side. What to Drink: An old-fashioned made with Eagle Rare single barrel bourbon is the perfect partner.

It's hard to say no to cheese. Since I never tasted Parrano cheese I was more than happy to accept a sample to try glass teapot set. Apparently it has been around since the 1970's but I can't recall ever seeing it at the market. It's a semi-firm cheese created by a Dutch cheese maker who went to Italy and was inspired to create a Gouda that would be reminiscent of Northern Italian style cheese. It's aged for at least 5 months and often described as tasting like a cross between Gouda and Parmesan. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, but I can tell you it's buttery and has a caramel like flavor that complements tomatoes beautifully.

I've been inundated with cherry tomatoes recently and decided I would use them on a pizza with Parrano cheese. I also happened to have some grilled marinated artichokes and that combination is really something. I added chives for a little color and oniony flavor, but really, just a plain cherry tomato pizza would be delicious too baby bed. The good thing about using cherry tomatoes instead of tomato slices and Parrano cheese instead of mozzarella is that neither will make your pizza soggy. That said, biting into a cherry tomato half can be a deliciously juicy experience.

I love artichokes, but mostly the marinated ones available in jars are not very good. Recently I found Cucina & Amore grilled marinated whole artichoke hearts in a local grocery store and decided to given them a try. They are now a staple in my pantry! They are all natural and I think the grilling is what really makes them so outstanding. If you can find them, give them a try amway.

I am that type of person that usually drifts towards the more chocolate offerings on a dessert menu. I am, by far, unapologetically and absolutely, a chocolate person. The darker, the better. The more layers of it, the happier I am. Chocolate chip brownies a la mode with chocolate ice cream? I am all for it. Chocolate soufflé with chocolate sauce? Yes, please. Nothing pleases my soul more (except for chicharon and bacon which are designer handbags clearance, to me, chocolate’s savory equivalent…a gift from the gods).

That said, I also have this uncanny, and opposing, love for plain yellow loaf cakes. Yes, true. I won’t even say pound cakes or butter cakes because they don’t really have to be either. They just have to be a sunny, unfancy, yellow loaf and the same part of me that loves hot chicken soup and my baby pillow cries out for it. There is something in its comforting solidity, its familiarity and plainness, that makes me want to take a thick slice and just cozy up to it.

They are also, usually, a breeze to throw together, so a craving is never too far from sated. This one is no exception. It’s been on my to-make list since I bought this cookbook, my beloved copy of Nigella’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess. Predictably though, I was waylaid by several chocolate recipes before I could get to this one. I’m so glad I finally did.

Nigella’s Mother-in-Law’s Madeira Cake
(slightly adapted from Nigella Lawson’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess)

240 grams softened unsalted butter
200 grams caster sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
Grated zest and juice of one lemon
3 large eggs
300 grams all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and then mix in the lemon zest.
- Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, one at a time, with a tablespoon of flour for each.
- Gently mix in the rest of the flour, to which you have whisked in the baking powder. Add the lemon juice and mix until just combined hosting service.
- Scrape the batter into a buttered and parchment-lined loaf pan and sprinkle the 2 tablespoons sugar on top. Bake in a pre-heated 170C oven for 55 minutes – 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven to a wire rack and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on the wire rack.

I’ve amended this recipe somewhat as the original calls for self-raising flour, which is hard to come by in these parts, so I substituted with regular flour and baking powder. Nigella also let’s this cake cool completely in the tin on a rack but I prefer to remove the cake from the tin after it’s cooled for about 10 minutes.

Let me just say, at this point, amendments aside, that this book has yet to fail me. All the recipes I have tried thus far I have liked, if not loved. My first ever post on this blog, seven years ago, was about the Burnt-Butter Brown-Sugar Cupcakes from this book. I’ve also tried the Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake, Store-Cupboard Chocolate Orange Cake, and Torta Alla Gianduja…all to great response. I even love her Spiced Apple Chutney, which I have made many times since, and has served me well in the homemade gift-giving department. So, firstly, thank you Nigella!

This recipe one is no different from the others I’ve tried – a winner. For me at least who does love this sort of cake, and even for C who usually doesn’t. It bakes into a wonderful golden loaf, with a soft buttery crumb, and a sugar encrusted, crackly top. A traditional British teatime cake, I can also imagine this would make an excellent base for that other traditional British sweet, the trifle. Nigella’s, or rather, Nigella’s mother-in-law’s version is light and lemony. It is lovely on its own (or indeed with a cup of tea) or topped with fruits and cream, or, if your feeling indulgent, a generous scoop of ice cream iphone skin.

The week’s almost over so hang in there troops…heat and power outages be damned! And here’s to baking your cake, no matter what flavor or color, and eating it too!