There are three recipes I crave every July and August. In fact, summer won’t have counted without them. The first is any and all manner of fruit galettes, but those with stone fruits in particular. The second is the ‘kitchen clambake’ recipe that I made for a collaboration with Gray Malin a few years back and has now become an annual tradition.
The third is a big ass steak salad. The main requirement for this salad to really hit the mark is that everything has to be perfectly in season. It has to be corn and tomato season. You must have the platonic ideal of an avocado. And in my perfect world, I cook the steak to the exact middle point between medium rare and medium. The way I make this is based off of this classic Bon Appetit recipe, with a few adjustments:
First, the salad dressing is gorgeous. Instead of red wine vinegar, I keep champagne vinegar on hand so that’s what I use. One year (because I’m wild), I added a whisper of store-bought horseradish cream and it really punched it up. I always add a lazy drip of honey in there, too.
Second, I add fresh tarragon to the skillet with the butter and thyme, and even typing that gets me a little hot and bothered. I’ll die on the hill of tarragon being an under-appreciated herb.
Third, corn is a must in this salad. The bright, summery sweetness! Take two ears of corn, don’t remove the husks yet. Put them into the microwave for 8 minutes and then let them rest on the counter for 3-4 minutes. They’re perfectly steamed. Graze them lightly with butter and then glide your knife down them vertically to separate the kernels from the cobs.
(Bonus: Keep the shorn cobs for vegetable stock. Toss the cobs and other random veggie scraps into a large pot, cover them with water, add a few big pinches of salt, and simmer for an hour or two.)
Finally, the butter lettuce is a must. It can be combined with other mild lettuces like romaine or iceberg or even frisée, but I would tread lightly with the more peppery greens like arugula. I’ve used both large heirloom tomatoes, chopped, and cherry tomatoes, halved. Both are delicious. And a healthy handful of sliced sugar snap peas would be gorgeous on here, too. We’re thinking sweet, crunchy, ripe veggies to go with a perfectly salted strip steak. It’s heaven.
Serve it with a COLD rosé or dry bottle of bubbles.
Without further ado, a summertime steak salad adapted from Bon Appetit:
Ingredients
1 1½"-thick boneless New York strip steak (about 12 oz.)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 small shallot, finely diced
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp of horseradish cream, very optional
1 tsp honey
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar (or white wine or champagne or sherry vinegar)
6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 Persian cucumbers
2 ears of corn, steamed and kernels stripped from the cob
1 cup sugar snap peas, halved or sliced
1 head of butter lettuce
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs tarragon
1 avocado
Steps
Pat steak dry with paper towels; season generously with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature while you make the dressing.
In a small bowl, whisk shallot, mustard, and vinegar in a medium bowl. While whisking, stream in 5 tbsp. of olive oil. Keep going until it is thick and emulsified, then add in 1 tbsp. water and pinch of salt. Taste it!
Heat a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Rub the steak with the remaining 1 tbsp. oil. Sear the steak first for about 3 min on each side. Then cook, turning every minute or so, until medium-rare (an instant-read thermometer should register 125°), expect that to take about 5 minutes longer. Take the skillet off the heat to cool it down a bit (2 min). Then, return it over medium-low, add in the butter, thyme, and tarragon. Using a spoon, scoop up some of the fragtant, foamy butter and baste over top of steak over and over again, for about 1-2 minutes. Transfer the steak to a cutting board. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing into it.
Take the corn cobs, still in their husks, and put them into the microwave (while the steak rests) for 8 minutes. When they’re done, let them rest for a few minutes on a plate or cutting board before removing husks and stripping the kernels from the cobs.
When everything’s ready, start by arranging the lettuce(s) on a big plate or platter. Season the lettuce with salt and pepper, then drizzle a bit of the dressing over it. Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, and snap peas if using and drizzle more dressing on top. Toss all together. Thinly slice steak crosswise and arrange that on top. Drizzle remaining dressing over it all. Literally give yourself a gold star.
Hot ‘n fresh links
I was interviewed by the lovely people at People Magazine about airline etiquette! Thoughts?
A good and very smart friend recently recommended The Case Against the Sexual Revolution. I haven’t yet started, but looks fascinating.
Hank Green answers the literally burning question “are we all about to die?”
Have you seen Barbie!? Or Oppenheimer!? Did you go for a double feature!?
And, of course, are you watching the Women’s World Cup? We’re glued to it.
These beaded Ancient Greek Sandals are a full-blown need, not a want. (via LeCatch)
Recent LA request
Hey! Do you have some fun restaurant recs for a bday dinner (40th)? Westside, any cuisine, thx!!
My response: The new and improved Georgian Hotel is delish and so fun, Dudley Market (fun, loud, delish), Pasjoli (excellent French food), Hatchet Hall, Felix, La Dolce Vita (renovated and meant to be great, in BH), Bicyclette (Beverlywood, super delish French food), Le Great Outdoor (casual but fun, open fire cooking, at Bergamot station), ooh, also Juliet in Culver City!
Also for my Angelenos who play tennis (too niche?) did you know that Wilson just opened a shop on the 3rd Street Promenade? Tennis skirts galore!
We’re not here yet, but for anyone with kids at an age where you’re talking about sex, this seems to be a wonderful resource. (via Cup of Jo)
Honestly a great idea…
These are all direct quotes from within my car…
Signing off to get all of my pent up rage out on the road, the way god intended.
xoxo,
Nicole