Meat and Potatoes

Whenever my boyfriend visits home his mom always sends him back with a cooler full of meat. Whole chicken, pork tenderloins, ribs, and my favorite...steaks. As I get older I have begun to appreciate steak more. I went from liking it charred and cooked way past the point you should ever cook a steak, to appreciating the wonderful flavors of a perfectly cooked medium-rare steak.

The restaurant that cooks the best steak I have ever eaten is The Hitching Post. A lot of people may remember this restaurant from the movie Sideways. It was the restaurant and bar they went to every night. My dad is their go-to plumber so he has gotten to know the staff and owners over the years. So whenever I am home visiting I have to go there. They know how to cook a mean piece of steak and their Magic Dust seasoning is phenomenal. Plus, there is nothing like cooking meat over a wood burning fire, using red oak of course. Oh and if you go there you HAVE to try their grilled artichokes. They are amazing!

http://hitchingpost2.com/

We don't have a huge wood burning grill to cook our steaks over. But we do have a tiny grill that gets the job done. Now if only we had some red oak. Oh well. We grilled up the steaks, made some mashed potatoes with my brand new potato ricer, and sauteed up some spicy red kale. A decadent meal for a Monday night, but hey, it's only going to get colder and we're running out of grilling time. I also wanted to use my new potato ricer since I had never used one before. I didn't even buy it for this purpose, I heard you can use them to make spaetzle, and they are great for getting rid of moisture in potatoes and zucchini for frying them up.

I'll leave you with a recipe for riced mashed potatoes and spicy sauteed red chard. We just put some seasoning on the steaks and throw them on the grill until done.

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
I approximated the measurements, add heated cream mixture slowly so you don't add too much liquid

3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste 

1) In a large pot of water add the potatoes and plenty of salt and boil until tender
2) Drain potatoes then lay out on baking sheet for 15 minutes or so

3) Place potatoes in a potato ricer and rice them into a bowl

4) Meanwhile heat milk, cream, and butter until heated then pour over potatoes and mix with a whisk

5) Add salt and pepper and serve along side main dish

Spicy Sauteed Red Chard
1 bunch of red chard, or other leafy green
Olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Rinse and chop chard into smaller pieces
2) Heat olive oil in pan, when hot add the chard and spices

3) Cook until tender, stirring frequently, then serve along side main dish and enjoy!