Don't Pack Those Knives- 4/8/09

If you have ever seen the Bravo show, Top Chef, you know that the chef with the weakest dish of the night is asked to pack their knives and leave the show. Tonight's recipe was created for the cookbook, 'wichcraft: Craft a Sandwich into a Meal--and a Meal into a Sandwich, by Tom Colicchio of Top Chef fame. I've seen the show a few times and am not prepared to make a judgement on Mr. Colicchio but I can now say, he makes a really good sandwich.

The recipe April's Gourmet included with the cookbook review was Red Wine-Braised Flank Steak with Roasted Peppers, Onions, and Gruyere. Most sandwich recipes are quick but this one was not. Three hours is a long time to spend on a sandwich but it was worth it. The wine braise made the steak very tender and the wine braise sauce gave a rich flavor to the meat. The homemade roasted peppers and roasted red onions added flavor and crunch. The Gruyere was flavorful enough to pull its weight with all the other strong flavors. This was a really good sandwich. The only shame was it didn't make more.
This recipe included a recipe for Roasted Peppers on page 111. I've roasted my own red peppers before and it's always fun to peel the charred skin off the peppers. I actually lit my grill just to roast two peppers. It's been in the 40's or rainy for the last few weeks in Atlanta but today was sunny and almost 70. Just lighting the grill and standing outside was healing. The marinade for the peppers was excellent, too. I gave Richard a blind taste test and he picked my homemade peppers over the jarred variety. He said he like the smoky taste and I liked making better peppers than a jar!

Roasted Red Peppers-A
Cost-$2.17
Calories per serving- 372 for entire recipe

Red Wine-Braised Flank Steak with Roasted Peppers, Onions, and Gruyere-A
Cost-$24.88
Calories per serving-833

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