On the menu...Saturday 12th

Rump Steak with New Potatoes and Maddy's Special Cauliflower Cheese

I bet I know what you're thinking.

STEAK! Mmm...

POTATOES! Mmm...

Mush on the side...WHAT'S THAT!?

This shall be revealed later in a separate post. Ooo, a sense of food related mystery...(and by that I mean the good kind, not the "when exactly did this go out of date?!" kind, often resulting in an unpleasant spot of food poisoning).

Anyway...

Feeling infinitely proud of my ability to feed up my fella, reeling off the sense of smugness from my previous night's achievements, I decided stepping up my game was the only way forward. And, stereotypically, in my opinion, where this is involved, steak must be involved. (Especially considering it almost coincided with a particular...*ahem*...alternative date on the foodie calendar...)

Let's get this straight. If you're going to cook a steak, for heavens sake cook it right! A well done steak in my humble opinion a crime against meat, a cow's death in vain...But no pressure.

A few cheeky tips for cooking the perfect steak!

1. Season. Salt and pepper is an essential. 

2. Oil the meat, not the pan. Not only does it save on waste and mess, but ensures that the entire surface area of the meat is protected before cooking.

3. Massage your meat. Yes, I am aware of how perverse this sounds, and no, this isn't a trick to make you appear as though you have some kind of meat fetish. By giving your steak a thorough rubbing with oil, it tenderizes it, making it juicier and easier to chew when cooked.

4. Ensure your pain is sizzling hot. You'll know it's ready when steam starts rising from it. Hello Mr convector-fan, it's time for a workout...

Griddle power

5. Don't play with your meat. Another unintentional innuendo. To elaborate, once you've placed your steak in the griddle pan, don't mess it about, flipping it over every 10 seconds. We're all guilty of it. But be patient! Blackened griddle marks are a positive sign.

6. Depending on the thickness of the steak and your cooking preference this will obviously differ, but for a medium-rare steak (my preference!) allow the meat to cook on each side until it has visibly cooked (the outside colour will turn from red to pale brown), and no signs of redness can be seen from any side or angle. Then allow a minute or so's extra cooking time on top of this. If, like me, you've heard the old "if it feels like the left side of your palm its well done, or under your thumb its rare" -type mythical nonsense, IGNORE IT! You'll only confuse yourself, and in the process of navigating around your own hand, massacre your steak.

As snug as a bug in a rug...or a steak in
some tin-foil. Practically the same thing.

7. Once you're happy, remove it from the pan and seal in a layer of tin-foil for a few minutes. Don't worry, it won't go cold! This allows the steak to soak back up it's own juices making it, you guessed it, uber juicy!

8. Plate up with your favourite accompaniment...my own cauliflower cheese recipe is a definite winner...

9. Eat it you fool!