Feeding a carnivore when you're not one

Grilling during the late spring and summer months makes dinner preparation much easier in our "split-diet" household. My husband enjoys a good steak now and then, and I just decided against eating any red meat since my vegetarian college days. I've since modified my diet to include some turkey and seafood.

To drink, we shared a 2008 Cotes du Rhone from Domaine d'Andezon. This Syrah blend has a beautiful inky purple color and is very smooth with just a hint of spice and smokiness to match well with grilled food.

New York Strip Steak on the Grill for One
(adapted from David Walzog of Michael Jordan's Steak House NYC)

• 1 New York strip steaks (one inch thick)
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee (I use Crystal Farms brand)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Preparation

Remove the steak from the refrigerator about 30 to 40 minutes before cooking. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow the steak to come to room temperature.

Mix the oil and  clarified butter on a large serving plate. Put the steak into the oil-butter mix to coat each side, then lift the steaks to allow the excess oil to drip off. (Make sure that the steaks don't have too much oil-butter mix on them, as this will create flare-ups on the grill.) Coat each side of the steaks with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.

Place the meat on the hottest part of the grill. If at any time the grill flares up, move the steaks to the outside edge, returning them to the center when the flame dies down. Do not slide the steaks across the grill; gently pick them up with tongs. The key is not to flip them around. Cook each side twice for 3-5 minutes at a time, depending on whether you like your steak rare, medium rare, or medium well.

Soft-shell crabs!

We both love soft-shell crabs and when we discovered (after 10 years of living in the same neighborhood), that our local fishmonger at Jeff's Seafood had a good supply of live blue crabs, I jumped at the opportunity to cook them for dinner tonight. A+ that  we can have the fishmonger clean (or dress) the crabs! (I'm not sure that I'm quite ready for the "face-snipping" yet.)

To drink, we had a 2008 Gruner Veltliner Hefeabzug from Nikolaihof  that I've been wanting to open ever since we tried it at an Austrian-focused tasting last spring at Crush Wine. It was perfect - crisp and with enough fruit to balance out the fried seafood.


Pan-fried soft-shell crabs
(adapted from Judy Walker of the Times-Picayune on NOLA.com and inspired by the soft-shell crabs served at the Great New York Noodletown in Manhattan's Chinatown)

• 4 medium soft-shell crab, dressed
• Enough buttermilk to cover the crabs in a shallow dish
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne 
• 6 to 8 tablespoons of canola or peanut oil (enough to coat the bottom of your skillet)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Lemon wedges to serve
• 2 jalapeno peppers, deseeded and thinly sliced (optional)
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preparation

Soak the dressed crabs in the buttermilk for 30 minutes.

Combine the flour, salt and cayenne in a shallow bowl. Remove the crabs from the buttermilk, dredge them in the flour and shake to remove any excess.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cook the crabs, two at a time for two to three minutes on each side or until they are lightly browned and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Garnish with parsley and jalapeno peppers and serve warm. Sprinkle with lemon juice to taste.

What's for dinner?

I am determined to begin writing today. As my husband suggested, this may be a way to organize the recipes I gather from many sources, keep track of wines we try every evening, and basically, just to try and remember things. I'm finding that my memory isn't as good as it was before.

So, I'm starting dinner tonight with a grilled Romaine lettuce salad with a buttermilk dressing. Gourmet magazine uses Napa cabbage and radishes but since we had the grill on for burgers tonight (beef for him and turkey for me), I decided to make most use of the flame.

To drink, we opened a bottle from Valdeorras,  Joaquín Rebolledo (2007) that we picked up during a spur of the moment wine tasting at the wonderful Tinto Fino in the East village. We had it slightly chilled (as we've been doing with most of our light reds this summer) with our grilled supper. Delicious!

Grilled Romaine Lettuce Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
 (adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

• 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• a pinch of  sugar
• 2 heads of Romaine lettuce, cut in half, lengthwise
• Olive oil to brush on the lettuce halves
• 1 apple, thinly sliced (I used Gala tonight because that's what we had in the crisper, but I'm sure a tart apple like Granny smith would work well, too.)
• Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, shallot, sugar,  salt, and  pepper  (to taste) in a large bowl until sugar has dissolved. 

Brush the cut side of the romaine with olive oil. Place on a hot grill for a few minutes until the leaves are lightly charred.

Place the charred romaine wedges and apple slices on a plate and drizzle the dressing over the top. Top with a few cheese shavings.