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C & I love to eat at The Great Steak and Potato Company.  This is my first effort to make a steak sandwich similar to theirs.  My recipe was based on one from the Alton Brown show “Good Eats” on the Food Network which is my favorite show on that channel.  Mister Brown’s recipe Chain of Bull Cheese Steaks looked so good, I tried the recipe.

I could not find the exact cut of beef that he used, so sirloin was used as a substitute.  The steak should have been pounded thinner, but the taste was still pretty good for a first try.  C said that it was really good for a first try.  The fries were my own concoction, and one of C’s favorites.  I have to tell on myself…the recipe said to toss the meat with the olive oil before putting it in the hot pan.  You will see below.  Forgetting that olive oil has a very low smoke point, I poured the oil in the pan while it was heating.  I set off 2 smoke detectors with this, so I told C that I was going to name these “Two Alarm Steak Sandwiches”!  Ha, ha! Remember, this is not the exact Alton Brown recipe.  His was used for a basic guidelines, so this will be different.

Let’s make the sandwiches first.

For 2 sandwiches:

appr. 1/2 lb sirloin steak (the package I bought had .62 lbs which was fine)

1 tsp olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 hoagie rolls

4 slices provolone cheese

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Remove the beef from the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before cooking.  Preheat a skillet over high heat.  Lightly pound the steak until it is an even thickness throughout, the thinner the better.

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Toss the meat with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to your taste.

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Once the pan is hot, place the steak in the pan and sear on both sides until cooked through, approximately 3-4 minutes per side.  Remove the steak from the pan and wrap in aluminum foil to rest for 5-10 minutes.

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Slice the beef into small pieces and divide evenly between the 2 hoagie rolls.  Pour any juice from the meat onto the hoagie as well.  Top the meat with cheese and wrap in aluminum foil.  Place in a warm oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  My oven was still warm from cooking the oven-baked fries.

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Seasoned Oven-Baked Fries

3 Idaho potatoes

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp seasoning salt

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch sticks and place in a bowl.  Add oil, seasoning salt, salt & pepper to the potatoes and toss to coat.

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Spread potatoes on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet.

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Bake for 10 minutes, stir fries, and bake for 10 more minutes.  Broil for 2 additional minutes to get a crunchy fry.  Serve with steak sandwiches and enjoy!

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For chocaholics like me, I’m not sure if there is any better smell than this cake when it is baking.  It is like you have stepped into a chocolate dream!  This is one easy, awesome chocolate cake recipe.  ENJOY!!!

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 lb. can chocolate syrup

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13×9” glass baking dish with the butter wrapper.  Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time.

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Pour in the chocolate syrup and vanilla.  Then add the flour and baking powder.

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Pour in the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.

FROSTING:

1 stick butter, softened

6 tbsp milk

4 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 lb powdered sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer.

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YYYYYUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYY!

Farm0035

FYI

I just picked 17 more ripe strawberries off of the 25 Tribute plants that I have and there are many more to come!  I highly recommend these!!!

Order yours next spring from Miller’s Nurseries at www.millernurseries.com.

I have tried several new products this year and have had some good luck and bad luck.  Today is all about the good luck!  I love strawberries, but have trouble eating the ones in the grocery store because of some preservative that is used on them.  I swell up like crazy when I try to eat them, but I can eat all of the home-grown ones I can find.

I usually buy 1 or 2 gallons to freeze, and still did that this year as well, but I also wanted fresh ones to eat throughout the summer.  I decided to grow a few of my own.  My mom recommended Miller Nurseries, a mail order company specializing in fruit plants and trees.  What a success!

I ordered 25 Tribute strawberry plants and planted them on May 13th.  Tributes are ever bearing strawberries with perfectly shaped, strongly-flavored bright red berries.  Just in the last 2 days, I have harvested 24 berries, with many more green ones on the plants.  I have also potted several of the runners to make new plants.  I highly recommend these berries!

May:

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June:

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August:

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Also, this spring, C & I decided to install 4 rain barrels in the back yard.  First, we ordered a set of 2 English-style rain barrels from Gardener’s Supply Company.  There was a special deal for 2 barrels and a free linking kit to hook them together.  We liked the first two so well, we ordered two more.  We have had more rain than usual this summer, so the barrels stay full and we have not had to use one drop of “city” water on our plants.  I think it shows, too. 

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If you are in the market for strawberry plants or rain barrels, in my opinion you can’t go wrong with these!  Happy gardening!

God is good!

 

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I post a lot about cooking and gardening, but today I wanted to tell you about an author that I really like.  I think I have read all of her books and enjoyed every one of them.  Her name is Adriana Trigiani.  The first book of hers that I read (and I think it is the first she wrote) is Big Stone Gap.  The name of the book is the name of the small Virginia mountain community in the book.  The main character is Ave Maria Mulligan, “the 35-year-old self-proclaimed spinster” of the town.  Needless to say, she eventually finds love and happiness.  The two sequels are Big Cherry Holler and Milk Glass Moon

I have just finished the latest installment of this series, Home To Big Stone Gap.  I think I like these books because I can relate to the “small town” feel of the setting.  It reminds me a lot of the small town in which C & I live, love, and work. 

Ms. Trigiani’s characters are human.  They have flaws and have to make tough choices (not always the right ones) like we do.  Even her characters that are based in New York City, like Valentine Roncalli in her latest book Very Valentine, (yes, I have read that one, too!) feel like real people, not just beautiful, talented, perfect people in some other books. 

So, if you are looking for a good summer read, choose one of Ms. Trigiani’s books whose story stands alone, like Very Valentine or Queen Of the Big Time, but if you have some time to invest, read the Big Stone Gap series.  I hope you like it as well as I do!

I know where I want to be the night of March 5, 2010!  At the movie theater, watching “Alice In Wonderland”!!!  It is directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helen Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.  I happened upon the movie trailer yesterday on a random blog that I picked and I have already watched it several times.

Here’s the link to the trailer on YouTube.  Take a look.  I think it is AWESOME!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiPR6kA4_iU

Day Trip

C & I aren’t big travelers, but every once in a while, we will take off for a day trip.  My birthday is around this time, and C asked what I wanted for my birthday.  There really wasn’t anyTHING in particular that I wanted, but there was someplace that I wanted to go. 

I had learned about Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, a couple of years ago and had wanted to go.  Well, we finally went yesterday.  It is in a beautiful area of south Nashville called Belle Meade.  Belle Meade is named after a big plantation of the same name that is located there.  The plantation is also open to the public, but we did not make it there on this trip.

I was not as impressed with the woodland areas of Cheekwood as I was the more manicured gardens near the house itself.  The Japanese gardens and water gardens are worth the $10.00 price of admission.  I think the woodland gardens would have been more colorful in the springtime as opposed to July.  The house on the grounds contains a museum with rotating art exhibits.  Currently, there is an exhibit of Faberge items there.  I know very little about art, so I enjoyed the gardens more.  There are also several art pieces exhibited in the gardens themselves.  They were very interesting!  Here are a few photos to whet your appetite…if you are looking for a day trip and you live close to Nashville, I would recommend checking out Cheekwood, especially if you love gardens.

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I think I have found my new favorite cookie since I have made these twice in the last week and I am eating one right now!  My mother-in-law, J, found this recipe and gave it to me to try.  It is a rousing success!  Southern Living Magazine published this in their new Christmas cookbook, and have used it in their advertising.  Try it, I know you will love it!!!

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (original recipe called for milk)

1 cup plus 2 tbsp mini marshmallows

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Microwave 1 cup semisweet chips in a small microwave-safe glass bowl at HIGH power for 1 minute or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.

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Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each.  Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate.

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Sift together flour, baking powder, & salt.  Gradually add to the chocolate mixture, beating until well-blended.  Stir in chopped pecans and remaining chocolate chips.

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Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Press 3 mini marshmallows onto the center of each cookie.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set.

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One note of caution.  Make sure you put the marshmallows in the center of the cookie more than the above photo shows or you will end up with a “cookie monster” as my husband called it!!

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This is what they are supposed to look like…

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Mmm, mmmm!  Yummy!

 

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Scharffen Berger.