We love a traditional steak dinner served with creamed spinach and duck fat fried potatoes. Our recipe for Duck Fat Fried potatoes is just about the best thing in the world. It is fantastic served with steak but save some for leftovers as they are great with eggs too.
We were contacted a couple weeks ago by Ingrid who happens to be working with the Travel Channels online team, particularly the No Reservations sector. She asked us if we would be interested in spreading a little Anthony love. We jumped at it for a few reasons 1)we love the show & are faithful spectators 2)well, I am just going to say it, Anthony is HOT and 3)the obvious we should use a little self-promotion as well.
Over emails last week we were given the skinny on where Anthony will be taking us tomorrow night. Yes, it is his hometown & one of our favorite cities, Manhattan. While there he visited one of New York’s beef-eating institutions, Keens. Keens has been around since 1885 and has become known as Manhattan’s only USDA Prime-only restaurant. As well they have an outstanding Scotch collection. In honor of this memorable meal we thought it was only fitting that Anthony swings by for a little pre-Keen’s meal. Tonight we had one of his favorite meals …. steaks, creamed spinach and a glass of Scotch.
Avedano’s Meat Market has been in the back of my mind ever since I read an article about this woman-owned butcher shop. Something mildly intriguing about women being butchers as well I heard that they have some of the best beef in San Francisco. Since we were having Tony over for a traditional steak dinner we wanted to get the biggest and juiciest cuts they had and we found it with their New York cuts from the Five Dot Ranch. We wanted to keep it simple just as we imagine Keens does so we lightly seasoned them with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and olive oil. Pan-seared and then cooked to perfection.
Creamed spinach, I love the stuff and this was the first time Laudalino has ever had it. I remember the first time I had it at the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco. Nothing like creamy goodness next to a hunk of meat. I found an easy and traditional recipe in the Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything cookbook (my honey got it for my birthday). I did add my own touch to the recipe by adding a small amount of caramelized shallots along with the zest of fresh nutmeg. Otherwise, I kept it simple. I loved how creamy and buttery the dish turned out, very flavorful.
One cannot have a perfectly cooked steak without some potatoes. Not your ordinary fried potatoes either. It had to be duck fried potatoes. My first trip to Paris many moons ago I was introduced to this incredibly tasty morsel. Then I kind of forgot about it until I took a French cooking course a couple of years ago. Now I keep duck fat in the fridge and when we are aching for some fried potatoes or celery root, outcomes the fat. There is some intoxicating while the fat is heating up, the aroma is mouthwatering.
The meal was simple honest food. Good all the way to your core. And if you are wondering, strangely enough, the scotch went nicely with the steak and the creamed spinach, I guess you could say it really cut through the fat!
Thank you for joining us at the Chez Us table; we love having you here.
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Recipe: Duck Fat Fried Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 potatoes, cut into thin strips
1 cup rendered duck fat
kosher salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
How To:
Heat duck fat in a shallow frying pan, over medium heat.
Add potatoes in batches and cook until golden.
Set aside on a paper towel, in a warm oven (125 or lower).
Continue cooking with the remainder of potatoes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve.
Eat.
John
Wednesday 3rd of June 2009
Looks great! (Did you save the fat??)
Brittany (He Cooks She Cooks)
Monday 9th of March 2009
I recently befriended a local chef, and he offered me some duck fat the other day. Score, right? I've never had duck fat french fries, but I salivate at the thought.
Actually, it was Bourdain's trip to Hot Doug's in Chicago that got me fixated on the idea. That's awesome you got to cook with Chef Tony!
gaga
Sunday 1st of March 2009
Wow, I can't even imagine how amazing those fries would taste. Yum!
Barbara
Wednesday 25th of February 2009
Those look mighty tasty ... I'm curious about how they were made ... how much fat did you actually use? Was it more of a sauté or a deep fry? Yummy!
Chef E
Monday 23rd of February 2009
I love this blog, and the food looks wonderful. I would take Anthony and a glass of scotch anytime!