Sunday, April 1, 2012

Garlic crushed white beans

So for those of you who don't know, I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to lose some weight. This is my alternative to mashed potatoes, and it works!


2 (400g) tins white (butter) beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil


Drain the tins of beans well, and tip into a small saucepan with the oil.
Heat over a medium heat until warm, and then add the garlic.
Mash well until smooth.

Serve in place of mashed potatoes.

Cheats steak dianne

This one is a favourite - quick, easy and fairly cheap. For all my chef and professional cook friends out there, I know it isn't real steak dianne, but when your kids are after steak, and you need *something* to spark it up, this works well, and its similar enough in taste that they generally don't know the difference.

First off, get your frying pan (I'm using my 30cm cast iron pan again) roaring hot. As hot as it gets without melting is good.
While its heating, salt your meat on one side. This helps with dextrinisation of the steak, an essential part for sauce making.
Place the salted side of the steak down, allowing it to colour well. You want some lovely dark brown bits on it. Salt the side that is up while that's happening.
Please note: Do not pepper your steak until after you have cooked it. Pepper burns and bitters very easily.
Flip your steak over. Brown it again on the other side. Place it on a plate so it can rest while you make the sauce

Get a good measure of butter. I use around 1 tablespoon per steak. Throw it into the same frying pan along with a clove of garlic (minced) per steak. Pour in 5 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce per steak. Allow all the floavours to get to know each other. Place the steak back into the sauce and remove from heat.

When the steak has reheated, plate it up, put in another tablespoon of butter per steak, melt it in the hot sauce and pour over the steak.