Tonight
Steak Au Poivre with braised Collard greens and Mashed potatoes
Steak Au Poivre was Alton Browns method using Delmonico steaks and Brandy instead of Cognac, a very interesting twist.
Collards were done as follows
Stripped of the woody centers and soaked in water
In my HUGE saute pan sweated half a red onion then added a few smashed cloves of garlic and about 2/3 tsp of Sage
Mixed in the Collards a little at a time, once wilted they were covered and braised in their own juices for about 10 minutes.
Mashed potatoes
Roasted a clove of garlic then mixed that into some Maine potatoes with a little butter, milk and sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
My Imperial Black Ale was too much for this but Dogfish Head Indian Brown was a PERFECT companion to this dish.
Never used red oinion in the collards, it really helped balance them out. Best collards we’ve ever had (Yes, Notherners like Collards AND even grits too!)
Gawd that looks SOOO good! I Love the taters and being from the swamps, there is nothing like greens… Do you have a linky for the Alton Browns method? I think I saw this some time ago but can’t find it now… Sounds like Sunday dinner to me!
wow - I’m proud of you making greens all the way up yonder!
(I’m a Yankee transplanted into the south when I was 6 - so I had the best of both worlds - my Mom’s yankee traditions and my friends’ Moms southern style).
Babalu - next time use some bacon lard/grease along with the red onion in your greens - tasty!
Made Chicken Marsala last night. No pics, sorry. The quality of the Marsala wine really makes a big difference in this dish. Go for the sweet Italian wine, really ties all the flavors together. As the rule goes, don’t cook with it if you can’t drink it.
Cognac is just brandy from cognac, I guess you mean American brandy? But I think I would agree, cognac tends to have a very floral, delicate taste compared to American brandies that would be lost in the high searing heat of cooking. Californian brandies tend to be “fruitier” and probably good to cook with. There are a few Californian distillers (Germain Robin springs to mind) that have much more of a Cognac style, though, but your basic E&J/Christian Brothers inexpensive brandies would be a good choice for cooking. Personally Laird’s Bonded Apple brandy might be a nice choice (their applejack is cut with grain alcohol and not very flavorful). E&J XO is a caramel bomb much more well suited to desserts, at which it would excel. Spanish brandies, though expensive, are some of the “richest” but I think a bit of Cardenal Mendoza is more deserving of its place in a snifter than a skillet. And some of the eax de vies (like my newly acquired love, slivovitz, and poires williams) are much too light and coy with their flavors to be good recommendations for that role.
Technically nic, Cognac is made from Ugni Blanc (trebbiano), Folle Blanche and Colombard grapes. American brandy as well as other European brandies are quite different than Cognac in flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel. They tend to be heavier and as you said fruitier. Process and grape types used probably make for the differences. I hear that South Africa brandy is quite good as well, but I’ve never tasted it. E&J works very well for cooking as does Christian Bros. I save Cognac for the snifter. Hine is my favorite, much better flavor than Remy IMHO.
Yeah, Germain Robin uses some of the original cognac grapes in his brandy…apparently they make a pretty poor wine on their own, but a very delicate spirit. Armagnac is single distilled and a bit rougher and richer, but still the one or two I’ve tried have been still quite delicate. Calvados is my favorite thing to come out of france but its not a grape brandy.
Had a bottle of Hine VSOP I nursed for years…it would be my favorite too. Tried Hine Triomphe in 2004, not sure it was worth the money but still an interesting taste of liquid history, in that the grapes were harvested when Eisenhower was president.
Isn’t that a function of appellation too then? Certain grapes grow well in certain areas, so Cognac uses those grapes cuz that’s where it’s made. Anyone else notice a quality decline in all the VS level cognacs? I think they are much more harsh these days vs 5 or 10 years ago. :( It’s a conspiracy to force you up to VSOP levels. >:(
Tonight I did a 7 hour slow braised brisket in beef stock with cilantro, 1 each dried ancho, guajillo, New Mexico, chipotle peppers and onions. I will shred the meat, reduce the sauce and make some chalupas and refried beans.
Sounds yummy. I’ve been eyeing up briskets for the first beef BBQ of the year. When the weather gets a little better, I’ll start using the smoker again.
