Tomatoes in Winter???

Grilled Hanger Steak with Shoestring Potato Salad 
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Grilled Acme Herb Slab

I cannot believe I bought hydroponically grown tomatoes at the farmers market yesterday and paid good money for the "strawberry" variety which I normally dislike. I must have been channeling the summer of 2009 and was struck by the luscious red color of the fruit on the bright green vines that they clung to. I did not even try one (too full from huevos rancheros at breakfast) and just trusted the vendor's pitch that the strawberry variety was the sweetest. When asking my family what they wanted for dinner last night I suggested pork with sweet potato french fries and my husband immediately said, "hanger steak with shoestring potato salad". "Hummmm", I thought. That really is a summer meal that calls for sweet, suculent farm fresh tomatoes in the salad, but I do have those hydroponic tomatoes from the farmer's market. Those tomatoes that taste like the medium they are grown in; water. Yet, my husband doesn't ask for a steak very often and the thought of a juicy piece of meat made me say "perfect, that is an excellent recommendation". I immediately ran into the kitchen and tried one of the strawberry tomatoes and was floored. They were absolutely delicious! Kind of like the surprise you get eating a good strawberry when the tempurature is way to cold outside. I was ecstatic! I already had some arugula from the lobster risotto I made Friday night so all I needed was the hanger steak, some good quality blue cheese and a few russet potatoes.

The key to making good quality shoestring potatoes is cutting the potatoes in a thin UNIFORM manner (I use a japanese mandolin; the Benriner), a large heavy pot to fry the potatoes in (I use a Le Creuset), filling the pot no more than one third full of oil (I use canola) and finding the sweet spot with your flame so it keeps the oil around 350 degrees. Use a thermometer to check the temperature initially then place the potatoes carefully in the hot oil. Place a handful and a half in at a time, too many potatoes will cause the oil temperature to drop too much. After the initial drop and boil, the oil will settle down and you have around four more minutes of cooking time. Once the potatoes take on a brown hue, take them out of the oil and place them on a sheet with paper towels or even better yet, a sheet topped with a rack so the potatoes have air circulation and will avoid getting soggy. I just read that in Thomas Keller's "Ad Hoc" cookbook and forgot to do it!! Until you know your flame's sweet spot for frying, check your oil's temperature before you drop in your next batch.

I grilled the hanger steak on my stove grill but it would be lovely over a wood fire. That is just a dream of mine, I really never cook over wood, or even charcoal for that matter, since I am spoiled with my range and my outdoor gas grill. But I know it would taste EVEN better with wood!

I cooked the steaks for a total of seven minutes, three minutes on each side on a high heat, then went one more minute thinking it still needed more cooking. I was wrong, it was a bit overdone for my liking and should have trusted my instincts (or what my husband told me) of three minutes per side. I let the steak rest for five as I tossed the salad with those marvelous tomatoes, arugula, blue cheese with a classic French vinaigrette, sliced the meat and sat down for dinner. We had left over bread (herb slab from ACME) from our clam appetizer last night and that bread, broiled was SO GOOD, I hated to waste it. I grilled some, brushed it with a bit of Italian olive oil my daughter brought home from Florence and sprinkled it with a bit of fleur de sel. Not recommended for this dinner, too many starches, but I just could not resist!

I hope you try this recipe from Susan Spicer's, "Crescent City Cooking". Please visit the blog post, "Grilled Steak with Shoestring Potato Salad", for a my complete secret to frying shoestring potatoes and for Susan's recipe.