Blowing of own trumpet

I have lived for most of my life with a pathological fear of cooking steak. In fact, I can't remember when I cooked steak last.

My previous efforts all turned out disappointing. Well, like shoe leather, actually. So I gave up. For twenty years, I've been eating steak at restaurants and pubs, and not cooking it at home .... till tonight.

I bought two pieces of good quality scotch fillet from the butcher. At $40-something a kilo, I figured it should be good. I heated the pan up, cooked the onions and the mushrooms first and put them in a warm oven to wait out the rest of the preparations, and took the plunge. Five minutes one side, four on the other, then into the warm oven on a plate for about nine minutes while I fried the potatoes.

Delicious.

So, phobia over, I guess.

Now, I know many readers will say, 'So what?' - because it's easy to cook a decent steak and everybody knows you do it that way, etc etc - but believe me, this has been a BIG issue for me for years. Guess I'll have to stop saying, "I can't cook steak so I never do."


(Wines: the Francophile finished off the pinot gris we opened last night, and I had a cabernet.

John C Glaetzer 'Grey' pinot gris, 2011 (Langhorne Creek, South Aust)
Crisp and bright; green apple and green pear; mineral/flinty. Ultra clean finish. Good without being brilliant.

Faraway Hill cabernet sauvignon, 2005 (Wrattonbully, south-east South Aust)
Soft edged red and black fruit; very light hints of eucalyptus and herbs. Good middle of the road red.)

You have turned a corner, Matilda - Congratulations! (You could justify the $40-something a kilo by the savings in therapy costs - at least I could.)

Ta-ran ta-ra! Ta-ran ta-ra!

[Robin Garr]

Now, I know many readers will say, 'So what?' - because it's easy to cook a decent steak and everybody knows you do it that way, etc etc - but believe me, this has been a BIG issue for me for years. Guess I'll have to stop saying, "I can't cook steak so I never do."

Yippee! Good for you, Matilda! A trumpet blast well earned and richly deserved.

Isn't is great when we over come a challenge? Good for you. At my house, the men are in charge of any outdoor cooking, and that is OK with me. Hence, I have never cooked many steaks in the 47 years we have been married. Maybe one or two when Gene was out of town, and I wanted a steak. My challenge has always been pie doughs, yeast breads, that type of thing. Now, I am wise enough to know it is because I dislike the dough mess.

[Jenise]

Matilda, now isn't that fun. Phobia over, and you made it look so easy.

Do you guys ever grill outdoors?

We're proud of you. Now just imagine how much fun you could have with an outdoor grill. Even the veggies would be better.

Ta-Da-a-a-aaa!! Good for you, Matilda. Now, fire up the barbie and take the next giant step with that piece of meat. Congrats!

Matilda,
First of all, congratulations on overcoming your fear. Now, on to some practical advice. To avoid the shoe leather problem, I have two pieces of advice. First of all, cook steaks at a relatively high heat. I prefer grilling them when weather permits, though broiling could work, too. My second piece of advice is to judge doneness not by temperature or time, but by feel. A useful gauge that I was taught: touch your forefinger to your thumb on one hand and with the other hand poke the muscle at the base of the thumb -- that's RARE; now touch your middle finger to your thumb and feel that same muscle -- that's MEDIUM RARE; ring finger = MEDIUM and pinkie = WELL DONE (aka shoe leather). My final piece of advice is to let your steak sit for 5 minutes after removing it from the heat before you cut into it.

Happy cooking!
Mark Lipton