Distinctive Dinners: French Bistro in under 30 Minutes
Baked Garlic | Caesar Salad | Baked French Fries | Steak au Poivre | Rex's Tan Buick
Baked Garlic
Recipe Summary
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Appetizer |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 2 | large | garlic, whole head |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| |
Cut just the very top off the garlic; pour oil over garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Remove from foil, and plate. Serve with toast points, warm, crunchy french bread or crackers.
Caesar Salad
Recipe Summary
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 1 | head | lettuce, Romaine |
| 3 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 0.75 | cup | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 0.25 | small | baguette |
| 1 | spritz | PAM |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| |
In a large bowl place oil, lemon juice and garlic, press garlic into bowl with a wooden spoon to distribute. Whisk ingredients together. Cut baguette into 1/4 inch slices, spray with PAM and place in a 350-degree oven for 4 minutes or until gold brown. Tear (don't cut) lettuce leaves into small pieces and place in bowl on top of dressing. When you are ready to serve, toss salad and add romano and toss again and add croutons broken into halves.
Chef Rick tells me he must have anchovies, if your wish, add four anchovy filets to the bowl with the oil, garlic and lemon.
Baked French Fries
Recipe Summary
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Starch / Pasta |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 1 | lb | french fries |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| |
Preheat oven to 450 degrees, bake for 10-15 minutes (for frozen fries), until brown. Salt and pepper immediately upon removing from oven.
Steak au Poivre
Recipe Summary
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Beef Entrée |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 2 | medium | steak, strip |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 1 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 3 | Tb | Worcestershire sauce |
| 3 | Tb | butter, salted |
| |
If you like medium-rare or rare steaks try buying one thick steak and cutting it in two. Have the steaks at room temperature. Push the salt and pepper into both sides of the steak. Put oil in a sauté pan; heat on high until very hot. The general rule of thumb for medium rare is 1 minute per 1/4 inch thickness per side. A 2 inch thick steak would take 8 minutes per side.
Reduce heat to low, add 2 oz of water to cool the pan. Deglaze pan with lemon, scrapping the bottom to get all the particles, add Worcestershire sauce, and finally the butter, Swirl pan to mix butter.
Return steaks to pan for 1 minute. Plate and pour pan gravy over steaks.
Serve with crusty bread and baked garlic.
Rex's Tan Buick
Recipe Summary
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 1 | qt | vanilla ice cream |
| 4 | oz | bourbon, Jack Daniels |
| 1 | Tb | chocolate, ground |
| |
Place ice cream in large wine glasses. Pour bourbon on top and sprinkle with ground chocolate. (not cocoa)
For ground chocolate use a rasp to finely grate a dark chocolate candy bar.
