Steak and Onions

Tonight’s dinner has a backstory and a new item I’ve been working on.

In middle school I found a book in our house called The Mudhen and The Walrus. I related with the carefree, zany and crafty title character, nicknamed Mudhen and his editor friend Froggie, who would go off to college and be the editor of The Walrus, the college paper. I think this was framed in the 1950’s.

I went on to be the editor of my high school yearbook and photo editor of the newspaper. And then the editor of my college newspaper, with this book as a blueprint of what college life would be like…in the back of my mind. It did not disappoint. Many zany antics included.

One meal he revered was Steak and Onions. With this long-past memory in my mind tonight, I decided to lean into it. After all, he did guide me into journalism and my life-long career at newspaper, new agencies and magazines around the country.

But here’s the rub. Ribeyes around here are not great. Even the ones at Halls have too much fat and moisture and cook down to a brown sheath of disappointment. BUT, I had seen Wagyu ribeyes at Walmart on a recent trip. I completely understand the American Branded Wagyu concept, but decided to give it a shot.

In a cast iron skillet at medium high, and melted Kerrygold butter, I tossed in the steak and sliced onions. The ONLY seasoning I used was Bacon Bomb, a blend that I found at Magnolia Hall in Colonial Beach. Which is also fantastic on burgers and eggs. Both sides were well seared and set aside to rest.

Meanwhile I coated some carrot slivers with olive oil and Bacon Bomb. These I coated with chickpea flour and tumbled in my air fryer for 15 minutes at 400°.

Before all this went down, I washed two Russet potatoes, pierced them with a fork, coated then with olive oil and then dusted them with kosher salt. These went into the microwave as a pre-heat for 6 minutes. Then into the air fryer (the were at 125° at this point) for about 20 minutes, until they hit 200°. They were served with butter, black pepper and yogurt.

The steak was fantastic (I ate only half), the carrot fries delightful and the potato was fluffy and perfect. Leftover potato will be tomorrows hash browns. A perfect meal, packed with flavor.

I’ll continue to develop this Carrot Fry concept. This was round 3 for me with various approaches. Next time I’m thinking a seasoned almond flour batter.

Thank you author Merritt Parmelee Allen for the story that helped form my future!