Well I’m finally back in my own apartment and I figured it was time that I slowly get back into my culinary adventure of cooking. I guess culinary and cooking are the same things so I can’t really use that sentence. Nonetheless though this evening was an easy meal, something that I’ve done before many times and something that I do enjoy. Steak, mushrooms and Caesar salad.

I’ve actually only really been into mushrooms the last two years, before that I didn’t touch them. Now I skin them and sauté them in a frying pan. Most recently I started using Worchester sauce while I am sautéing them. I’ve yet to make a really good sautéed mushroom, but I do enjoy what I do make. I started off the low heat and let them just go with the bid of vegetable oil or olive oil in the pan, then all had a bit of salt. When the mushrooms start to water I drained them generally, and then add salt and a little bit of Worchester sauce. Apparently I like to add salt.

The next thing I started the prep was my Caesar salad. Now obviously with this being only for one person I just made it in a small bowl. There’s nothing fancy about this salad, other than the fact that I use spinach. It was Devon at Patch Java who turned me to this great idea. I have really come to love spinach in almost everything. In dips, in eggs, and in salads.

Finally we get to the good stuff, the thick of the story. While I was home in Yellowknife I picked up this indoor “barbecue” grill. Essentially it is just an element underneath a grill that sits on my countertop. I admit I was a little unsure as to how well it would work, but it seems to have turned out all right. The downside to this device is you cannot control the temperature and therefore have to keep a very close eye on your steak.

My cut for this meal was a boneless ribeye from the local grocery store, PriceSmart.  I let this marinate for about 24 hours. Now like any amateur cook I didn’t even record what the marinate was I used. It was a combination of some ingredients that I had in my house. Soy sauce, vinegar, vegetable oil, Montréal steak spice, and I believe some steak sauce, but I’m not exactly sure what that is. I will have to remember to note what I put in it next time.

One thing I will say about the grill and having it in the house on the counter, is that it is very easy to check on the meat. As I now marinate and tenderize most of the steaks I cook, I have come to enjoy them quite red. It is nice to have it right there so I can check and know when it is perfectly done.

So that’s what I would say this meal was, pretty much perfectly done. It may not be the healthiest of meals, and it may not be the most adventurous, but it was home-cooked and there was some veggies. Albeit not the greatest but there was.

I really want to push myself to get more adventurous with my cooking, and try new things. I recently got a slow cooker and want to try to use it as much as possible and try things that I don’t normally eat. Now granted I’m talking mostly about the meets I don’t normally eat, things like chicken, corned beef and possibly even pork, but still new and different things. Let me know any suggestions you might have for me.