This is another “
stolen recipe" which also happens to be from Graiziano’s. They serve it as lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer without the potatoes. I like to make it on Sunday’s with fresh bread and meat, and also because it takes a little more time to cook than I have after work.
Ingredients
- Baking potatoes
- Jalapenos
- Butter
- Milk
- French bread
- Steaks
- Mushrooms
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Seasoned Salt
Tools
- Pot for boiling potatoes
- Grill or oven safe pan for cooking steaks
- Oven or toaster oven
- Torch?
- Knives
- Cutting boards
- Insta-read thermometer
Hot Pepper Mashed Potatoes
The mashed potatoes take the longest to cook. Peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and place them in a pot of cold water. Try to make the potato chunks the same size so they will cook at the same rate. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender and drain them.
While the potatoes are boiling, roast the peppers. I prefer jalapenos, but you could use any pepper, or use crushed red pepper flakes, which is what the restaurant uses. Coat them in oil and either put them on a grill, directly on a gas burner, broil them in an oven, or torch them. I used the broiler setting in the toaster oven this time. Cook the peppers until the meat is tender. Jalapenos have a thin skin which will blister and may black. Peel off the skin and dice the peppers, discarding the stem and seeds.
Mash or whip the peppers into the potatoes with butter, milk, salt and pepper. Use just enough milk and butter for the potatoes to be fluffy. I made three pounds of potatoes and used about 3 tablespoons of butter and ½ cup of milk.
Finger Steaks
Mushrooms
Chop and sauté mushrooms in butter (tastes better) or oil (better for you). I season my mushrooms with salt, fresh ground pepper,
seasoned salt, and garlic powder. I often cook the mushrooms first, leave them in the pan, and heat them right before serving.
Garlic toast
Like the potatoes, the garlic toast takes a while to make, and like the mushrooms, they can be made early and set aside. Cut a loaf of French bread into slices about a half inch thick. I cut mine on a bias to get a slightly longer piece. Butter both sides of the bread and season both sides with garlic powder and paprika. Similar to roasting the peppers, there are multiple ways to toast the bread. I put them on a sheet pan and into a 350 degree oven until they are browned, and turn them over to brown the other side. You could also put the pieces in a toaster oven, or toast them on a grill.
Steak
I’ll go into my theory of steak making later this year in another post, but the bottom line reads: simple is better. You can use almost any cut of boneless steak. I use NY Strip steaks, but filet works well, and London Broil could be wonderful. Prep the steaks by seasoning them on both sides with salt, fresh ground pepper, and season salt. Normally I grill my steaks, but it was raining so I pan seared and oven finished the steaks, which uses a similar heat profile to how I grill. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees and heat a cast iron or other oven safe pan on the stove over medium high heat. Grease the pan with butter or oil and cook the steaks for 1-2 minutes per side, then put the pan and steaks into the oven (if your pan isn’t oven-safe use a separate baking pan). Bake the steaks for about 8-10 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads the temperature you prefer your steaks. I like medium rare or medium which is from 135 – 145 degrees. Remove the steaks from the pan and allow them to rest on your cutting board for 3-5 minutes. The rest period is important for the steak to be more flavorful, and to prevent the juices from running out of the meat and soaking the garlic toast. Slice the steak, on a bias again, and place each slice on a piece of garlic toast.
Serve and enjoy.
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