Giangi's Kitchen

It has been so much fun having my friend visit and I wish she could stay longer.
My friend, Marion, is more of a lunch person than me, so I let her loose on my kitchen.  I have enjoyed wonderful salads and  yesterday she made us quesadillas. Something so simple and yet mouth-watering.
We happened to have spinach tortillas in hand, perfectly ripe avocado and fresh tomatoes still from my mom garden.
Instead of only sharing last night dinner, which was a simple steak au poivre with frites, I am sharing our lunch as well.
Bon Appetit!
Giangi

Today’s August 7, 2012 lunch:
Spinach Quesadillas with tomatoes, avocado
Espresso with Croquets de Bordeaux
Dinner:
Steak, Frites and Salad

MARION’S QUESADILLAS
Spinach flour quesadilla
Mozzarella or jack cheese, shredded
Onion, chopped in very small pieces
Avocado, peeled, cored and diced
Tomatoes, seeds removed and cubed
Cucumber, peeled, and diced
Cilantro, finely chopped
Lime juice

Place the shredded cheese on top of the quesadilla and warm in a large cast iron until the cheese is starting to melt.

Meanwhile on a plate combine the avocado, tomatoes, onions, cucumber, cilantro and lime juice. Mix well.

Place the avocado mix in the middle of the melted cheese and sprinkle a little of the lime juice over it.

Serve hot.

STEAK AU POIVRE

2 nice 8 oz. fillet mignons, 1 ½ inch thick
2 tablespoons mixed whole peppercorn, including black, white, green, Szechuan
Salt
1 teaspoon oil
1tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons cognac
½ cup beef stock, sodium free
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Trim the fillets, if need to of all fat surrounding. Crush the peppercorns with the back of a skillet. Sprinkle salt to taste on the top and bottom of the fillets, then press each fillets into the cracked peppercorns, encrusting the fillets more or less, depending of personal taste.

Heat the oil and the butter in a heavy sauté frying pan over high heat. When the pan is quite hot, lay the peppered fillets in, fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the underside is well seared. Turn the meat and cook the second side for about a minute. At this point the fillets are cooked at rare. Cook longer for medium rare or medium. When done remove and place in a warm platter.

Add the shallots to the pan and sauté briefly, stearin g with a spoon to scrape up the drippings. Remove the pan from the burner and add the cognac into the pan. At this point if you are brave you may want to tilt the pan slightly over the burner to ignite the alcohol. When the flame subsides and the alcohol burns off, add the stock. Bring the liquid back to a boil and cook about 1 minute to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Finally add the butter and swirl the pan until melted and incorporate with the juices. When blended, pour the sauce over the steaks. French fries are a most side dish.