Food of Love

Ogged recently alluded to seduction cooking, while Waddling Thunder considers whether there is an easy route to homemade french fries. Pretty much no, is the answer. This reminded me of what I think is the #1 seduction meal to make: entrecôte marchand de vin and fries. This works on boys, anyway. Start things off with some champagne cocktails and spicy nuts, supplement with salad and garlicky dressing, and finish off with strawberry shortcake. Mmmmm. In my experience, boys also go for fried chicken and biscuits and pound cake. I think John's current favorite things I make is pizza on the grill. He wouldn't say no to this, though. I usually make on Valentine's day.

Entrcôte Marchand de Vin

2 1 to 1 1/2 lb steaks (entrecôte steaks are supposed to be boneless rib steaks. I used to use chateaubriand steaks when I could find them but sirloin is fine too) room temperature
salt and pepper
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
8 shallots, minced
1/2 bottle red wine (traditionally burgundy, but shiraz is nice)
1/2 c chicken or veal stock (Bought veal glacé from D'Artagnan is ideal for this)
1/4 c crème fraîche*
splash of wine vinegar
3 T finely chopped flat-leaf parsely

1. Salt and pepper the steaks. Melt 1/2 stick butter in a heated, cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Cook the steaks to your liking, turning once. Remove to a platter, top each with a pat of butter, and keep warm. (I usually put it in a low oven while making the sauce and frying the french fries for the second time.)

2. Put the chopped shallots and the rest of the butter in the pan and stir. Add wine, stock, crème fraîche, salt to taste and dish of vinegar. Reduce.

3. Serve the steaks surrounded by the sauce, with hot fries. Feel the love.

*You can buy crème fraîche, but they always overcharge. Just make your own by bringing some heavy cream to blood-warm and stirring in a dollop or two of plain (live) yogurt. Let is sit out on the counter till thickened (this takes about an hour in Singapore, but up to 6 in cooler climes).

The only problem with this meal from the seduction point of view is that it can be hard to look cool and fresh while deep-frying things. A cute apron is a must. But, after the champagne cocktail and the wine, your target is likely to be amazed at the boiling oil, and once he (or she) tastes the fries with some of the shallot sauce on them, I guarantee he'll overlook the sweat prickling your brow.

Comments

[Jeremy Osner]

Mmm... steak fried in butter... A problem with this meal from a seduction point of view (for me) would be the overwhelming need to take a nap after eating it.

[fidelio]

If you consider this meal as one with long-term goals rather than simple short-term ones, the sleepiness isn't as much of a problem.

[Mitch Mills]

I think fidelio is right. This seems more like a "seduce him into setting up house with you" type meal than the stuff discussed over at Unfogged, where I'm thinking "get her into bed tonight" is the order of the day (although the original post was just about feeding yourself if you're a bachelor).

[dsquared]

the sophisticated readers of this blog will presumably not need reminding that "add wine, stock [...]" means "add wine, allow the wine to boil the alcohol off, add stock [...]" but I mention it anyway.

[dsquared]

and 3tbsp seems like quite a lot of flat-leaved parsley to chop given that it isn't actually used in the recipe?

[dsquared]

apologies, but this recipe is now weighing on my mind like the Zahir ... what kind of a mutant cow has 20-ounce entrecotes?

[belle waring]

geez, dsquared, picky, picky. Um, yes, put the parsley in, by all means. As for the size of the steaks...I don't know. That's how big they are said to be in my Larousse cookbook. Since american butchers cut the cows up differently, I've never known if I was getting this proper cut or not. In the picture in the cookbook the steak is big, without bones, and divided into several sections by striations of fat.

[SeductionMeals]

Wonderful seduction meal choice. I will try this recipe however, will most likely cut the steaks down to one 1 1/2 lb rib eye for two as lively activity after the meal is encouraged.