Welcome, 2021 – and a Bit about the Last Meal of 2020: Steak, Potatoes, and Cabbage Greens

I welcome in a new year, and hopefully this can help send certain portions 2020 to perdition. But as with any year, there are things to learn from their existence and passing. We will all each have our own lessons, our own insights.

Motivational Mug O’ Java

With this New Year, I now have but one cat (the 19 year old ragdoll named Serenity, who also roams the Internet under the pseudonym, Miw).

There are 6 chickens in the main coop, including Celeste my pet, and Roo the Plymouth barred rock rooster. Eight pullets and cockerels reside in the second coop. I have five chickens in a final home that mostly need to find their way to a freezer soon.

Later today I will post my brunch, assuming it turns out fine: the Italian Cotechino con Lenticchie (a specific pork sausage plus golden lentils). A good luck New Year’s Day meal that seems to hail from northern Italy.

Last night, however, I made:

Skillet-Fried Bone-in Ribeye Steak
with bacon fat, ground pepper, and about a quarter teaspoon of flake Kosher salt.

Coarsely Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes and a Cortland Apple
with Muenster and Provolone Cheese,
and with salt, ground pepper, and nutmeg

Pan-Fried Chopped Savoy Cabbage
with Cayenne Pepper

I thank my friends Scott, Melissa and Amy for pooling together for a meat box from Proud Cow towards my December birthday – from which the ribeye came.
The Yukon potatoes came from my own yard.

Without writing up the entire recipe – this would probably serve two if one increases the amount of cabbage – which I wish I had. That steak weighed approximately 400 grams/12 ounces. The potatoes you see in the image were about half of the amount cooked. The only recipe notes I’ll make here is that I used about six medium/small potatoes and one apple (cored). The apple was chopped and added when there was about 10 minutes cooking time remaining for the potatoes. Skins remained on both. Drain if necessary and fold in the cheese, add seasonings to taste. Three slices each of both cheeses, added after the potatoes are cooked. Stir with a large spoon until melted but not fully combined. Keep warm in oven at about 200 F while preparing everything else. Or, simply feel coordinated and time it to be ready when the meal is.

I have leftovers of the potato dish and a little bit of the steak. The steak turned out a perfect medium-rare. (You will have to adjust via your own cooktop.) It did not need garlic nor Worcestershire sauce. I’d allowed it to sit out for about 45 minutes before cooking. Ribeye naturally has some fat, and that fat cooks into the meat for added flavor – obviously (?) I didn’t eat any truly fatty portions.

You may also question why I add so little salt to the steak? 2) I used bacon fat, which has a salt load already. 2) I really DO NOT LIKE THE TASTE OF overly salted beef. There is a reason why salt shakers are on most tables. Definitely start with a little, as it does work into the more central sections of meat – but let people adjust further at the table to THEIR preferences! The last time I ate steak out at a restaurant (February 2020, Vermont), everything at that meal was stupendous – except for the over-salty steak! My companions agreed with me. The steak otherwise had been done to perfection. A shame.

The above was my last meal of 2020. It was pretty darn good!

At any rate, six favorite recipes I posted here last year, just in date order:

Papoutsakia: Greek Stuffed Eggplant

Chikhirtma: Georgian Chicken Soup

Vegetarian Onion and Olive Fritatta

Savory Gluten-Free Tapioca, Oat, and Buckwheat Bread

Menudo: Mexican Tripe Soup

Mom’s Turkey Stuffing & Giblet Gravy

Two of the above came from (and were perhaps slightly adapted from) Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street suggestions.

This post is being shared with the following link parties and blog hops:
Fiesta Friday
What’s for Dinner?  Sunday LinkUp
Fresh Farm Tuesday