Adventures in cooking

Last night, Ryan and I ate bacon-wrapped filet mignon, instant powder potatoes, and tamales for dinner. And this was after throwing out a whole batch of broccoli and almost burning the house down. We should probably open a restaurant.

We decided to try searing the steaks on cast iron grills. About .005 seconds after we plopped those steaks down, huge billows of smoke came towering off the stove, filling the whole house and leaving us on the floor trying to catch some fresh air. We opened a few windows and both our doors (not so comfortable in 20 degree weather) and decided there was no point in leaving the job half done. We flipped the stakes and, not surprisingly, the other side left us just as smoked out.

By the time we got the smoke under control, the broccoli I was steaming started stinking. Rotting, even. I'm still not sure how that happened, but that seems to be the theme of the night. Which is why we conceded to the instant potatoes. Not the best tasting, but they sure are fast. And the tamales? What can I say--we haven't been grocery shopping since 2009.

Unfortunately, the steaks were good. Real good. Some of the juiciest steaks we've ever made. I say unfortunately because that means we will probably have to do it again. But not until we fix our fire alarms. Because if that kind of smoke won't set them off, I certainly don't want to be around to see the kind that will.