The Cheatin' Game

Today's brilliant stream of consciousness is all about fooling your dinner guests. What fun. My friend Chantel is much too ambitious for her own good (novelist, magazine editor AND publisher, professor, freelance writer, and of course, blogger) -- http://chantelsimmons.blogspot.com/ -- and it seems she has little time to spare in the kitchen. She loved yesterday's rambling about tarting up Tetra Pak soup, so much so she posted the following comment:

I LOVE this!!! From that pic, I would never know it was the boxed soup. I've got my book club meeting on the weekend and no time to cook -- do you have another cheat up your sleeve that I can pass off as pretty without spending more than 20 minutes?

Do I? Cheating is one of my favourite pastimes (zip it Betty): euchre tournaments, tax returns, dinner parties, et al.

So, when I sat down to reply I realized this topic could fill an entire year of posts and warranted more than a quick blurb hidden in the comment section. Here goes.

Hopefully the members of Chantel's book club are full-on meat eaters because one of my new favourite apps to serve over the holidays was London Broil Stuffed Yorkshire Puddings. The original recipe comes from the New Year's Eve party in Entertaining with Booze and isn't complicated but does require marinating, reducing said marinade into a sorta demi-glace, and for the ambitious, making your own Yorkshire puddings. Takes a little longer than 20 minutes but damn are those stuffed puddings delish!

But let me show you how to cheat the pants off this recipe and come out looking like a pro.

First go out and buy frozen Yorkshire puddings. Yes they exist and the one's Presidents Choice make are pretty damn fine examples -- they're imported from Yorkshire, England no less.

The original recipe calls for flank steak, a good and inexpensive cut of beef but it needs marinating to add flavour and impart tenderness. If time isn't on your side, purchase a cut that already has flavour (striploin) or is already tender (filet). Personally I like a filet (sans bacon) for this especially if you plan on serving them as hors d'oeuvres. The soft texture of the filet allows guests to easily bite through the meat without the use of a knife and fork.

Brush your steak with a little extra virgin olive oil and season liberally with coarse sea salt and crushed peppercorns. Then grill, fry or broil up the steak just until it's rare or about 125 degrees F on a meat thermometer.

A six ounce filet will fill approximately four Yorkshires and you'll probably need two to three stuffed Yorkshires per person. Cook the steak ahead of time, wrap in foil and refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the steak into thin strips, stuff the frozen Yorkshires with the steak and place on a cookie sheet in the oven for five minutes. The Yorkshires crisp up beautifully and the meat warms and cooks gently to a perfect medium-rare.

I like to serve these with a mixture of equal parts Dijon mustard and horseradish, spooning just a dollop onto each stuffed Yorkshire. Garnished with a small sprig of thyme or rosemary and you can almost picture Martha wetting her pants.

If Chantel plans to serve the butternut squash soup with this meal, I'd forgo the starch and just plate the Yorkshires with a fresh side salad tossed in a simple balsamic or red wine vinaigrette.

Done and done.