Kale & Hearty
Broken-Fried Egg over Bacon-Simmered Kale with Skillet-Grilled Angus Beef Tenderloin
SO, MY FRIEND, LISA, CAME by to hang out last night, as she does often (and yet, never often enough), and she brought along with her more than our default two bottles of wine, but some locavore produce from a market in between her job and my apartment.
The produce were some simple yet fresh greens: kale and broccoli. The plane last night was to order in some sushi, and we did, from Sushi Suki, one of the three best sushi restaurants in my neighborhood.
I remember recently wanting to have some collard greens for dinner, so I figured I'd start prepping them this morning. I cross-sliced some bacon and threw them into a large pot over medium-low heat and began to render all that porcine goodness. While doing so, I also added some chopped scallion, sliced garlic, salt, and black pepper.
After about 4 minutes I deglazed the bottom of the pot with some red wine vinegar, poured in two quarts of water, the whole bunch of kale, chopped into one-inch portions, and brought everything to a boil. Once boiling, I added some hot sauce, mustard, a sliver of a pork bouillon cube, and covered the pot with a lid and turned the heat down to a nice simmer. This was at around 7:30 in the a.m.
By about 9 a.m. I was getting hungry, smelly all those flavors and having yet eaten this day, so I figured I would use the kale for a breakfast item. So I flew over to Food Emporium and picked up some eggs and an Angus beef tenderloin. Total cost: less than 10 bucks!
I seasoned both sides of the tenderloin with just salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder, and threw that on a very hot, lightly oiled cast iron skillet. Nothing smells better than searing, seasoned meat. At least for me; for some, it's coffee, for me, burnt animal tissue.
I like my eggs both with set or runny yolks, and I discovered a year ago how to get the both of both worlds. I started to poached an egg, and once the whites of the egg had start to full set, I transferred the egg to a preheated skillet with some butter. I break the yolk and let it run to the eggs, cooking as it does. Meanwhile, a nice pool of warm, runny yolk remains in the middle.
After the tenderloin has been grilled on both sides, about 4 minutes each, I remover it from the pan and place on a plate to set. As it does, A gather a nice mound of kale with a slotted spoon, and place the mound right in the middle of a serving plate. The broken-fried egg can just slide right out of the pan right on top of the kale. The tenderloin—now set so the jiuces (read, flavor) don't just run out of the meat—then gets sliced and arranged around the plate. This is the final outcome of my hunger and efforts:
And yes, it was yummy and good and surprising filling considering there was absolutely no starch involved, which I more than made up for later when one of my clients bestowed complimentary crumb cake and blueberry muffins upon me. And I have a dinner date with a very good friend of mine at Fatty Crab this evening!
Wow. I may need to start some of my New Year's Eve resolutions a few months early....
Bun Apple Tea!
.kac.
Broken-Fried Egg over Bacon-Simmered Kale with Skillet-Grilled Angus Beef Tenderloin
