Appetizer, Cooking In, Dinner, Late NightKerry Alaric Cheeseborobaby, bacon, beef, bread, cheese, cracker, deconstructed, dressing, grain, herbs, juice, leaves, lemon, lox, mayo, mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, peppercorn, sage, salad, salmon, sauce, smoked, sottocenare, spinach, steak, toast, truffle, vinegar, white, white wine, whole, wineComment

Surf 'n' Turf Starter

Appetizer, Cooking In, Dinner, Late NightKerry Alaric Cheeseborobaby, bacon, beef, bread, cheese, cracker, deconstructed, dressing, grain, herbs, juice, leaves, lemon, lox, mayo, mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, peppercorn, sage, salad, salmon, sauce, smoked, sottocenare, spinach, steak, toast, truffle, vinegar, white, white wine, whole, wineComment
Rolled Smoked Salmon and Marinated Steak with Spinach | Creamy Sage-Peppercorn Dressing | Whole Grain Cracker with Sottocenare Truffled Cheese
I'VE ALWAYS FOUND IT difficult to prepare a meal for just one person. It's near impossible to cook a single serving of, let's say, rice. And If I make the normal amount, I will always have plenty of stuff leftover, which I have to find creative ways to use within the next few meals.

It was only yesterday that I realized that, with all of the categories I have for this blog (and happily, if not a little late, adding OUTDOOR SEATING only days ago), I had yet to have a category for appetizers.

So I decided I would try making an appetizer, hoping to have as few leftovers as possible. I purchased some roundtip sandwich steaks, tenderized then with fork tines, marinated them in worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, then gave them a quick grilling in a skillet over medium high heat, giving them a nice "browning" on the outside while keeping the inside on the rare side.

I removed them from the heat, let them cool off a little, then layered them with baby spinach leaves and sliced strips of Scottish smoked salmon.

Meanwhile, in a bowl I mixed mayo, a little bit of mustard, some white wine vinegar, some lime juice, a couple tablespoons of ground sage, and coarsely ground peppercorn, to make a dressing that was so good that I hope to soon officially name it.

I decided to consider this a kind of salad deconstruction, so instead of croutons and shredded cheese, I decided to line a crispy whole grain cracker with a thin slice of Sottocenare truffled cheese.

I rolled the steak, smoked salmon and spinach from end to end, then sliced in half. I assembled the rolled halves on a small plate over additional spinach leaves, then dressed the rest of the plate with a spoonful of the sage-peppercorn dressing, and the cheese-graced cracker.

Most "surf 'n' turf" dishes boast a flavorful earthiness, and this dish was no exception. The smokey brininess of the salmon complimented the mellow beefiness of the slightly seasoned, rare-ish steak. The very bright and peppery dressing accentuated both proteins' flavors, and rounded them out the sweet, almost citrusy herbal hints of the sage. Intermittent bites of the crispy, grainy cracker and truffled, semi-smooth cheese only added greater depth with both texture and flavor.

I had used up all the steak, but had plenty of the smoked salmon and dressing left over, so hours later I put together some nice snacks with the salmon, dressing, and a few more crackers.

The following morning would offer me the opportunity to finish up the last of the dressing and spinach with an impromptu morning BLT (actually, BST, because of the spinach), also using the last of my thick cut bacon, seasoning the bacon with chili powder and pepper, drying them out on paper towels, then layering them between two slices of toast and sliced tomato as well.

Bun Apple Tea!

.kac.

Rolled Smoked Salmon and Marinated Steak with Spinach | Creamy Sage-Peppercorn Dressing | Whole Grain Cracker with Sottocenare Truffled Cheese