From Our Home Kitchens:
Where Steaks & Salsa Share the Table is
a personal family cookbook that brings
together the recipes, and flavors of two
American dining traditions, the bold,
fire-kissed cuisine of the Mexican grill
and the hearty, time-honored classics of
the steakhouse. This is a book about more
than food. It is a book about the table as
common ground, about the way two very
different culinary worlds can exist side
by side, share ingredients, and ultimately
enrich each other.
In an era when cookbooks are expected
to be lifestyle objects and narrative
journeys, From Our Home Kitchens
delivers both. Readers will find recipes
spanning Tacos Asada and Carne Asada
Plate, Ribeye and Filet Mignon, Fish
Tacos and Grilled Salmon, dishes that
reflect the full range of American
family cooking at its most flavorful
and unpretentious. Each recipe has been
professionally created, structured,
and written to ensure clarity, consistency,
and ease of use for the home cook.
The book is divided into two distinct
but complementary sections, united by an
introduction that tells the story of
how these two culinary worlds, and the
family behind them, came together over
a lifetime of shared meals. The result
is a cookbook that feels like sitting
down at a big family table where the
conversation is lively, the food is
exceptional, and everyone belongs.
PLEASE CRITIQUE THIS CHAPTER AT:
solartoys@yahoo.com
IF YOU WANT TO READ THE NEXT
CHAPTER EMAIL ME:
solartoys@yahoo.com
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Where Steaks & Salsa Share the Table A NOTE FROM ROBERT Let me be honest with you right up front: I am not a chef. I have never worked in a professional kitchen. I do not own a mandoline slicer, so I cannot tell you the difference between a brunoise and a julienne, and there is a very good chance I have been pronouncing "Worcestershire" wrong my entire life. What I am is a man who has spent a lot of years eating really well, mostly at steakhouses and Mexican restaurants, and eventually decided that the people I love most in this world deserved to taste what I have been enjoying all along. That is the whole story. That is this cookbook. Food has always been the thing that gets everyone together in our family. Not schedules. Not good intentions. Food. The smell of something good coming from the kitchen has a way of making people appear out of nowhere – teenagers included, which is saying something. Some of my best memories are built around a table. The arguments started over who got the last dinner roll. The stories that came out after the second helping. The way certain dishes became shorthand for certain occasions, and how sometimes the occasion was just a Tuesday. A lot of those memories involve a good steakhouse. There is something about a properly cooked piece of beef, a cold drink, and nowhere else you need to be that just makes everything feel right. And then there is Mexican food, which, in my humble opinion, is one of humanity's greatest achievements and deserves far more credit than it gets at most dinner tables. I wanted to bring both of those worlds home. This cookbook is my attempt to do that, to recreate the food that has made the best days better and the regular days worth remembering. A few things you should know before you start cooking: These recipes are not fussy. I did not write them for people who enjoy fussiness. I wrote them for people who enjoy eating. If a recipe calls for fresh herbs and you only have dried, use the dried herbs and stop worrying about it. Some of these take time. The pulled pork is not a weeknight decision. The caramelized onions cannot be rushed, no matter how many times you turn up the heat. Trust the process. Good things take as long as they take. And finally, this book was written for you. Not for strangers. Not for a restaurant critic. For the people sitting at our table who have been kind enough to show up, eat whatever I put in front of them, and occasionally ask for the recipe. This is that recipe. All of them, finally, in one place. I hope it brings your kitchen the same joy it has brought mine. Now stop reading and go make something. Robert Nerbovig Payson, Arizona  A thick-cut, bone-in Angus rib eye seared in a screaming hot cast-iron skillet until a deep mahogany crust forms, then finished with garlic, butter, and fresh herbs and rested to a perfect medium-rare. Served alongside roasted poblano mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus, a steak dinner that commands the table and deserves every bit of the occasion it creates. PREP TIME COOK TIME TOTAL TIME SERVINGS 20 min 35 min 55 min 2 (plus 45 min tempering) INGREDIENTS The Steak - 2 bone-in Angus rib eye steaks, 1.5 to 2 inches thick (about 18-22 oz each) - 2 tsp kosher salt - 1 tsp coarse black pepperTH - 1 tsp garlic powder - 2 tbsp vegetable oil or clarified butter The Basting Butter - 4 tbsp unsalted butter - 4 cloves garlic, smashed - 4 sprigs fresh thyme - 2 sprigs fresh rosemary The Poblano Mashed Potatoes - 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered - 2 poblano peppers - 4 tbsp unsalted butter - 1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed - 1/4 cup sour cream - 3 cloves garlic, minced - 1 tsp salt - 1/2 tsp white pepper - 1/2 cup Oaxacan cheese or mozzarella, shredded The Grilled Asparagus - 1 lb asparagus, woody ends snapped off - 2 tbsp olive oil - 1/2 tsp salt - 1/2 tsp black pepper - 1/2 tsp garlic powder - Zest and juice of 1 lemon To Serve - Flaky sea salt for finishing the steak - Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped - Lime wedges - Chimichurri or salsa verde (optional) INSTRUCTIONS 1. Temper the steaks: Remove steaks from the refrigerator 45 minutes before cooking and pat completely dry with paper towels. Season all surfaces, top, bottom, and sides, generously with kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Let rest uncovered at room temperature. Cold steaks cook unevenly and will not sear properly. 2. Roast the poblanos: Place poblanos directly over a gas burner flame or under the broiler on high, turning every 2-3 minutes, until completely charred on all sides, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and steam for 15 minutes. Peel, seed, and finely dice. Set aside. 3. Make the mashed potatoes: Place potatoes in a large pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for 18-22 minutes until completely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain thoroughly and return to the pot over low heat for 1-2 minutes to steam off excess moisture. 4. Rice or mash the potatoes until smooth. Add butter and stir until fully melted. Add warm cream, sour cream, garlic, salt, and white pepper and stir until silky and smooth. Fold in roasted poblano and shredded cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and keep warm over very low heat. 5. Grill the asparagus: Toss the asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Grill on a hot grill pan or outdoor grill over high heat for 3-4 minutes, turning once, until charred in spots and just tender with a slight bite remaining. Remove from heat and immediately finish with lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Keep warm. 6. Sear the steaks: Heat a large cast iron skillet over the highest heat possible for 3-4 minutes until smoking. Add vegetable oil and swirl to coat. Place steaks in the skillet and do not move them. Sear for 3-4 minutes until a deep mahogany crust has formed and releases cleanly from the pan. Flip once and sear the second side for 3 minutes. 7. Baste: Reduce the heat to medium. Add butter, smashed garlic, thyme, and rosemary to the pan. As the butter melts and foams, tilt the skillet and use a large spoon to continuously baste the steaks with the herb butter for 2-3 minutes. Sear the fat cap by holding each steak upright on its edge with tongs for 1 minute. 8. Check temperature: For medium-rare, pull the steaks at an internal temperature of 125 degrees F, they will carry over to 130-135 degrees F during resting. For medium, pull at 130 degrees F. Use an instant-read thermometer for accuracy. 9. Rest the steaks: Transfer to a wire rack or cutting board and rest uncovered for 8-10 minutes. Do not tent with foil; the steam softens the crust. Resting allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. Do not skip this step. 10. Plate and serve: Spoon a generous mound of poblano mashed potatoes onto each plate. Lay the rib eye alongside and arrange grilled asparagus next to the steak. Finish the steak with a pinch of flaky sea salt and fresh parsley. Serve immediately with lime wedges and chimichurri or salsa verde on the side if desired. NOTES & TIPS Bone-in rib eye, also called a cowboy steak or tomahawk, depending on the length of the bone, is the most flavorful cut on the steer. The rib bone conducts heat, and the heavy marbling of the rib-eye section bastes the meat from within as it cooks. producing a richness and depth that no leaner cut can match. Angus certification indicates the breed of cattle and is associated with consistent marbling and flavor. Look for USDA Prime or Choice grade Angus rib eye for the best results, the difference in marbling between grades is visible and significant. The cast-iron skillet is non-negotiable for the best crust. It holds heat more evenly and at higher temperatures than any other pan. Preheat it empty over high heat until it begins to smoke before adding any oil. Patting the steak completely dry before seasoning is the single most important technique step. Surface moisture creates steam in the pan and prevents the Maillard reaction that produces the crust. Dry surface equals dark crust. The resting period is as important as the cooking. A steak cut immediately after cooking will bleed out onto the plate. Eight to ten minutes of rest produces a juicy, evenly pink interior all the way to the edges. Yukon Gold potatoes produce naturally buttery, creamy mash without becoming gluey. Do not use a food processor or blender; overworking releases too much starch and turns mashed potatoes into wallpaper paste. Use a ricer or hand masher only. 
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