Erika’s Visit = Meat-stravaganza!

So, after patiently awaiting Erika’s arrival in Cleveland, Steve and I went to the airport all the way out in Akron, so that we could go get her. No sooner had we reunited, than talk turned quickly to food, “what are we gonna eat”, “when are we gonna eat”, etc. As soon as that was settled, Erika and I discussed how since she was in town we should plan some sort of meaty extravagance to celebrate our happiness at getting to see each other. She said she didn’t care, as long as it involved steak of some kind. And out of nowhere, the idea hit me, steak…., stuffed with crab-meat…, and wrapped in bacon…. I honestly can say that I had not been thinking about this earlier, and had no prior knowledge of Erika’s desire to consume steak, SO, I can only assume the idea came from some higher power with a penchant for surf n’ turf.Or maybe my late grandfather whispered his favorite idea for dinner in my ear from beyond the grave, in either case it sounded good so we ran with it. Steve (mostly a vegetarian) was shocked at our wanton disregard for meat co-habitation mores.

Here, after purchasing most of our ingredients at the swanky new-ish( read: over-priced) Marc’s in Coventry, I am preparing the first of our three meat bombs. The stuffing is made with delicious imitation crab-meat, mixed with one raw egg, and some fajita spices. I had originally thought that there would be enough steak to fully enclose the stuffing, but as this was not possible, I decided to use every ounce of the crab-meat, and secure each meat taco with a generous wrapping of bacon.

And because I really do like veggies, I decided to secure some asparagus spears to the packages with more bacon. HA!

Here I model the completed packages, pre-baking. For sides we had the rest of the asparagus spears, and baked potatoes!

Lately I have been into complicating my meals by adding flavorful ingredients, but leaving them un-fettered by lots of spices, to that end, the asparagus spears were cooked with butter, salt, and a piece of bacon(in keeping with the theme at hand). Similarly, the potatoes have salt, butter, and some chipotle pepper flakes. And the meat has some salt and pepper on top. So as to let the flavors do their own thing for once. Anyone who is familiar with my cooking know I LOVE to throw a bunch of shit like paprika, and Lowery’s salt and chili powder and pepper and salt and curry seasoning in EVERYTHING, frequently at the same time. So this is a slight departure.

“Beauty and the Meats” Starring Erika Neola.

And last but not least the finished plate, slightly out of focus but none the worse for wear. Pros… the crab was a nice break from all of the salt and grease, and it all went pretty well together. Cons.. the cube steak (normally used in Swiss steak, and country fried steak) I used was kinda tuff, and the asparagus on top  got pretty dry as we cooked it without covering the pan.

PS. We ate this while watching ‘Don’tTell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” and drinking strawberry Nestle Quick, and followed it with “No-Pudge Fudge” brownies topped with Butter Pecan ice cream! SO indulgent!