Skip to main content

Steak #FoodieReads

By

I packed this book in my backpack on our snowshoeing adventure because I knew I'd have time to read while they built snowmen or had an epic snowball battle. They did both...and I logged lots of pages. So happy to do some catching up in the Foodie Reads Challenge while we were on Spring Break.


Snowballs flew all around me while I dug into Steak: One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef  by Mark Schatzker.*


R took a break from the fight to sit down next to me and have a snack.

R: Mom, why do you read books about food all the time? Banana. Steak. It's always about food.
C: Well, it's not just about food. These books have history and biology.
D: And she likes food. She doesn't like vampires or zombies.

On the Page...

Steak is a wonderful read. And I can't stop talking about it. On our eleven hour drive home from the mountains, I think I brought it up at least half a dozen times. 

Its premise is simple: locate the best steak on the globe and understand what makes it the best. This book includes biology, nutrition, history, and more. It's also a veritable travelogue as we follow Schatzker from Texan feedlots to Nanteuil-en-Vallée where there is a herd of descendants of the now-extinct aurochs; he observes bull semen collection in Scotland and debunks from myths about Japanese Wagyu beef - they don't drink beer and get sake massages!

He even raises, slaughters, and enjoys a cow of his own. Fleurance is grass-fed and finished with hazelnuts and chestnuts. Yum!

I love this passage: "I would like to tell you how that steak tasted, but the truth is, we lack an adequate meat vocabulary. The flavor burst over my tongue with each chew was comparable to a symphony, but any attempt to describe the individual notes would sound pretentious and be meaningless, I fear. ...What I can tell you about that steak is how it made me feel. The flavor reached deep into my subcortex and uncorked a sensation that bubbled up and drowned out every other thought, concern, and anxiety drifting through the chaos and endless dialogue that rage in the mind. I chewed, swallowed, cut more steak, and chewed, sustaining my state of mind with each bite. It is the feeling that no human, or animal, for that matter ever tires of experiencing. It is a feeling that makes life, for all its pain, frustration, and sadness, worth living. The feeling is joy" (pg. 265).

The downside to reading and learning about steak is that I will forever be on my own personal quest for the perfect steak. I have two good friends who have cattle. One, in Ohio, raises his on grain**; one, in California, lets his graze on grass. I am interested in what they think after reading this book.

**I stand corrected. My friend in Ohio wrote: "I like to think of our operation as pasture raised and grain supplemented. To say raised on grain in my mind connotes a feedlot operation where grain is the only source of caloric intake." Duly noted, Rich. Corrected! And, I will be sending him a copy of this book ASAP.

On the Plate...

One of the things missing in the book: how to cook a steak! Thankfully, he included it in the afterword, titled "How to Cook a Steak in 15 Easy Steps." I followed the guidelines to a tee for my 17th anniversary dinner. My Love declared it perfect!

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.

Here's what everyone else read in March 2017: here.
Labels:

Comments

  1. A Day in the Life on the FarmMarch 28, 2017 at 5:39 PM

    Our friends who raise our beef also pasture raise them but each night they get a little grain as a treat. She likes to say that it is the equivalent of us sitting down to a bowl of ice cream after being good and eating salad all day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BarrieMarch 30, 2017 at 5:29 AM

    What a fun review! Your grill marks are on-point!

    ReplyDelete
  3. HeatherMarch 31, 2017 at 10:50 AM

    So much history and geography and science can be learned in food books!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

By
If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce
1 comment
Read more

Aloo Tiki {Pakistan}

By
To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P
9 comments
Read more

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

By
photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an
183 comments
Read more