Meat And Potatoes: Basic Delight

On The Saturday Early Show, this Chef on a Shoestring prepared a three-course steak dinner for four, on a budget $40. Believe it or not, the meal itself only cost a little over $30. That means there's plenty of cash left to pick up a bottle of wine!

All of the recipes come from "The Gourmet Cookbook" which was re-released this fall in honor of Gourmet Magazine's 65th anniversary. John Willoughby is the book's executive editor.

"The Gourmet Cookbook" features more than 1,000 recipes. The editors of Gourmet magazine went back through the more than 60,000 recipes that the magazine has published over the past six decades.

Willoughby is the executive editor of the book. He has co-authored eight other cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winner "The Thrill of the Grill" and, most recently, "Let the Flames Begin."

Here is Saturday's menu.
Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Spread
Chuck Blade Steaks in an Herbed Wine Sauce
Roasted French Fries
Creamed Scallions
Individual Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

FOOD FACTS:

Chuck Blade Steak: Gourmet says this steak is their candidate for the most underappreciated cut of beef. "It is the second most tender part on the entire steer, after the ultra-tender (and ultra-expensive) tenderloin, and because it is from the chuck, it has plenty of flavor," the recipe's headnote reads. "Despite these qualities it is much cheaper than most other steaks. The reason is the line of gristle that runs down the center. To our minds, cutting that out is a small price to play for rich texture and deep flavor."

Vermouth: The steak recipe calls for 1/2 cup of white wine. When a recipe calls for such a small amount of wine you can substitute dry vermouth, the same liquor that appears in martinis. The aromatics that flavor vermouth will go particularly well with the herbs in this steak sauce.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes: These cakes were very popular in the early 1900s. Gourmet is putting their own spin on the classic by making individual cakes in muffin tins. You can use canned or fresh pineapple for this recipe.

RECIPES

ROASTED PEPPER AND WHITE BEAN SPREAD

1 cup (8 ounces) drained bottled roasted peppers, rinsed
1 cup rinsed canned white beans
1/2 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (from 1 slice firm white bread)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped flat anchovy fillet (optional)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth. Serve with pita toasts or baguette slices.

PITA TOAST

4 (6-inch) pita breads (with pockets)
About 1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt (optional)

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Split pitas horizontally to make 8 rounds. Lightly brush rough sides with oil. Sprinkle with salt, if using, and cut each round into 6 wedges. Arrange wedges into one layer on two baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes total. Transfer toasts to a rack to cool.

CHUCK BLADE STEAKS WITH HERBED WINE SAUCE

4 (1/2-inch-thick) boneless chuck top blade steaks (1 1/4 pounds total)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Pat steaks dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Heat one-tablespoon butter and oil in a 12inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat. Add steaks and cook, turning over, for 5-6 minutes total for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to a plate and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to skillet. Add shallot, reduce heat to moderate, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully add wine and any meat juices accumulated on plate with steaks. Return to heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chives, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste.

Serve steaks with sauce pored over.

ROASTED FRENCH FRIES

1 1/2 pounds russet (baking) potatoes (3 large), scrubbed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Put a rack in lower third of oven and pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F.
Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices, then cut into 1/3-inch-wide sticks. Immediately toss with oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowel, then spread sticks in one layer on a large baking sheet with sides. Bake for 15 minutes. Loosen potatoes from bottom of pan with metal spatula, turn them over, and spread out again. Bake until crisp and edges are golden brown, about ten minutes more. Serve with ketchup and/or mayonnaise.

EDNA LEWIS'S CREAMED SCALLIONS

2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
5 bunches scallions, sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine cream and garlic in a 10-inch skillet and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer briskly until cream is reduced by about half, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, combine scallions with water in a 3-quart heavy saucepan, cover, and cook over moderately high heat until tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add cream mixture to scallions. Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat to moderate, and cook, stirring, until hot.

INDIVIDUAL PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKES

FOR PINEAPPLE LAYER

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
6 (1/4-inch-thick) slices fresh pineapple (about three inches wide), cored, or 6 canned pineapple slices in juice (from a 14-ounch can), drained

FOR CAKE
1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ cup whole milk
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks

Special equipment: a nonstick muffin pan with six extra large (1 cup) cups

Put a rack in the middle of oven and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

MAKE THE PINEAPPLE LAYER:
Melt butter in a 1 ½-inch-to-2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat. Add brown sugar and cook, whisking, until mixture is smooth, about one minute. Divide among muffin cups about 1 1/3 tablespoons per cup). Put one pineapple slice in each cup.

MAKE THE CAKE BATTER:
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowel. Whisk together milk and vanilla in a small bowel. Beat butter with sugar in a large bowel with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. Add yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.

BAKE THE CAKES:
Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until puffed and pale golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cakes in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then loosen sides of cakes with a thin knife and invert onto rack to cool to room temperature.