Beouf Quebecois

Wow, I ate out for nearly 1/3 of the month for November. No wonder I don't have any money. Today was my first time buying beef since moving here. At least, an actual quality piece of meat and not something thrown into a stew or stirfry. I went to my favorite butcher and asked for two thick chunks of beef tenderloin. He cut off two little pieces from the very end of a finished bit of tenderloin and threw them tip away! On the bright side, the steaks were really cheap, but I really wanted a nice hunk of meat to sear and have for dinner. I was going to make steak tartare, but since the meat didn't seem like exceptional quality and I didn't think Shannon would eat it, I made Steak Bearnaise.

The steaks were definitely not as good as something we would've bought back in Alberta. This could be simply because the beef in Alberta truly is better or because I simply got the tail end of the tenderloin before it was discarded in the garbage. It was still very tender though and made a decent entree. I'm not so sure about the Bearnaise, though I did not make it very well (it separated a bit). I've never actually had Bearnaise before, but it tasted a little bit too much like Hollandaise to me. Hollandaise with wine. Is that all Bearnaise is? It seems like a strange condiment to a steak.

As any man knows the ultimate side dish to meat is, of course, potatoes. I tried my hand at Potatoes Dauphinoise, which is basically scalloped potatoes (I hope I don't get slapped by a chef for that.) I even shelled out the extra couple dollars for Gruyere to seal the deal. I'd never had Gruyere before, but it's really good! It's like Swiss or Emmenthal cheese without the holes and bitter bite to it. It was made with unpasteurized raw milk, which I've read is supposed to make the flavor that much better. Since I have nothing to compare it to, I guess I'll just have to assume that's correct. Apparently it's illegal to sell raw milk cheeses in the United States. If there is in fact a huge difference, you can come up here and eat with me if you like. I'm not usually a big fan of dishes this rich (unless they've incorporated goat cheese) but for scalloped potatoes, this is probably as good as it gets. Even the cream sort of turns to cheese and there's a beautiful crust on the potatoes that would make a baked lasagna jealous. The only downside is it takes several hours to cook, but most of my favorite foods do!

I often forget how dense a head of cabbage is and the ridiculous amount it yields when grated. I made a huge pot of Sweet and Sour Cabbage and now I haven't a clue what to do with the leftovers. I love this as a side dish. It's a nice little palette cleanser and it just has a nice pickled flavor. There aren't enough purple foods either! Vive le pourpre! As an additional vegetable I simply boiled a few small, peeled carrots and served with some sautéed leeks.