You Me At (three) Six

Welcome to week 36 - and what a scrumptious week it was!! As a girl who loves a good steak sandwich, this week was like a dream come true for me. The meal basically comprised of all of my favourite things! It included Steak Sarnie, Crispy New Potatoes, Cheesy Mushrooms and Beetroot Salad. Yum!!! It was difficult to decide where to start this time, everything looked so delicious and equally as simple to put together. It was probably the closest to a perfect challenge that we have ever gotten! The finished product was a refreshing, satisfying but strangely light meal that you could easily enjoy any day of the year - and it sure beats the steak sandwich you get at the local take-away shop!!

Lets begin with the steak sarnie. Words can't describe how delicious this thing is, but I'll give it a crack anyway. For some reason, ciabatta is really hard to come by in my neighbourhood. I have spent most of this year trying to suss out a decent bakery that will do a nice ciabatta that resembles the ones Mr Oliver uses, and have come up with nothing. Usually we sub in a nice vienna loaf, or some other crispy bread but because this one needed to make a sandwich I decided to go with a nice baguette. The steak was easy to handle - I've recently become very well practised in cooking steak and am proud to say that I cooked this one perfectly! (The trick I find helps me is to get the steak out of the fridge at least one hour before you plan to cook it. Get the seasoning on it - you can't have too much!-  then sit it aside on the counter until you're ready to cook it. This prevents the smokey issue we had last week and it is far easier to cook, in my opinion.) Between the crispy baguette and the steak, we're already in for a treat. Add to that the rocket and the jarred peppers and you're in for such a treat. It is delicious, satisfying, strangely refreshing and one of the best steak sandwiches I have ever had in my life!

The cheesy mushrooms were interesting. They seemed to be a bit of an excessive part to the meal, almost as though they didn't fit in with the whole scheme of things. But they were delicious! As a group, we decided that the mushrooms would fit well if they were a part of the sandwich - but as a side dish, they were just a bit confusing. I found them super yummy regardless - the gooey cheese, the mild heat from the chilli and all the flavour from the garlic and lemon.... so so good!! I think I would omit these from the meal next time, but would definitely add them to a different dish!

The potatoes were quite similar to those made last week - and still absolutely delicious! The garlic added to the potatoes when boiling them adds heaps of flavour, by the time you serve them up on the table they taste divine! (Of course, I taste test all the food while it is in the cooking process, just to be sure that we have the right flavour balance. And also because I'm a snacker). This one is a really versatile side dish and would go with just about anything. And besides, who doesn't love a good potato dish!?

The beetroot salad was fresh and light, easy to throw together - basically everything you could want from a salad. Add the feta right before you serve up dinner to avoid it getting stained and looking a bit like a big purple mess. We don't have vac-packed cooked beetroots here (or at least, I can't find them) so I just chopped up some tinned baby beetroots and that worked a treat. 

So there you go, another wonderful week down and only a few more to go now!! 14 left, to be precise. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when the challenge is over. Perhaps buy another Jamie Oliver cookbook and start again? (quite likely!) Perhaps go on a 'permanent vacation' from cooking? (not likely!) I'll have to come up with something in the new year to keep the spirit of the challenge alive. Ideas welcome! We are also working on something big for the final recipe - we're toying with the idea of having a massive barbecue and cooking up a double/triple batch of dinner so that we can invite everyone who has ever attended one of our dinners to be a part of the final challenge night. More details to come shortly - but there will definitely be more photos than usual! Anywhooo, next week we're making Rib Eye Stir-fry, Dan Dan Noodles and Chilled Hibiscus Tea. Can't wait!

Til then - Bon Appetit!