Who said steak & seafood had to be hard to make & uber-expensive?  I say it can be easy peasy & only about $30 for two!  The secret is my source for excellent meat & produce at ridiculously low prices:  Butcher Block Meat Market & Rancho Fresco, both in Barrio Logan.

The butchers cut the steaks to whatever thickness you prefer.  Snagged my white potatoes, eggs, butter & cream at nearby Rancho Fresco.  Trader Joes is still my go-to place for crab in a can.  At $10, I even have leftovers for weekend eggs benedict.  Finally, a bit of wonderfully odiferous Red Hawk cheese to give the potatoes a kick in the spud. 

Crab-N-Cow
serves 2
cook time = 30 minutes
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2 t-bone steaks, roughly 1/2-inch thick
salt & pepper
4 small white potatoes
3 ounces Red Hawk or equally stinky cheese
1 tbsp butter
1/4-cup heavy cream
1/4-lb crab meat
1 slice white bread
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 tsp worcestershire
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp butter

Boil potatoes (with skin) in salted water roughly 15 minutes or until tender when stabbed.

In the meantime, fire up the grill to medium-high.  Salt & pepper both sides of the steaks liberally (add cajun spices too if you like).

Tear bread into small pieces & mix in medium bowl with crab, mayo, worcestershire & egg.  Form into 4 patties.

Drain the potatoes.  In the same pot, add cheese, butter & heavy cream.  Use masher to smash to desired consistency.  Add more cream or milk if needed.  Cover to keep warm.

Place the steaks on the grill.  Grill first side 3 minutes (longer for thicker steak).  Flip & grill other side for 3 minutes.  Remove & set on plate to rest.

Heat butter over medium-high in a 12-inch skillet.  When butter foam subsides, add the crab cakes.  Fry for roughly 3 minutes until bottom is golden brown.  Flip cakes & place in other buttery parts of the pan & fry for another 3 minutes.

While crab cakes are finishing, place one steak on each plate.  Top with a generous heap o’ potatoes.  Then crown with a crab cake or two.   We like this with a side salad, green beans or spinach, plus a generous glass of Syrah.

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When I was invited to present a cheese course with a group of San Diego’s top chefs to 100+ ferocious foodies, I knew I had to come up with something different. An idea had been rattling around for nine years (since writing the original Venissimo business plan) & it was time to give it a roll.

Introducing Sucheese – as far as we know, the world’s first cheese sushi roll. The night’s theme was seafood, so why not a sushi roll out of cheese?  We selected a soft chevre for rice, a bright orange cheese for carrots, a tangy cheese for cucumber, a pepper sauce for sriracha & voila… sucheese!

Super Sucheese
makes 24 pieces
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2 sheets nori (seaweed)
1 package Psychedillic Chevre
3 ounces Mimolette, julienned into carrot-like strips
3 ounces Quebec Vintage Cheddar, cut into thick 1/4-inch-squared long strips
2 tbsp red pepper spread
sushi rolling mat (optional)

Allow chevre to come to room temperature to soften.  Cut each seaweed sheet in half.
Spread one quarter of the chevre disc as evenly as possible over each sheet, leaving a roughly 1/2-inch edge along each of the two longest sides of each sheet.
Lay a line of thick cheddar logs across the center,
making sure they reach from end to end.
Arrange a line of julienned Mimolette along one side of the cheddar logs,
making sure they reach from end to end.
Starting at one side of the still-exposed seaweed, roll as tightly as possible around the center cheeses.
Moisten the exposed seaweed edge with water to seal the roll.  Tighten roll with sushi mat (optional).
Allow roll to sit & soften for about 5 minutes, then cut into six equal-sized pieces.
Place the red pepper spread in a small ziplock bag & make a tiny cut in one corner to create a pastry bag.
Squeeze a small drop of spread on the top of each piece & gobble.

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When I visited Cypress Grove on my Vespa tour, they shared one of their favorite ideas, using one of their newest creations called Psychedillic. The best description about this cheese that I heard was, “it tastes like a dill pickle.” They achieve this wicked flavor by dusting the cheese with dill pollen & dill weed.  Can you dig it?

I think we can all agree that dill + fish is an excellent combination. And naysayers beware: cheese + fish can be a great couple as well. So we’ve taken this groovy dilled chevre & tossed it atop a piece of fresh grilled halibut. Dillicious!

Totally Psychedillic Halibut
serves 4
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4 fresh halibut steaks
1 disc Psychedillic chevre
juice from one lemon
olive oil
salt & pepper

Bring the chevre to room temperature.

Brush the grill with olive oil & fire up to medium-high.  Drizzle each piece of fish with lemon juice, brush with olive oil & season with salt & pepper.  Place on grill.  For one-inch thick cuts, plan on grilling roughly 5 minutes on each side (less for thinner cuts).

We served this with leftover saffon rice & sauteed kale.  Dillicious…

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San Diego manager Rebecca has put together the end-all-be-all of bread puddings, using the best panettone on the planet (for real), imported to us fresh from Italy every year. Her secret ingredient? An earthy drizzle of truffle honey.

Originally from Milan, panettone is a sweet holiday bread, studded with delightful candied fruits (don’t worry, it’s not fruitcake). Legend has it that the name is derived from the term, “pan del ton,” meaning “bread of luxury.” Luxurious indeed! If you don’t gobble the whole loaf on its own, it rocks for bread pudding & french toast too. Not a crumb to be wasted.

Benissimo Bread Pudding
serves 6-8
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1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup truffle honey
1/2 of one panettone

Cut the panettone into 1/4-inch & 1/2-inch wide pieces, drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter & toast in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the panettone becomes golden brown & crisp. Remove the bread from the oven & reduce heat to 300 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine the cream & milk over medium heat & bring almost to a boil. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized, heat-proof bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg yolks, eggs & salt. Slowly, incorporate one ladle-full the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, being mindful to whisk continuously to temper the eggs & keep them from scrambling. Repeat with two more ladle-fulls. Pour the remaining egg mixture into the cream mixture in the saucepan, whisking continuously. Don’t cook the custard, just set it aside, off the heat.

Prepare a 12×8 inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Place the toasted panettone pieces in the baking dish so that they cover the bottom of the entire dish. Pour the warm custard mixture over the bread. Let sit for 10 minutes so the panettone can soak up some of the custard. In the meantime, prepare a water bath for the 12×8 dish. Find a dish large enough to put the 12×8 dish in. Place the bread pudding dish inside the larger dish and pour water into the larger dish. The water should come half way up the sides of the 12×8 dish. Carefully place in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the custard has a slight spring when touched.

Scoop a portion of the bread pudding on a plate, drizzle with truffle honey & top with whipped cream and/bor vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

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Want to make a treat that swings both ways – from appetizer to dessert? Try these cheese bon bons that are only limited in flavor by your creativity. Start with fresh chevre (favorite for appetizers) and/or fresh ricotta (favorite for desserts) & dress them in flavors that tingle the tastebuds. We used toasted hazelnuts, cinnamon sugar, mocha, truffle salt with peppercorn & preserved lemon.

Cheese Bon Bons
serves 6
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8 oz fresh chevre (goat cheese) or 1 cup fresh ricotta
1 tsp honey
choice of toppings: toasted nuts, flavored salts, herbs, crushed candy, spices, chocolate, coffee, bacon, dried fruit

Mix the cheese with the honey, which helps bind the cheese. Roll into little bite-size balls using the palms of your hands. Dust with toppings, or top with toppings or roll in toppings, depending on the amount of flavor & color you desire.

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Looking for something to nibble before feasting on baked bird? Look no further than this mixture that manages to include all the major food groups while capturing the flavors of fall.

Manchego cheese is Spain’s most popular export (well, Rafael Nadal is another one, but that’s for another story). It’s well-loved & well-known for good reason. Made of uber-rich sheep milk, the natural oils seep out of the cheese, leaving it to soak up all the surrounding flavors, almost like a sponge. In this recipe, it soaks up the orange & garlic beautifully. This nibbler will disappear faster than a vampire at sunrise.

Manchego Menage a Trois
serves 6
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1/2 lb Manchego, cubed (we like one-year aged)
1/2 lb castelvetrano olives (or other green variety)
1/4 lb Marcona almonds (salted & fried if available)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled & smashed
1 orange, zested
1 bay leaf

Combine olives, olive oil, garlic, orange zest & bay leaf. Toss together & marinade at room temp for at least 4 hours (up to a few days). Just before serving, remove garlic & bay leaf. Add Manchego & almonds, mixing well. Serve & gobble.

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