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Dining Out With Friends Was A Rare Filet Treat

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By JADEN HAIR

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 13, 2008

Last week was my good friend's birthday. Like me, she had kids back to back, just 16 months apart, which means getting out is a rare event. Not because we're lame, boring, married people, but because trustworthy sitters are hard to come by. The good ones (kids with no arrest record) know they're in high demand, so they can play the extortion game and charge as much as a car payment.

It's a big deal when we want to go out together with our husbands.

The planning started two weeks ago: choosing a suitable date, scoring sitters, keeping our children quarantined so that they wouldn't catch any dreadful diseases and, of course, collecting every bit of loose change in a jar so we could afford a good night out.

We chose a fancy steakhouse in Sarasota because when you go through that much to prepare for the big night, you really want to make sure the odds are in your favor that you'll eat better than if you went to Steak 'n Shake.

I ordered the surf and turf: hold-the-bernaise-sauce-hold-the-bacon-6-ounce-fresh lobster and two prime-grade filets. Drumroll, please.

The waiter even bragged about the 1,600-degree broiler that could sear an entire herd of buffalo in 4.6 seconds. Sadly, that signature steakhouse-charred crust did not come with my turf. I got flaccid, faint grill marks. But the filet was buttah tender, cooked spot-on medium rare, so I would have felt silly sending it back. Plus, having the chef put the crusty sear on the filets would have cooked them too done for my tastes.

Unfortunately, the service was even worse. We lost our waiter for 25 minutes between courses. (He probably couldn't help but grab the busboy and go out on a joyride in our smoky blue, sex-magnet Hyundai minivan.)

Let's look at this from an economic standpoint. Just for our portion, $200 for dinner + $5 parking + $5 gas + $50 babysitter = $260. And, if you remember high school econ class, it's only fair that I calculate opportunity cost, too. For $260, I could have gotten new floor mats and a Disney antenna danglebobber for my minivan.

This is an old favorite that Western-style Hong Kong cafes serve. The steak comes on a sizzling platter with the sweet and tangy sauce. And with prime going for $24 a pound (eeek!), I'm perfectly happy with the choice grade on sale at the supermarket.

PAN-SEARED STEAK WITH HONG KONG-STYLE TOMATO AND ONION SAUCE

2 tablespoons cooking oil (peanut, canola or vegetable)

Four 11/4-inch thick steaks, cut your choice, at room temperature

Salt and pepper to season steaks

1 whole onion, sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 whole tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each

For the sauce (whisk together in a small bowl):

3 tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat a large skillet over high heat until a bead of water sizzles upon contact and immediately evaporates. You want that pan super hot to get the best sear on the steaks as possible. Add just 1 tablespoon of cooking oil to the pan and let the oil heat up.

While the pan is heating, brush the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on both sides of each steak. Season with salt and pepper, and carefully lay the steaks in the hot pan, not touching. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side or until you reach your desired level of doneness. An instant-read thermometer should read 120 degrees at the center of the steak for medium rare.

Remove the steaks onto a plate and tent loosely with foil to keep warm. Return the skillet to medium heat. You should still have some oil left in the pan. Add the garlic and onions to one side of the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Push the softened onions to one side and add the tomato wedges. Cook the tomatoes wedges 1 minute, then flip to cook the other side for 1 minute.

Add the sauce mixture and simmer until slightly thickened and the tomatoes and onions are nicely coated with the sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust with an additional 1/2 teaspoon of sugar if needed. Spoon on top of steaks. Makes 4 servings.

Jaden Hair is author of the blog Jaden's Steamy Kitchen at www.steamykitchen.com.

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