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French Bistro Steaks with Provencal Butter and Creamy Cheddar Grits

The steak recipe called for hanger steaks, but both Treasure Island and Whole Foods did not carry them so I just got some filets. The butter on top is made with garlic, anchovy, capers, chives, thyme, lemon zest, and herbs de Provence. This mixture would definitely be good on a steak sandwich the next day, if you have any left over.

The grits are a little difficult to see (sorry!), but they are so easy and tasty. They're an alternative to mashed potatoes or polenta, and they are as easy to make as couscous. These grits were made super tasty with the addition of half and half (don't make these when you're dieting! Or you could use skim milk...), cheddar cheese, green onions, and maybe a dash or two of hot sauce when you serve them!

Bay Scallop Gratins

My go to recipe for scallops is in Ina's Barefoot in Paris cookbook, and they're called Scallops Provencal. This recipe is similar to that one, but has a couple of ingredients that really make awesome flavor! It's also fun to make individual portions in gratin dishes :). These scallops are made with Pernod, which is a French liquor that smells like black licorice. It adds a really interesting dimension to the butter, wine, shallot, garlic flavors that are in the Provencal recipe. This also has a little bit of prosciutto, and that's always a welcome addition to a recipe!

Happy Birthday Mac!

In honor of the blog, Mac went without his classic, Duncan Hines yellow cake with chocolate frosting so that I could try Beatty's Chocolate Cake. I think he was okay with the substitution! This was the most moist, delicious cake we've ever had! You add a little brewed coffee to the batter, and I think that must make a difference. Yum!

Dinner Spanakopitas with Oven-roasted Vegetables

This is a delicious vegetarian meal! The spanakopitas are filled with spinach, onions, Parmesan cheese, feta, and pine nuts. Mac used his flag folding skills from elementary school to wrap up these pockets of goodness in phyllo dough. The oven-roasted vegetables include fingerling potatoes, fennel, green beans, and asparagus. It was a really nice combination.

Let me know if you try any of these!

Recipes from this post:

Dinner Spanakopitas - Back to Basics

Creamy Cheddar Grits - Back to Basics Unfortunately, this recipe is not available online.

Bay Scallop Gratins - Back to Basics

French Bistro Steaks with Provencal Butter - Back to Basics Unfortunately, this recipe is not available online.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake - Barefoot Contessa at Home

Oven-roasted Vegetables - Back to Basics Unfortunately, this recipe is not available online.