Portuguese Bifana (bee-fah-nah)

Tonight Leonor made one of my favorites -  Portuguese Bifana which is technically "supposed" to be a sandwich made with pork cutlets but she likes to make them with steak (i guess technically it's not a bifana but what the hell, same recipe).  We cut out some carbs tonight and had it on the plate instead of as a sandwich.

Tonight we had it along with some more fresh lettuce from our garden.  A very successful meal.  We don't eat alot of steak here, so it was obviously important enough to put in the blog!

That's steam coming off of the steak.  You know you want some.

 Here is my exclusive interview with the cook....

Q: So Leonor, what goes into your bifana?
A: A ton of sliced and chopped garlic.  Sweet paprika, salt, and dry red wine.  Marinate overnight but to make it even better, a full 24 hours.

Q: How do you prepare it?

I cut up the french fries and we baked them with a little salt and pepper.

A: You put  it in a pot with some water, enough to cover the beef.  Add a little olive oil and cook until it's done, turning every so often.  I let it cook until there is a thick sauce or gravy there.

Q: How do you serve it?
A:  It's supposed to be eaten with French Fries.  In Portugal and in Portuguese restaurants a bifana is usually eaten with french fries.

Delicious.  You can see a little bit of the garlic and some of the sauce.

The Good Life...Grilled Strip Steak, Baked Potato and Fresh Greens Salad.

This post isn't about recipes but more about a recent dinner the Mrs. and I prepared. and ate on our patio.  We bought 2 fresh Strip Steaks from Wegmans, and picked some younger lettuce shoots from the garden for a salad.

We grilled the steaks, about 4 to 5 minutes per side on the grill.  I coated the potatoes in olive oil and sprinkled "montreal steak" seasoning on them and left them on the grill for about 45-50 minutes, wrapped in aluminum foil.

The wife added chopped onion, cherry tomato, and some carrots along with oil and vinegar to the fresh picked lettuce.  It was really an unforgettable meal.

LOOK at that lettuce!  I was beaming with pride...

For growing it in a pot, i'm surprised at how much we got.

finished product.  thank you wife for your skillful chopping!

I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of the steak before we grilled it.  It was a beautiful cut of meat too! (read that as expen$ive!)

Leonor likes her steak VERY well done...Mine on the other hand medium-rare.

I sprinkled a little "montreal steak" on the steaks prior to grilling.  that was the only prep that went into them.

I did not want to use the blog for any endorsements of products, but if you eve want a meat seasoning that is literally "no fail" I recommend looking into the "Grill Mate" line by Mccormick.  Montreal Steak has everything you could want to season meat.  I like it for poultry as well, but they also have one for chicken...

You can research Montreal Steak and other seasonings here.

Probably the only thing missing was a nice cold beer or glass of wine.  I had my home-made hard cider with this meal.  Which was good, but I think the wine or beer would have been better.