Quick Steak dinner for 2 and good beer.

Cooking for two is much different than cooking for six. For the past few months, Erin and I have been living in my parents' house and on any given night there can be as few as one and as many as six people eating dinner together. Usually, my mom takes over most of the kitchen duties (which helps explain our lack of activity on FiT- that's Foodie in Training, for those not paying attention). Every now and then Erin and I will make dinner for everyone. Or my brother Greg and I will come up with some creation (our cavatelli with chunky tomato sauce and diced chicken was awesome).

But the last week, my parents and brother have been out of town, leaving Erin and I cooking for two, like we did quite often in Cincinnati. When cooking for two some things aren't as practical: huge roasts, baked pastas, casseroles, etc. We've made those things before, its just that you end up with more leftovers than dinner, and we get sick of the food before it spoils. Instead, our go-to meals usually involve a small package of some sort of meat and smaller sides.

On Tuesday, Erin and I bought a couple small steaks. They were pretty thick and lean top round cuts. Being so lean, and not the highest quality, I wanted a lot of flavor. I used salt, lots of pepper, oregano, parsley, and some "Mrs. Dash" seasoning blend (basically some dried onion, more pepper and oregano). I also added a drop of olive oil. Once my grill-pan was smoking hot with some Pam, I added the steaks, searing the pepper-heavy seasoning into the meat, creating a bit of a crust. (Caution- if you try doing this, make sure you are prepared for lots of smoke and your smoke detector going off. If, say, you are cooking at a home that has an alarm system that will call an alarm company and ultimately the fire department whenever a smoke detector goes off, you may want to disarm the system before you start cooking). I then turned the heat down a little and cooked the steaks to medium.

Erin made some spinach with lots of garlic and lemon (which is, again, my favorite vegetable side dish), a salad and a little brown rice. I also sauteed some onions and baby bella mushrooms for the steak and rice. The mushrooms and onions cut the peppery steak nicely. A nice little meal, just for two.


Beer: I tried a hI.P.A.- Magic Hat Brewing Company's extremely hoppy IPA. This is a beer made for hop-heads, and I fall into that category. There is a bit of a fruitiness, but your hardly can find it under all the hops at both the front and the back of the taste. I love IPAs, and one of the reasons is how well they stand up to hearty food, like steak. hI.P.A. is Magic Hat's spring seasonal, and let me tell you: I'm ready for spring. I've already had Great Lakes Brewing Company's spring varietal: Conway's Irish Ale. And, pitchers and catchers report today! IT IS SPRING!

Warmer Days: New Sandusky Fish Company

So, the temperature has been in the single digits the last two days. It was 1 last night when I got home. The windchill was -25. Now, having grown up in Northern Ohio, I'm sure that I've been in colder weather, but I don't remember it. Driveways are covered in jagged, uneven ice, making every step to the car a potential sprained ankle and a concussion.

Yesterday was the first day of winter. I love the changing seasons. I won't ever live in a place with a year round 80 degree climate. But when its this cold, you need something to look forward to. I know Chirstmas is a few days away, but the busy shopping and the snow covered Christmas lights weren't doing it for me.

I was reading a baseball article about the Indians new closer, Kerry Wood. And the article mentioned in passing that in just 52 days pitchers and catchers report!!! That day in late February when pitchers and catchers begin gearing up for the coming baseball season is my signal that Spring is here.

It reminds me of a warmer time. A time when you could enjoy the outside. Walk along the Lake in Sandusky, and eat a perch sandwich.

Yellow Lake Erie Perch (which is what I mean by "perch" in this post- not to be confused with some crappy European "White Perch", or Perch from a different great lake, which is certainly not as good as from Lake Erie) is best in the late summer and throughout the fall. When I moved back to the north coast in September, it was perfect time for eating lots of tasty perch. Now, there isn't a lot of variety as to what people around here do with perch. They catch it. They clean it. They bread it. They fry it. That's it. Perch has a distinct flavor to it, and I'm not sure how it would play in other preparations. Yellow perch is meaty and a little different in texture than a boring flaky piece of white fish. It has a little bite of distinct flavor, not fishy, but definitely fresh. Perch fillets are probably too small to make an appetizing dinner in anything besides their fried "fish and chips" type form.

I've caught perch a few times out on the lake. If you are on a boat and with someone that knows where to go you can spend a couple hours and catch dozens of them on a given October day. Getting someone to clean them can be a challenge, but then you can have your own fish fry. Just dredge and pan fry in plenty of oil. I'll save the details for next summer, when I'm sure we'll have a fish fry.

For now, I want to focus on my favorite place to get fresh Lake Erie Yellow Perch in Sandusky: The New Sandusky Fish Company. This little shack right on the Sandusky Bay is the perfect place for a perch sandwich or to get fresh perch by the pound to make your own. The back of the shop is usually open and in the summer and fall months, you can often see the boat loads of perch being dropped off. There is the guy scaling and deboning the fish and then they are brought to the kitchen where they are battered and fried- fresh to order. I perfer mine with a little tartar sauce and some lemon juice. A little coleslaw or fries, and you have yourself a great little meal to sit and enjoy on a park bench as you enjoy the beatiful Sandusky Bay. Just mind the bees and the seagulls!