Sunday, March 18, 2012

Steak Tartare

It's a virtual Mad Men party here, celebrating the launch of the Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook and the season premiere of Mad Men next week (March 25).

The book is filled with classic recipes - very classic recipes - from restaurants with names you might remember from the old days ... or old movies.

Some of the recipes have gone out of style, some have continued their popularity, and some went out of style and have come back again. But they're all fun.

You'll find the wedge salad, chicken kiev, turkey tetrazzini, and sole amandine. How about a drink? Would a rusty nail or a sidecar or a mai tai interest you?

You can't have a virtual dinner party without food, and I decided to make the Steak Tartar. Yup, a big old hunk of raw ground meat. I've made tartar before, but never quite like this - mine doesn't have nearly this many ingredients. But since this was a restaurant recipe - from Sardi's - I guess you'd expect something a little more complicated.

There's a little error in the ingredients list in the book - the capers were omitted. But I've got it all right here. Oh - and I ground my own meat for this.

Steak Tartar
From The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin
Recipe courtesy of Sardi's Restaurant, NY

Note: All ingredients should be cold before you begin.

2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons red onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons anchovy paste
1 tablespoon English mustard
1 teaspoon pasteurized egg yolk
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
5 dashes Tabasco sauce (mild)
2 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces steak (5 ounces sirloin steak and 3 ounces filet mignon, finely ground
Salt, to taste
2 slices black bread, toasted (optional)
1 tablespoon egg yolk from a hard-boiled egg (finely chopped), for garnish

Stir together capers, red onions, anchovy paste, English mustard, pasteurized egg yolk, black pepper, and olive oil in a medium bowl until semi-paste-like. Add Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces and mix until evenly blended. Mix in the beef.

Once evenly mixed, roll the tartar in the bowl until it has a firm consistency. Serve on a cold plate with toasted black bread, and garnish with finely chopped egg yolk.

And there you go - my contribution for the party. Okay, I'll admit it - I might have had a cocktail as as well. But I'm not telling.

Want to party some more? Check out the "Party like a Man Man" photo album on Facebook. Or go check out the book website or Facebook page.

The Twitter party, where the book folks will be tweeting from @DineLikeDraper will start at At 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific. Come join the party (it's just an hour) and enjoy some of Roger’s Martini and Joan’s Blue Hawaii.

The hashtag for the Twitter party is #PartyLikeAMadMan.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher at no cost to me. I was not required to say nice things about it.
Yum