Fall Date Night at Home – Steak and Potatoes

I don’t know about you, but by the end of the week, we are ready to indulge. Both Elide and I work from home, and by the time the weekend comes around, we are ready to have a dinner that sets the weekend off on the right foot. Prior to COVID-19, that usually meant going out to dinner, but Elide has been trying to cook at home on the weekends a lot more.

However, we both think it’s SO important to support local businesses right now. We’re so lucky to have so many local farms and small companies in Massachusetts, and we’re always looking for ways to buy local. One of our favorite places to shop is the Boston Public Market.

We love Boston Public Market for so many reasons – it is always a go-to spot for us when we have visitors from outside of town so that they can get a taste of New England (can you say Apple Cider Donuts from Red Apple Farm?), but in current times – we love how many fresh, local ingredients we can get, all in one spot. No need to hop from store to store, there are so many options just feet from each other.

Elide and I have been on a MAJOR meat and potatoes kick, so we decided this weekend we’d have steak, topped with a homemade chimichurri sauce, with a side of carrots and potatoes. Because we needed high quality ingredients to really make this meal sing, we decided for this date night, the best place to shop would be to head downtown to the Boston Public Market.

Our shopping list for the trip was:

• Steak
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Parsley
• Garlic
• Wine and Beer (wine for me, beer for Elide…because we’re difficult)

The Shopping Experience

If you’ve never been to Boston Public Market – there are ~30 different vendors in one big, colorful market! For those nervous about COVID-19 and social distancing, we went on a Friday afternoon and felt 100% safe!

Our first stop was at Chestnut Farms to select our steak. We went into the Market knowing we wanted steak, but weren’t set on what cut. I leave that completely up to Elide, and as long as it is tender and flavorful, I am happy.

Elide worked with the butcher at Chestnut Farms to help select the best cut, and after telling her that we wanted: bone-in, tender, and that was big enough to feed both of us, she told us that she recommended the porterhouse. Yummmm!

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Steak: ✔️ Now to get our veggies!

Next stop for us was Siena Farms. Siena Farms has a BEAUTIFUL display of fresh veggies and fruit. We were shopping for one meal, but you could easily buy all of your produce for the week there and leave very, very happy.

We like to live life colorfully, so when we saw they had rainbow carrots and BLUE POTATOES, we were so excited. Have you ever seen blue potatoes?! We hadn’t and couldn’t wait to see how they would cook.

Garlic: ✔️ Parsley: ✔️ Blue Potatoes: ✔️ Rainbow Carrots: ✔️

Now, onto the wine and beer! You will not believe the selection at Boston Beer Alley. Don’t let the name fool you, there was beer, cider, wine, champagne, EVERYTHING.

I knew I wanted red wine to pair with the steak, but Elide is more of a beer person, so she just was looking for any of her favorites!

Beer: ✔️ Wine: ✔️

Time to head home and cook!

Porterhouse Steak + Air Fryer Potatoes + Roasted Carrots + Chimichurri Sauce

Now that my area of expertise, shopping, is over with, it was time for Elide to shine, with the cooking of our meal.

First up is cooking those blue potatoes. Warning, this is not your average potato cooking. This method is a bit more labor intensive, but we both agree it’s worth it. Read the full recipe for the Air Fryer, Extra Crispy Potatoes here. Look how beautiful they turned out!

Now time to cook the roasted carrots. For the carrots, cut them into 1-inch rounds, add them to a microwave safe bowl, add 1/4 cup of water to the bowl, and loosely cover the bowl with a lid to create steam. Put in the microwave for 8 minutes. Remove the bowl, drain the water, put them on a tray, add 1 tbsp of your favorite oil, add a sprinkle of salt, garlic powder, pepper, and a pinch of paprika. Put them in the oven for 10-12 minutes on 375°. Elide likes to cook them this way, because by steaming the carrots, they cook a lot faster, but you still get that roasted flavor by finishing them off in the oven.

Now onto that porterhouse steak!

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This porterhouse is so beautiful that it really doesn’t need much to make it delicious and flavorful! Elide seasoned the steak by heavily adding salt (put more than you think!), and some freshly ground pepper. Then just add that steak to a scorching hot pan (Elide loves her cast iron), and sear it for 5-7 minutes per side. Elide doesn’t go anywhere without her digital meat thermometer (only half joking, her’s has a keychain…), and highly recommends using one to ensure your steak is cooked to desired temperature. For us, looking for a medium steak, that means a temperature of 145°.

Regardless of your desired temperature, always let the meat rest! Letting the steak to sit for 5-7 minutes allows for the juices to return to the steak and ensure a juicier cut. Plus – this gives you some time to set your table :).

Lastly, it’s time for that chimichurri sauce. Fresh parsley is crucial for the success of this sauce, so we were so grateful to have found beautiful parsley at Boston Public Market! Learn how to make the chimichurri sauce here.

And now we feast!

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O.M.G. What an amaazzzzinnnnggggg meal! The steak was so tender, the blue potatoes were beautiful, the rainbow carrots were so fresh, and the chimichurri brought everything together! This is the type of dinner that really requires high quality ingredients to make the meal one that keeps you wanting more. We couldn’t have been happier with the quality of the steak and the veggies. Yum! It was SO GOOD! Thank you to Boston Public Market for the fantastic meal!

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