Tormented Kitchen

A long time ago I found a recipe for Steak Au Poivre.  This was way back when I was first learning to cook for myself as an adult, in college, in a cramped apartment kitchen. Anyhow, I followed the recipe and it was kind of weird.  The idea was good, though.  Peppered steaks, cooked in a pan, with a simple reduced cream sauce to fancy it up.  Awesome idea, actually.  That one recipe just didn't do it for me. I tried some other things, different cuts of meat (found out that some just aren't tender enough for pan-searing), and tried some different things in the sauce (capers, beef stock, onion, herbs).  I have come to the conclusion that I like it better on the simple side. I normally like pan gravy loaded with onions, but not for this. If I add beef stock to thin out the sauce, it's too thin. Sometimes I like the tang of Dijon mustard, sometimes I don't. Last week I made it with mustard. Last night, I made this with no mustard. (Yum yum for Jenny either way!) Another

Baked potatoes are so simple, so tasty, so perfect to accompany other foods.  However, they are also super when they're loaded with other things.  I'm sure there are enough confusing varieties of potatoes out there, but let me confuse you some more.  I grew up in a little town in northern Nevada that is well-known for their potatoes. Winnemucca potatoes. They are Russet potatoes, but someting about the terroir , the dirt, the environmental conditions makes these extra tasty. I think they are slightly fluffier than Idaho Russet potatoes. And of course, since I grew up in the oh-so-glamorous WMCA, I have to prefer my local spuds. I have even taken some green sprouting spuds and planted them at home and grown my own. Damn, I had some good potatoes. I know they weren't really Winnemucca potatoes then since I grew them in Sparks. They were miles better than most grocery store spuds. Baked potatoes are perfect with Garlic Beef Tenderloin Roast or Prime Rib Roast Ingre