Platinum Chef!

This is my first entry into the Platinum Chef Challenge. Actually, this is my first time to participate in any food blogging event and I have to say that I had a blast! I really enjoyed thinking outside my usual "food box."

Platinum Chef is a spin off of Iron Chef (on the Food Network - If you've never heard of it you must live under a rock), but with 5 secret ingredients instead of 1. Go here to see this month's challenge, chosen by Kate over at Paved with Good Intentions.

This challenge got me to try an ingredient I had never eaten, much less cooked with before, capers. I will say that I did not dislike the taste, but I don't see them becoming a normal fixture on my grocery shopping list. I do however have some left in the jar, so I will be searching for more recipes in which to use them.

The 5 ingredients that had to be utilized in your recipe(s) were:

• capers

• leeks

• cream (heavy cream, light cream, cream freche or cream cheese - your choice)

• rosemary

• lemon

This was a pretty daunting task for me since I only cook regularly with one of the ingredients - cream cheese. It's not that I dislike the others, they just don't normally show up on my dinner table. I decided to choose basic meal items that were very familiar to me, steak and potatoes, as a building block. (Another factor in choosing this meal was that I had both those items on hand and since we are on a budget these days this would decrease the amount of ingredients I had to pick up at the store.) So here is my very first entry into the Platinum Chef Challenge and the world of blogging events:

Caper Basil Ribeye Steaks with Rosemary Leek Mashed Potatoes

The steak is marinated in a caper-basil vinaigrette that I found on The Food Network's website from Bobby Flay.

Caper-Basil Vinaigrette
Source: Bobby Flay, my additions in italics

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons capers, drained and coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, or 4 teaspoons dried basil
Juice of half a lemon

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified. Stir in the capers and basil.

Reserve some marinade to drizzle over meat after it is cooked. Place individual ribeye’s into a freezer bag with the rest of the marinade for at least 4 hours. **This amount of time worked out perfectly.

Grill until desired done-ness (we like our steak medium). Top with some of the reserved marinade.

Rosemary Leek Mashed Potatoes
Source: Me

5 potatoes, peeled and cubed - the smaller you cube them the quicker they will cook
1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary - I used dried since I had it on hand
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small leek, white part only, sliced thin
1 large clove garlic
8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 tbsp milk
salt, to taste
a dash of cayenne pepper - if you like a little kick

Cook potatoes in boiling water until fork tender. Drain and set to the side.

In a medium sauce pan combine oil, garlic and leeks, sautéing until tender and fragrant. Add the rosemary and cook another minute or two. Place contents in a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste.

Add potatoes and milk to a large bowl and mash. I chose to use my hand mixer to make this job a little easier. Once combined, add cream cheese a few cubes at a time continuing to mix. Then add the garlic/rosemary/leek paste to the potatoes as well as salt and cayenne pepper. Mix to combine.

**This made a LOT of potatoes. We loved them though so we've been incorporating them into other meals. This recipe could easily serve 4.

This meal turned out even better than I expected! I was a little unsure how the marinade would work out, but this was the best steak I've ever cooked! The steak was tender and had a great flavor through out. We will definitely be using it again. Taylor really enjoyed the entire meal, but his favorite was the potatoes. He even went back for seconds which is saying a lot. I think we were both a little surprised at how much we liked this dinner since there were several ingredients we weren't used to eating.

And this is just a cool picture of the sliced leeks my husband took. (He also took the picture of the meal above)