caramelized

Caramelized Plum Sauce

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Here Come the Holidays: Caramelized Plum Sauce! A plum is one of those fruits whose skin is incredibly tender and easy to bite into. It offers a slightly tart taste before the sweetness of the flesh engulfs your senses. When I was a teenager living in Nebraska along the Missouri River, I remember puttering along winding country roads in the grain belt on a late summer afternoon. The weather was hot and humid, so the windows were rolled down on the beat up 1962 Plymouth Valiant that had seen better days. An irritated cicada beetle was screeching from the glove box where my boyfriend had tossed it after seeing it land on the front seat. I turned my head away to look beyond the car’s front fender when I saw a small native tree bursting to its limit with sweet, ripe, purple plums. “Look!” I exclaimed pointing my index finger, “It’s just like the plums in the grocery store!”

CARAMELIZED PLUM SAUCE

Ingredients:

4 fresh plums, washed, sliced, and stones discarded

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons brown sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon raw honey

Instructions:

Cut stone fruit in half. Remove pits and slice into segments, leaving skin on. Set aside. In a large skillet, warm butter over medium heat. Do not scorch. Add brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and raw honey. Stir. Bring to a simmer. Gradually add sliced plums; gently tossing to coat. Continue simmering for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Fruit will turn tender, not mushy. Remove pan from heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Spoon caramelized plum sauce over vanilla bean ice cream. Serve immediately. Once the sauce is cool, pour into a glass jar. Cover. Store in the refrigerator up to one month.

Five-Minute Grilled Steak

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? A Burst of Flavor: Five-Minute Grilled Steak! In the time it takes to caramelize the onions, you can have a no-fuss mouth-watering T-bone steak. Make sure the steak is Choice beef from the loin and rib so it will taste tender and juicy. It has a little less marbling, but is well-suited for the dry heat of a gas grill. I gave my sliced onions a head-start by microwaving them for 2 minutes on high while the grill was preheating.

FIVE-MINUTE GRILLED STEAK

Ingredients:

1 pound USDA Choice T-bone steak, 1/2″ thick at room temperature

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Pinch of garlic powder

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 sweet onion, sliced

1/8 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 tablespoon butter

Instructions for Grilling Steak:

First of all, let me clarify that my husband and I prefer steak to be cooked Medium Rare, which is seared on the outside and pink in the middle.

Salt and pepper both sides of the steak while the gas grill is preheating from 450°-500°. At this time sprinkle the steak with garlic powder as well. The salt begins to draw out a little bit of moisture which makes the steak sizzle when it hits the grill grate, sealing in the flavor. For accuracy in grilling, my husband sets the timer on his cell phone, which is quite handy. Grill the T-bone steak for 2 1/2 minutes on one side before flipping over for the remaining 2 1/2 minutes. The finished steak will be medium-rare. Now this is the most difficult part. Let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving. The juice will reabsorb back into the steak to give you that moist and meaty taste.

Meanwhile, in Gail’s Kitchen the microwaved onion slices have been transferred to a medium skillet on the stove. They continue to sauté on medium high heat in the olive oil and seasoned salt. Turn and coat the onions without allowing them to burn. If necessary, reduce the heat. The onions will brown as they cook down. The rich flavor and caramelized color are the results of allowing the onions to breathe and have room to finish. When this happens, I add a tablespoon of butter for additional flavor.