Since, for the 4th, we did a picnic and steak was on sale… it seemed like a good idea for dinner.
First, we had tomatoes that were ripe so this was the perfect side dish. Simple – sliced tomatoes layered with slices of mozzarella – drizzle of olive oil, good quality Balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. We like to do this first thing so the salad has time to marinade for an hour or two (or more).
For the Gratin Dauphinois, I sorta followed the Health & Homemade recipe except NOT… which is actually funny because she didn’t totally follow her recipe either. We used red potatoes and left the skins on (thoroughly scrubbed), but we did use a mandolin to slice them extra thin. I made the white sauce with a roux but used 2% milk, which is what we had on hand, rather than any type of cream – it seemed to turn out just fine. We used extra sharp cheddar for cheese. Definitely layered the potatoes / white sauce / cheese. It turned out lovely
Sauteed onions and mushrooms (or just onions, in my daughter’s case – note the separate pan for her) for on top of the steaks
Shaped up to quite a plate of food!
Dessert was my Heart’s creation – bananas baked in sherry and brown sugar with some crumbled pralines…
…served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream