Break up the cheese into small pieces and
reserve.
In a mixing bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper,
Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce and whisk well.
Gently stir in the cheese, celery, scallions and chives. Do not over mix, as the
cheese will turn an unappetizing blue-grey. Keep refrigerated.
Clean a large head of iceberg lettuce, core and cut into wedges. Generously pour this yummy dressing over the wedge and give it a dusting of freshly grated black pepper.
Beef Fillet (from COSTCO):
I have found this is the absolute best way to cook a fillet and make it perfect every time. Hubby agrees and even though he always cooks steaks, I cook these. Very simple and fool proof. In a small frying pan (preferable an aluminum one NOT NON-STICK, add some olive oil and about 1/4 cube of butter. With the addition of the olive oil you won't burn the butter. Brown the meat on both sides (it will sizzle and get a little crispy around the edges, that's good) and the only seasoning I use is salt & pepper. Once you have both sides well browned put an individual meat thermometer in each one and put the pan in a 350° oven and keep an eye on the temp and when it reaches your desired doneness take it out of the oven and put on a plate and let it rest at least 10 minutes. If you have someone who likes rare and another well done, just take the first one out and cover with foil until you are ready to take out the other. I will sometimes slice some button mushrooms and add a little more butter, salt and pepper and cook them and then towards the very end add a little Vermouth until it is completely absorbed and pile these on the steaks at serving time.
While the meat is resting you can be putting together your salads and your baked potatoes.
Junior's Cheesecake:
This cheesecake is from the cookbook from Junior's famous restaurant in Brooklyn. I have made this cheesecake many times and all but one time it came out perfect! I am going to give you a link to a blog that I think has the best version of this recipe. This is simply the best cheesecake if you like NY style cheese cake. No graham cracker crust - you make a sponge cake for this and it is so darned good. It is more complicated then most but well worth the effort. The recipe for the filling requires 1/4 cup of cornstarch and the one time I failed I was making it for my hubby to take to his office. I came home from work and put on my apron and made the sponge cake - turned out beautiful....put my cheesecake together and when I took it out of the oven it looked like it was from Junior's - so beautiful with that beautiful golden brown top, made your mouth water just to look at the cake....I let the required time go by and then unsnapped the springform and "plog" it fell apart - I looked on the counter and there was the cornstarch in the measuring cup - cornstarch is the binder....oops! Here is the link and don't forget the cornstarch, teehee:
Link
A note on the Fog City Diner - the FCD as we knew it closed it's doors and has reopened again. I have not been there but the menu looks completely different. This was a place we always tried to have dinner at if we were in San Francisco, so good. Both the FCD and Junior's have cookbooks worth owning.
Resource
French Onion Soup recipe, Laura Calder
Fog City Diner blue chess dressing recipe, FCD Cookbook
Junior's Cheesecake recipe, Welcome to Junior's Remembering Brooklyn with Recipes and Memories from It's Favorite Restaurant
Hem stitch napkins, William's-Sonoma
Rooster napkin rings, Antique Farm House
Red handled flatware, Hampton Forge
White chargers, IKEA
Red dinner plates, Kohl's, Paula Dean
White Rooster, HomeGoods
Buffalo gingham checked tablecloth, Ebay seller
Place Mats, Online seller
Red crystal water and flutes, Horchow
Large candlesticks, Amazon, Oddity Home
Small red plates, HomeGoods
White lattice candle holders, HomeGoods
Thank you for stopping by.
