I found myself staying at an
efficiency in a
hotel while on a
contract job in
Pittsburgh a year and a half ago. Now, while one can eat out, that eats into one's pay
fast. Since I had an efficiency, I had a
kitchenette. I had two
electric burners, a
microwave, a
fridge, a mini-
sink, and cabinets. Empty ones. The hotel claimed one could get
pots and
pans from the
housecleaning staff, so I asked and received a set of tools that would cause most people to throw their hands up in the air. Perhaps I use the word "
set" loosely; if you told me that the tools were what a
college student left behind in their
dorm room, I wouldn't be surprised.
After a nearly disastrous try with
Tuna Helper due more to the small size of the
skillet than lack of skill (nearly anyone can make
Hamburger Helper or its associates), I decided to call in the
big guns. I called
Mom.
Well, honey, why don't you try pan fried steak? It's easy.
So I tried it and it worked. It's a simple recipe that everyone should be capable of performing.
You need:
One steak, preferably reasonable quality -- this process isn't great for the steak. If you want good results, then go find out how to cook the perfect steak.
A frying pan.
(optional)A marinade.
Marinate the steak for at least eight hours if you are using a marinade -- I find store bought Italian dressing works great. Heat up the frying pan on the burner. Put steak on the frying pan. Brown each side (and the edges) to kill off all those lovely surface germs, then use your knife to check it. (Yes, I know that someone else says checking with a knife is bad. If I had a spatula, I could have used it instead.) Unless the steak is thick you will likely find it difficult to cook it rarer than medium. Now eat the steak. Not bad, eh? Better yet, even with good steak it'll be cheaper than eating out.