Well, it’s here. It’s finally here. The first cooking food blog post of #CampGarcia.

I suppose it was an inevitability. That I’d end up blogging about food. I mean, I love it. Cooking it, eating it, smelling it, looking at it, thinking about it…beautiful beautiful food.

I can’t help it. I love food. Always have. I blame my mom. She taught me to cook and appreciate food from a young age. Some of my happiest memories live in the various kitchens I’ve cooked in through the years and I want to document them for myself and my future offspring.

So, welcome to #CampGarcia’s mess hall!

(Ingredient list at bottom of post!)

We got back from Hawaii on Saturday and I had some steaks in the freezer that needed cooking. They weren’t great steaks so I figured the best thing to do with them would be to cook them fast and hot and slice them up for a wrap or taco. But first, I had to prep them:

My buddy Brandon does some basic “dry aging” of his steaks and they are freaking delicious.

 

I mean, look at this dude, he’s basically dry aged beef incarnate, so he obviously knows how to cook a good steak.

Anyways, take your steaks out, salt and pepper liberally and place in the fridge with paper towels below and on top to catch the juices. If you’re aging for more than a day, change out the paper towels each day and salt and pepper a bit more on each side before returning to the fridge.

Once your steaks are ready you can rub a little bit of sesame oil over each piece and cook the meat. Sear the steaks on high for 3-4 minutes on each side depending on your preferred doneness. Please don’t over cook your meat…it’ll hurt my soul.

After your steaks are done, set them to the side to rest. It’s time for to talk pickled jalapenos.

I know pickling sounds scary, but it’s not. It can be easy and tasty and more people should pickle more things.

 

This is a quick pickle that doesn’t require any heat. Add your rice vinegar, honey, and mirin (No Mirin? No problem!) and mix to combine with salt and pepper.

Thinly slice your jalaps and add them to your mixture. The thinner you slice the better the pickle taste in the short term. Then, just mix up your jalaps every few minutes, you can do this before making the rest of the food for best results.

 

 

While the meat and the J-pepps are resting in their various juices. It’s time for the toppings. I chose to do peppers and onions. First, deglaze the pan you cooked the meat in with half a can of coca-cola and add half the ginger and garlic and saute for a few minutes. Then add your peppers and onions and salt and pepper to taste. You can cook the onions down to caramelization if you want, but after about 10 minutes on medium heat, they’ll be good for eating.

We’re nearly there, we just need to make prep the cabbage and for wrapping. This is easy, peel off a few leaves from the ball-o-cabbage and trim out the thickest part of the stem (it helps speed up cooking). I just steamed it over my peppers and onions as they finished. Once it’s all done, you can slice the beef and prep your wrap.

Another view of the finished product!

That’s it! Easy as pie! Or, easy as steak cabbage wraps. If you have something you’d like me to cook, let me know. I’m always up for a challenge and I’d love to cook your favorite meal!

Next week: Slow-cooker Carnitas!

Ingredient list:

Pickled Jalapenos

• 1 large jalap – thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• salt/pepper to taste

Veggie Toppings

• 1/2 large white onion – thinly sliced
• 2 small or 1 large green pepper
• 3 cloves garlic – chopped fine
• 2 inches of ginger roughly chopped

Steaks – Any kind you want!

 

 

Mess Hall Chicago Cooking Food Home Cooks Steak