Crystallised Ginger goes Savoury

I never thought that I would put crystallised ginger on my steak. Just more of the crazy things the Edmonds has led me to do. And peanut cake, don’t even start me on the peanut cake.

Steak Orientale – take a perfectly good steak and marinate it in pineapple juice, sherry, soy, brown sugar and chopped crystallised ginger. I’m still trying to figure out what is Orientale about this? Can anyone help? Perhaps they could have called it Steak Vaguely Foreign or something more appropriate.

And it actually wasn’t bad. I’m not a big fan of marinades on steak – If something has died to go on my plate then I think I should have the good grace to let it taste like what it was. Primarily I think I’ve had too many bad experiences with those marinated steaks you buy from the supermarket which have been flavoured and tenderised and brined and injected to within and inch of their lives. Except that phrase does not work terriblt well to the flesh of dead animals.

I will do a quick plug for the supplier of dead animals – the village butcher on Lunn ave – Sirloin steak for $13.95kg (and butterflied lamb legs for $12.95 a kg, might go and get myself one of those tonight) and very nice steak it was too, even with the crystalised ginger.

Peanut cake. A cake composed almost entirely of peanuts. A little sugar, a couple of eggs, a smidge of baking powder – but mostly peanuts. Would be good if you had a gluten allergy, but then if you are prone to allergies then Peanuts is probably something you’d want to stick relatively clear of.

And it actually wasn’t bad! The peanuts were “minced” (put through the food processor) so it had a certain grainy texture, and naturally a strong peanut flavour. Not exactly my cup of tea (or piece of cake) but interesting all the same. Perhaps hazels or almonds would be a little more contemporary?

We almost had a sticky ending when the only person with a nut allergy was 3/5ths of the way towards the consumption of the peanut cake before I arrived and circumvented danger. I like to envisage myself diving in slow motion, matrix style, to wrench the offending cake from his hand whilst yelling “nooooooooooo” in somewhat deeper tones than usual due to the slow mo… Fair to say I lead an active fantasy life in my head.