March 15. Tri-tip steak with pomegranate molasses. Eggplant with parsley and garlic. Mushrooms and onions, roasted potatoes, sauteed bananas

Incredibly packed refrigerator.    Un-cooked vegetables, uncooked meat, a quart of chicken broth. Too much.  

Drea is planning to come to dinner next Monday--but my steaks will not work in her vegetarian diet.  Those bargain steaks--with their mandate for instant cooking demanded immediate attention.
I invited Lisa and Gar, (a most serious forager of bargain meats himself) to help me work my way through it.  They couldn't come Thursday, but signed on for Friday meat-eating duties.  Good enough.  With plans to empty my fridge afoot, I could happily head off to meet Linda at Gjelina's for lunch.
Linda and I had scarcely spoken since last spring and had an excellent visit over our lunch of a Smoked Trout with Grapefruit, Avocado, Red Onion & Lemon Salad, followed by the lamb sausage pizza. It wasn't too noisy on the terrace where we also caught -- the one bit of sun that broke through the clouds that day.  
Biking home, I saw Tim outside of his house.  Robin's 94 year old mother who had been seriously ill for years had died the night before.
Although Lisa and Gar had been promised the tri-tip, I figured there'd be enough left-over--so invited bereaved Robin and Tim for dinner tonight.
Trying to figure out what to do with a tri-tip (not taking the path of Santa Maria bar-b-que--the most recommended method in California), I discovered a recipe with pomegranate molasses--a favorite new ingredient.
I'd used up the last drops of my last bottle before going to Vietnam.  I'd been planning to replenish but I needed it immediately.  I biked home (first getting air in my very tired tires at the bike store on Main and San Juan), gathered my shopping bags and got in the car for a quick round of shopping.  
First stop--the 99 cent store to see what left-over produce from Whole Foods I could scoop up--then to the Persian market on Venice and Midvale--which had no pomegranate molasses (though an empty spot on the shelf attested to its usual presence).
It was early enough to head to the Teheran market on Wilshire where I had my choice of three! brands.  Oh the advantages of living in a city of many Persian markets--so much better than paying twice at much to our friends at Amazon.
The cooking began!!  Cooking for at least two dinners, I was a whirlwind.
This is what I made (more or less in the order prepared):

Roasted Cauliflower and Roasted tomatoes Very easy--cauliflower as I learned at Lisa's the other night always takes longer than I think (maybe closer to 40 minutes).  You just have to remember to keep checking -- and of course, it depends on how crispy you want it (I myself love those almost-burnt crumbs).

The eggplant somehow escaped my photographic efforts--so you will just have to imagine its loveliness.  Here's what I did, as I can best re-call.
EGGPLANT:
INGREDIENTS
1 Eggplant
1 Zucchini
Olive Oil
Few cloves of garlic
1/2 cup Tomatoes
Few Tablespoons of parsley and/or basil
Salt
Pepper
(quantities can of course vary widely--this is just what I had on hand)
Dice the  eggplant into smallish cubes, sprinkled it with salt--and put it in a colander to drain.  I was not quite sure what I was going to do with it--but it had been in the refrigerator for days--it's time had come.   Also cut the one remaining zucchini--and threw it into the colander--though I don't believe it needs that particular procedure. 
While the eggplant rested, I chopped parsley and garlic to add later--also --although I'd been planning to toss in some of the roasted tomatoes (that would have been fine)--I decided I wanted to let them shine on their own--so opened a big can of whole plum tomatoes--chopped a few--for their union with the other vegetables.  
After about a half hour, put a small amount of olive oil in a large heavy frying pan (always easier for browning to have one layer--otherwise just stir more).  
When the eggplant is soft and nicely browned--toss in the tomatoes--they should turn into a bit of a sauce--add garlic--cook a minute or so--throw in herbs and serve.

Also roasted peppers--orange bell peppers and pasilla chiles.
I usually use red peppers, but the red peppers in the market were looking a bit dreary (this was, after all, the 99cent store), so went with the yellow and green. 


Despite being a standard for decades, roasted potatoes never made it to the other blog--so here's the recipe--simple as can be:
ROASTED POTATOES.
INGREDIENTS:
Potatoes--any size and variety.
Olive Oil
Parsley
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
Preheat oven to 450.
Coat a jelly roll pan with olive oil (I've had potatoes roasted in  quite a bit of oil--very delicious--but over the years have decided the smaller amount is just fine.

If the potatoes are tiny--no need to cut them--otherwise cut them into whatever size makes you happy--larger will take longer to cook--but it will all be delicious.  I promise.


When the begin to brown, stir them around.  You want them as 
as crispy brown on as many sides as you have patience for--timing will depend on type of potatoes and size you cut them.  Be alert!!  Remove from oven--add salt--eat immediately or later at room temperature.  I use to make  a salad with these roasted potatoes--but they are completely delicious naked with salt. This batch which included white, yellow and purple potatoes as well as sweet potatoes and yams was particularly successful.  
This was already plenty, unable to stop, it seemed a perfect moment to make
SAUTEED MUSHROOMS WITH CARAMElIZED ONIONS, PARSLEY, GARLIC AND RED WINE
INGREDIENTS
One sliced onion.
One pound of crimini mushrooms
Olive Oil
Butter
A few cloves garlic
Splashes of wine
Parsley
Salt and pepper.

Saute the onions in olive oil over low heat in a covered heavy cast iron pan for ten to fifteen minutes until they are very soft and slightly brown.  Remove the cover, raise the heat and keep cooking, stirring frequently until they are quite brown.  If time is short, no worries, as long as they're not raw, they will be quite fine.  Push the onions to the side (you could remove them and set them aside if you want), add a tablespoon or so of butter to the pan.  When the foam subsides, add the sliced mushrooms.  When they're brown, toss in the finely chopped (or crushed) garlic.  Stir for about thirty seconds.  You can add wine here if you want.  Throw in the parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.

The salad was straightforward--romaine lettuce, arugala, fennel, some herbs with a simple vinaigrette.


I waited til Tim and Robin arrived before beginning the steak.  I'd found a recipe that seemed perfect--tri-tip with pomegranate molasses cooked in a cast iron pan (my favorite steak making method).  It is   ridiculous that I don't grill here in my Southern California home by the beach, but so be it.

The chunk of meat, covered in an unattractive layer of fat was intimidating--but after a few fumbles, it did turn out splendidly. 


You can check out the link above, but here's how I did it:  


One Tri-tip steak--2-3 pounds
4-6 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
four cloves garlic
four tablespoons mint.
A few hours before serving, remove meat from fridge.  Rinse it, dry it thoroughly--if there's a huge amount of fat, you can trim some of it--but you'll get rid of it eventually, so no matter. Rub it with salt and pepper, and let it sit for a couple of hours.
Heat a cast iron pan on top of the stove for about five minutes--it should be really hot.  And big enough to hold the steak.  Put the tri-tip--fattiest side first--into the pan.  Let it brown, untouched--for maybe eight minutes--turn it over for another eight minutes or so.  (I initially just extended the internet instructions from four-five minutes per side--to six or seven--not nearly enough--so with the big tri-tip you'll have to figure it out yourselves--I didn't burn it--the exterior was perfectly browned with a good crust--but it was initially bloody rare--we wanted regular rare--not even medium--which I did get--but it took a little extra work).  If you have a meat thermometer--something I've never managed to use--it should read about 125.


While it is cooking chop the garlic and mint (which praise be, grows in my own garden)  and mix with the pomegranate molasses.  


Remember the steak will keep cooking once removed from the pan
When you think it's close to what you want--I'd say maybe six-eight minutes per side, put it on a cutting board, brush the molasses mixture on--using it all up--wrap in aluminum foil and let it sit another ten minutes.  In a perfect world, it will be perfectly cooked--and the glaze will seep into the steak.
If it's too rare (this is what happened to me)--return it to the pan--and cook a bit longer, paying close attention--you don't want to overcook.  Slice against the grain, spoon the sauce over the meat and serve.
Despite the errors in calculation, my first tri-tip was a triumph--with plenty left-over.  

And there was even dessert!!  As Tim and Robin helped clean up, I sliced and sauteed two almost ripe bananas with a bit of brown sugar--and served them with sour cream. Not too heavy and sweet enough to fill the bill.