CutandBaste.com

To celebrate the inauguration the other night, we did a classic American “meat & potatoes” dinner: thick cut sirloin steaks basted in butter, roasted fingerling potatoes with a ton of rosemary and garlic, and a simple salad.  To add a bit more flavor to the meal, I did an interesting vinaigrette with blood orange and roasted garlic.  In a blender, start by pureeing the juice of one blood orange, a few tablespoons of blood orange vinegar, a small amount of spicy mustard, and the a whole head of roasted garlic.  Drizzle in olive oil while blending and add salt and pepper to taste.  Toss with lettuce, some slivers of blood orange, radish, and avocado.

Florence Meat Market on Jones and West 4th in the West Villiage has a special cut of meat called the Newport Steak, which is a sirloin cut.  It needs nothing other than salt and pepper and a quick pan fry and butter baste.  Here the steak is served with cauliflower and a puree of potatoes, a young sheep’s milk cheese called Abbaye de Belloc, and lots of roated garlic.