So tonight’s dinner. Yeah. About that. This is how it went:
Bleh. I made three things: London Broil, popovers, and a salad with homemade Caesar dressing.
Let’s start with the steak. Okay, seriously. Where did I go wrong? The recipe said to broil my tenderized flank steak 4 inches from heat for 5 minutes. Then, I was supposed to turn the steak over and broil for another 3-5 minutes. I did 5 minutes on the first side and 4 minutes on the second side. I even measured to make sure the broiler pan thingy was 4 inches from the heat. The steak was a rubbery mess. Edible? Kinda, sorta. Tasty? No. It tasted like a steak you would get at the Sizzler that was under the heat lamp all day. I snapped pictures but it turns out poorly cooked steaks are really gross to look at so I’m not going to make you suffer.
That’s okay though, because I still had opportunity to shine with the popovers, right? Here’s what my cookbook told me my popovers should look like:
Cute, right? I was feeling really optimistic as I put them in the oven, looking like this:
My optimism dwindled as I took them out of the oven looking like this:
You think that’s funkified? Wait until you see what they looked like after I popped them out of the ramekins:
What in the world? How is that even possible? My poor, pathetic, tumorish popovers 
They tasted good but were so fugly.
Finally, my salad. I used Dole’s Sassy Baby Blend:
I added tomato, orange bell pepper, croutons, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. So far so good. Enter homemade Caesar dressing. The recipe called for one tin of anchovies. I’ve never made Caesar dressing before so I didn’t think anything of it. Um, one tin of anchovies is way too much. After eating the salad, I smell like a fish died inside me. Not kidding.
Overall… solid effort, miserable results. I gave myself a C- because I think trying counts for something, right? We’re having leftovers tomorrow (wow, everyone is so excited about that in my house as you can imagine) and Thursday I’m going to try roasting a chicken. God help me.
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Next time try using anchovy paste and only use a couple of tablespoons. Homemade Caesar is SO good so don’t give up…try another recipe. And popover do that, don’t they?
Just trying to encourage!:)
I’m no cooking expert, but I’d say you should try a bunch of crock pot recipes…Since I’m no cooking expert, I can HIGHLY recommend them for ease and results! Plus, when it’s hot you don’t have to heat the oven
Good luck tomorrow…I think chicken roasting is probably pretty easy!
-HB
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I think you definitely earned better than a C – in my opinion. I was cracking up at the picture of the popovers and yours…sorry, I couldn’t help myself…but I was just wondering how in the world the drawing looked like cause I really don’t think it’s possible to have them come out of the oven looking like a chef’s hat! Bummer about the dressing….but I’m unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) not an anchovy fan. I’m thinking skip the steak (blech, I don’t like steak either, call me weird I know) keep the popovers, have a fruit salad and get a Hot and Ready Pizza for $5…I’m sure your family would thank you! Hah! Bon Appetite chicka! :O)
My popovers look funky too so no worries. For your bake chicken Thursday, you’ll have to do the beer can chicken. You’ll need a six pack of beer….no just kidding, one can will do it. I drink a quarter of mine first:), but you marinade your chicken and sit the chicken on top of beer can and bake! Your chicken will be soo moist and delicous, you won’t roast it any other way. Oh-I have a stoneware dish that is made for the beer can chicken. I bought it in downtown Mckinney.
The beer chicken sounds great! I may have to do that instead of this other recipe I was looking at. Can I still add rosemary and stuff or would that be weird?
Glad ya’ll got a laugh out of my popovers! They were so crazy looking.
Where do you find anchovy paste?
Any specific crock-pot recipes you recommend?
Ok I would say you need to get the Southern Living Quick and Easy Cookbook. I have it and my husband has not had a bad meal yet. They are easy and you can find all the things you need at the store. No need for multiply trips to other stores looking for random items!! Keep trying.
I think your popovers look fab. I mean, were they tasty? My guess is yes. Then give yourself a bump up in grade to a B-. Next, I’ve decided that unless you spend $30 for a good piece of beef at Central Market or specialty meat store, no steak will be fit to eat. And since paying that much is crazy, bump up your score to B+. Next, you’ve chosen a bagged salad named Sassy. That in itself gets you an A-. And that you took the time to shop, prep, and actually think about dinner in advance while caring for two children under 5yo gets you an A in my book. So there.
And using the word tumor to describe your popovers. You’re too funny!
I am BY FAR not a good cook, but I just wanted to note that for steaks the quality in my opinion can make a HUGE difference. Not sure where you got your meat, but I would say go to Market Street. They put all their meats on sale from time to time and just stock up on the good ones when they do. You might already do this… oh and just ask the butcher to help you pick a good steak… from the pre-packaged area – NOT behind the counter.
Hope that helps! Oh and the bread looks yummy… who cares what they looked like
You’ll do fine with the chicken on thursday. Just keep basting it and it will be super moist. I always add cooking sherry which gives it a nice taste!
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I bet your popovers still tasted yummy! I …ahem… ‘forcefully inherited’… a popover pan from my mom. Here’s one on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EH4TWY
My mom bought this pan a rather long time ago, so I’ve no idea what brand it is. This really helps to make my popovers look beautiful most of the time. Sometimes I’m having a bad kitchen day though…
Oh, that makes me feel better that there is an actual popover pan! That MUST be why mine didn’t turn out quite so lovely, huh? hehe. Thanks for the link!
Hi, just happened across your blog. Do you have a fan forced oven? That may be why your popovers looked like they were trying to escape.
I just happened upon your blog over the weekend. Yesterday I was watch Marth Stewart who was fawning over her beautiful, delicious popovers – hers looked just like your last picture!!! That alone means you deserve better than a C-.
Also, I’ve been loving http://www.ourbestbites.com They have some of the recipes that have become my go-to’s. They have a white cheese sauce that I’ve been using for a ton of different things. Their taquitos. I’ll stop because I could gush on and on.
Love your blog!
Maclaine, I totally saw MS yesterday and was cracking up that she made popovers! Maybe I’ll bump myself up to a C+.
Thanks for the link – I’m going to head over there right now to check out some recipes. I need all the help I can get
Better luck next time. Maybe you should check out the pioneer woman. She’s a blogger that has a cooking site and has just released her first cookbook. Her recipes are step-by-step with photos of each step. I purchased 5 of them for Christmas gifts. http://www.thepioneerwoman.com
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I really like ur bog so down to earth. Was wondering how to find patter for mat blanket/pillow
thanks
Jennifer
Hey Jenna! You can download the napmat tutorial under the “tutorial” tab at the top of my website. Thanks!