CHARLEY SOUS CHEF: CHOPPED CHALLENGE: 1

I know that this is typically a blog about baking, but those of you who know me, know that I love to cook, too!
We watch the TV show "Chopped" on a regular basis. The premise of the show is simple. Contestants are asked to create a meal made of mystery ingredients- some of which can get really strange. I wanted to do that! So, Boyf went to the store and came back with this set of ingredients for my first ever, Chopped Challenge: Home Edition.

Here it is in all it's glory!

INGREDIENTS:

STRIP STEAK
CAULIFLOWER
GORGONZOLA CHEESE
BACON

DIFFICULTY:

5

(1 BEING EASIEST, 10 BEING MOST DIFFICULT)

GO!

I seasoned the steaks with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper and set them aside to let them get up to room temperature. I also set the oven to heat up to 400 degrees.

I started by cooking the bacon in a saute pan just like for a Sunday breakfast. Halfway through the cooking process, I drained out the bacon fat and continued cooking. This gets the bacon to be really crispy instead of soggy! Don't worry, I save the fat (it's gold!).

Next, I turned my focus to the head of cauliflower. I took my chef's knife and cut the cauliflower up into large florets and put them stem side up on a baking sheet (I chose stem side up, so the flower part wouldn't get burned- I had no idea how long it took to roast). I took some of the bacon fat and drizzled it over the cauliflower and popped it in the oven.

What to do with the cheese and the steak? I was drinking a beer (Summer Shandy!) while I was cooking, so I took some of it and poured it into a saucepan, added the cheese and slowly heated it to create a nice sauce. I added some fresh ground pepper to cut the saltiness of the cheese.

I took the cauliflower out, rotated the florets to have the flower side up, and continued roasting them in the oven.

Lastly, I seared the steak on the stove on my grill pan and finished it to a nice medium rare in the oven. I took it out and set it aside to let it rest. I took the cooked bacon and chopped up some small bacon bits. Checking my sauce, I needed to add a touch of milk to thin it out.

I removed the cauliflower from the oven, plated it and sprinkled my fresh made bacon bits on top. I cut the steak neatly in 1/4 inch slices and placed them on the plate, covering the slices with the Gorgonzola cheese sauce.