Since this is the month we celebrate Mother’s day, I wanted to share memories of one of my mother’s favorite dinners. She taught my sister and I how to make this and it was served primarily when we had guests. The meal consisted of marinated & grilled flank steak, baked rice consommé and an Asian mandarin orange salad. This month I have added the recipe for the Baked Rice with Beef Consommé. In the following months, I plan to add the recipes for the flank steak and the mandarin orange salad. What is so nice about this dinner is the sweet and savory from the flank steak, along with the beefy richness of the rice and the sweet and crunchy salad.
What is consommé and where did it come from? The word is French for complete or perfect. Consommé dates to medieval times and was enjoyed by the wealthy who could afford the ingredients. These days you usually have this in upscale restaurants as an appetizer or a first course as a soup. This is a highly concentrated beef, chicken or vegetable stock used in cooking sauces, casseroles, gravies and more. In my opinion, it is a bit difficult to make from scratch. However, there are easier alternatives. In this rice recipe, I used Campbell’s Beef Consommé soup. It is surprisingly low in fat and sodium. Many countries use this version of broth. My header photo is an example of a Chinese beef consommé noodle soup.
This is our first spring in our new home and the flowers are now flourishing. My footer photo I took in Silverdale which is a town not too far from Port Ludlow. After a doctor’s visit, I had some lunch at a nearby restaurant overlooking a lake. The flowers at that restaurant were so beautiful that I thought that would be fun to share this with you.
Dave and I wish you a happy Memorial Day weekend. Summer is not that far away!
From my table to yours,
Your galley guide
