Cooking For One...Or Two: Steak or Chops with Savoury Butter, Croque Monsieur, Devils on Horseback, Figs Parma Ham🌞

[justaprogressive]

Last edited Wed Dec 17, 2025, 03:20 PM - Edit history (1)

Steak or Chops with Savoury Butter

1 rib eye steak or fillet, or 1 pork or lamb chop
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herb butter:
250g (9oz) unsalted butter, softened
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as parsley, rosemary, thyme and
marjoram, or just one herb, such as tarragon
A squeeze of lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed, optional

Spiced butter:

250g (9oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
A squeeze of lemon juice
2-6 dashes of Tabasco sauce, to taste

To make the herb or spiced butter, mix everything well with
a fork. Mould into a log shape, wrap with clingfilm and freeze
for up to 3 months. When you want to use it, slice a piece off
and use as required.

To cook the steak, heat the grill pan until it is smoking. Season
the steak with salt and pepper and cook the steak to your liking.
A medium steak will take about 2 minutes on each side, but cook
it for a longer or shorter time according to your taste. Always rest
the steak for at least 2 minutes in a warm dish before serving so
that the meat relaxes and isn’t tough. Pork chops are best cooked
in a grill pan, too. Use the same method as for steak but cook the
chops for about 3 minutes on each side.

Rest for at least 2 minutes before serving.

For lamb chops, you may only need to cook for 1-2 minutes on
each side, according to how pink you like your meat.

Serve the griddled meat with savoury butters


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Croque Monsieur

2 slices of sourdough bread
Clarified butter
50g (2oz) Gruyére cheese, grated
3-4 thin slices of really good ham

The trick with this is to make sure the slices of bread are the
same size and fit together perfectly.

Heat a cast-iron or heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat.

Spread the bread thinly on both sides with the clarified butter.
Scatter half the cheese over one slice of bread, then add the
ham slices followed by the rest of the cheese. Cover with the
other slice of bread and press down firmly. Place in the hot
pan and turn down the heat if it is too high. Cover with a large
lid. Cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown, then flip over and
continue cooking until the cheese has melted. Eat immediately
while still hot.

Variations

To make a Croque Madame, top the finished sandwich with
a fried egg. Sometimes | make a thick white sauce and add
the cheese to it, let it cool and then continue to make the
sandwich, spreading the sauce over one slice of bread,
then topping with the ham and remaining slice of bread.


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Devils on Horseback

4 rashers of rindless streaky bacon
1 tbsp mango chutney
4 tbsp cream cheese
8 stoned ready-to-eat organic prunes

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Line a small,
shallow baking tray with Bake-O-Glide. Lay the bacon rashers
on a flat surface and stretch them out by running the back of
a knife along their length, then cut each piece in half. Put a little
of the chutney and cream cheese into each prune, then wrap
the prunes in the bacon and lay them on the baking tray. Cook
for 10-12 minutes or until they are browned. Serve on a bed of
rice with a green salad.


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Grilled Figs wrapped in Parma Ham -with Gorgonzola

2-3 fresh plump ripe figs
50g (2oz) Gorgonzola cheese, cut into chunks
1-2 fresh thyme sprigs
2-3 slices of Parma ham
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 slices focaccia bread, toasted
1 clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half

Cut the figs into quarters but leave the bases intact so
that they hold together. Place a slice of Gorgonzola on
top of each one and push in a few thyme leaves, then
wrap up the fig in the Parma ham. Drizzle over a little
balsamic vinegar and olive oil and season with black
pepper.

Toast the bread and rub with the cut edge of the garlic.
Place a fig parcel on the toast. Preheat the grill to its
highest setting and grill the figs for 1 minute.

Great served with a rocket salad.


All the above from "Cooking for One: 150 Delicious Recipes"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4396434-cooking-for-one

Yummmy. An Eclectic Mix. Should be something there you like!

[NJCher]

1. Terrific menu for Christmas dinner!

and the fact that it's small portions is all the better.

[justaprogressive]

2. oops forgot to transfer measurements