…and one more, or “How to recover from a fussy baby through the magic that is Steak Ranchera”

I have often been heard to brag about Bee’s unfailingly awesome demeanor.  “She’s so outgoing!” “Well, she’s a pretty friendly little gal, and seems to have a pretty good sense of humor.” “Oh, she really only cries three or four times a month. Seriously.”

That last one came back to haunt me today. Big time. Poor Bee is teething, among other things, and decided that today was the day to let me know exactly how cheery and laid-back she felt about the whole ordeal. Today was the first day since she joined our household that I’ve missed office life. I’ve had some pretty crazy coworkers, but none of them ever shrieked in my ear while trying to head-butt me and disrobe me at the same time. For three hours. That kid has excellent muscle tone for an infant.

We had planned to have friends for dinner tonight, and after recovering enough sanity to take full inventory of the wreckage in the living room (to say nothing of the hot mess I had become), I decided it would be easier to reschedule than to try to summon the power to clean and cook. Thanks for understanding, you guys!

I still had a fridge full of steak that needed to be cooked, though, so I put together the ultimate in comfort food, and would like to share the recipe with anyone else who’s delighted it’s cool enough to use the oven again.

1) Convince the love of your life that it’s perfectly safe to interact with the demon baby while you run and hide in the kitchen.

2) Gather together the following:

Steaks – thin cut. The cheaper and fattier, the better the result will be  (I used about 2 lbs of thin-cut boneless chuck steak), seasoned with salt and pepper

2 pasilla peppers

2 white onions, sliced

a big can of whole tomatoes (28 oz.)

a couple of good-sized handfuls of little red potatoes, sliced

2-4 cloves garlic

cumin

coriander

salt and pepper

olive oil

red wine vinegar

either a wide, shallow oven-proof dish and a frying pan or a lidded, shallow cast-iron pot that can go from range to oven (I used my Le Creuset bistro pan; a buffet casserole would work well, too)

3) Cook:

Heat your oven to 325 degrees.

Place your peppers directly onto the gas fire of your stove, and leave them there until charred all over, turning them occasionally with a set of tongs. Remove them from the heat, wrap them in plastic wrap, and set them aside until cool. Rub the burn skins off and pull out the stem and seeds. This will be messy. DO NOT rinse off the peppers, or you’ll lose a lot of flavor. It helps to keep the water in the sink running so you can rinse your hands a few times during the process. Slice the peppers.

Pour enough olive oil into the pan to lightly coat it. Heat until shimmering, then brown the steaks. You’ll probably have to do this in batches.

Set the steaks aside and cook the onions in the same pan, seasoning them with salt and pepper, until they soften. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and toss them into the pan. Add about a teaspoon of ground cumin and a teaspoon of ground coriander. Cook for a minute, then add the can of tomatoes.

Stir, breaking the tomatoes up with your spoon. Be careful not to get tomato juice all over yourself. If using the same pan, add the steaks, potatoes, and peppers to the pan, drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and toss the whole mess as best you can. Put a lid on it and put it in the oven. If using another dish, put the meat, potatoes, and peppers into the dish, stir the vinegar into the tomato sauce, then pour the sauce over the steaks. Cover with tinfoil and put it in the oven.

Braise for about an hour (the potatoes should be very tender), then pull the lid/foil off and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes until there’s a nice crust formed around the rim of the pan.

4) Serve with a glass of wine (I chose a Malbec) or a bottle of beer, and forget this whole day ever happened.

And now, if you’ll pardon me, I’m done for the evening.