Sunday I tried to recreate my graduation dinner- steaks and sweet potato fries. I prepared the steaks in a sauce pan, as Alain Ducasse recommended in the NYT a while back. You render the fat by cooking them on their side, first, and then saute them in that fat and an ungodly amount of butter. They came out overdone and not too overwhelming. Jeff felt they would be perfect for steak sandwiches, however. I left him with my leftover to make quesadillas tonight.


The sweet potato fries came out fine, though. I cooked them in the oven and served them with a garlicky homemade mayonnaise. (Not technically an aioli, since I didn't leave the garlic in it.) I whisked the mayonnaise by hand- I know you're supposed to use a blender or a food processor, but I've never found it that hard to do by hand. I think people who use a food processor are kind of wussy, to be honest. The mayonnaise was, hands down, the high point of the meal. I always like anything I can serve in a ramekin, too. I have a bit of a ramekin obsession.