Steak in a Brown Paper Bag

There may have been occasions when you've wanted to put a brown paper bag over your head after you've cooked something. Here you actually use it to prepare the steak.

Sounds weird, but I've found this to be the best way to cook a steak short of barbecuing it. Take the steak out of the refrigerator 15 minutes or so before you cook it to bring it to room temperature. Serve with Cajun Sweet Potatoes, which you can roast in the same oven as the steak.

1 3/4 pounds boneless shell steak,
about 2-1/2 inches thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Rub both sides of the steak with olive oil. Press on the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and press the bread crumbs on both sides of the steak. Place the steak in the bottom of a brown paper bag and fold the bag up tightly.

Put the bag in a 9- by- 13 inch casserole seam side down and bake on the center rack of the oven for 35 minutes for medium-rare, cook 3 minutes more for medium. Let the steak rest for about 2 minutes before slicing and serving.

Cajun Sweet Potatoes

Serves 4

It has to be a pretty formidable entree to relegate these potatoes to the role of side dish. If there are leftovers you can do what I do—reheat them to serve at breakfast with eggs the following day.

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch-thick pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons prepared or homemade Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the sweet potatoes in a medium howl. Add the oil and toss the potatoes gently until they are all lightly coated. Add the Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper and toss again. Place the potatoes in an ungreased 9-by-13 inch casserole. Bake for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly browned and cooked through. Serve immediately.

From:

The Working Stiff
by Bob Sloan
Chronicle Books
1998, Hardcover, US $15.95
144 pages
Line art throughout
ISBN 0-8118-1885-3
Reprinted by permission.