…and I’m not afraid to use it.

Earlier today I sliced vine-ripened tomatoes into a bowl, and covered them in a blend of olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. This tomato salad was a staple of my childhood, during summers spent with my grandparents in New Jersey, and would be served along side grilled hamburgers, corn on the cob and baked potatoes done on the grill, either white or sweet. Sometimes, there would be more conventional salads as well, the kind that include lettuce, but just as often there wouldn’t be.

I’ve just emailed a friend stating that I have these tomatoes and no idea what to put with them, as I forgot to defrost the salmon I’ve meant to cook for a week now, but as I don’t have a grill, hamburgers aren’t really an option (I don’t like making them on the stove – too greasy.)

Then, inspiration struck! I have a cast-iron skillet (purchased mainly so I can make cornbread) and there have to be some things that are just better cooked in such a pan. A second burst of inspiration: steak au poivre, which I never got enough of in France.

Of course we have no food in the house (well, we have beer, yogurt, apples, and the tomatoes I mentioned) so this will require a trip to the store, but…mmmm…sizzling steak au poivre, baked potatoes, and marinated tomatoes. Bliss on a plate!