What's For Dinner? Rib Eye Steak and Frittes with Bearnaise

I ended up a tad short on protein today, primarily because I shared a steak with the Man, and the easiest cut off the rib-eye was about 2.5 ounces, and I just didn't bother to grab .5-1 oz more. I'd been eying this particular recipe for a while, and had been avoiding it for two reasons: frittes, and Bearnaise. As I've said before, I'm not particularly afraid of any ingredient, but I hadn't made anything fried since surgery, and Bearnaise involves a skill I hadn't tested in a while.

The meal taxed my preparation and organization, as I had the steak going at the same time as the potatoes, and once those were done, had to be complete attention to the sauce while putting the last of the salad together. Of course in the middle of it, I realized part of the sauce instructions included using a metal bowl over hot water - and I realized I had no idea where my metal bowls were (we recently reorganized the kitchen). We couldn't find them in the few minutes I had, so I risked adding the egg yolks to the wine and vinegar reduction in a heavy bottom saute pan over low heat - it worked out fabulously.

Where this incredibly rich sauce worked out OK for me is portion size. Let's face it, it's hardly healthy - wine, vinegar, egg yolks, butter, salt, pepper, and fresh tarragon. But at a serving size of about 2 tablespoons, it's not going to kill me. My dinner was fattier than it could have been between that, the rib eye, and the potatoes, but my daily totals are still reasonable. Some post-ops may not tolerate a dinner that between all components has 40g of fat in it, that will be up to your tolerance levels. I'd honestly not try it until at least 6 months out. It's not a meal I'll repeat soon - but instead a special treat.

For the potatoes I used my mandolin on the tiniest julienne setting - my oil was probably a bit hot - they browned a bit more than I'd have liked, but they weren't overly crispy so that was good.

So here it is - the good, the bad, and the yummy.

My Meals: 

Breakfast

• Dannon Light & Fit raspberry yogurt
• Sargento Light String Cheese

Lunch

• open faced tuna melt made with
• 3oz albacore tuna (water pack)
• 2 tsp mayonnaise
• 2oz  La Brea country white sourdough bread
• .75 oz sharp cheddar cheese - shredded

Dinner

• 2.5oz steak, 2 tbsp sauce - Pan-Seared Rib-Eye Steak with Bearnaise 
• approx 1 oz shoestring fries made from a russet potato ("frittes")
• 1 cup romaine, 1/3 cup tomato, a radish, and 1tbsp Ken's Buttermilk Ranch

Water - 60 oz

Daily Totals: 956 calories, 55.5g fat, 60.3g carbohydrates, 15.4g sugars, 55.4g protein