So having dinner with me comes with a few quirks and oddities which most of my friends and family already know. However, as this blog continues I am also gaining a blog family and I figure its about time to make some confessions and let them know a little more about having dinner with Danah.

1. I love to eat off other peoples plates. If they have something different than I am eating I want to try it. Most of the time I eat dinner with those I am close to and they are comfortable with sharing and aware of the fact that I don't want a bite of their food on my plate I want to eat it off of theirs. However, once in awhile I am having a meal with a co-worker, an acquaintance or someone who just doesn't know me all that well and I have to remind myself through the entire meal that I can't put my fork or hands on their plate.

2. I love to talk about food. I want to know if the people I am eating with are enjoying their food, if they would do something different or they think its crap. This is especially important to me if I cooked it...I love feedback...good, not good, never make it again, I would rather die a slow death than have you cook this meal again, needs more salt, etc.

3. I won't let people eat until I take pictures of the food. I figure this is good practice and what if I want to blog about it later and I have no pictures. So I have to admit I have had some meals in which they got cold since I was taking so many photos

4. If you come to my house for dinner you are guaranteed to be a guinea pig. I very rarely make the same thing twice, probably the only exception being prime rib from Green Acres for Christmas, so I will be trying something new and I will NOT be offended if you don't like it or we end up ordering pizza because its yuck.

5. Whenever I make a recipe I ask whomever is eating it if the recipe is good enough to keep. If they answer "yes" it goes in my "recipe file." However, because I love to experiment I have a recipe file which is NEVER touched. I never make it again even if I get a special request. Ok once in awhile when I get a request I do try to make it again...but this becomes a challenge as I then have to find the recipe again which is a challenge considering my 300 cookbook collection and my "recipe file."

6. I am horrible about eating leftovers. I love to cook, but most of the time I don't like the same food two days in a row so I have to find someone to eat my leftovers. I am trying to work on this one but its a work in progress.

Wow after writing this I just realized that I sound very food controlling, don't I?

Last night I made a simple but flavorful meal Seared Steak with Brussels Sprouts and Almonds

I bought the steak at the Farmers Market on Friday and its grass fed beef. If you are in Ventura County its from a place called Novy Ranches and they truly have the most tender and flavorful beef I have ever had. I actually enjoy it so much more that I will not buy my steak from anywhere else. And starting tomorrow not only can you get their steak at the Moorpark Farmers Market you can also get it at a storefront they are opening up at 801 E Los Angeles Ave in Simi Valley. Novy Ranches is owned and ran by a veterinarian, Dr. Lowell Novy, and he is committed to environmental and humane treatment. I highly recommend it and his steak is amazing!


This recipe is also very easy. The steak is just flavored with salt and pepper and cooked in a pan. The brussels sprouts (I just learned that its brussels and not brussel sprouts) are thinly sliced and cooked in butter...seriously how can you go wrong with that right. They are cooked until tender and then you add toasted almonds, lemon juice and salt and pepper and they were perfect. I also loved the way the house smelled after toasting the almonds...yum!

I served the meal with an Opolo Petit Verdot and I was impressed as it complimented the almonds in the brussels sprouts and the steak.