Family dinner on 96th Street last night was splendid.  On Jessica’s request, I prepared a London broil steak with thin cut French Fries and toasted garlic broccoli.  And for Lyman:  Pine nut-crusted tilapia with tangerine sauce.  In the middle of the table, a roasted Spaghetti Squash with sautéed red pepper and onions was served.

The steak sauce was intended to replicate a sauce that we tried at Haru while out celebrating Whittier’s birthday last weekend.  It was a wine and soy reduction that finished the steak.  For garnish, Haru topped the steak with thinly cut crisp French fries.  Last night, the sauce was made with 1-cup of beef stock, 1-cup of verjus, ½-cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ginger powder and ½ tablespoon garlic powder. Combine all in a saucepan and reduce.  Do this in advance of dinner service and warm to finish the plate.

The steak was seasoned with salt for 20 minutes before cooking in a grill pan, 3 minutes per side at high heat then removed and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.  This timing produced steaks that were mid-rare.  For the broccoli, all the tops were cut into large bite-size pieces and the stems were peeled and cut to size.  One large head garlic was sliced thin using 3 cloves.  In a hot skillet, add 4 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic.  Then stir until the garlic begins to brown.  At this point, add the broccoli and stir continuously until it begins to soften.  Remove the broccoli and garlic and add to the plate.  For the French fries, use 1 large baking potato skinned and sliced thin by hand or with a mandoline.  Bring a pan of vegetable oil 3 inches deep to 375° F on a high flame.  Add 1/3 of the potato at a time, stirring until they begin to brown.  Then, transfer the potatoes to a paper towel and repeat with the remaining potatoes.  To plate: slice the steak, spoon the sauce over the steak and then top with French fries.

For the fish (you can use any white fish), coat the fish with egg white followed by a coating of crushed pine nuts.  Set the fillet into a hot nonstick pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Cook each side for about 2 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove to a plate with broccoli and then wipe the pan clean.  Return the pan to the heat and add the sauce.  For the sauce, in advance clean 2 tangerines by removing the skin and seeds.  Add the fruit to a bowl and combine them with 3 tablespoons olive oil and 3 tablespoons verjus.  Add this mixture to the warm pan and stir over medium heat until it reduces by half.  Then, pour the sauce over the fish and serve.