Morton's Steak Bible: Recipes and Lore from the Legendary Steakhouse [Hardcover]

Klaus Fritsch (Author), Mary Goodbody (Author)

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Book Description
Drawing from the spirit of the menus at Morton’s original Chicago location and their eighty other restaurants around the country and the world, Morton's The Cookbook includes familiar and delicious American steakhouse fare accentuated by the flavors picked up as the restaurant has grown to span the globe.

The expert on steak, Morton’s shares its wealth of information on how to cook your steak to perfection in enticing recipes such as New York Strip Roast with Three Peppercorn Sauce and Bone-in Ribeye with Rancher’s Rub. Complete your meal at home with recipes for delicious appetizers and classic steakhouse sides, such as Five-Onion Soup, Maine Lobster and Avocado Salad, and Blue-Cheese French Fries. Tempting desserts round out this bold collection of delectable recipes.

Beautifully illustrated throughout with full-color photographs and featuring 100 tantalizing recipes, Morton’s The Cookbook brings Morton’s exceptional fare to your home every day.

From Morton's The Cookbook: Steak Florentine

These tasty steaks are served on a bed of spinach, which earns them their name. Both round and butt steaks are full of flavor, and they are so well appreciated all across America that we think of them as "American cuts." They are chewier than sirloin or tenderloin but full of great beef flavor. If you can find prime beef, buy it, but choice will do just fine here.

Ingredients

• Two 10-ounce round or butt steaks, each about 1 inch thick
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot (1 small shallot)
• 1 pound fresh spinach, stemmed
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

(Serves 2)

Directions

1. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and let them rest at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3. In a large sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat and when hot, add the shallots and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft. Add the spinach to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, or until the spinach just wilts. Do not let it get too limp. Remove the pan from the heat, cover to keep warm, and set aside.

4. In a small sauté pan, heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter over medium-low heat and cook the garlic for 2 to 3 minutes or until it begins to brown. Set aside.

5. Lightly sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper.

6. In another large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and when very hot, sear the steaks for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the steaks to a roasting pan and roast for 3 to 4 minutes or until barely medium-rare.

7. Remove the steaks from the oven and turn on the broiler.

8. Drain the liquid from the spinach and spread the spinach in a broiler pan. Set the steaks on top of the spinach and then top each steak with the garlic and butter. Sprinkle a tablespoon of cheese over each steak and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until the cheese melts and is lightly browned. Let the steak rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Divide between 2 plates.

Wine recommendation

Pinotage wine from New Zealand has medium body with low tannin and high acidity, making it a good match for both the mildly bitter spinach and the Parmesan cheese. Try Te Awa Winery’s Pinotage from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.

Rosso di Montalcino is the little brother to Brunello di Montalcino and will complement this dish nicely. It is a fruity, low-tannin wine that balances the bitter spinach but does not overpower the lean meat. We recommend Banfi Rosso di Montalcino from Tuscany.

About the Author

Klaus Fritsch teamed up with Arnie Morton to found Morton’s in 1978. Trained as a professional chef, he currently serves as vice chairman to the company. Fritsch lives in Chicago. Visit mortons.com.

Mary Goodbody is a nationally known food writer, consultant, and cookbook editor who has worked on more than sixty books. She lives in Connecticut.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (May 23, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400097940
• ISBN-13: 978-1400097944
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.8 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Morton's Steak Bible this is NOT!, January 19, 2008

By 

E. Bianchi "-erik" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Morton's Steak Bible: Recipes and Lore from the Legendary Steakhouse (Hardcover)

A more apt name would have been: "Morton's recipes for home cooks".

This book completely leaves out the 3 biggest secrets that make Morton's steaks so legendary:

1) their spice blend
2) their aging process, (dry, wet, etc)
3) type of beef (Grass-fed or grain-fed? Kobe or Angus? etc)

I would have loved to have made their spice blend at home or learn how to do a home aging process Mortons way.

They also (surprisingly) don't cover how to cook on a infrared burner or cast iron skillet which, personally, I've found have given me the closets "steakhouse" results.

Sure, that is probably above most casual cooks heads, but for a steak enthusiast and wannabe steak chief (like myself) something that touts itself as "Morton's steak bible" comes up short.

Unfortunately, the steak recipes and cooking procedures are basic and very simple. If you've spent more then 10 mins looking up how to cook steaks on the internet, this book isn't going to teach you anything new.

However, if you want to learn how to cook some of Morton's non-steak items some of these are actually quite good.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want elegant dining for that very special occasion, then add Morton's Stake Bible to your collection!, August 6, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morton's Steak Bible: Recipes and Lore from the Legendary Steakhouse (Hardcover)

Klaus Fritsch is the co-founder and executive chef of Morton's Steakhouse and an acknowledged expert on the proper preparation and presentation of all manner of steaks. In Morton's Stake Bible: Recipes & Lore From The Legendary Steakhouse, Fritsch (with the help of nationally prominent food writer, consultant, and cookbook editor Mary Goodbody) has compiled one of the very best recipe collections for dishes that would be as welcome as they are easy to prepare in any American kitchen or on any backyard grill. With introductory chapters on "How to Cook Lie a Steakhouse" and "Cocktails and the Food We Eat with Them", these thoroughly "kitchen cook friendly" recipes are organized into chapters devoted to Appetizers; Salads and Soups; Steak: Our Feature Presentation; Other Steakhouse Favorites; Side Dishes; Desserts; Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments. From a Sloe Gin Fizz; Sea Scallops Wrapped with Bacon; Salad Nicoise with Pan-Seared Tuna; and Velvet Lobster Bisque; to Shrimp Alexander with Beurre Blanc; Morton's Legendary Chocolate Cake; Cold Grand Marnier Souffle; and Apricot Chutney, Morton's Stake Bible proves itself to be so much more than just another steak book. But it cannot be denied that the heart and soul of this outstanding culinary collection are the recipes that offer such mouth-watering fare as the Porterhouse Steak; New York Strip Steak; Filet Mignon; Beef Filet Diane; Cajun Ribeye Steak; Kansas City Bon-In Strip Steak; T-Bone Steak; Steak au Poivre; and Beef Filet Oskar. If you want elegant dining for that very special occasion, then add Morton's Stake Bible to your collection!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a phenom of a book!!, June 20, 2006

By 

Dave C. Omeara (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Morton's Steak Bible: Recipes and Lore from the Legendary Steakhouse (Hardcover)

this cook book had it all. from describing different cuts of meat, tenderizing, spices, oven temperatures, grilling methods, marinading... there were sections on drinks, salads, appetizers, main courses, salad dressings and, of course, steaks. Being a lover of Mortons method of preparing steaks, I HIGHLY recommend this book!