What Could Go Wrong?

I get tired of cooking food that sounds marvelous on the page but on the table somehow lets me down. When that happens, I turn to this old standby that has virtually nothing that can go wrong.

The meal is built around a steak, and except for people who are counting their cholesterol or are vegetarians, who can say no to a good rib eye done to a turn? To go with the steak, what could be better than scalloped garlic potatoes, a warm mushroom saute and a dessert of ginger snaps?

In true home-cooking style, double both the scalloped garlic potatoes and the onions and mushroom recipes. This little bit of extra effort will provide you with two more meals, plus more for later.

Use some of the extra potatoes to make a wonderful frittata. Place a thinly sliced zucchini and 2 1/2 cups of leftover potatoes that you’ve chopped small in a 10-inch skillet in 1/4 cup olive oil. Cook, stirring, until the zucchini is slightly cooked but still has a crunch. Pour five lightly beaten eggs over the potato mixture, reduce the heat to low, salt and pepper lightly, cover and cook about four or five minutes, checking after three minutes to see if the eggs have set. They should be soft but firm. Loosen the frittata with a spatula and turn onto a plate. This will serve four.

Use the extra sauteed onions and mushrooms as a pasta sauce. Simply heat them in a skillet, then stir in 1 1/2 cups of small noodles (orzo or riso) that have been cooked in plenty of boiling water. Stir in some chopped watercress if you have it and top with some grated Parmesan cheese.

There’s nothing simpler than cooking a steak. Just melt a couple of tablespoons of shortening in a skillet over high heat. When the shortening is good and hot, stand back and add the steaks to the pan. Salt and pepper generously and cook for only three or four minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. Turn and finish cooking the other side. Test for doneness by cutting a small slit with a paring knife in the center of the steak. To keep a thin steak rare, freeze it before cooking.

SAUTEED ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS

1/4 cup butter

2 onions, sliced 1/8-inch thick

Salt

3/4 pound mushrooms, stems removed from cap and cut in half, mushroom caps cut into 4 slices

Freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in large skillet to coat bottom. Add onions and salt lightly, stir and cook only until soft, about 5 minutes. Push onions to side of skillet, add mushrooms and cook until soft but not browned, another 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms and onions and keep warm while quickly frying steaks. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

138 calories; 195 mg sodium; 31 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.86 gram fiber.

SCALLOPED GARLIC POTATOES

5 baking potatoes, peeled and sliced

Salt

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup whipping cream

Place potatoes in 1 layer over bottom of buttered 8-inch-square baking dish. Salt lightly and sprinkle with garlic. Repeat in layers until all potatoes are used. Pour milk evenly over potatoes.

Bake uncovered at 325 degrees 45 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle cream over potatoes. Return to oven and bake 45 minutes. Serve hot. If not serving right away, cool potatoes and cover tightly with foil and freeze until needed.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each of 6 servings contains about:

152 calories; 91 mg sodium; 23 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.44 gram fiber.

GINGERSNAPS

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar, plus extra to roll cookies

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat together shortening and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then add molasses.

Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon and add to butter mixture, beating until smooth and blended.

Gather up bits of dough and roll between palms of hands into 1-inch balls, then roll each ball in sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees until cookies spread and tops crack, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on rack.

Makes 40 cookies.

Each cookie contains about:

81 calories; 32 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.03 gram fiber.