Marinated Flank Steak

So, you say what should I eat with that kale salad that you told me to make? Well here's an idea. Why not have some really lean juicy marinated flank steak.

What you'll need

• Flank steak
• Plastic Ziplock Bag
• Soy Sauce 1/4 cup
  
• Worcestershire Sauce 1/8 cup
  
• Pickapeppa Sauce 2 tbsp
  
• Hot Squeeze (or honey) 2 tbsp

It pretty easy after you've assembled all the ingredients.

Go ahead and trim all the scary bits off the steak with a really sharp knife. Really sharp because that's the only way to use knives that is enjoyable.

Mix all the ingredients and place in a plastic bag. Let that sit for at least 24 hours 48 is good too.

Heat your grill till it's blazing hot.

Remember the honey or hot squeeze? That heat will help with the caramelization and give you killer grill lines if you're into pretty food.












So I cook for about 2.5 minutes and turn to a fresh part of the grill to have the hottest iron touching the meat every time 2.5 more minutes and flip and repeat the process. Isn't that just soooo nice? I'm getting hungry again just writing about it.

As a matter of fact it's a strange spiritual rewind to go back and write about the stuff you ate a couple of days ago. Regardless, take that sucker off the heat and onto a cutting board where you cover it up!

Let it rest for 10 minutes. This is the hardest part. The waiting. But, it allows the proteins to continue to break down and release those juices Thanks to Tim... the juice gets pushed to the center of the meat and resting it give time for those juices to permeate back into the whole thing, which leads to our most basic instinct, oohing and ahhing over meat.

After that slice it thin (again with a VERY sharp knife) against the grain like so and enjoy as a main dish or on bread with some lettuce and mayo, or wrapped up in a tortilla with some cheese and pico de gallo. or with some horseradish sauce and a roll or however you want it. I'm telling you you won't regret it.





Yum.

It's been awhile since I've written, but as Basil gently questioned me the last time I saw him at JL's party about the blog. I guess it's time for another entry.

This recipe is out there on the net and I made it a long time ago while I was working in the prepared foods section of Whole Foods but not EVERYONE knows it yet so I'll post it here with my own little spin.

Oriental Kale Salad

So you'll need

• A couple bunches of Kale 2 or 3 (don't get it if it's limp)
• Carrots 2
  
• Red Onion 1/4
• Dressing
  
• Sesame oil 1/4 cup
• Honey 1/4 cip
• Soy Sauce 1/2 Cup
• Toasted Sesame Seeds 2 tbsp
  
• Flax Seeds 4tbsp

So for the kale separate the stems from the leaves about 2/3 of the way up and cut into 2-3 inch pieces. for the leaves a rough 1 1/2 - 2 inch chop is fine.

Throw the stems into a steamer and get them going.

While you're steaming these get an ice bath ready in a bowl so when they're ready you can stop the cooking process and keep that awsome crunch that keeps these greens from having grandmas collards texture. Not that there's anything wrong with that it's just not the texture I want for my salads. You can also take this opportunity to gather the ingredients for the dressing.

Oh and if anyone wants my old pots let me know. you can see them back on the right side of the picture. :)

Go ahead and combine the honey, soy, and sesame oil with the seeds and give it a whirl.


Now it should be about time to add the rest of the kale to the steamer on top of the stalks. 5 minutes or so or until just crispy enough and not too hard for you. Go ahead and try it, the stalks kind of taste like broccoli to me.

Cook the kale till it looks perfect.
like this.

Bright green and still crunchy. About 1.5 to 2 minutes.

Put it directly into the ice bath to cool it off then squeeze it some and put the drier stuff in another bowl. What this does is removes all the watery liquid so that you can replace it with all the tasty liquid that you have just so painstakingly out together. Like so.

Brrrrrrrr.

Anyway.

Thinly slice as many red onions and carrots as you want and add everything together and mix it up.

It tastes pretty good with a couple shakes of cayenne. Or if you have some chili's in your garden you can slice one of those up too. Otherwise you can eat it right away or refridgerate it. It tastes better after a day in the fridge, which is why I usually make enough for 3 or 4 days :)...

You can leave out the flax seeds but they're pretty and chock full of omega 3's. You could even toast them for more nutty goodness.

Yum.

My Favorite French Pot Roast

OK, so here is one of my staples. I make this recipe (or a variation) at least once a month.

French inspired Pot Roast. (pics coming soon)
Serves 7-8

Ingredients
Chuck Roast (biggest you can fit in your pan)
Potatoes (I use the variety bag of small potatoes, otherwise small red or fingerling) 1 lb
Onions 2 large Vidalia or yellow
Tomatoes (5 or 6 ripe and juicy)
Carrots 1 lb bag
Shrooms (button or baby bella) 2 small containers or 1 Large
Tomato Paste (2tbsp)
Fresh Thyme ½ bunch
Fresh Rosemary 2 6 inch sprigs
Red wine (cheap burgundy is fine)
1 Crusty Bagutte
Vegetable Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions
OK so this is a fairly time consuming recipe so I usually spend a Saturday afternoon fixing it. If you want to eat it for dinner at 7, you need to get started around 4:00.

So Heat a couple tablespoons vegetable oil in a pan on high heat till it gets super hot (just beginning to smoke) and drop your unseasoned meat in. Hissss. Make sure your hood vent on because we’re basically trying to lightly burn the meat. Leave it down for 3-4 minutes till you get a nice golden to dark brown crust. Try to avoid lifting the meat too often. Also it would be a good thing if you had a splatter guard to keep the oil from jumping all over your kitchen. Flip and repeat the process. If possible you can try and get the sides of the meat too.

At this point I like to add 1/2 of a chopped onion into the oil with the meat for about 30 seconds or until it begins to caramelize. It just adds to the flavor later on. After that, pour in a bottle of wine. Yup, a bottle. Drunk meat. When that comes back to a boil you can lower the temperature to medium low (#4) and slap a top on it. The Idea is to simmer for a while so if it’s going nuts turn it down and if it’s not bubbling turn it up, duh.

Tie up your rosemary and thyme in a little bundle with some string. No don’t use your shoe laces if you have nothing else find some white thread or just get some cooking string it comes in handy for all sorts of projects around the house. Now drop it in. This won’t come out till the very end and will make everything super delicious.

OK now you have 2 hours to peel, chop, munch on all of your veggies that are going into the pot later on. Big cuts on everything here 1-2 inches I go for the rustic (easier to cut) feel. For the shrooms you can quarter them or slice them thick like 4 per shroom for a big shroom. This allows them to stay together later on, otherwise you’ll end up disintegrating them and as cool as that sounds you won’t be able to find any later on L

So your 2 hours are up. See if you can fit all the veggies except the tomatoes into the pot on top of the meat. That’s it, go ahead and shove the stuff down into the liquid. Put the top back on and let it keep simmering for 40 minutes. Put your crusty baguette in the oven at 350 and put the tomatoes on top of everything else. In 10 minutes you have everything almost ready.

Now take the meat out of the pot and slice it into manageable pieces. Careful here the stuff may just decide to fall apart on you mmmmm. Also remove the flavor bundle that’s swimming around in there somewhere. Add your tomato paste to the liquid vegetable mix and stir it in. Taste it… needs salt, so add some! Anyway cut up the meat and put some chunks in a bowl, ladle the veggies and juice over the meat and serve. You likka the juice? The juice is good eh? Serve with hot crusty baguette for the bestest comfort food I know how to make.

You’re welcome.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention this recipe makes a ton but it freezes great and it comes out to about $3.50-4.50 a (generous) serving. Not bad eh?