I just came across a recipe I ripped out of a magazine many moons ago.  I’ve been trying to get a handle on recipes most of my life.  I see them, clip them, file them, and forget them.  Repeat.

A few months ago I went through a folder and tossed a bazillion recipes I knew I would never make – often wondering what could possibly have been going through my mind to have saved them in the first place.  One that made the cut was a spicy Argentinian marinade and dipping sauce.  I’m not exactly sure what magazine it came from – possibly Bon Appetit or Gourmet – but it surfaced again, yesterday, when I moved the file and it happened to fall on the floor.  How fortuitous.

Two things always struck me about the recipe – Sherry vinegar and LOTS of cayenne pepper.  I don’t have any sherry vinegar at home because every time I see it at the grocery store it costs more than I’m willing to pay.  And considering how much I’ve paid for other things, that says a lot.  It’s just ludicrously expensive for dinky bottles.  But I always have lots of cayenne pepper – and hot Hungarian paprika.  And sweet paprika and smoked paprika…

I decided on salads tonight and had a small piece of top round steak that needed marinating.  This was definitely it!

Spicy Argentinian Marinade and Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup Spanish sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp hot paprika
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix ingredients well.

I sliced the beef into thin strips and marinated them for about 45 minutes.  They then went on the grill for just a few minutes.

The salads were pretty basic – romaine lettuce, a tomato from the garden, green onions, avocado, mushrooms, and – because I needed to cut the heat a bit from the beef – a creamy dressing.  Mayo, catsup, and dill pickle relish.

I toasted a couple of the homemade rolls from the other night, and dinner was served!