Flank Steak on the Barbie
Flank steak. Once upon a time it was an inexpensive piece of meat. And then - sadly - it was "discovered." The price has risen dramatically over the past few years.
One of the reasons I used to make my Oriental Flank Steak with Spicy Garlic Sauce for crowds because it was so economical. Now it's top-tier appetizer!
But I still but it because it's one of the most flavorful cuts of meat on the steer. Cooked right and cut right, it's tender and juicy - and it takes any and all marinades and rubs. Versitile, it is.
Tonight i just salt and peppered. Nothing else. A good piece of meat doesn't need anything else. The mushrooms I cooked in a pat of butter and then a splash of beef broth. Spinach and a couscous blend.
Tomorrow I'm heading out of my local shopping area to visit an Italian Deli/Cafe in Norristown. I met the owner last night at a function at the Elmwood Park Zoo and want to see the place up close.
I'll be reporting back if it's as good as I hope it is!
The Indian Subcontinent
I suppose one of the nice things about having never been to India is having no idea how Indian food would be traditionally served. If one doesn't know what the rules are, one doesn't have to worry about breaking them!
Tonight's dinner is a perfect case in point. It was paratha - an Indian flat-bread - topped with an eggplant curry, grilled chicken breast rubbed with garam masala, a yogurt, honey, garlic, lemon, and mint sauce, and finally a few pistachios.
I have no idea if the flat-bread is used as a plate with everything on it, as a scoop or eating utensil, rolled, buttered, dipped, torn... You get the idea. So...
I made an Indian Tostada of sorts.
I don't know if these foods and flavors would traditionally be served together, but it doesn't matter. It's what we had for dinner.
I've always said that I would love to go to another country for a couple of weeks and have my own kitchen and a market within walking distance. I'm not interested in taking cooking lessons. I'm more interested in just wandering the markets, buying the local foods, and making what I feel like making. I think that would be a blast. (I would especially like a villa in Sicily overlooking the sea...)
Some people go to museums. I go to cheese shops. What can I say?!?
I bought the paratha and the curry, but grilled the chicken and made the yogurt sauce. I mean, really... I couldn't buy the whole dinner! What would the neighbors think?!?
This really was fun. Definitely not your basic Friday chicken. It had lots of spice and lots of flavor and the yogurt and cucumber cooled everything down. The perfect ending to the week.
And it took so little time to prepare, I made a strawberry cake for dessert!
More on that, later.....
Filet Roast on the Barbie
FINALLY! A day with Mary Poppins Weather! (That would be practically perfect in every way for those who are not up on their Mary Poppins trivia!)
After the past few days of scorching heat and primordial humidity, today's 76° with no humidity was a welcome respite. The windows are all open, a breeze is blowing through the house... Life is good.
And so was dinner!
I picked up a small filet roast and onto the grill it went. Boursin Mashed Potatoes - nothing more than basic mashed spuds with some Boursin cheese added to them - and green beans almondine. A bit of a classic dinner on a perfect evening.
And to make good even better, there's four different flavors of ice cream in the freezer.
Life is good, indeed!
Grilled Tuna and Other Meals
Yes, we've been cooking. And eating. Between holidays, sick relatives, and a couple of websites that needed a lot of attention, I haven't really made the time to add the latest gastronomical delights.
So here's few...
Tonight was tuna steak. Gourmet Magazine called this "Sicilian Tuna." I call it really good!
It was fun. I dirtied three pots and grilled outside. (In the 95° muggy heat.)
Sicilian Tuna
ingredients
For tuna:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped oregano
- 4 (6-ounces) tuna steaks, preferably albacore (1 inch thick; see cooks' note, below)
For sauce:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch dice, plus 3 tablespoons celery leaves, coarsely chopped
- 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1/4 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons small capers, drained and chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped basil
- 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
preparation
Marinate tuna:
Combine oil, lemon juice, anchovies, garlic, oregano, and tuna in a large sealable bag and seal bag, pressing out excess air. Let stand at room temperature, turning occasionally, 30 minutes.
Grill tuna:
Remove tuna from marinade and shake off any excess. Lightly oil grill pan and heat over medium-high heat until smoking. Grill tuna, turning once, until pale pink in center, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
Meanwhile, make sauce:
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add diced celery and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, olives, and capers and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in basil, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and remove from heat. Spoon sauce over tuna and sprinkle with celery leaves.
This worked on every level. The tuna marinade was excellent. The saltiness of the anchovies and the tanginess of the lemon really worked well. And the tomato sauce... It was like a bruschetta topping. In fact, it really would make a great bruschetta. I will have to remember this one! I love capers.
Last night was Grilled Pork Chops. And Watermelon Salad.
Sesame Pork Chops
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ginger
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Mince garlic. Add all ingredients to saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and chill completely.
Marinate chops about 30 minutes. Remove chops and reserve marinade. Grill chops to desired doneness.
Pour marinade into a small saucepan and simmer 5 minutes. Spoon over cooked chops.
These were really simple to do and really tasty. If you want a bit of heat, add some sambal oelek (chili paste.)
And then we had watermelon salad to top it off. Not exactly an Asian-inspired side dish, but it was the perfect accompaniment. Traditionally, it is cubed watermelon, sliced red onion, mint, feta cheese, a splash of vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil. I used Victor's homemade ricotta for the feta. It was good.
Monday for a holiday luncheon we had burgers, baked beans, and potato salad.
The beans and salad came out of a carton.
It was a holiday.
And we had desserts...
Let the Grillin' Begin!
"Summertime... and the livin' is easy... "
Okay... Summer is officially a month away. But Memorial Day Weekend is the official kick-off to the BBQ season. Not that we need an official kick-off around here - we do tend to grill year-round - but we don't need a down jacket when we're outside, anymore...
We've pretty much skipped Spring, again, and have headed right into Summer. Hot and Muggy. Gotta love the Mid-Atlantic states...
We started the grilling season last night with tri-tip brochettes. Tri-tip roast cut into cubes and marinated in red wine, olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Skewered wuith onions, mushrooms, peppers, and a couple of pieces of andouille sausage that needed using up. Rice and corn.
Tonight was American Kobe Beef Burgers.
The burgers were great. I was feeling lazy after a long day at work, so we had store-bought potato salad and baked beans. Sometimes ya just have to go with it...
I did make some homemade shortcakes, though... Strawberries are sliced and macerating as I type.
Strawberry Shortcake and fresh whipped cream is on the menu for later...
Happy Hal's Grilled Cheese
The most simple of foods can be turned stellar and extravagant with just a simple tweak. Such is the case of the simple grilled cheese sandwich.
On its own, a grilled cheese is one of the passages of childhood. Bread, butter, and cheese, grilled to a toasty-brown. As we get older, the sandwich tends to fall to the wayside as our palates (and pocketbooks) expand.
And then we start longing for that comfort-food of our youth, but the adult palate wants more than a bowl of Campbell's Tomato Soup along side.
Enter Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish.
I've been a fan of Happy Hal's for several years, now. So much of a fan that I went out of my way to meet the owner Susie Spurlock and her husband Joe at the Whole Foods Farmers Market in Devon. And then to offer my services redoing their website.
I like the stuff! It has two ingredients - jalapeno peppers and vinegar. That's it. No fillers, no binders, no gums or other ingredients designed to make you think you're eating something better or higher-quality than it actually is.
Two ingredients.
I have used it as a relish on hot dogs and burgers, made Jalapeno Hollandaise Sauce, put it in deviled eggs, tuna salad, baked macaroni and cheese... The possibilities are endless.
So for my more grown-up grilled cheese today, I merely spread a heaping spoonful of Happy Hal's in the sandwich before grilling. It went from ordinary to extraordinary in a snap.
Oh... and Happy Hal is having a Salute to the Troops Sale during May. One dollar off every jar online.
Head over and pick up a couple, today!
Post-Apocolyptic Pork Chops
Boy am I glad the world didn't end today. Not that there's not a whole lotta people I wouldn't mind seeing evaporate, or whatever, but I had a pretty good dinner planned tonight - something I had never made before and I wanted to see how it would come out.
I made Banana Salsa.
Really.
I've been staying pretty close to the house this week since the knee surgery... I definitely haven't been walking around grocery stores. So when I hit the larder today for dinner, the pickin's were getting a bit slim. Actually, not entirely true. There's lots of stuff in the house, it's just a bit disjointed - or not what I'm really in the mood for.
I had pork chops and I had sweet potatoes - they go well together - and I was really thinking in terms of a fresh fruit salsa - but the only fresh fruit was three over-ripe bananas.
I decided banana salsa was it.
Banana Salsa
- 3 ripe bananas, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 2 minced jalapeño peppers
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tbsp minced cilantro
- 1 tbsp rum
- salt and pepper, to taste
Mix all ingredients and chill.
This really worked! It was fun. It was banana-y without being dessert-ish. Definitely a keeper.
I placed it over cumin-crusted pork chops. I took whole cumin seed and roughly crushed them with a mallet. I added some salt and pepper and rubbed it all over the chops and then grilled them nover hot heat.
Served with sweet potatoes with olive oil and allspice roasted in the oven.
A perfect Post-Apocalyptic dinner!
And I have Lucille's Cheese Cake in the oven for dessert tomorrow!
Sicilian Lamb Patties and Homemade Ricotta
Ever since Victor made that ricotta cheese at Easter, I've been looking for more. And today was the day!
It is just unbelievably good - and so easy to make!
Fresh Ricotta
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp salt
Add all ingredients to a heavy pot and simmer 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
Scoop curds into a cheesecloth-lined sieve and drain about 30 minutes. Squeeze to remove as much whey as possible.
Cover and chill.
So... with the fresh ricotta, I needed something to put under it. I have had a pound of ground lamb in the freezer for too long - it was time to find a recipe and use it.
I found a lot of recipes but nothing was whetting the appetite - and then I found one for Sicilian lamb patties braised in what looked like an eggplant caponata. That looked good enough to go for!
The recipe I started with comes from Bruce Aidells of Aidells sausage fame. I met him years ago when I was working for California Sunshine and he was still making sausages by hand. The recipe as written would have been good, I'm sure, but I really didn't want to serve it on polenta, and I wanted to grill the patties, not fry them.
Grilling the patties and then finishing them off in the sauce was a good compromise. And serving it atop fresh arugula and topping it with the fresh ricotta was perfection.
Sicilian Lamb Patties
ingredients
Lamb patties:
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/4 pounds ground lamb
- 1/2 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten to blend
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Eggplant mixture:
- 1 large eggplant (1 to 1 1/4 pounds), unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Coarse kosher salt
- 1 large red bell pepper cut into strips
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram
For lamb patties:
Combine breadcrumbs and milk and soak 5 minutes. Add lamb and remaining ingredients; mix gently to combine. Shape into 8 patties.
For eggplant mixture:
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cubed eggplant and 4 tablespoons oil in large bowl and toss to coat. Spread eggplant out on rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake about 25 minutes, stirring once.
Grill lamb patties and set aside.
In skillet, cook onions until wilted. Add red peppers, and garlic and cook for a few minutes and thenadd the wine. Cook until wine is reduced to glaze 7-10 minutes. Add eggplant, tomatoes, and marjoram. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add lamb patties and continue cooking another 10-15 minutes, or until patties are cooked thropugh.
Spoon caponata atop fresh arugula. Place lamb patties on top and top with fresh ricotta cheese.
It looks like a lot of stuff, but it really was quite easy. You can make the parts ahead of time and throw it together at the last minute, too.
So onto the knee...
I had my follow-up appointment today and all is swell! The healing is coming along just as it should, and I'll be back to work on Tuesday with no restrictions.
Not bad. I actually got to see pictures of it, today. Fortunately, there was no arthritis or anything other problem - just a nasty tear - so I shall be back to normal in no time.
And in other fun news...
Today is my sister's birthday! Arlene Diane and Eileen Deane - The Twins - were children numbers four and five to join the clan. All four of my sisters were born in May - and all four of them just got back from Maui yesterday.
Happy Birthday to you!
Sapporo Teriyaki Beef
A recent posting on a San Francisco bulletin board I am a member of - The Western Neighborhoods Project - had me looking through some old recipes. Lord knows I have recipes - cut out from newspapers and magazines that go back years and years. If I started cooking right now, I could never get through them all.
One recipe caught my eye... a teriyaki sauce made with beer. I don't know where the recipe originated or who wrote "Sapporo" on the yellowing newsprint - probably a San Francisco Examiner newspaper - but it was intriguing enough to finally make it.
And I'm glad I did. This is going to become a staple in our house! It may even get made for Christmas gifts. It's that good!
I used it to marinate strips of beef - top round - that I quickly grilled after marinating about 2 hours.
I had bottles of Sapporo, Molson, and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in the 'fridge from my last Wegman's beer run (which pretty much was the reason I jumped on this one today) but I imagine any beer would do. The actual recipe just calls for a 12 oz can of beer.
Sapporo Teriyaki Sauce
- 1 12 oz bottle Sapporo beer
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to boil and reduce by half. Strain and cool.
Definitely a keeper.
A Tough Old Bird
Of the goodies I received from Polyface Farms, the stewing chicken was one I was really looking forward to.
Stewing chickens are -generally- not actually raised for food production. They are older laying hens who just aren't laying like they used to. They -generally- are larger birds since they've been around a while and have had the opportunity to grow, and while not suited for quick-cooking, are excellent slowly stewed. They can be really rich and flavorful with meat literally falling off the bone.
I got 1 out of 3. Sorta.
My big ol' stewing hen was a pretty scrawny stewing hen. It was maybe the size of a standard fryer but without anywhere near the meat. And I simmered that bird for hours and it was tough and stringy. Tough.
The original dinner plan was to stew the chicken, pull the meat from the bones and make a cream sauce with vegetables and put mashed sweet potatoes on top - pop back into the oven to brown a bit.
Pretty basic.
But that chicken just didn't have enough ooomph. I ended up making the chicken and vegetables but chopping the sweet potatoes and cooking them off in the pan.
Dinner was good - and we had leftovers for lunch today - but it wasn't the stellar chicken I was expecting.
Oh well. I'm doing an interesting beer and soy sauce marinade tonight for some beef. It's pouring rain outside - and I do mean pouring - but I plan to grill nonetheless.
There's always the next meal to look forward to!
Pork Pasta
It only took seventy-two hours but I was back in the kitchen last night! Oh joy!
I had a pound of ground pork I had picked up a while ago with the notion that I'd make egg rolls or something... I decided it would make a better pasta sauce.
And it was the most basic of sauces... chopped onion, garlic, red wine, diced mushrooms, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning. Nothing fancy... just good, basic food. Cooked up some pasta, shaved sone pecorino romano on top, and called it dinner! It was a really thick ragu.
It was good getting back into the kitchen. I love having Victor cook, but I feel guilty sitting around and having him do all the work. Sharing the chores is the way to go.
I'm still far from healed - the knee is still stiff and swollen and I'm not quite ready to hit the disco floor - but every day brings it a bit closer. I have my follow-up appointment the day after tomorrow and physical therapy after that. (And that fun Urology exam on Friday. Oh joy!)
But back to dinner...
There was lots of leftover ragu, so today we had sloppy joe's for lunch.
I think I'm going to miss this being home stuff.....
The Last Supper
Tomorrow morning will be what would have been my mother's 85th birthday. All four of my sisters - also all born in May - and my sisters-in law are in Hawai'i celebrating their birthdays. And tomorrow morning, I get to have a bit of knee surgery.
Yes, tomorrow morning I'm getting the ether and having my knee ripped apart while my sisters are gallivanting around Hawai'i, drinking big drinks with little umbrellas, sunning themselves on the beach, toying with the pool boys, and otherwise having the time of their lives.
But I'm not bitter. Not at all.
Friday the Thirteenth. Thank goodness I'm not superstitious. (Knock wood.)
It's arthroscopic surgery to repair a medial tear. Two itty-bitty incisions and 30 minutes later, I shall be in the recovery room. It's a very simple procedure.
But in medical parlance I'm NPO after 11pm tonight. No Product Orally. No food, no water, no lovely breath mints. Nothing.
No morning coffee.
No bacon and eggs with buttery toast.
Nothing.
So... I decided that tonight I wanted something a bit different for dinner. It had to be fairly quick and easy, however, because this %$#@& knee has been bothering me to no end.
The April issue of La Cucina Italiana magazine had some pretty interesting recipes, including one for a Rabbit Roll stuffed with Asparagus. Now, I'm not rushing to cook Thumper, but the roll was served atop a disk of bread roll, not unlike a savory bread pudding or stuffing.
It looked intriguing. And easy.
Bread Roll
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 6 cups 1/2-inch cubes rustic bread
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper, to taste
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and pinch salt; cook until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add bread cubes; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until cubes are lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup cream and eggs; stir together to combine. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a low boil. Fold cheesecloth into a 12- x 12-inch square. Cut a 12-inch length of parchment paper; place on top of cheesecloth. Mound bread mixture on parchment; shape into a 6-inch-long log. Roll parchment and cheesecloth around log, gently pressing to shape bread roll (maintaining 6-inch length). Twist ends of paper and cheesecloth, then tie ends and center of cylinder with kitchen string to secure. Cook bread roll in the boiling water, 20 minutes, then remove pot from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Remove bread roll from water, unwrap and cut crosswise into rounds.
Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides; add bread rounds and cook until golden, about 2 1/2 minutes per side.
This really was easy. And what a neat idea! I can see something like this being used in any number of different ways. I bet it would make a great eggs benedict. Or toppped with beef or chicken stew. Lots of different things.
I mean... It's fried bread. How can it be bad?!?
Tonight I topped it with grilled Italian sausages, onions and peppers. It worked really well.
Later on we have chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting.
In honor of all those May Birthdays.
And poor Victor is going to have to cook for the next couple of days while I recuperate.
He's a great cook and I'm actually looking forward to him being in the kitchen.
I just feel sorry for him because I'm such a miserable patient.
Yes. It's true.
I am not a good patient. I tend to get cranky and like to be left alone.
I brought home lots of goodies for him - root beer and his favorite sodas and some easy foods since I don't know what I'll want.
There's also a big bottle of Chopin Vodka for him if I get too out of hand.
Hawai'i sounds like such a better time.
And Happy Birthday, Mom!