A Santa Fe Beef Salad Un-Recipe

Un-Recipe because it was kind of thrown together after I couldn't find the ingredients for the original recipe I was going to try. I wanted something pretty light and good clean flavor. I have still been eating in vacation mode, ya know?

Here is the gist of the salad:

Flank Steak: marinated in a mix of oil, minced garlic, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, cumin, and maybe more. Haha. The husband mixed it together, so I am not certain what all is in it. We like to keep it simple so you can actually taste the meat. After it was marinated for a couple of hours, it was slapped on the grilled to mouth watering goodness. Then we squeezed a tad of lime on it while it was still hot. After letting the meat sit, we thinly sliced it.

Green leaf lettuce: You know...wash it....chop it....arrange on a platter or in a bowl

Diced tomatoes: I wanted plum, Target didn't have plum....so I used on the vine

Thinly sliced red onion because it is pretty

Avocado: ours was mangled due to a little girl who wouldn't stop eating the avocado slices. I couldn't cut it fast enough.

Homemade Tortilla Chips...cause they are good. Just don't make too many...because you can't stop eating them. You should only make a handful. And when I say you, I mean me.

Black beans: rinsed and drained

Arrange it all in a pretty fashion and add a pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Use dressing of choice, but I kept it light and just used lime juice. You can also top with your fave salsa and cheese.

That was fancy, huh? :)

It's Been a Long Time

With wedding season being in full force, I am taking more pictures of couples than I am food.

We have enjoyed some great dishes but just no time to blog about them. Since I am wide awake at 3:30 in the morning, I figured I would post this simple dish made about a week ago.

No real recipe, but a simply seasoned steak. A little salt and pepper was all it took to make the true flavor of the beef to be the star of the show. Grilled bread that was brushed with garlic infused olive oil was a winner with the kids, ok....and me. A simple salad with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette that Chad whipped up was light and perfect for dipping the bread in.

Hopefully I will be back to posting more soon, but until then...back to editing.

Steaks with Caper Sauce

Since the Jenny O recipe turned out so well, I went to the Laura's Lean Beef website since we had some of their steaks on hand.

It was pretty easy to whip up the sauce while Chad grilled the steaks. I also had some onions and new potatoes roasting because I knew the leftover sauce would be good over them....I was right.

Good but rich, something I would make every now and then but definitely a keeper.

Steaks with Caper Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 (4-ounce) Laura's Lean Strip Steaks (1 pound)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves minced

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons capers

Fresh parsley sprigs (optional)
Directions1. Sprinkle salt and pepper over steaks. 2. Grill steak, uncovered, over medium-hot coals (350 to 400 degrees) 5 minutes on each side until desired degree of doneness. Slice.3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add shallots and garlic. Sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned. 4. Add balsamic vinegar and next 3 ingredients; simmer until slightly thickened about 5 minutes. 5. Spoon caper sauce over steaks. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

Poor Vampires

So, tonight I wanted to include my son in the dinner making "event". So after his homework of finding 3D shapes, he pulled out his Disney cookbook to find out how to make meatballs. He found the recipe (Mr. Incredible's to be exact)but we waited to start that. FIRST, we had something else to do.

We had to try to make Garlic Oil and Garlic Smash thanks to 64 sq ft kitchen. I used rosemary as the herb though because it is what we had. Drew had so much fun smelling the raw garlic and talking about it. My kitchen (and hair and clothes and hands and son and dog) smell of garlic still. The vampires will be sad tonight.
While the garlic and olive oil were in the oven we started on the Tigger Tail pasta.Other than assistance with ingredients, Drew was on his own to make meatballs. He read the ingredients with help from me and all by himself he mixed it (clean hands folks) and formed the balls. He was mighty proud.

With all of this work we used a jarred sauce (gasp) we got from Central Market with a few additions from me.

It was a decent dinner with some special time with my son (Jordan was sleeping during the prep, she missed out).

Now, for a photographic journey (even some black and whites.. a challenge for food):

mmm...garlic

Good Night

Grilled Spicy Filet Mignon Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing (adapted from Bobby Flay)

After a day of watching the Food Network with my family yesterday and drooling over practically everything, Chad and I decided to try something new. So I went to the Food Network website and try something out...you can narrow down recipes by ingredient, chef, cuisine, etc.

Me: Ok...what cuisine?

Chad: Thai (I type in Thai and it came up with hundreds of recipes)

Me: Beef, pork, or chicken?
Chad: Beef (click)
Me: Grill or saute'?
Chad: Grill (click)
Me: Which show? (I give him the list)
Chad: Oh yeah baby, Boy Meets Grill (click)
Me: Ok, here are your three choices

And let me tell you, he chose the best one. We were practically licking our plates (ok, I drank the dressing that was left over, not quite licking...right?!?). The kids also cleaned their plates.
We did make a few changes because we didn't have everything listed on the original recipe...but here is what we did:

Marinade:

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 (12-ounce) filet mignons
Freshly ground pepper

Whisk soy sauce, lime juice, chile paste, and sesame oil together in a small baking dish. Add the steaks, turn to coat, cover, and let marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before grilling.
Heat grill to high. Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry. Season both sides with pepper and grill for 3 minutes per side or until slightly charred and cooked to medium-rare doneness. Remove from the grill, let rest 5 minutes, and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup chiffonade basil
1/2 English cucumber, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
2 carrots, julienned
16 cherry tomatoes, halved

a handful of chopped chives

While steak is resting, combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with half of the dressing and season with chopped chives, salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter, top with the steak, and drizzle the remaining dressing over the top.

Ginger-Lime Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
a sprinkling of crushed red pepper (we left that part out for the kids)
Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit 10 minutes before using.