Steak Salad with Roasted Redskins & Sauteed Mushrooms

My husband's 4.0 tennis team competed this past weekend in the Midwest Championships down in Indianapolis. Sadly, they were edged out of moving on to National's by the team from Michigan -- but it was really close with many third set tie breakers over the course of three days of matches. This is the third year straight that his team has won the Wisconsin title and I know they really wanted to move on, but it just wasn't in the cards. Next year, boys!

We welcomed him home from Indy with another one of my favorite summer meals, the Blackened Steak Salad. Usually I make this more than once per summer, but for some reason last night was the first time this year....and it is gooo-oooooood! I was contemplating using chicken breasts to save on cost and calories, but tenderloin steaks were on special so I decided to go for it.

The original recipe (on Epicurious.com) calls for dunking the steaks in melted butter, then dusting them in the blackening seasonings, and searing them on a blisteringly hot skillet. Last night I skipped the butter step and just pressed the seasonings on the steaks, and tossed them on a hot grill. This worked well and we of course didn't even miss the butter step, although I wouldn't exactly call them "blackened" -- more like, just "spicy".

Alongside we had my favorite Roasted Potatoes with Garlic (yes, they're from Ina -- did you really have to ask?). I was kind of in a time crunch and didn't have the full hour to roast them, so I cut them into quarters, stuck them in a 9x11 Pyrex with a little water, covered them tightly and microwaved them on hi for about 6 minutes. Then I drained them off really well, and proceeded with the recipe. This worked like a charm and shaved off a good 20 minutes of roasting time.

Another favorite and natural accompaniment are these awesome Sauteed Button Mushrooms. These are incredible with any steak, but are especially good with this salad.

We're off to enjoy a hot, steamy day at the pool. I can't believe summer is dwindling down this quickly. My son starts school next Wednesday, eeeeek!!

Favorite Flank Steak, Couscous Tabbouleh, and a BONUS!

My family just returned home yesterday after a long weekend in Ohio. My husband was nice enough to take himself and the kids on a road trip to visit his mom and siblings so that I could have the house to myself to entertain my high school friends.

The road weary DamFam needed a good dinner after eight hours in the car, so I marinated everyone's favorite flank steak, and tried a new salad to have alongside. Both were outstanding, and there was just enough left for the hub to take to work for lunch today.

This flank steak is one of the first 'real' entrees I learned how to make; I got the recipe from my Aunt Trish way back in 1991, and I've made it several times a summer ever since. The couscous tabbouleh recipe is from Epicurious. We also had a blueberry crumble, but there aren't any pictures because it disappeared way too fast!

Favorite Flank Steak

Serves: 4-6

Source: Aunt Trish's Recipe File

3/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 T. molasses

2 t. dried mustard

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 lbs. flank steak

Mix all marinade ingredients in a big Pyrex measuring cup. Place the flank steak in a large ziplock bag and pour the marinade in. Squeeze out all the air and seal the bag; marinate in the refrigerator for at least four hours, and up to eight hours.

Allow the steak to come to room temperature before grilling over medium high. I usually do 6 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove steak to a large cutting board (with a rim for catching juices, if possible). Cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain. Transfer to a nice platter and pour any juices over the meat. MMMMMMMM!!!

The Couscous Tabbouleh recipe can be found here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/COUSCOUS-TABBOULEH-12124

And now for the BONUS RECIPE I promised! My daughters have been asking for a turn to be Guest Bloggers, and just look at the delicious dish they thought up while away in Ohio over the weekend! It's called Pond Scum Surprise!

They gathered this fantastic organic scum from the pond at my brother in law's place, plated it up, and staged the perfect photo shoot - complete with a drink and fritos from their real lunch. I thought this was just too hilarious, so I just had to post. Ah, good times!DIG IN!!!

Thai Style Beef with Noodles....or, Slurping Your Supper!

This morning, after I shoo'd the kiddos off to the bus stop, hit 50 tennis balls to my dog, and cleaned up the breakfast aftermath, I grabbed a cup of coffee, fired up the laptop, and cruised all my favorite blogs, searching for dinner inspiration.

Everything looked so delicious on these amazing blogs, and after perusing a large handful of them, I was completely confounded over what to make for dinner tonight. A grilled something with an asparagus salad on the side? Ginger lime skirt steak over portobellos and mashed potatoes? Salmon cakes? Stuffed eggplant? Butterscotch popcorn? The variety of choices and inspiration ran the gamut. Then Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy made my decision for me: she had some gorgeous dumplings and a beautiful fried rice, so Asian Night it was.

I didn't replicate her menu, but went instead for a recipe I had been eyeing for a long time: Thai Style Beef Noodles from February's Gourmet. The noodle bowls were a meal in themselves; protein, vegetables, and starch all in one dish.

For a Thai dish, I was thrilled (and slightly surprised) that my family gobbled up this meal. I embellished the vegetables by adding a pound of asparagus, just to make it a little more substantial. I also added cilantro and basil because I had them on hand and of course, I adore them! I spiced my bowl up quite a bit with Siracha sauce (LOVE IT!). Based on the hit it was tonight, I would definitely make the meal again!

Thai Style Beef with Noodles

Serves: 4

Source: Gourmet Magazine, February '08, and also available on Epicurious

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. honey

2 T. Asian fish sauce, divided

1 lb. flank steak

3 T. vegetable oil, divided

2 large shallots, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

1 T. finely chopped peeled ginger

1 1/2 t. green curry paste

1 3/4 c. reduced sodium beef broth

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4" strips

1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 3" pieces

3/4 lb. dried Asian egg noodles (I used Udon because egg noodles were unavailable)

Cilantro and basil to taste, chopped

Siracha to taste

Mix together soy, honey, 1 T. fish sauce, and 1/4 t. salt in a shallow baking dish, then add steak and turn to coat. Marinate at room temperature 20 minutes. (I let mine go two hours or so.)

While steak marinates, heat 2 T. oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook shallots, stirring occasionally, until browned well, about 8 minutes.

Add ginger and curry paste and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute, then add broth and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice, remaining tablespoon of fish sauce, and salt to taste and keep warm, covered.

Heat grill pan over medium high heat until hot, then lightly oil.

Grill steak, turning once, about 8 minutes total (for rare). (I broiled mine on high for three minutes a side.) Transfer to cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss bell pepper, scallions, and asparagus (if using) with remaining tablespoon oil, then grill, turning frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes (again, I broiled them until they started to char a little). Transfer to large bowl.

While steak stands, cook noodles in a pasta pot of boiling unsalted water until al dente, 4-7 minutes. Drain well, then add to vegetables and toss well along with the cilantro and basil (if using). Divide the noodles among 4 deep bowls and top with broth. Cut steak in half lengthwise, then thinly slice across the grain and serve on top of the noodles.

Mmmmm....Sesame Beef & the World's Most Delicious COOKIES!

I've found it. The perfect kid dinner -- straightforward and simple, yet nutritious, easy to prepare, and pretty on the plate (all priorities for me, of course!).

We started with a dish I've made before, the Sesame Beef and Scallion Kebabs. Something interesting: the original recipe calls for 'boneless shell steak'. Hhhhm....never heard of it before. Took that idea to my favorite butcher and he'd never heard of it either. He asked around the meat counter and one other butcher (a transplant from New York) said, "Oh yeah! A boneless shell steak is the same thing as a boneless New York Strip!"

Well, while my butcher friend was asking around, I had my eye on the boneless sirloin steaks in front of me that were 7.99/lb. I thought that sounded pretty darned reasonable! When butcher guy came back with the New York Strip idea, those suckers were 12.99/lb., and I had to draw the line. I knew I was going to marinade the meat for at least three hours, so I figured, 'how bad can it be?!'

Glad I went with my instinct and sided with my pocketbook. The boneless sirloin was outstanding; I even over cooked it a little bit past my favorite medium-rare stage, and the skewers still came out great. Three hours in the marinade bought me a little forgiveness I guess. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/12725

Next I made a favorite of mine - Orzo and Rice Pilaf with Vegetables. I know you guys are thinking, 'another rice dish?! Does this girl make other sides?!' I promise, this will be the last rice dish I blog on for another little while. Just want to share this one because I've made this many, many times and it never fails. It goes well with nearly anything on the grill, it's simple and yummy, but upscale enough to serve to guests (and believe me, I have!).

Another side: simple roasted asparagus. Not complicated, not groundbreaking, you've all done it before so I'm not going to attempt to wax poetic on my basic roasted asparagus. But, my kids ate it up and it looked gorgeous on the plate!

Lastly, the cookies. Oh lordy, the cookies! You all know by now that I am no baker. These cookies are probably the least daring thing a baker could possibly attempt! I'm not even that big of sweets fan, but I just loved these; so did my kids, and seven or eight neighbor kids as well! I'm only going to give you the link, because I followed the recipe to the letter, with the exception of adding 1 1/2 cups of M&Ms instead of 12 oz of chocolate chips.

All of the recipes can be found on Epicurious. They are titled as follows: Sesame Been and Scallion Skewers, Orzo and Rice Pilaf with Vegetables, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Have a look!