Eat, Knit, Grow: Back to Beef

I had not had steak since getting back from Argentina. First I was just over-steaked. I ate so much meat abroad, I couldn't even look at a cow. Then I was scared, what if I ruined my love of steak forever, by spending a week stuffing my face with the finest grass fed beef. But cravings can only be kept at bay for so long, so I did my best to minimize the American Beef shock, buy buying some beautiful steak and serving it up with fresh Chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri is a fresh herb and garlic sauce, it's tangy, a little spicy and absolutely magical. It will make any meat (or bread, or your best dipping finger) sing. With a great piece of steak, and some magical sauce, I am ready to be a meat eater again.

The steak is prepared very simply. Just a little salt and pepper, then pan-seared to medium rare. Serve it topped with the Chimichurri sauce (recipe below), or sauce on the side. This will work for virtually any cut of meat.

As you can see below, this makes a lot of sauce, but trust me that's a good thing. You can either have a whole bunch of people over for steaks, this would be great for grilled steaks as well (weather permitting) or if you are just having a cozy dinner for two (like myself) you can save the extra sauce to make a delicious marinade for something later in the week. I marinated a pork tenderloin, for a delicious and easy dinner the next night. I marinated the pork over night and then just roasted it in the oven, extremely easy and very delicious.

Chimichurri Sauce:
3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp of water
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of olive oil

Mince garlic and put in a small bowl. Pour vinegar and water on top and stir to combine. Chop parsley and cilantro, so that it resembles a mushy paste. Add that to the garlic mixture. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir together then whisk in olive oil slowly. Adjust seasonings to taste. Allow mixture to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. (adapted from Epicurious)