Bison Flank Steak

It's almost the end of grilling season, and with all this rain, I don't feel like I have gotten everything out of it that I could. In July, I grilled nearly every dinner, but rainy August was definitely more of a mixed bag. I still had a few things left I needed to grill before it was too late, or too cold really. One of them was Bison. I am already a huge fan of the bison burger, but the past few times I have been at Whole Foods, I noticed they had other cuts, and that they looked tasty. My only other experience with bison, was brought back from a hunt, and it did not smell so great (it tasted fine though), so I was a little timid. One day, the boyfriend went to Whole Foods without me, and he came home with a beautiful bison flank steak. It was perfectly lean looking, and did not smell out all! Once it was grilled up, it tasted amazing, and I'm pretty sure you could serve it and no one would know they weren't eating beef. So, step outside your comfort zone, for a delicious and lean dinner!

Marinated Bison Flank Steak:
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp of good balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp of Worcherstershire Sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
salt, pepper
1 bison flank steak, about 1 lb.
Olive oil

In a small bowl combine the vinegars, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and mustard. Season a bison flank steak (or a beef one) with salt and pepper. Put in a plastic bag and pour in the vinegar mixture, add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Seal the bag and shake until the steak is coated. Refrigerate overnight. Pre-heat the grill. Remove the steak from the marinade and run with a little bit of oil. Cook for about 4 minutes on one side, and then flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, for medium rare. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. To serve, slice against the grain.

Happy Eating.

Soy Glazed Flank Steak

This is my favorite summer dinner, not necissarly flank steak, or this particular marinade (although both are delcious), but meat, onions, peppers, and corn, all grilled. It's absolute summer perfection, with almost no clean up after (always a plus). I could eat charred onions every single day, it just doesn't get any better, unless you are adding them to a delicious steak. This dinner is so easy to throw together and so incredibly delicious, it will taste like you must have worked hard, but really, it's just a great piece of meat, cooked to the right temperature and the summers best produce, shining on it's own.

Soy Glazed Flank Steak:
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
2 tsp of sesame oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 flank steak, about 1 lb
Salt, Pepper

For Serving:
1 Onion
2 Bell Peppers
Corn
Butter

In large ziplock bag, mix together the soy sauce, Worcestershire, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and red pepper. Lightly salt and pepper the flank steak on both sides. Add to the plastic bag, and shake and rub the steak, so the marinade distrubes over the meat. Refridgerate overnight overnight. Pre heat the grill, and let meat sit on the counter. Cut the onion into thick slices. Remove the stem and seeds from peppers, by cutting the top off and pulling out the ribs and seeds. Shuck the corn and lightly butter. Wrap corn individually in tinfoil. Place corn on the top wrap of the grill and onion slices and peppers in the back of the grill. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Remove steak from bag and shake off the excess marinade. Put steak on the grill and cook 6-7 minutes each side (medium rare). Flip the onion and peppers when appropriate, and rotate the corn. When meat is finished let rest 5 minutes. Remove corn, peppers, and onions from the grill (I like mine onions/peppers very charred, if you like them less burnt remove sooner). Slice steak against the grain. Serve steak with onions, peppers and corn.

Happy Eating.

Grilled Fried Rice

My obsession with grilling knows no bounds. I am seriously addicted, even when the planned dinner does not involve the grill, I can find a way. Like fried rice, which is a staple im my house. We eat it at least every other week and it's one of my absolute favorite easy meals. So how do you kick it up to the summer extreme and indulge my grilling addiction, while still enjoying this comforting staple? Grill the meat and all the veggies!! Wow! That is all I have to say about this, it is seriously awesome! If you like fried rice, you will love this. The char on the vegetables and meat, mixed with the delicious salty soy of the rice is such an amazing combination, I am astounded I didn't think of this sooner! Seriously, if you are like me and love to grill, try this now!

Grilled Fried Rice:
2 cups water
1 cup white rice, dry
1 large vidalia onion
1 bell pepper
1 poblano pepper
1 T-Bone Steak, or other meat of your choice
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 egg
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
Salt, Pepper
Sriracha and Mayo for serving (optional)

Preheat the grill. Bring the water to a boil in a small pot, add rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absoarbed. In the mean time, Cut Onion into thick slices, and remove stem and seeds from peppers, brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place veggies on the grill (directly, or on a grill basket), grill until charred and cooked through, about 15 minutes, flipping half way through. Season steak on both sides with salt and pepper, and brush lightly with olive oil. Grill until desired doneness, flipping once halfway through (about 8-10 minutes total for medium rare). Let steak rest. Heat a skillet on medium heat, and spray with non-stick spray. Chop grilled onions and peppers and add to pan. Mince garlic and add that. Crack egg into pan, and scrammble it into the veggies. Add cooked rice and stir. Add soy sauce and stir together. Raise heat to high to crust the bottom of the rice (optional). Cut steak into bite size chunks, discarding bone. Turn off the heat under the pan and stir in steak. Serve with sriracha, may or sriracha mayo.

Happy Eating.

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)



Happy Eating.

I Love Red Meat

It is hard for me to believe that I did not eat a single bite of red meat for 14 years of my life, that is most of my life. I stopped eating red meat one day out of the blue when I was 7 years old. I did not take another bite again until I was 21. I didn't even know what it would taste like, I couldn't remember having ever eaten a hamburger. The thing that first tempted me was actually lamb, and once I realized how amazing that was, things sort of just spiraled out of control from there. It has lead to my love affair with all things meat, constantly trying new kinds and cuts, expanding my meaty horizons. Every bite is magic, which is why I eat meat at least once a week now, and is also why last night I absolutely had to have steak. Cut of choice for the evening: T-bone. Yum. Served up with asparagus and homemade (not by me, but awesomely delicious) applesauce.

T-Bone Steak:

1 T-Bone steak per person
1 tbsp of brown sugar per steak
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (or hotter if you prefer, it will really cook just fine on just about anything). Put some oil in a pan to lightly coat the bottom and heat the pan on the stove top (it should be scorching). Salt and pepper the steaks and rub with brown sugar. Cook about 3 minutes on each side to get some lovely caramelization. Transfer to oven to finish cooking to your taste, it really will not take long, about 6 minutes for medium/medium rare. Just keep checking it.

Spicy Asparagus:

Before you put the steak in the pan. Salt and pepper some asparagus in a glass bake dish. Add red pepper flakes to taste (so a lot, if you are me). Drizzle with olive oil. Cook for about 20 minutes, at that 375. Then I like to turn the broiler on for about 4 minutes, to just kind of crispy them up a bit, but that is totally optional. Just make sure the steaks are not still in the oven.

Quick and easy delicious dinner. Ta-dah! Ok, so a very special blog post soon to come. Passover is upon us. And this Saturday, I will be learning how to make the gefilte fish, for the first time ever. In my family, we grind our own fish, and I am very excited to learn! Stay tuned for that, plus I will tell you a wonderful story about the first time my grandmother took me to with her to buy the fish. I will also be making a chocolate passover cake, and contemplating a weeks worth of lunches. Oh and a very special Sunday-Surprise breakfast. Great things are ahead... So stay tuned.

Happy Eating