vietnamese steak.

While Tyler and I continue to stare longingly at our neighbors backyard (which he never ever uses except to sit on his door step and smoke cigarettes), I continue to dream up ways that make us feel as if we are eating al-fresco even if all we are really doing is sitting in our kitchen. This means relying heavily on my cast-iron skillet which is the closest thing I have to a grill.

A good well-seasoned cast-iron skillet is the work-horse of the kitchen.  I cook hamburgers and asparagus in it and have made many cakes and cornbreads it as well.  It works brilliantly in many applications but when it comes to searing steaks, that's where it really shines.   It gives the steak a perfectly crusty exterior and that crusty exterior is what makes a steak worth eating.  

This Vietnamese version is absurdly perfect as we head into summer. It's tart and a little spicy and it manages to work with just about any vegetable you pair it with - lettuce (for hand-held wraps) radishes, shaved asparagus, the list goes on. It's also just as happy with rice as it is with noodles which means you can make it and then choose your own dinner adventure which is my favorite kind of dinner.  

Vietnamese Steak with Cucumber Salad
Recipe from the NYTimes

My reading skills are apparently lacking as I dumped all of the marinade over the steak.  Only after re-reading the instructions did I realize my mistake.  I couldn't bring myself to let the marinade go to waste, so when the steak was done marinating I dumped the marinade in a pot and boiled it for about 60 seconds.  I actually think the mistake was to my benefit as the marinade thickened up ever so slightly which helped to coat the steak and the rice.   The choice is yours.  

Serves 4 -6

½ cup fish sauce

1 tablespoon packed lime zest

⅓ cup fresh lime juice (from about 3 limes)

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, grated or minced

1 large jalapeño, seeds and veins removed if desired, minced (or 1 tablespoon of Sriracha)

1 flank steak, about 1 1/2 pounds

1 small seedless English cucumber, thinly sliced (or other vegetable of your choice)

1 large bunch of radishes, thinly sliced (or other vegetable of your choice)

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon vegetable, peanut or olive oil (optional)

Cooked rice noodles or rice, for serving (optional)

Sesame seeds or crushed roasted peanuts, for serving (optional)

Fresh mint leaves or cilantro, for serving (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce, lime zest, lime juice, brown sugar, garlic and jalapeño. Pour 1/2 of the mixture over the flank steak and let marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate for up to 24 hours). Let meat come to room temperature before cooking if necessary. 

Combine the cucumber, radishes and scallions. Pour in just enough of the marinade sauce to coat.

Light the grill or heat the broiler to high. Pat steak dry with paper towels.

If grilling, cook until done to taste, about 3 minutes per side for rare. If broiling, heat a 10-inch skillet over high heat for 5 minutes. Add oil to pan and sear the meat for 2 minutes. Flip meat and immediately transfer pan directly to top shelf of oven and broil for 2 to 3 minutes for rare, or longer for more well-done meat. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes covered in foil.

Thinly slice steak and serve over cooked rice noodles or rice if desired, and top with the cucumber salad. Garnish with sesame seeds and peanuts and plenty of herbs if using and serve with remaining marinade as a sauce.

sugar steak with bourbon.

This steak.  Oh this steak. (It. Is. So. Good.)

I don't eat much red meat, instead I try and treat it as special occasion food, but when the weather heats up and the scent of grilled meats can be picked up on each and every block I walk, my cravings kick in.  

As a bourbon lover (I adore a good Old Fashioned more then one should), this recipe caught my eye almost immediately. The fact that the whole recipe consisted of about 5 ingredients (5!) and involved the most minimal amount of effort is what sold me on it.  The combination of smoky bourbon, sweet sugar, and hot and smoky paprika is a match made in grilled steak heaven.  The flavors manage to permeate the meat without overpowering it.  I found myself eating strips of steak plain (I swear it's that good), but it would be stellar with mashed potatoes and braised spinach.  And if you are fortunate enough to have leftovers might I suggest a steak sandwich with paprika mayo, arugula, and roasted red peppers.  Because everyone knows leftover steak begs to be eaten in a sandwich. (With chips! Lots of wonderfully crunchy potato chips.)

Sugar Steak with Bourbon
Recipe adapted from Food 52

1 flank steak (about 1 – 1 ½ pounds)

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup bourbon

1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika (or if you don’t have this ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes and ½ teaspoon regular paprika)

Flaky salt for sprinkling

Pepper for sprinkling

Put the steak in a 1-gallon plastic bag or in a dish large enough to fit the steak.  Add in the bourbon, sugar, and smoked paprika.  Add the steak to the bag and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat for about 5 minutes, place the steak in the pan and cook for 3 minutes.  Flip and cook the other side for 3 minutes, this will get you a medium-rare steak. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then cut into 1/4-inch slices.  Season the sliced steak with flaky sea salt and pepper.  

seared pepper steak with arugula salad.

When people find out I cook a lot more than the average 20 something, I usually get one of 2 responses.  The first is how are you not the size of a house and the second is your boyfriend is really lucky.  Both of these responses always make me laugh.  The boy is rather lucky but he also puts up with a ton of cleaning.  I manage to make a lot of messes and he cleans them all up (usually with some grumbling but I wouldn't expect anything less). As for why we are not the size of a house - the answer to that is cooking doesn't always mean cooking overly indulgent food.  Don't get me wrong, I bake more batches of cookies then should be allowed but I also eat more produce then most since I shop almost exclusively at farmer's markets.  As much as people like to think I am serving 4 course gourmet feasts each night, the opposite is far closer to the truth.  Dinner most nights is a hodge-podge assortment of leftovers and figuring out how to use up the random bits of food I tend to acquire when going on cooking binges.  My default meal for weeknight evenings is some kind of salad (great for using up leftover bits) and a wedge of really good cheese or some kind of protein.  Lately I've been on a arugula kick (something about the peppery bite) and pairing it with something substantial (to appease the boys eating habits) which is how this salad came about.  Nothing revolutionary about it (Italians have been doing this for year) but the combination is superb which is why it's such a classic.  

Seared Pepper Steak with Arugula Salad

½ - ¾ pound flank steak or other similar cut

5 - 6 cups of arugula

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons good olive oil

Wedge of Pecorino or Parmesan with which you can cut shavings

Salt and pepper to taste

About an hour before you plan on cooking, remove the steak from the fridge and bring to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  10 minutes before cooking the steak, heat a cast iron skillet over high heat.  (If you don't have a cast iron skillet you can use a regular skillet, just make sure it can go in the oven.  It will probably only need a 3 minute warm up on the stove then).  

While the skillet is heating generously (and I mean generously) salt and pepper the steak on both sides.  Place the steak in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes (depending on the thickness of your steak).  Flip and cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes.  Take the steak off the burner and place it in the oven to cook for another 3 minutes.

While the steak cooks, place the arugula in a large bowl.  Salt and pepper the lettuce.  Pour the olive oil and lemon juice over the steak and toss to combine.  Taste and adjust seasonings (sometimes I add a drizzle of hot honey here).  

Remove the steak from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.  Slice against the grain into slices.  Place the salad on the plates and top with shavings of cheese.  Place the sliced steak on top (along with any accumulated juices!)

tacos al carbon.

Considering I started discussing summer on this blog with taco recipes it seems only fitting that the unofficial end of summer closes with a taco recipe as well (I do love when things go full circle).  Tacos al carbon is essentially a fancy name for grilled meat – in this case it’s skirt steak marinated in citrus and spices and some jalapeno for heat.  The marinade penetrates the meat which acts as both a tenderizer and a flavor enhancer.  The steak gets cooked on an extremely hot cast iron skillet in under 10 minutes and what emerges from the pan is one of the best steaks I’ve ever had.  The steak is smoky and tender and you can taste hints of citrus and spice in every bite.  I love it loaded up on warm corn tortillas with a little bit avocado (or this salsa!) and nothing else (simplicity at its best).  The best part is that since it doesn’t need to be made on a grill, you can have tacos and the tastes of summer year round which will make the cold days of winter that much better.

Tacos al Carbon

Recipie adapted from Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain

Serves 6 (if not 8 depending of what you’re serving it with, this can also be halved!)

½ cup lime juice

4 cloves garlic

Juice of 1 orange

¼ cup cilantro

1 jalapeno, stems and seeds removed and chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 pounds skirt steak       

Green onions (optional)

Tortillas, avocado for serving

To make the marinade, in a blender mix the lime juice, garlic, orange juice, cilantro, jalapeno, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Pour the marinade over the skirt steak and let it marinate for 2 to 8 hours in the refrigerator.  Before cooking rinse of the marinade and let the steak come to room temperature. 

Heat on high for 5 minutes a large ovenproof skillet, preferably cast iron.  Also, turn the broiler on in the oven.  When the skillet is hot (to test drop some water onto the skillet, it should immediately evaporate), add the steak.  Cook on one side for 2 minutes and then turn and cook on the other side for 2 minutes. 

After its cooked on both sides, place the green onions, if using, in the skillet with the steak, and place the skillet under the broiler for 2 minutes.  Remove the steak from the skillet and let it rest for 10 minutes.  After the meat has rested, slice against the grain and serve in warmed tortillas.