Grilled NY Strip w/ Vegetables & Olivada

Can you believe that before this meal, I haven't had a bit of red meat in over 2 months?  And you know what?  It made this meal all the better!

It was simple, but elegant.  We had our friend Terry over and he straight cleaned his plate.  That's always a sign that the meal is good, right?!

While I'm not usually a big fan of olives, this olivada (very similar to a tapenade - but easier!) was a winner in my book.  Intermingled with the vegetables and on top of the steak, it was a great condiment and rounded out the dish well.

So the next time your in the mood for a steak dinner - this is where it's at!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's recipe

1 red onion, cut into thick slices
1/2 cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into strips
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing
salt and pepper, to taste
3 12 oz. New York Strip Steaks

Olivada:

1 cup green olives, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon capers
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

To make olivada, combine olives, capers, garlic, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl.  Let sit for about 20 minutes for flavors to meld.

Meanwhile, combine onion, cauliflower, asparagus, and bell pepper in a grill pan  Toss with 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill under direct heat until vegetables start to char - about 10 minutes or so.  Toss vegetables with about half of the olivada.  Set aside.

Brush the steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill steaks on direct heat, turning once, about 8-10 minutes for a medium rare.  Cook a little bit longer if you want them more done.  Let rest on carving board for about 5 minutes.

Serve steaks alongside the vegetables and top steaks with additional olivada, if desired.

Seriously, if you're a carnivore, this is sure to please ya!  I don't know if it was because I hadn't had meat in so long or what, but this meal is definitely a keeper!  See you guys tomorrow - have a great rest of your Wednesday!

Corn & Purple Pepper Fritters

It's another late post. 

Blame it on my sporting events.  Had a softball tournament yesterday.  And Wednesdays are reserved for volleyball - which we won all 3 games by the way (one of them being a comeback from 15-3... so how's that for awesome?!)

But enough excuses, let's talk corn.

It's starting to burst out on the scene and I couldn't be happier.  Corn is probably one of my favorite vegetables of the season.  I can eat it cooked or raw, by itself or mixed into a side dish.  If corn is present, I'm there.

These corn fritters are absolutely delicious, very reminiscent of a savory corn cake with the addition of the purple bell peppers.  I was definitely snacking on these hard.

Ingredients:
Adapted from The Deep Dish's recipe

1 cup flour
3 ears of corn, shucked and kernels cut off the cob
1 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 purple bell pepper (or any color for that matter), finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt.

In a small bowl, mix together the corn, bell pepper, heavy cream, and egg.  Add mixture to flour.

In a heavy bottomed pan (I used my cast iron skillet) heat oil over medium high heat.  When a small piece of batter sizzles in the oil, you know it's ready.

Drop tablespoon sized pieces of the batter into the hot oil and fry for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown on each side.  Drain on a paper towel.

These were definitely a light and delicious snack.  I'll be looking forward to experimenting with different corn combination in the batter too!  Have a great night guys!

Don't forget, you can send me your CSA updates for the round-up still.  I'll be posting tomorrow in the late afternoon, early evening - so e-mail me your vegetable goodies @ mtlabor85@yahoo.com!

Secret Recipe Club: Apple & Brie Grilled Cheese

It's that time again!  Secret Recipe Club time!  Last month was my first time and I had so much fun so I knew I had to join again for another round!

What is the Secret Recipe Club, you ask?  It's basically a secret Santa for food bloggers!  The brainchild of Amanda from Amanda's Cookin' - bloggers sign up to get a "secret" blogger from whom we choose to make a recipe from their blog and post on a designated day!  I think my favorite part is seeing what others do with my own recipe!  Last month, Dana from Food For Thought made an awesome rendition of my Coffee Ice Cream Pie by turning it into a Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Pie!  So I can't wait to see what whoever has me this month does with something else of mine!

So let's get to it!  My secret blogger this month was Sara from Cupcake Muffin.  I'd never checked out her blog before, and my first thought was - Cupcake Muffin - Andy's going to reap the benefits of this one!  Although there are tons of sweet treats on Cupcake Muffin, there are also many delicious savory dishes as well!  It's pretty much an all-around blog with tons of great stuff!

Something that really caught my eye was the recipe for Pear and Goat Cheese Sandwiches.  It has been extremely hot here, so the last thing I've wanted to do was actually cook something or turn on the oven/stove.  Sara says it best in this post when she says that these are so simple, but so gourmet!

But during my shopping trip, I couldn't find good looking pears anywhere!  So I opted for apples and switched out the goat cheese for Brie.  I mean, I love me some goat cheese, but Andy's a little picky about that one for some reason.  So I got some Brie - which is also creamy and crowd pleasing.  And everyone knows that Brie is best melted - so I had to turn this sandwich into a grilled cheese!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Cupcake Muffin's Pear & Goat Cheese Sandwiches

1 Granny Smith Apple, sliced thinly
Dash of Apple Cider Vinegar
Lettuce Leaves
Brie Cheese
Sliced Sourdough Bread
Pumpkin Seeds
Dash of ground cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Sprinkle the lettuce leaves with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and toss.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet under medium high heat.  Add one piece of sourdough bread (kind of swirling the bottom of the slice in the melted butter to coat) and top with one or two lettuce leaves.  Then add 3-4 slices of apples.  Layer on desired amount of Brie and sprinkle top with pumpkin seeds and cinnamon.  Top with slice of sourdough.

Once bottom is golden brown, carefully flip sandwich over (adding more butter to the pan if needed - and swirling again to get butter on 2nd slice).  Cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown on other side.

Simple as that!  Not much cooking at all, just basically some quick melting of the cheese and toasting of the bread.  This was probably one of the best sandwiches I've ever had, and could have never happened if I wasn't inspired by Cupcake Muffin's sandwich (which I will definitely be trying once I find some decent pears!).



Want to join the Secret Recipe Club?!  You should!  Click here to find out more and don't forget to check out what all the other SRC participants did this month!

Steak Sauce Kale Chips

I've been wanting to make kale chips for quite some time.  And when I had an over abundance of kale from our CSA, I knew it was due time.  But I didn't want to make any old kale chips.  I needed to kick them up a notch.  And that's where steak sauce comes in.  Who says it's only for red meat?  Whoever did, is quite wrong.  Because it's also a perfect match for kale chips.  I may even go as far as saying that it's a genius idea on my part.  But I won't gloat too much - it is getting late, after all.



Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
D.I.Y. Steak Sauce

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove stems from kale and tear into large pieces.  Place in a medium bowl and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle steak sauce over kale (about 2-3 tablespoons) and toss to coat.

Line the kale on the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until kale is crisp.  Watch it carefully because they can go from crisp to burnt in a blink of an eye. 

And then enjoy the best snack known to man.  Well, maybe that's pushing it... or maybe it's not.  Needless to say, these were darn tasty - so I suggest you try them soon =)  If not the kale chips, the steak sauce itself is worth the time.  I seriously put it on everything!  Have a great rest of your Wednesday night guys!

And don't forget that tomorrow is CSA Thursday so e-mail me at mtlabor85@yahoo.com with your CSA/Farmer's Market/Garden photos/blog posts and I'll include them in the round-up!

Flank Steak Tacos

This past Sunday, I had a few friends over for a little shindig.  I was kind of worried because there was a forecast that it was supposed to rain all day, but you know what?  It didn't rain a drop!  And it was great because for the first time this year, we got to eat out back on the patio.  It was the perfect weather, the perfect company, and some damn delicious food!

We've been on a healthy kick this week, and this was a perfect way to start it off.  The simplicity of the salsa and the lean cut of meat made for a delicious meal!  Even mocha was happy about it -

Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's recipe

3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
4 scallions, chopped
small handful of cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1 jalapeno, halfway seeded (I like the heat) and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice from 1 lemon
salt and pepper, to taste
1 large flank steak (about 1-2 lbs.)
olive oil, for rubbing
warm flour tortillas, optional
sour cream, optional
1 onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced

Light a charcoal grill under medium high heat.

Take a medium sized sheet (12 by 12 inches) of aluminum foil and place onions and both bell peppers in the middle.  Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Gently toss and fold over edges of aluminum foil to loosely enclose ingredients.  Place on indirect heat on the grill and allow to cook for about 20-25 minutes or until softened, but still somewhat crisp.

In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, mint, jalapeno, garlic, and lemon juice.  Mix well and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Rub the flank steak on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill over high heat until charred and cooked to about medium rare to medium, about 8 minutes per side.  It really depends on the size of your flank steak on this one, the timing can vary. (I think I had a steak a little under 2 lbs.)

Transfer steak to a cutting board to rest for about 5 minutes before cutting. 

Warm your tortillas on the grill for about 30 seconds, if you want to.

Now I know this may be blasphemy, but I first cut the steak in half, along the grain.  I wouldn't normally do this, but the steak was so wide and I didn't want huge slices in my small tortillas.  Then slice against the grain and transfer slices to a platter.

Place about 3-4 steak slices in the tortilla shells and top with salsa, grilled vegetables, and sour cream. 

We served this with a side of rice and black beans.  It was seriously the perfect springtime meal.  We couldn't have asked for better weather (the breeze was light, the warmth was perfect!).  So next time you're in a rut for what to make... let this be it!  You won't be sorry!  Enjoy your Wednesday guys!