Steak and artichoke mixed grill

By now, I’m sure all of you know that I don’t shy away from complicated recipes – but sometimes the simplest food can be the most delicious. The weather was beautiful this past weekend, so we took the opportunity to get started on the garden.


We also fired up the grill for the first time in months. I didn’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen, so I went simple. I picked up some nice looking new york strip steaks and some huge artichokes to toss on the grill. I seasoned the meat with steakhouse seasoning from Amazing Taste. I find that the easiest way to grill artichokes is to steam them first, that way you don’t have to worry about getting them cooked all the way through on the grill. I simply cut the cooked artichokes in half, and seasoned them with salt and pepper before letting them sit on the grill to get slightly charred.

Notice how many times I’ve said simple in this post? Well, I couldn’t resist un-simplifying things just a bit. I made some sauces to go with the steak and artichokes. For the meat, I made some Mesa Grill steak sauce. It literally takes 5 minutes to make, and I always have the ingredients on hand. For the artichokes, I made some hummus.

Even with the sauces, this was really quick and easy to make. Better yet, it didn’t create many dirty dishes, which makes my husband happy: since I do all the cooking, he does all the dishes.

Drunken stir-fried beef with green beans

I love thai food, but sometimes I find that “thai-inspired” recipes don’t really taste authentic. This recipe for drunken stir-fried beef with green beans looks and tastes like it came from your neighborhood thai restaurant. Best of all, it’s relatively healthy and quick enough to put together on a weeknight.

I’m not really sure why this is called drunken beef, it doesn’t contain any alcohol! The recipe starts with a seasoning paste of garlic, ginger, chile, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and salt. I cut the amount of garlic in half, 7 cloves just seemed excessive to me. I only use the tender inner cores of the lemongrass, and I slice the ginger very thinly – that way, I don’t end up with a fibrous seasoning paste. If you can’t find kaffir lime leaves you can substitute lime zest, but it’s not quite the same. I don’t see kaffir lime leaves in the store that often, so when I find them, I store them in the freezer so I always have some on hand. If you’re in the Bay Area and want to know where I buy them, just let me know.

The recipe says to grind the seasoning paste in a mortar and pestle. I’m just not that skilled with my mortar and pestle, and since I was trying to get dinner on the table quickly, I used my food processor. That worked just fine.

Thinly sliced flank steak is quickly stir fried in the seasoning paste, with green beans and cherry tomatoes added to the mix. The dish is supposed to be finished with fresh basil leaves, but I used cilantro because I already had it on hand.

This was really delicious, and a great recipe to try if you’ve ever wanted to learn to make thai food. You could probably use a different cut of beef and try different vegetable combinations with good results. I served this over brown basmati rice.

Flank steak and edamame with wasabi dressing

I own a lot of spices – everything from your basic chili powder to the more exotic fennel pollen. I currently have six kinds of salt and three types of peppercorns. For most spices, I have both the ground and whole versions. I’ve got four kinds of cinnamon. Six varieties of dried chiles. The list goes on and on.

Some spices get used all the time – I’m particularly fond of smoked paprika and I go through a lot of cumin. Lately, my bottles of allspice berries and juniper berries have been dwindling because of all the brines I’ve made for pork. However, there are some spices that I just don’t use very often. I love the flavor of Chinese five spice, but I don’t use it nearly enough. Along the same lines, I have a bottle of wasabi powder that’s been languishing in my drawer.

I got the opportunity to use my wasabi powder when I made this flank steak with edamame. The recipe actually called for wasabi paste, but wasabi powder with a touch of water did the trick for me.

This recipe was really fast and easy. Flank steak is seasoned with salt, pepper and soy sauce, then seared until done to your liking. The steak is thinly sliced and served on a bed of edamame that’s been cooked with garlic, ginger, sesame oil and soy sauce. A mixture of wasabi and rice vinegar is drizzled over the top.

As usual, I made a few changes. To save on dishes, I cooked the steak in a skillet instead of grilling it, then cooked the edamame in the same pan. I don’t keep bottled ginger and garlic in my fridge, so I substituted fresh for both. I also added a handful of chopped cilantro leaves to the edamame.

To dress this up a bit, I used some artisan soy sauce that I received as a gift once. I think it was a good move – since the recipe is so minimal, it really gave the complex flavors of the sauce a chance to shine. I served steamed jasmine rice on the side.

Another day, another braise

I've been doing a lot of braising this cold weather season, everything from radishes to pork shoulder. This time around, I made braised beef with carrots from Patricia Wells' Vegetable Harvest cookbook. The recipe is unique because it's as much about the carrots as it is the beef. Many braising recipes use vegetables only to enhance the flavor of the meat - by the end of the cooking period, the vegetables are usually mushy and get strained out of the sauce. This recipe produced a tender piece of meat with an abundance of perfectly cooked carrots. The carrots held their shape, and even had a slight bite to them.

I always get fun cookbooks for the holidays, and this year was no exception. I got the Campanile cookbook, which is great because I'm a huge Nancy Silverton fan. I made kale with crispy garlic from the book to go along with the beef. The recipe is actually really simple - thinly sliced garlic cloves are crisped up in oil, and added to cooked kale seasoned with a squeeze of lemon and salt. I used lacinato kale, which is also known as dinosaur kale or cavalo nero. I prefer the flavor and texture, but regular kale would work just as well.
Braised beef with carrots

Adapted from Vegetable Harvest

Serves about 6

A 3lb boneless piece of beef meant for braising (anything labeled chuck is a good bet)

3 lbs of carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 cans of tomato paste

2 cups of red wine

2 cups of chicken or beef stock

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy pot. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pot, bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook at a low simmer for about 3 and a half hours, or until the meat is tender. Turn the meat once per hour. After the meat is cooked, remove it from the pot and cut into thick slices. Spoon the carrots over the top. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Harissa marinated tri tip with roasted vegetables

Who doesn't love a good one dish meal? This one happens to be relatively healthy too! I started with a trip tip roast, which was about 1 1/2 pounds. You could use a different cut of beef if you prefer. I marinated the tri tip in harissa sauce for about 2 hours. Harissa is a North African red sauce made with peppers and spices. I bought mine, but you could also make your own. The brand I use is pretty mild, so I used a liberal amount, but oftentimes harissa is very spicy, so use your judgement. I lined a half sheet pan with foil for easy clean up and coated it with cooking spray. Next, I took a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved white mushrooms and chunks of orange cauliflower and spread them out on the pan in a single layer. I seasoned the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper, then placed the tri tip in the center of the pan.

I seasoned the trip tip with salt and pepper, placed the pan in a 450 degree oven, and kept a close watch on my meat thermometer. I roasted everything until the meat thermometer registered 130 degrees (medium) and the vegetables were tender and browned, about 30 minutes. After the roast rested for a few minutes, I cut it into thin slices and served the vegetables on the side.

This recipe can be adapted in so many ways to fit your tastes. You can pretty much use any combination of vegetables - zucchini, onion wedges, eggplant and peppers would be good. You could also toss in some potatoes or winter squash cut into small cubes (make sure they're small enough to get cooked through in a short period of time). Don't like harissa or can't find it? You can coat the meat in an herb paste, or use your favorite meat marinade.

An asian inspired dinner

A few weeks ago, I bought a container of miso for this green bean recipe. At the time, I figured it would take me a while to find enough uses for the tub of miso. In fact, it didn't take long at all, the miso is gone! This recipe for miso and wasabi marinated flank steak was definitely a winner. An added bonus is that it used up some of the wasabi powder that's been languishing in my spice drawer. The recipe is really simple: flank steak marinated in miso paste, wasabi powder, mirin, white wine and rice vinegar. I didn't have mirin, so I used all white wine, and marinated the steak for about 10 hours.

After the steak came out of the marinade, I seasoned it with salt and pepper and cooked it on a grill pan. I sliced the steak thinly against the grain, and served it with steamed brown basmati rice and carrot sesame salad. I've been using this technique for cooking brown rice, and I think it produces a superior end result. The carrot sesame salad is from the Everyday Food cookbook.

Porter ale braised short ribs with maple rosemary glaze

This recipe is from All About Braising by Molly Stevens. I just got a brand new Le Creuset pot specifically for the purpose of braising, and I've been waiting for the weather to cool down a little before I started back up again with this cookbook. These short ribs were fantastic. I browned them in the pot and then sauteed some carrot and onion in a small amount of the fat rendered from the ribs. The ribs went back into the pot with some vegetables and rosemary, and porter ale and chicken stock were added. I put the pot in the oven at 285 degrees and braised the ribs for about 3 and a half hours, turning the ribs every 45 minutes. The braising liquid is skimmed down and reduced to make a sauce. Right before serving, the ribs are glazed with maple syrup that's been infused with rosemary sprigs and horseradish. The ribs are then broiled for a few minutes to get a nice shiny top. This dish had tons of flavor, and the meat was "fall-off-the-bone" tender. I served the ribs with mashed potatoes and broccoli. Pure comfort food at its best!

Tri tip with roasted mushrooms and artichokes

We liked the tri tip I made last week so much that I made another version for dinner tonight. I marinated the meat overnight in a mixture of red wine, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. I tossed artichoke hearts (frozen) and trumpet mushrooms in olive oil, salt and pepper and put the vegetables in a pan with the meat. I roasted everything at 400 degrees until my meat thermometer registered 145 degrees in the thickest part of the tri tip (medium rare). I garnished the vegetables with chives. The meat and vegetables were served with a potato and celery root puree.

Marinated tri tip with roasted green onions and mushrooms

I got this recipe from a recent issue of Bon Appetit. Tri tip is marinated in red wine, soy sauce and garlic. The meat is roasted with mushrooms and green onions. The recipe called for baby portobello mushrooms, but I used cremini mushrooms. Cremini is the same variety as portobello, just smaller. I chose to marinate the mushrooms too. The chinese mustard sauce that accompanies this dish is a blend of equal amounts of honey, dry mustard and water with a pinch of salt. It's spicy, so use it sparingly! I served this with basmati rice on the side.

Red wine braised beef

I got the idea for this recipe from Cucina Ebraica. This makes a great meal for a weekend when you have a few hours to let the beef and vegetables simmer. I served it with polenta and sauteed italian broccoli. To make removal of the whole spices and orange peel easier, place them in a square of cheesecloth and tie it up with some kitchen twine.

Red wine braised beef
Serves 2-3

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound beef stew meat
1 large onion, medium dice
2 carrots, medium dice
2 celery stalks, medium dice
7 ounces of canned diced tomatoes in juice
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 orange zest strip, about 3 inches long
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
2 to 3 cups of dry red wine
salt and pepper
sliced green onions or chopped parsley for garnish
cornstarch (if needed to thicken the sauce)

Cut a square of cheesecloth large enough to make a bundle with the orange zest, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Tie the bundle with kitchen twine. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper and add it to the pan in a single layer. Brown all sides of the beef. Transfer the beef to a heavy pot. Add the onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes and garlic. Add the spice bundle. Pour in the wine to cover the meat and vegetables. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 2 hours or until meat is very tender and pan sauce has started to thicken. If necessary, make a slurry of equal parts cornstarch and cold water (try about 2 teaspoons of each) to add to the sauce if you prefer it to be thicker. Remove the spice bundle, season the meat and vegetables to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with green onions or parsley.

Giada's family dinners - flank steak with red wine sauce

This week I'm featuring food from Giada's Family Dinners

Flank steak with red wine sauce was pretty good. The sauce takes some time to make, so start it before you cook the flank steak. It's important to use a good quality red wine for this dish - my wine wasn't up to par and you could definitely taste it in the sauce. My steak was an uneven thickness, so I used a meat mallet to flatten the thicker parts so that it would cook evenly. You don't need to use all the butter and oil called for in this dish - I omitted the butter used to saute the onions for the sauce and I cooked my steak in a nonstick grill pan so I omitted the olive oil called for in cooking the steak.

Flank steak with red wine sauce