Brown Rice, Steak & Feta Bowl w/Tahini Cilantro Dressing

Last week I came home to my brother’s apartment from a really, really long day of meetings. It was late, I had an early morning run planned and I didn’t feel like going out. So we did what NYers do best. We got delivery from a local pita place. I wasn’t expecting much from my brown rice bowl, but I devoured it. Brown rice, steak and feta, vegetables and golden raisins. It was healthy and filling and interesting. Exactly what I needed to end my long day and fuel my morning workout.

So of course I came home and recreated it. I know there was some kind of green sauce on the side, but I couldn’t remember what it was supposed to be. I improvised and made a tangy Tahini and Cilantro dressing which complimented the earthy brown rice and sweet golden raisins. This is one of those dishes where you think – do these things really go together? Let me assure you that they do. It’s one magical bowl of goodness.

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Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Jicama Slaw

If you’re looking for a killer grill recipe for Memorial Day, I’ve got one for you. It’s one of those dishes that everyone from your little brother to your cranky old aunt just loves. They always come back for seconds and thirds so make sure you make a lot. They’ll tell you it’s their new favorite way to eat skirt steak and ask you for the recipe. And best of all, it’s super easy and can be done mostly in advance. Except for the grilling of course, but isn’t that always a group activity on holidays?

The steak is marinated overnight in soy sauce, orange juice and a little sugar, which makes it super tender and caramelizes nicely when it hits the grill. And I’ve said it before – Argentinians know their beef. Nothing is better with beef than vibrant, garlicky chimichurri. I make mine with parsley, olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt. It makes the jicama burst with flavor. If you’ve never cooked with it, jicama (HICK-ah-mah) is a root vegetable with mild flavor and the texture of a firm pear. It’s crunchy without being overly so, and is a cool contrast to the steak.

If you’re still deciding on your Memorial Day menu, give this a shot. You and your guests will not be sorry!

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Pasta Salad w/Steak & Blue Cheese Avocado Dressing

I don’t want to get into a whole thing about girly foods versus manly foods. As a woman, I do love my salads, dainty cheese tarts and chocolate. But not any more than I love big, beefy burgers, buffalo wings and nachos. Food is delicious and I will not take sides!

Even after all that, I have to say, this pasta salad is a manly salad. It’s hearty and bold and full of freshly grilled steak. It is not a side dish. It’s an aggressive, filling entree. The first time I made this, I tossed everything with a little vinaigrette and topped it with diced avocado and crumbled blue cheese. It was good, but it was missing something to tie it together.

I tried again, this time making a creamy dressing with the avocado and blue cheese and … success! The dressing pulled everything together like mayonnaise usually does. The rest of the ingredients – pasta, tomatoes, red onion and steak – completed the salad.

I loved it, Tom loved it. This is a salad for all the sexes.

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Steak, Asparagus & Chimichurri Pasta

Around here everyone dresses their skirt steaks with a dollop of Chimichurri. If you’ve never had it, you’re definitely missing out. Chimichurri is a steak condiment originally from Argentina and made from parsley, olive oil, garlic, salt, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and red pepper flakes. It’s rich and herbal, tangy and a little spicy. It’s the perfect accompaniment for grilled beef.

Since Chimichurri also resembles pesto, I figured it would make a great pasta sauce. And I was right. I grilled a skirt steak and some big, purple asparagus and tossed them with Rigatoni and a fresh batch of Chimichurri. I loved the grilled flavors with the pasta and garlicky sauce.

This is the perfect meal to eat outdoors when the weather is nice and you have a big frosty beer or chilly glass of wine. Is it the weekend yet?

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Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

On this busy, busy week I’m experimenting with new ways to get dinner on the table faster. Or in this case, lunch into my lunchbox in record time. This beef stew went from fridge to photograph in 45 minutes. Including vegetable washing and chopping. One of the many reasons I love my pressure cooker. That and I never, ever remember to soak beans.

I used the pressure cooker because I wanted my stew fast, but this recipe would be equally good cooked in a dutch oven with a little more time. Either way, it’s a simple hearty stew made with flank steak, potatoes, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, rosemary and wine. Simply season and brown the meat, add the remaining ingredients and walk away. Twenty minutes in the pressure cooker (or 1 hour in dutch oven), and you’ve got a hearty, flavorful and healthy meal.

I’m really not a fan of too many kitchen gadgets, but if you’re thinking about investing in a pressure cooker, I’d highly recommend it. I love the idea of putting everything into a pot and walking away. I also love throwing dried beans, a ham hock, onions and dried chipotle peppers into the cooker for 45 minutes for some of the tastiest beans around.

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Vaca Frita: Flank Steak with Lime & Orange Juice

Vaca Frita is one of my absolute favorite Cuban meals. It’s simple, but super flavorful and everyone usually loves it. Especially my college roommate. She really loved it. Vaca Frita literally translates to “Fried Cow”. Sounds appetizing, no? Well, no. But I promise you, it is mouth-watering, addictive and delicious.

So, what exactly is this fried cow? It’s flank steak, chopped into squares and boiled with an onion and a bay leaf until tender, then shredded and sauteed with onions, lime juice and orange juice. Traditionally, the beef is sauteed in a skillet with lots of oil until crisp and brown. This method is a little greasy for me, so I saute everything in a pan, then spread it onto a cookie sheet and pop it under the broiler to get the same browned and crispy results.

It’s a tangy, beefy meal that’s great on rice, with salads and definitely in sandwiches! As a bonus, you get some deeply flavorful stock for soups. If you’re looking for a unique and tropical way to prepare flank steak, this dish is for you.

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spicy pozole with steak, avocado & lime

Wikipedia says that Pozole is a traditional Mexican stew made from hominy that’s been cooked with meat and seasonings and topped with garnishes, such as avocado, cabbage, radishes and lime juice. It’s like a hearty, Mexican corn chowder. I actually spotted a recipe on Elise’s site awhile ago and knew I had to make it for Tom. He has an unnatural attachment to Mexican cuisine. Since I always lose them, I never printed out the recipe, but saw some dried pozole at the market and decided to wing it.

While you can use canned hominy, it has a much softer texture than the dried pozole kernels. You can get these online or at Hispanic markets, some grocery stores and Whole Foods. They’re like beans in that you have to soak them overnight, but their texture is much meatier and provides a nice chewiness to the dish.

They soak overnight and then stewed with dried chile de arbol and ancho peppers, making a nice, spicy broth. Just add a bit of cream to thicken it up, then top with your favorite garnishes. I used what I had on hand — avocado, red onion, thinly sliced skirt steak (leftovers!), sour cream, lime juice and cilantro. The garnishes are really the fun part. You can set them all up on the kitchen counter and have everyone assemble their own pozole the way they like it. It’s kind of like taco night with a spoon.

And it was delicious with all of the different textures and flavor contrasts. I think someone will be begging me to make it again quite soon.

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steak & tofu lettuce wraps with bulgur salad

After 45 minutes of prepping, cooking and plating I discovered that I’d left my camera at work. And every other camera in the house was busted, so I had to use my phone’s camera. What a hideously unappetizing photo. But, the food was too good to not post the recipe. One day when I have my camera, I’ll get around to making it again and will replace the grainy picture you see today.

I’ve been toying with the idea of lettuce wraps for a long time. At first, I was thinking of onions, cilantro, beans and lime for Mexican/taco twist, but I wasn’t really inspired. Instead, I went with the more traditional Asian inspiration. Lettuce, pickled vegetables and some protein.

They would have been tasty just like that, but I find that I have no energy for my 6am workout if I skip the carbs the night before. Would I add brown rice? Quinoa? Farro? They all seemed too heavy for the delicate lettuce. But bulgur seemed just right.

For the protein, I couldn’t decide between steak and tofu, so I used both. I marinated them (separately) in tamarind juice, shoyu, chipotle pepper and garlic cloves for a salty sweet flavor. The steak and tofu were a match made in heaven and their slight sweetness complimented the acidity in the salad. Overall, it was exactly what I wanted. Full of flavors and textures, but still light and refreshing. And that bulgur powered me through a tough pre-dawn workout, so I’m sold!

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vietnamese noodle salad

Growing up in Miami I had very little access to Asian food (greasy Chinese takeout was pretty much it) and I never really knew what Vietnamese cuisine was until I moved to Boston. The first time I had a noodle salad, I was blown away. It came in a big, deep bowl with tons of fresh herbs and vegetables and a slightly sweet, acidic dressing. As with most noodle bowls, I felt like I could eat tons and tons of it in one sitting. (I didn’t.)

I finally decided to take a stab at recreating it at home and the results were really good! I took a shortcut by using broccoli slaw, which can be found at most markets. I also added savoy cabbage and scallions for a more authentic flavor and some cashews for crunch. The salad was light and healthy and the mint, cilantro and basil lent a fresh, summery taste to the dish. I also added slices of flank steak that had been rubbed with brown sugar and chile powder for a sweet and spicy protein. For me, it’s the perfect summer salad.

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Steak sandwiches with chimichurri-jicama slaw

After a long day of cleaning and unpacking on Saturday, we unwound with some much-deserved beer in our newly frosted beer mugs. Delicious.

We’d gone to the grocery store earlier that day with the intention of making lamb burgers with a yogurty-mint sauce, but alas, no ground lamb. Instead, we found a nice-looking, grass-fed skirt steak. Since I’d spent the majority of the day cleaning, I wanted something simple, something that could be eaten on its own without a side dish. A steak sandwich seemed perfect.

Even though we were having sandwiches, I wanted to dress them up a bit. I decided on a jicama-chimichurri slaw that I would use to add some crunch and interest to the sandwiches. According to Wikipedia, “Chimichurri originated in Argentina and is a popular sauce used with grilled meat in many Latin American countries.” It’s made up of olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, parsley, fresh garlic and chili flakes. The ingredients are simply blended to make a sauce or paste the consistency of pesto. That’s always tasty on meat, but this time I wanted to add a little bit of a crunch to the sandwich so I used the Chimichurri as a dressing for some shredded jicama.

I was really pleased with the way the slaw came out. It’s easy to make and super versatile. Recipe below.

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