Flank Steak, etc.

You want this.


Trust me.

Flank Steak Marinade:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

I put mine in a big ziploc bag and it sat in the fridge overnight AND all the next day. I mean business.

Steak needs sidekicks, so I decided on corn on the cob and spinach. But before you start thinking I've gone healthy, keep reading.


Corn by itself is just corn, so let's make it better!

Start with some herbs...say, thyme, parsley, basil, and tarragon (or whatever you like/have), a 1/2 tsp of each.


And add them to some butter!


This equals herb butter! Yippee!


Now we can have corn with herb butter! I will continue to narrate in all exclamations!


Wrap up the corn so the herb butter doesn't escape!


Now let's cook it! Med-High heat, for 15 - 20 minutes!


Here's our meat that's been marinating for a long time!


You must have a paper towel dipped in oil, so you can oil the grill grate and prevent sticking!


Side one, you're up! (well, down actually...for about 5 minutes)


Side two, time for you! (for another 5 minutes)


Here I've got my meat tented (it must rest!), and my corn cobs cooked!


OMG GREEN STUFF AGGGHHH!!!! (it's about to get steamed in herb butter :D)


Hello beautiful!


*sigh*


That's nice and colorful!


Ha, whaddya know, I didn't eat all the green stuff


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Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

These were served at a rehearsal dinner that I did not attend. But ALL I heard the next day was how amazing they were, so I decided I had to have some for myself.

Who doesn't like things wrapped in bacon?

You'll need:
Shrimp
Cream Cheese
Sliced Jalapenos
Bacon
Toothpicks

First I seasoned the shrimp with a little Tony's


It gets better...

I cut my bacon in half...one piece is too long for the wrapping


I used the canned jalapenos...dripping in their own juice. Depending on the size of the shrimp (or the size of your jalapeno love) you may determine that you need to half or third the slices....or you may want to keep them whole.


Take a shrimp, put a dollop of cream cheese in the little crescent, place a jalapeno slice on top of that, then wrap it with bacon and toothpick it. (This may take a few tries before you get the hang of it).


You can either grill or broil these...broiling was easier for me, and I did over-crisp a few of them...but they were still delicious!


EDIT: I've since perfected this recipe a little, and made a few changes based on other recipes I've seen. I run the jalapeno slices (probably 1/4 to 1/2 a cup) through my mini food chopper and add them directly to the cream cheese, along with some of the juice. You can also add a little seasoning, whatever works best for you (cayenne and garlic maybe, or some Tony's). This makes stuffing the shrimp a one step process. Also, Instead of the individual toothpick route, I'll use skewers. It makes flipping them easier on the grill since you don't have to do them one at a time.

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Wine Steak

An excellent dinner to be having is wine steak and roasted potatoes.

Start with 2 ½ lbs round steak/top round/London broil, sprinkle all surfaces evenly with meat tenderizer, and pierce deeply and generously with a fork. Let it stand at room temperature for about an hour.

Your meat does not have to look like America minus Florda.


While the meat is sitting, combine all of this in a small pot:
1 cup red wine
1 garlic clove, minced (although I used about 5)
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, minced (I've used dried minced onion before as well)
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
2 Tbsp minced parsley
2 Tbsp prepared mustard
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter or margarine



Heat it until the butter melts, then let it cool to room temperature (til about when the meat has finished sitting for an hour).

Pour sauce over meat (I usually marinate mine in a gallon ziploc because it's easier to deal with). Chill several hours, turning steak several times. (It can also be frozen in the sauce to cook later).


Remove meat from sauce and strain the sauce, keeping the solids and the liquids separate.

Broil the steak on one side, basting occasionally with liquid.


Turn over and spread the top surface with the solids. Broil to desired degree of doneness.




Slice to serve. The remaining sauce can be brought to a boil and then served to go on top of the meat.

There's really no way you can mess up this flavor. The cooking time will vary depending on your method (grill or oven) and how "done" you want it. I did about 8 minutes each side for medium, perhaps medium rare in places.

As for the potatoes, mine are more like slices instead of chunks because I like them to end up a little crispy. I spray them first with some olive oil so it all "sticks" (it's also amazing if you toss it all in bacon grease). Then I go through the spice rack and add some different things...parsley, thyme, basil, rosemary, paprika, minced onion, pepper, garlic powder, salt, pepper...some combination of all that. Then it goes in the oven for about an hour.


Then enjoy. A lot.





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