Skirt steak

Tonight's Menu

• broiled skirt steak with roasted salsa verde
  
• multigrain tortilla chips
  
• green salad "bar"
  

Fajitas are a staple for us during the summer months, and I've discovered that while the kids don't usually like assembling and eating the actual fajitas (I know -- freaks!), they do love the meat and will happily scarf down large quantities of that on its own.

So, I prepared the skirt steak pretty much the way I do when I'm making fajitas -- rub on both sides with a prepared fajita spice rub, then whisk some fresh lime juice with EVOO and pour that over the steak, marinating for at least a couple of hours in the fridge (I put it in a large plastic zipper bag -- you could use any non-reactive container). But instead of grilling it for four minutes or so per side over high heat, I stuck it under the broiler for the same amount of time. Not QUITE as good as grilled, but pretty darn close! I sliced it very thin across the grain and the kids both had seconds. In fact, there were no leftovers, which is rare for us!

I actually made the salsa verde ahead of time and just stuck it in the fridge until dinner was ready. All I did was remove the papery husks from several tomatillos, give them a rinse, and stick them on a cookie sheet with a huge anaheim pepper (you could also use a poblano) and several unpeeled garlic cloves. Drizzle with EVOO and stick in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until they get soft and a teensy bit brownish. Let cool, then remove the stem and seeds from the pepper and the papery peel from the garlic cloves. Then just whizz it all up in a food processor, adding a bit of lime juice if you like, and a bit of EVOO, and seasoning with salt to taste. I wish I had put some cilantro in this too, but we were all out. Oh well, it was still very yummy! I actually served this alongside the meat, picking up forkfuls of each for every bite, but it's great with chips, too (we LOVE Tostitos Multigrain tortilla chips)(they are not paying me to say that, but they totally SHOULD).

Tonight's salad bar was mixed green lettuces (romaine and butter, I think?) along with grape tomatoes, sliced carrots, sliced cucumber, and julienned jicama. If you've never had jicama, give it a try! All you do is peel it (like a potato) and then cut it into whatever shapes you like. It's very crunchy and juicy and to my palate tastes like a cross between an apple and a raw potato. The girl thought it tasted a bit like celery, and the boy said it was similar to cucumber, but "without the tang". He must have liked it, though -- he ate a HUGE quantity of it!