Tough cuts

Tonight's Menu

• grilled marinated steaks
  
• roasted potato wedges
• caramelized brussels sprouts
  

The steaks I made tonight were labeled "chuck shoulder steaks" and were dirt cheap, which is why I bought them. They were large but cut really thin, maybe a third of an inch. I had never worked with chuck shoulder steaks before, though I have cooked chuck roasts and shoulder roasts, and I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. Tougher cuts like this tend to need either slow cooking at a low temperature for a long period of time, or really fast cooking over really high heat for a really short period of time. I decided to go with the latter and grill them.

First, I marinated them for about three hours in a mixture of red wine vinegar, olive oil, chopped garlic, salt, pepper, a tiny bit of sugar, and a small amount of Worcestershire sauce. I think this went a long way toward helping tenderize the meat. Then I grilled them over high heat for only three minutes per side (did I mention they were SUPER thin?), letting them rest for about five minutes before serving. I'm really happy with how these came out -- they had a fantastic flavor and weren't tough at all! Success!

For the potato wedges, I just cut some russet potatoes into fourths lengthwise, plopped them onto a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper. Then I stuck them in the oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes. This turned out to be a tad too long, actually -- they were chewier on the outside than I would have liked. Tasty, though! Next time I'll knock back the time or the temperature, or both.

The brussels sprouts were trimmed and cut in half, then steamed in the microwave until crisp-tender. I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then added the sprouts along with just a bit of red wine vinegar and sugar to help speed the caramelization along. Once they had gone golden, I sprinkled on a bit of salt and pepper and served 'em up! I LOVED brussels sprouts prepared this way!

This meal is cursed

Tonight's Menu

• grilled skirt steak
• sweet potato fries
• caramelized Brussels sprouts w/lemon
  

Tonight's dinner was a duplicate of our dinner from October 11th which, as you can see if you follow that link, featured a number of mishaps.

This time I decided to grill the steak indoors on the stovetop using my beloved IKEA grill pan (not only was it dark when I started dinner, but it was extremely windy and chilly). Also, I peeled the sweet potatoes into a bowl rather than running the peels down our wonky disposal. So far so good, right?

Wrong!

My portable kitchen timer, which I use EVERY SINGLE NIGHT while preparing dinner, decided to crap out on me while the meat was in the grill pan. I was attempting to grill it for 5 minutes per side -- one minute more per side than when I grill it outdoors, to compensate for the fact that the stovetop grill pan isn't covered like the big outdoor grill is. I put the meat on, set the timer for five minutes, turned away to unload the dishwasher, then checked the timer when I was pretty sure at least four minutes had passed. The display said I still had four minutes left to go! Wuh? The timer was running, but it was taking several seconds for each SINGLE second to tick down. Argh!

Fortunately I discovered it in time to save the meat, but still. I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't make this meal again! As delicious as it is, I think someone is trying to tell me something!

Always an adventure

Tonight's Menu

• grilled skirt steak
• sweet potato fries
• caramelized Brussels sprouts w/lemon
  

We had a bit of a late dinner tonight -- my parents brought the kids back from a sleepover after filling them with junk, so they weren't all that hungry at our usual dinnertime, and DH and I had had a late lunch (in the midst of a lovely afternoon of kid-free shopping).

I think I've mentioned before that in the summer it's almost too hot to grill at my house; our back patio faces due north and in high summer there is no shade at all. I'm always thrilled in autumn when the sun moves south and the days begin to shorten, bringing evening shade to the back patio once again. It does pose a problem when it comes to late dinners, though -- this one was cooked mostly in the dark! Thank goodness for those floodlights the previous owners installed on the back of our house!

ANYWAY, the skirt steak was prepared exactly as for fajitas -- rubbed on both sides with a prepared beef fajita seasoning mix, marinated in a mixture of fresh-squeezed lime juice and EVOO, then grilled for four minutes per side and sliced thinly across the grain. We just ate them as-is instead of folding them into tortillas with all the fixings.

The sweet potato fries were made with CSA sweet potatoes in the usual way, EXCEPT I accidentally discovered a way to make them crispier than usual! See, the plumbing in this house was installed by trained monkeys, apparently (along with the electrical wiring, the air/heating ductwork, the floors, etc. -- but that's a story for another time and another blog). What that means is that our garbage disposal backs up at the drop of a hat. Even though I was using PLENTY of hot running water and running them through only a few at a time, the peels from the sweet potatoes were too much for it. So DH had to do an emergency disposal-ectomy in the middle of my dinner prep, which meant that the fries were finished cooking long before I was even able to START the Brussels sprouts. (And I had this all timed down to the minute, too -- argh!) I didn't want the fries to get cold, and I was afraid that if I covered them they'd get all soggy, so I just turned off the oven when they were done and left them in there while everything else finished. Sitting in the warm, turned-off oven actually made them crisp up without getting overdone -- who knew? I think I'll factor this wait time into the recipe from now on!

Anyway, geez, I'm writing a novel here and this was actually a really simple meal, except for the mishaps! The Brussels sprouts were from Everyday Food and this dish was completely serendipitous -- I had bought the sprouts a few days ago and really needed to use them up, when I happened to open the October issue of Everyday Food this afternoon and there was the recipe! We always have lemons in the house so this was a no-brainer for me, and really tasty, too!

Whew! There you have it. A simple dinner that wasn't so simple after all! We are totally having leftovers tomorrow.

Delicious chicken

Tonight's Menu

• roasted chicken thighs & drumsticks
  
• roasted Brussels sprouts
• green salad "bar"
  

Oh dudes. I loves me some chicken legs.

I had six thighs and six drumsticks (bone-in, skin-on in both cases). I rinsed them, patted them dry, stuck them in a roasting pan, sprinkled them liberally with coarse salt, gave them a few shakes of freshly ground pepper, scattered some fresh thyme leaves and snipped fresh rosemary on top, then roasted them at 425 degrees F for about 45 minutes. Perfection.

I got the Brussels sprouts recipe from a recent post on Slashfood. Except I did them at 425 degrees instead of 400, because I cooked them alongside the chicken. I should have knocked back the cooking time accordingly, but I didn't, and they were a bit overdone (but still edible, especially for someone like me who will eat damn near anything).

Tonight's salad bar was butter lettuce and radicchio with sliced baby carrots and grape tomatoes on the side.

Mixed grill

Tonight's Menu

• grilled boneless pork chops and chicken leg quarters
  
• chuffed potatoes
  
• caramelized brussels sprouts with toasted almonds
• leftover salad
  

I KNOW! I have not been posting. Sorry about that. It's mostly been same old, same old around here (except that the other night I made spiced pork tenderloin with grilled stone fruits -- apricots and peaches -- and it was FABULOUS).

Anyhoo, I finally made a trip to the natural food store for the GOOD chicken so I decided to grill tonight. I sprinkled both chicken and pork with Jane's Krazy Salt and garlic pepper (the chicken got a coating of EVOO beforehand). I grilled the chicken for 10 minutes per side over medium-high heat, then turned off the burner they were on (gas grill) and left them there while I grilled the chops for 4 minutes per side on the other burner. Other than the chicken catching fire multiple times, it all turned out swell.

Chuffed potatoes were the usual deal -- red potatoes cut in half or quarters, parboiled then chuffed up in a hot pan with some butter, seasoned with salt and pepper.

I have made the caramelized brussels sprouts before. This time I made the recipe exactly except I substituted toasted almond slivers for the pistachios.

Vinho Verde was a nice accompaniment to the meal.

It's hot! We're grilling!

Tonight's Menu

• garlicky grilled flank steak
  
• grilled Brussels sprouts and onions
• steamed basmati rice
  
• big-ass salad
  

Dudes, it's in the 80s over here! Woo! Dear Ma Nature: THAT'S MORE LIKE IT.

So anyhoo, I decided to make our favorite flank steak on the grill, and it was awesome. If you don't have a mortar and pestle (which you should, I'm saying) you can chop the garlic and then muddle the whole lot in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon. Make sure you don't use a reactive metal because of the lemon juice; it will get yucky. This is SO easy and SO yummy and if you haven't made it yet then I don't know what the hell you're waiting for, seriously.

For the sprouts, I cut them in half and steamed them in the microwave, then made a foil packet with sliced onion, butter, salt and pepper. Grill them the same amount of time as the steak and they come out yummy. Next time I won't steam them quite as long first, though, as they were a tad mushy for my taste.

Yummy leftovers

Tonight's Menu

• leftover roasted chicken thighs with garlic and potatoes
  
• caramelized brussels sprouts
  

I had a hankering for the brussels sprouts I made on Thanksgiving, so I whipped some up to go along with leftovers from the other night. I used the same recipe as last time, but this time I steamed the sprouts in the microwave instead of on the stovetop, included the onions, and omitted the nuts. These are SO GOOD, y'all. Definitely my new favorite way to eat sprouts.

And believe it or not, my house smells AMAZING right now. When's the last time you were able to say that after cooking brussels sprouts?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today's Menu

• herbed roast turkey
  
• honey-cured ham
  
• cornbread dressing
• rolls
• sweet potato casserole
• mashed potatoes and gravy
• caramelized brussels sprouts
• green beans with bacon and onion
• cranberry sauce
• pickles, olives and cheese
• pecan pie
• pumpkin pie
• German chocolate cake
• birthday cake
  

I am SO STUFFED, y'all.

Okay, Mom made the turkey, dressing, gravy, pecan pie and German chocolate cake so I don't have recipes for those.

[UPDATE! After the tryptophan fog lifted, I remembered Mom said she got the cornbread dressing recipe from Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee. Et voila! Mom made a few substitutions, though: veggie broth instead of chicken, and celery instead of water chestnuts. It was SO FREAKIN' AWESOME.]

I made the ham, which was just a honey-cured boneless spiral-cut ham from HEB that needed to be heated for an hour. The rolls were Rhodes frozen rolls (they're little frozen balls of dough that have to thaw and rise before baking), the mashed potatoes were Ore-Ida frozen (they are AWESOME), the cranberry sauce was canned (I added some freshly grated orange zest to the whole-berry sauce and it made a ton of difference), the pickles were from a jar, the pumpkin pie was from the recipe on the Libby's canned pumpkin label, and the birthday cake was from a mix.

I used Emmitt Smith's sweet potato casserole recipe. This is the second year I've made it and it's SO GOOD. I can't make any other recipe now. Props to Emmitt!

The caramelized brussels sprouts were new to me this year. I followed this recipe from Allrecipes.com except that I cut the sprouts in half before steaming, omitted the onion and used toasted almond slivers in place of pistachios. It was DELICIOUS. I will definitely make this again!

I made the green beans the way I always do: chop up some bacon and saute in a Dutch oven until nearly crisp, toss in some chopped onion and saute until the onion releases its fragrance, then add fresh green beans and cover with water. Toss about a tablespoon or so of brown sugar into the water (trust me) and bring the whole thing to a boil, then cover and simmer until the beans are as tender as you like. Drain and serve. Yum!

I seriously will not have to cook for at least two weeks thanks to all the leftovers. Which is good because I don't plan to eat anything for days. Oy.

Too damn much trouble

Tonight's Menu

• trout fillets sauteed in EVOO
  
• quinoa
• shredded brussels sprouts with onion and bacon
  

I got this brussels sprouts recipe out of a magazine (Oct./Nov. 2006 Eating Well, page 35) and it was extremely tasty, but I don't think I'll make it again because it took FOREVER. Basically you slice up a pound of fresh brussels sprouts (do you have ANY idea how long that takes? well, double that and you're close) and a small yellow onion. Fry two strips of bacon in a skillet, remove the bacon, and dump the onions and a dash of salt into the drippings. Cook those on medium-ish until tender and starting to brown, then add 3/4 cup of water and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Then add the sliced up brussels sprouts and cook those, stirring often, until they get tender. Stir in a tablespoon of cider vinegar, crumble the bacon and sprinkle that on top, et voila! Really yummy, but damn is it labor-intensive.

On the plus side: DH, who usually avoids brussels sprouts, liked this stuff and would probably eat it again. And also, AFTER he ate it and I complained about how long it took to make, he asked me why I didn't just use the food processor. D'oh! I kind of forget we have one sometimes. We have a little one that I use to chop nuts, but I rarely drag out the big one. I mean, a knife is a lot easier to clean, you know? So I dunno. I really don't think I'll try this again, but I never say never. Cabbage is a lot quicker and easier to chop up, even WITHOUT a food processor, and it tastes about the same.