Sunday Funday Pantry Marinade

It has been hot, hot, hot in DC for the past 2 weeks, we are on day 13 of 90+ heat. Motivation level for cooking has been on a low for the past 2 weeks for a couple of reasons. 1-My husband just started a new job and spent last week in San Francisco and 2-Again, it's hot so not very hungry.

This morning, we ventured out to the Dupont Circle farmer's market and lunch at the best burger place.EVER. http://www.bgrtheburgerjoint.com/ I bought beautiful Heirloom Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Beans, Fresh Basil and local fresh Mozarella at the market. After our hot 3 mile walk to the market and my food coma from BGR I wanted an easy dinner.

Here is an easy marinade for a flank steak we had in the fridge and marinade made from pantry items that I think you will have as well. There is enough acid and alcohol that you really only need 4 hours to marinade-it was so good that I would love to taste this at some point after an overnight marinade.

Pantry Flank Steak

1 Flank Steak

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 cup Red Wine

2 T Sriracha

2 T Dijon Mustard

5 cloves garlic-crushed

ground pepper

Throw the Flank Steak in a Ziplock bag and pour all of these ingredients in the bag. Once all of the ingredients and steak are in the bag mix everything together. Marinade for at least 4 hours. Grill to your taste. We ate this with grilled corn and grilled farmer's market squash tonight.

Potatoes 2 Ways, Part 1

Oopsie...I know that I promised recipes from my last post a while ago...sorry I am already slacking! Sigh...

When I started dating Steve, he had a very limited dinner repetoire : Tacos, Trader Joe's Stir Fry and Spaghetti. I decided after we started dating, that I needed to expand his culinary horizons.

Although I would not say this recipe is a palette expander, it's better than a bag of frozen Stir-Fry and it's an easy and delicious side to Steak or Grilled Chicken. I make these potatoes a couple times a week and they always make the hubby happy. You can use any kind of potato, I usually use Yukon Gold, Red Bliss or I may splurge on a bag of the Fingerling Jewel Potatoes-a mix of Purple Peruvian, Yukon and Red Bliss.

EHam's Grill Potatoes:
Potatoes-as many as your family will eat
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic Cloves, or if you are lazy Garlic Salt

Heat the Grill to Medium Heat. Put a large pot of salted water on the Stove and bring to a boil, while the water boils dice your potatoes. Depending on the size of the potato, you may just need to cut in half or quarter the potato. Place the potatoes in the boiling water and par boil-around 8-10 minutes. You want to be able to place a knife into the potato and get a little resistance. Drain the potatoes.

Take 2 large sheets of Aluminum Foil and make a cross with them. Drizzle the middle of the cross with a little olive oil. Place the potatoes in the middle and then season to your taste with the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, crushed or dry garlic and then drizzle again with olive oil. Fold the sides of the foil up and make a square-this will look like a little aluminum potato present. Place the 'present' directly onto the grill for a total of 18-24 minutes, you will want to flip them once midway through.

Remove from the grill and carefully open the package as there will be a lot of steam...we usually just eat them right out of the foil as it makes clean-up a breeze. We usually add some parmesan cheese and Sriracha (hot sauce) as well.

Enjoy!!!

Ah...Summer

This weekend is the first weekend since we have been married in 4 weeks we are not going away...so we kicked off the weekend with this wonderful dinner:

Bone-In Ribeye Steaks

Grill Potatoes

Chipotle-Lime-Garlic Grilled Corn

Recipes to follow...

The Heartland

Although I live in DC, and have been in the DC Metro area for the past 15 years (how did that happen) my core will always be a Midwesterner. I am proud that I still carry my Iowa accent with me, that I root for the Hawkeyes and one of my favorite meals is grilled Steak and potatoes. If it was up to my husband we would eat Steak & Potatoes every night...cooked exactly the same way...every night.

I also love corn-on-the-cob in the summer. Growing up, my Dad would go to the Farmer's Market at the Riverside Roundhouse in downtown Cedar Rapids http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/84311212.html and pick up a big brown paperbag of sweet corn and I loved to help him shuck it...Mom always made us do this outside. We would boil the corn and then use our lovely corn shaped corn-holders with the special corn butterers and it was delicious...and one of my favorite childhood memories.

Unfortunately, in DC we cannot get farm-fresh corn, so I have to be a little creative in my corn preparation...I tried this one earlier this week and it was wonderful! Thanks to a little inspiration from Bobby Flay.

EHam's Grilled Corn on the Cob with Chipotle-Lime-Garlic Butter

Ingredients:
How every many ears of corn will you eat
1 stick of butter
2 T juice from canned Chipotle in Adobo Sauce
Juice from 2 limes
4 cloves of garlic-crushed
Fresh ground Pepper

Heat grill to Medium. To prepare the corn, gently pull away the husks from the ear of corn and remove the silk, pull the husks back up onto the corn. Place the ears of corn in cold water for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, soften the butter to room temperature and mix together the butter, lime juice, crushed garlic and Chipotle juice and pepper in a bowl.

Grill the corn with the husks on for 15 minutes, once the 15 minutes has passed take 2 sets of tongs and remove the husks from the corn and place the corn back onto the grill. Brush the corn while still on the grill with the special butter and roll around on the grill. When the corn starts to get some char marks on it, you are done! Serve the butter on the side when ready to eat.

We ate this with some simple grilled Chicken...and it was wonderful!

The Joy of a Registry

I have to admit that one of the most joyous days that I experienced as a newly engaged woman last summer was making our first trip to Williams-Sonoma to begin our registry. I was not one of those brides that immediately starting thinking about what type of wedding I wanted to have, I was thinking about what color Le Creuset cast iron pots I would pass onto my children, should I go with All-Clad or Calphalon pans and how many attachments would I register for the Kitchen-Aide Mixer that every newlywed couple should have.

Enter Doug, the registry specialist at the Williams-Sonoma in Friendship Heights! He walked us through every detail of every pot, pan, appliance and even threw in some amazing cooking techniques along the way. He was passionate, he was funny and he was very proud of his knowledge of the entire Williams-Sonoma portfolio.

After months of waiting (not exactly months...we have only been married 3 weeks) I am picking up my (I mean our...) 10-piece All-Clad pots and pans today over lunch! Williams-Sonoma sadly discontinued carrying the standard All-Clad stainless pots for a new line that has more layers, so I have to go to the trusty Bed, Bath & Beyond for the purchase.

Now, what to make in these beauties for dinner tonight....I don't think Hamburger Helper is appropriate.

Welcome to Summer!

I love simple, grilled foods. I splurged on a beautiful grill for Steve this Christmas and we grill year-round…including our 3 wonderful blizzards this winter!

Flank Steak is one of my favorite cuts of meat to grill, but it can be a bit tough if you don’t prepare it the right way before throwing it on the grill. I try to marinade flank steak at least 8 hours before grilling.

This recipe is adapted from Guy Fieri’s Bloody Mary Flank Steak:

1 Flank Steak

1 can of V-8

2-3 T Worcestshire Saue

2-3 T Horseradish

2 T Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning

¼ Cup Vodka

6 Cloves Garlic Crushed

Tabasco

Salt

Throw the Flank Steak in a gallon size Zip Lock bag and combine all of the ingredients in the bag with the meat…so darn easy! Once you close the bag you can mush around all of the ingredients to cover all of the meat. I usually place the bag in a baking pan in the fridge in case the bag leaks. Let sit at least 8 hours up to 24 hours. The acid from the V-8 and the alcohol will permeate the tough meat and impart a wonderful flavor.

When you are ready to grill the Steak, take it out of the fridge at least an hour before you grill it. You want the meat to almost be at room temperature, this allows the meat to cook more evenly-when you throw a really cold Steak on a hot grill it chars the outside and you end up with a charred, rare mess. (Thank you 3 years of management of a high-end Steakhouse)

Depending on the heat of your grill, I usually place it on Medium heat for about 6-7 minutes per side for Medium-Rare. If you are able to put the room temp steak on the grill you will know it’s getting close to done when you start seeing a nice char on it.

Once cooked to desired temperature, let it rest an additional 10 minutes inside…this is a good time to refresh your cocktail. Slice the Steak in strips AGAINST the grain. I usually serve this with roasted potatoes and a fresh veggie.

Welcome!

I have been talking for some time about creating a blog to share my culinary & artistic creations. Now that our amazing Outer Banks wedding is over and I am settling into married life in DC I don't have any excuses.

When I had just started dating my now husband in February 2009 I had a trip planned to visit my BFF, http://mbrox.blogspot.com/ and her family in Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest music festival. Mary Beth's sweet in-laws were in town to watch the kids while the adults could go out and drink free booze and take in the sights and sounds of SXSW. We would spend the days running around and then come home to sit on the back patio and hang out with the Hubik's. Mike's Mom, Patty brought some wonderful salsa with her that we would eat...and eat...and eat-including making it into queso!

When I returned to DC, I made lots of batches of this salsa-my husband can eat it with almost anything, and my in-laws love it too! We like it hot, so make it to your taste and be sure to taste it as you are putting it together...this has some heat to it! If you prefer less spice cut down on the Peppers.

EHam's Version of Hubik Family Salsa

2 large cans of whole peeled tomatoes-liquid drained
5-8 Fresh Jalapenos
2-3 Fresh Habaneros
8 cloves Fresh Garlic
1 Medium Red Onion
3 Limes
1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro
Fresh Cracked Pepper
2-3 T Kosher Salt.

First, make yourself a cocktail-I like to have a cold beer or a margarita....before making your cocktail get out your food processor to avoid any injuries.

Rough chop the peppers, onion, and tear off a big bunch of the cilantro. Place the peppers, onion, garlic and cilantro in the food processor and squeeze the lime juice into the food processor. Pulse the food processor to blend these ingredients. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and pulse some more. Taste along the way and add more salt and pepper to your taste!

The smoother texture of the finished salsa makes it a perfect accompaniment to just about anything!