Recipe #77 - Flank Steak Salad with Jalapeno Poppers

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Recipe idea courtesy of Chuck Hughes from the cooking show Chuck's Day Off.

For the steak salad:
Rub the flank steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet on medium-high heat and cook the steak on one side for 6 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 6 more minutes.

Meanwhile combine the red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, mint and lime juice in a bowl and mix well. (Side note: this step called for 2 tablespoons olive oil, but I left it out and it tasted just fine with just the lime juice.)

Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste and set aside.

For the jalapeno poppers:
Heat oil in a deep fryer or a heavy-bottomed skillet to 350 degrees F. Carefully slice down the side of the peppers and remove the seeds. Set aside. In a bowl combine all the grated cheeses, season with pepper, to taste and stuff the peppers.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, egg, and beer to form a batter. Dip the stuffed peppers in the batter.

Fry in the deep fryer or in a heavy skillet for about 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Slice the flank steak into thin pieces.

Pile the salad on a plate with slices of flank steak, and top with 1 popper, sliced in half.

This recipe turned out really well. The colors where bright. It had a very fresh, summer taste to it. I've never tasted mint and cilantro together, but it was a memorable surprise pairing perfectly with the lime juice. It has been raining all day, so it's was a nice, uplifting, healthy lunch that brought some sunshine back into the dull house today.

Rating: 9
Time: 1 hour (there's a lot of cutting involved)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
For the Steak Salad
2 pounds flank steak
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red onion, sliced
2 cucumbers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and diced
1 cup torn fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup torn fresh mint leaves
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil, optional

For the Jalapeno Poppers
6 jalapeno peppers or milder peppers (which I recommend)
1/3 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup beer
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

Recipe #25 - Whatever-Is-In-The-Cabinet Steak Marinade

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My last night in Houston and I still needed one more recipe. I was short on time when I ran into the store and bought bacon wrapped steak tenderloin. I assumed my brother would have all the fixin's to remake Roughbox Marinade. BIG mistake. He had close to nothing in his cabinets.

So, after assessing the situation, here is what I came up with:

In a zip-lock baggy, I mixed together the soy sauce, distilled white vinegar, actual red wine, minced garlic cloves, steak tenderizer, and Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herbs seasoning. Add the steaks and let sit for at least 2 hours, turning once or twice.

I paired the steak with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Yum!

I def think it could have used a little lemon juice in the marinade and maybe a little less soy, but other than that, I think it turned out pretty darn good for a make-shift marinade.

Rating: 6
Time: 10 mins for the marinade, 2 hours for sit time, and 15 to grill.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sause
1/4 distilled white vinegar
1/4 red wine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon steak tenderizer
1 or 2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herbs, or to taste

Recipe #16 - Roughbox Steak Marinade

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This recipe is straight from the trials and errors of my father. I've seen him work on this since I moved here in August last year. Every time he makes it, it gets a little better. I, of course, didn't mind all the attempts. You can never have too much steak!

I was originally planning on making these for the parentals for their 30th anniversary on Saturday, but they told me the night before that they were going to go out for dinner. So, we decided to have them for dinner on Sunday evening.

I mixed up the marinade Saturday afternoon to allow the steaks to soak for at least 24 hours.

In a large zip-lock baggy, I combined the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, balamin vinegar, olive oil, garlic, onions, thyme, and ginger. Then added the steaks. My meat of choice this time - beef tenderloin. Yum. They weren't cheap either!

After they soaked up the good stuff for a day or so, I began preparing them for the grill.

Pre-heat the grill. Remove the steaks from the zip-lock and place on a plate.

When you bring them out to the grill, make sure to bring an extra clean plate for the when the steaks are finished cooking. Depending on the thickness of the steaks and how well you liked them cooked, leave them on the grill longer. I like mine done medium and the steaks were about 2 inches think, so we cooked them for about 11 minutes on each side.

This is what dad was doing while we waited on the steaks to cook. Lol.

Now when I was mixing up the marinade I added too much lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I was using old measuring cups and the measurements rubbed off some of them. I apparently didn't double check before I started portioning out the liquids. Any who, the steaks were very savory and tender, but maybe a little too lemony. However, I think the added acid helped breakdown the toughness and made the steaks more moist throughout.

I served Recipe #15 - Boiled Red Potatoes and Make-Shift Salad as the sides. I think all-in-all it was a very successful meal. And this steak marinade is def in my Top 25!

Time: 40 mins
Rating: 10
Ingredients:
4 good sized steaks of you choice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 worcestershire sauce
1/4 lemon juice
1/8 olive oil
1/4 balsamic vinegar
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
Onions, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, minced