Yes, We Cook!

I love Mexican food.  When I was pregnant I literally ate tacos almost everyday for the first 3 months.  Funny that I never really branched out from that until much later.  I wanted to grill steak but not necessarily do a carne asada (although that is muy delicioso) so I found the following recipe and am sure glad I did!  I also wanted to make a side of rice and salad to go with this so keep reading!

Southwest steak:

1/4 c lime juice

1/4 c bottled steak sauce

1/4 c salsa (whichever level of spiciness you prefer)

1 tbsp canola oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 lb boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 in thick

1. For marinade, in a small saucepan combine all seasoning ingredients and bring to boiling.  Reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered for 5 mins, stirring occasionally; cool.

2. Place steak in a resealable plastic bag and set in a shallow dish. Pour marinade over steak and place in fridge 8-24 hrs.  (Mine sat for about 19-20 hrs) Turn bag occasionally.

3. When ready place meat on grill and cook to desired doneness, turning once halfway through grilling.

4. Thinly slice, as Rick Bayless says (sorry just saw a recent tweet), ALWAYS against the grain!

Your Red Rice side:

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 sm onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 c long grain white rice

1 tsp achiote powder (this you can find in a Mexican store, I found a Mexican seasoning at a local farmers market which was wonderful!  Just make sure what you end up using isn’t just a plain chile powder or something like that)

1 bay leaf

2 c canned crushed tomatoes (***I used ones with sweet onion in them***)

2.5 c low sodium chicken broth

1. Heat oil in med saucepan over med-high heat and add onions and garlic until soft, about 2 minutes.

2.  Add rice, seasoning powder, and bay leaf and cook until rice is opaque, about 2 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and broth and bring to boiling.  Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until liquid evaporates and is just below level of the rice.  Simmer, covered, on low for about 20-25 mins. Yields 4-6 servings.

Tomato with Avocado Salsa:

1/2 lg avocado, diced

2 tsp fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp salt

1 medium Anaheim or poblano pepper, seeded and ribs removed, finely chopped

2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro

1 lg tomato, cut into 5 slices

1.25 tsp fresh lime juice

In a medium bowl, stir together the avocado, 2 tsp lime juice, salt, pepper and cilantro.  Be sure the avocado is coated with the lime juice to prevent discoloration.

For each serving, place avocado mixture over tomato slice(s).  Sprinkle with additional lime juice.

Oh yeah. . .don’t forget your warmed up tortilla (I used whole wheat) and additional leafy greens!  The meat came out so incredibly tender – it was perfect.  The avocado/tomato had just the right amount of tang and the rice had really good flavor (I believe the crushed tomato with sweet onion did the trick).  All in all – this was a very delicious and satisfying meal for that Mexican craving.

Nutritional Information:

Southwest Steak:

Calories: 200

Total Fat: 9 g

Cholesterol: 69 mg

Protein: 25 mg

Carbohydrate: 5 g

Fiber: 1 g

Sodium: 385 mg

Tomato with Avocado Salsa:

Calories: 49

Total Fat: 3. 5 g

Cholesterol: 0

Sodium: 67 mg

Carbohydrate: 5 g

Fiber: 2 g

Protein: 1 g

Sorry, I do not have the information for the red rice side as this was not made available.

This dish started off as a quest to do horseradish encrusted filet but grew into something a wee bit different – I give you Horseradish-Garlic topped Filet with and Braised Mushrooms. It sounds ostentatious but it isn’t.

Really.

List-o-ingredients (Steak/Steak Topping)

2 Filets – 6 to 8 oz

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced horseradish (fresh or bottled – more on that at the end of the post)

1 cup of breadcrumbs

A few Parsley Leafs, chopped

1/2 stick of butter, soft

1/4 cup parmesan-reggiano

Salt and Pepper to taste

You’ll:

1) Mix all of your topping ingredients together. Your butter should be soft but not melted which will result in a clumping consistency of all ingredients.

2) Cook your filet to the desired temperature

3) Remove filet from heat, place enough horseradish-garlic topping to cover surface area of the filet

4) Broil on a high flame until the topping begins to bubble/turn brown

Braised Mushrooms

1) Package of Cremini mushrooms, whole

2) 1 tbsp of butter

3) 1/4 cup red wine (I used Merlot as it tends to go well with grilled meat)

The ‘braising’ is rather simple, just toss your mushrooms in a frying pan with the butter and quickly brown, then add the red wine. Stir and cook until the wine begins to thicken. Remember to do this over a medium to medium/low heat to keep the mushrooms firm. No one likes over cooked mushrooms!

OH SO VERY GOOD.

My concern was the fresh horseradish as going to overwhelm the dish, however, I found that adding an equal part of garlic balanced it out, allowing for the taste to come through without making the entire experience a wasabi-esque nightmare.

This topping could also become the base for so many other variations – crab, blue cheese first come to mind… this topping is easily a steak house favorite and I cannot wait to make it again.

Now, I noted that one could used fresh or horseradish. I decide to use fresh as I had the ability to control the overall flavor. A pre-bottled option would have added other flavors I may not have been shooting for (too salty, too strong for example). However, in chopping up my own horseradish I came to the conclusion that mother nature has a sense of humor.

Yep. Just look at this…

As always, enjoy!

I think I hit the jackpot tonight.  I’d like to say at heart I am a meat and potatoes girl (although I love branching out) and this is the reason why. . .

For the steak:

4-5 oz boneless beef top sirloin steaks, cut 3/4 in thick

1 tsp herbes de Provence

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp olive oil

6 oz portobello mushroom caps, stems removed and thinly sliced (about 2.5 c)

1/3 c finely chopped shallot or onion

2 clove garlic, minced

1/4 c port or dry red wine or beef broth

1/2 c beef broth

1.5 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp herbes de Provence, cracked pepper, and salt evenly on steaks and rub in.  You can use the grill or broiler to cook seasoned steaks.   (I did the broiler for about 14 mins since I like mine med-well).

2. Heat oil over med heat in a skillet and then add mushrooms, shallot/onion, and garlic and cook until tender. Remove skillet from heat and add port/broth and remaining 1/2 tsp of herbes de Provence.  Return to heat and cook uncovered until liquid has evaporated.

3. In a small bowl stir together beef broth and cornstarch and add to skillet.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubby.  Stir for 2 mins more and then add balsamic vinegar.  Serve over steaks.  Makes 4 servings.

For potatoes:

1 lb red, Yukon gold, or round white potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

1 tsp bottled minced roasted garlic

1/4 c light dairy sour cream

2-4 tbsp fat free milk

1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1. In a covered large saucepan cook potatoes in enough boiling water to cover for 25 mins or until tender.  Drain and return to saucepan.

2. Add garlic to potatoes and mash.  Add sour cream, milk, thyme, salt, pepper and combine well (you can use a mixer if you want).  Makes 4 servings.

 Nutritional Information:

Steak:

Calories: 270

Total Fat: 8 g

Cholesterol: 60 mg

Protein: 33 g

Carbohydrate: 10 g

Fiber: 1 g

Sodium: 343 mg

Potatoes:

Calories: 106

Total Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 5 mg

Protein: 4 g

Carbohydrate: 19 g

Fiber: 2 g

Sodium: 162 mg

Sure, there are a number of ways one could make Alfredo Sauce – with cream cheese, with butter, with milk – but I wanted something very basic. Not full Alfredo but something with the essence of Alfredo that could be used as an addition to a dish, not the full focus. Enter an outstanding, but quick, steak meal.

Here’s what you’ll need to this dish:

• Olive Oil (used for sautéing)
• Garlic Clove
• Handful of Chopped Mushrooms
• Parsley
• Handful of Sliced Almonds
• 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 Cut freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 10 oz, well marbleized Rib Eye steak 

Take a dash of Olive Oil and a chopped garlic clove, saute until brown. Once browned add the steak and continue to saute for roughly 5 minutes per side.

While your steak is cooking, pull out medium sauce pan an simmer your heavy whipping cream. Slowly mix in the grated Parmesan cheese – about a quarter cup at a time – ensuring the cheese does not burn or stick to the pan. Continue to mix in cheese and simmer over a low heat.

After sautéing your steak for roughly 5 minutes per side add the chopped mushrooms and continue to saute for roughly another one to two minutes per side. Add additional Olive Oil for browning if needed.

Plate your steak and lightly cover your steak with the Alfredo Sauce and let sit for a few minutes -do not yet remove the mushrooms from your pan. Add the Slice Almonds to your mushrooms and brown. When finished, drape the steak with your mushrooms and almonds. Finally, sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley.

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I made this but the dish turned out to be on the of best things I’ve made in AGES. Like blown away, I should be eating this in some restaurant that only serves dinner two hours a day and charges full paychecks for a meal, blown away.

The sauce is a perfect blend. The steak was tender and juicy. The mushrooms and almonds added a texture and taste to the rich cream sauce that balanced out the dish.

 

 FANTASTIC.