Grandma's Kitchen Table

Cook the Book Fridays: Everyday Dorie - Marinated and Pan-Seared Flank Steak

       The 13th recipe I made for the Cook the Book Fridays group using the Everyday Dorie cookbook by Dorie Greenspan is Marinated and Pan-Seared Flank Steak, it can be found on page 142.

       Ingredients:  Flank steak, Thai red curry paste, fresh ginger minced, garlic cloves, sugar, soy sauce, olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro (I used parsley), salt, and pepper.   

       Not sure what I was expecting exactly, but I know I wasn’t expecting that I would like this recipe this much.  We eat flank steak quite often during the grilling seasons. It’s easy, quick, and delicious. Dorie gives directions for pan-searing but also gives the option for grilling. My husband happens to be amazing at grilling so we went with that thinking we would visit this recipe again in the non-grilling season and try the pan-seared version.

       The marinade/sauce comes together fairly quickly, you just measure the ingredients into a measuring cup, divide it up into equal portions, marinade the steak with one half and use the other half for the sauce. I let the steak marinate on the counter for 90 minutes and that seemed a perfect amount of time for the taste.  

       Looking at the ingredients, I thought it all would have a predominately Asian taste, but it really wasn't overpoweringly Asian, just a nice tangy sauce to compliment the steak. My favorite part of the sauce was the lime, it added such a nice boost to all the other flavors.  Definitely a repeat.

       To see what others in the group made this week, click here, for the Cook the Book Fridays link. We don't publish recipes from the book here in deference to the author, but sometimes the author has been generous and  you can find them online.

 

 

Thirty Minute Thursdays - Spaghetti al Pomodoro Crudo

 
      This week for the forty-eighth recipe I've made for Thirty Minute Thursdays, cooking through Giuliano Hazan's Thirty Minute Pasta book, I made Spaghetti al Pomodoro Crudo (Spaghetti with a Raw Tomato Sauce) on page 61.    

      The ingredients:  fresh tomatoes, garlic, parsley sprigs, basil leaves, salt, spaghetti, and olive oil.

      I wanted to make this recipe as I haven’t made a raw tomato sauce for pasta before and it always sounds so good when I read about raw tomato sauce pasta. This recipe uses just a few ingredients (economical certainly, especially as I grow my own herbs). We are still in fresh tomato season here, I had both red and yellow tomatoes from my friendly farmer to use, which made for a pretty presentation. It was light and filling, wonderfully flavorful with those fresh tomatoes. I peeled and seeded the tomatoes which took away any bitterness that results from eating both skin and seeds. The seasoning is simple but it works perfectly. We served it at room temperature with grilled steak and farm fresh green beans, making it a lovely dinner at the tail end of grilling season. Definitely repeat worthy. 

     The recipes of Giuliano Hazan featured on this blog are available in his book Thirty Minute Pasta. The book is well worth the modest purchase price, and out of respect for Chef Hazan's work, the recipes are not published here. 

      

Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking With Dorie - Caramel-Apple Crisp

 

      The twelfth recipe I made with the Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Dorie group is Caramel-Apple Crisp and can be found in the Baking with Dorie book on page 250. 

       Ingredients:  flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, salt, butter, vanilla, oats, corn syrup, cream, and apples.  

       Any kind of crisp is always welcome around here, but apple crisp is probably the most requested.  This recipe adds the wonderful flavor of caramel into the mix, making it seem like you are eating a caramel apple…one could toss in a few nuts and, there you go, you are eating a caramel apple without the hassle of the stick. Easy recipe, no fancy ingredients, delicious from beginning to end.  Dorie suggested serving it with ice cream but we felt it was very sweet as it was so maybe just a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream and a big sprinkle of cinnamon would do nicely…and it did. Definitely repeat-worthy. 

       If you would like to join in, just make it, bake it, and leave a link to your post at the Tuesdays with Dorie website:  click here.  At the website you will find the postings for the current recipe, the list of recipes chosen each month, and some baking chit chat that is definitely helpful as well as fun.  We don’t publish Dorie's recipes here, but you can buy the book and have them ALL at your fingertips, what a deal!