Friday Dinner: Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Tomato Feta Salad, Mexican Corn and Grilled Focaccia

Friday dinner with Lynn, my cooking partner in (delicious) crime. I love cooking slow - layering ingredients where the application of heat creates new flavors, but sometimes... hot, fast and easy is good, too. One of the best parts of this dinner was piling a little of the tomato salad and feta on the grilled bread (that had been rubbed with a cut clove of garlic and brushed with a little olive oil), then drizzling it with a dollup of  chimichurri sauce. That combination could be a meal unto itself.

Good corn needs nothing more than butter (and I can even forego that), a little salt and pepper but I'd never had Mexican "street corn" and wanted to try it. "Elote" is the word for corn on the cob and in most areas (some serve it cut off the cob) it is seasoned with crema (sour cream or mayonnaise may be substituted), lime, queso anejo (aged cheese, usually Cotija or Chihuahua) and chile powder.

Finally, a variety of halved sweet cherry and grape tomatoes, red onion and parsley left to macerate in the refrigerator for an hour then dressed with just a little olive oil and garnished with crumbled barrel-aged feta cheese.

Simple - grill the flank steak. One of the cardinal rules of cooking a piece of meat on the grill is to salt it and another is, don't screw it up.

Flank steak is both easy and hard. One end is generally flat, often about 3/4 " thick and the other is thicker - up to 1 1/2 - 2", sloping down to an inch or so Not the perfect cut for a crowd that all likes rare or medium rare, but good for a mix of the two. It's easy to overcook and this is a situation where an instant read thermometer can be your BFF.

The best way I know to grill a flank steak is to sear it fast on each side over hot coals (2-3 minutes a side and make sure the flank steak has been out of the refrigerator so it's not cold) and then let it cook on the cool side of the grill for 3-4 minutes.

Left: Areas, in descending order of thickness. Right: Where the cow keeps the flank steak (Wikipedia)

Yeah, I got a little overzealous grilling these and about half of them were pretty aggressively 'browned' (and that's being kind). Thank you Lynn, for scraping and making them edible.

RECIPES:

  Grilled Flank Steak
  Chimichurri Sauce
  Mexican Street Corn
  Tomato and Red Onion Salad with Feta
  Grilled Focaccia 

GRILLED FLANK STEAK

Serves 5-6

Other than the salt, the dry rub is there to flavor the crust and not overpower the flavor of the meat. My preference is to apply it to the meat no more than 2 hours before grilling. The rub recipe makes about a cup - extra may be stored in an airtight container in the cupboard for a couple of months.

• 2 1/2 lb flank steak
• If there is silver skin (white, opaque connective tissue) on the flank steak (see image, above), trim that off.

 Dry Rub

• 1/3 cup paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or marjoram
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preparation

• Pat the meat dry and apply 2-3 tablespoons of dry rub generously to each side of the meat. Cover the flank steak and store it covered in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. At least 20 minutes before you are going to grill the meat, remove it from the refrigerator and pat the meat dry.
• Prepare your grill for high heat with the coals on one side. Holding one hand about 5 inches above the coals, or the heating element, you should feel a strong desire to move your hand after no more than 2 seconds. Clean the grate with a wire brush and thoroughly oil it with a high smoke point oil (peanut or canola).
• Grill for 3 minutes on each side and then move the meat to the side of the grill with no coals (or heat) and cook it for just a few minutes until it is done to your preference. An instant-read meat thermometer is your best meat-grilling friend.
•  Remove the flank stead from the grill and tent with foil for a few minutes. When you are ready to serve, slice it very thinly across the grain.

CHIMICHURRI SAUCE

Makes 8-10 ounces of sauce.

Chimichurri sauce is commonly used as a marinade or sauce on grilled beef. I kept the ratio of parsley to cilantro heavy on the parsley for one diner who isn't fond of it, but you can certainly up that to 1-to-1.

Ingredients:

• 6 cloves garlic
  
• 1 3/4 packed cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/4 packed cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1⁄4 packed cup fresh oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon  lime juice
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• salt and fresh ground black pepper
• red pepper flakes

Preparation:

• In a food processor, pulse the garlic, add parsley, cilantro and oregano. Pulse until finely minced, but not pureed.
• In a separate bowl, emulsify vinegar, pinch salt and pepper and lime juice, cumin and olive oil.
• Mix with herb/garlic mixture. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. May be made 1 day in advance.

MEXICAN CORN (ELOTE ASADA)

from: SFGATE Serves 6
Ingredients:

• 6 ears of corn, shucked
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 small clove of garlic, pressed
• Juice of one lime
• 1 heaping cup of grated cueso anejo (Cotija, Chihuahua, parmesan or romano work, too)
• chile powder - mild, medium or hot, it's up to you

Preparation:

• Combine the mayonnaise, garlic and lime in a small bowl; refrigerate until needed.
• Preheat your grill for high heat and cook the corn cobs, turning so that each side has some color
• Spread the grated cheese out on a place. Remove the corn from the grill. Brush the corn with the seasoned mayonnaise, and roll in the cheese. Sprinkle on a dash of chile powder.
• Remove the corn from the grill
  

TOMATO SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE

Serves 5-6 as a side
Ingredients:

• 2 pint containers of mixed cherry and grape tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion, sliced very thin and rinsed under cold water
• 1/2 cup of barrel aged feta, or regular feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil (maybe a little less)
• 2 tablesppons of minced parsley
• salt and fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

• De-stem and cut the cherry and/or grape tomatoes in half lengthwise and add to a bowl. Add the thin-sliced and rinsed red onions and combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Thirty minutes before you are ready to serve, remove the tomato and onion mixture from the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve, add the parsley and drizzle in the olive, one tablespoon at a time (tasting after each addition and toss to combine. It's okay if you use less than the proscribed amount of olive oil.
• Serve, and top each serving with a tablespoon or so of the crumbled feta cheese

GRILLED FOCACCIA BREAD

Serves 5-6 as a side
Ingredients:

• 1 slab of focaccia bread cut into 1 1/2 inch high by 4 inches long slices
• sea salt
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled
• olive oil

Preparation:

• Grill each slice of focaccia bread on your barbeque grill. If you are grilling on the hot side, do NOT turn away for a second. Watch those slices like a hawk. You want the slices to have grill marks on both sides, but still be tender in the middle.
• Remove the toasted slices to a tray and rub one side with a clove of garlic. Brush that side lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with a tiny bit of sea salt and serve.

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Baked Corn Pudding - Version 2: Updated and Improved

 My original post can be found here: Baked Corn Pudding: Simple and Delicious. It was my second post but it was stuck there in February when fresh corn isn't an in-season commodity for most of us. I made it on Saturday, but changed it slightly, including my approach to the seasoning. Is it worth getting excited over changes to a recipe that has just ONE main ingredient? Oh, hell yes!

Here are the changes:

1. For every three (or four) ears that you grate, cut the kernels off of the fourth (but save it to grate any extra corn-liquid).This dish is delicious when all of the ears are grated but even better with some whole kernels.


2. Season conservatively and taste. By that I mean start with a small pinch of salt, combine thoroughly with the corn and taste. If that's not enough, add another, combine and taste. Go very easy on the salt. For this batch, I used two small pinches of kosher salt (for a net product of approximately 2 cups of unbaked corn - it was perfect. The same goes for the pepper.


3. The butter that you use to top it should be unsalted, chilled and cut into tiny cubes - this helps cut down on the amount of butter in the dish. I used 1 teaspoon for each of the ramekins pictured, below. Using less butter has no negative impact on this dish.

Another thing that's very important is that you need a minimum depth of two- and up to three (-ish)  inches of unbaked product in whatever container you use to cook the corn. You need to bake it long enough to get at least a little brown, but not so long that it dries out. It's  more important that the corn pudding is moist than completely browned on top. I started checking these after 25 minutes and ultimately baked them for 35 minutes. There should be some liquid bubbling around the outside and the middle should be moist, but not runny.

The ramekins pictured below are 1 cup (8 fl. oz), with a depth of 2" at the inside rim.

On the left, about 1 teaspoon small dice of chilled butter scattered over the surface. You could use more butter I guess, but I think too much butter detracts from the corn flavor. I placed the ramekins on a baking sheet. If you are making a larger quantity and use a single oven-proof container, there's no need for the baking sheet.

Recipe: Corn Pudding (v2)
Serves 4 as a side - multiply at will to serve more.


Ingredients:

• 4 large ears of corn (7-9 inches long), husks and silk removed. Trim off 1/4-1/2 inch at the tip and remove about the same at the stalk end.


• 2 teaspoons well-chilled, unsalted butter + a little to grease the baking dish


• kosher salt (if using table salt and/or salted butter, use a smaller pinch when seasoning)


• fresh ground pepper

•  Oven-proof baking dish. The dish should be sized so that there is a depth of at least 2" of corn and up to 3" (ish). If using ramekins, place them on a baking sheet before putting them in the oven.


• Box grater (or corn creamer) and a large container over which you'll grate the ears. I generally do it over a flexible cutting mat and slide the grated corn (after grating each half ear) into a mixing bowl. 


• Sharp knife for removing the kernels from one ear and cutting the ears in half, lengthwise

Instructions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 400 F, rack in the middle.


• Lightly grease the inside of the baking dish with butter


• Cut 3 of the prepared ears of corn (see above) in half, lengthwise. Slice the kernels off of the fourth ear into a bowl. When the kernels are removed, grate any remaining bits of corn and liquid into the bowl.


• Grate the remaining corn into the bowl.


• Season the mixture with 1 small pinch of salt. Combine well and taste. Continue to season (conservatively) and taste until you are satisfied. A little goes a long way, here.


• Season the mixture with a few grinds of black pepper and taste. Continue to season (conservatively) and taste until you are satisfied.


• Pour the mixture into the prepare baking dish. If you are using ramekins, make sure that the mixture is combined well as the liquids separate very quickly from the corn solids.


• Remove the chilled butter from the freezer and cut off a 2-teaspoon slice. This isn't brain surgery so a little more won't hurt. Cut it into a small dice and distribute evenly over the top of the corn mixture.


• Dust the top with a little bit more fresh-ground pepper and place the baking dish in the oven. If you are using ramekins, place them on a baking sheet first.


• Check the corn after 25 minutes and thereafter every 5 minutes. There should be some liquid bubbling around the edges and the center should be moist but not runny.


• Let it rest for few minutes, then serve.

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Dinner - July 2: BBQ Pork, Chicken Skewers, Grilled Potatoes, Zucchini-Tomato Slaw and Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I always visit my family in Washington state at this time of year.  My youngest sister and her son's birthday are all clustered around the beginning of July and festivities abound - this year it seemed on steroids. Oh - don't forget Canada's Birthday on July 1st.

On Saturday, while a couple of sisters and their friends were out getting pedicures, I made dinner for them and (most of) the rest of our family. Even though I visit several times a year, I miss the normal day-to-day stuff and contributing to get-togethers and meals shared. I love cooking for them.

A bonus to visiting when the weather's nice (and it was spectacularly sunny and warm this trip) are frequent, seemingly close enough-to-touch sightings of Mt. Rainier, the surrounding Cascades range and if you're lucky the Olympic range on the peninsula to the west. This shot, taken with my phone as I was about to go into a store, does not do justice to Mt. Rainier. If you live (or have lived) within sight of it, you don't often refer to it by name but just "the mountain".

This day I made: barbecued pork, grilled chicken satay, barbecued potatoes, corn and zucchini-tomato slaw with a Tennessee mustard dressing (yeah, I'm still digging the julienned zucchinis). Strawberry-rhubarb crisp for dessert (my sister S. assembled the crisp - thank you!!). And Cosmos - the official Walker sister's cocktail.

Photo: Cathy Walker Hall

Recipes after the link include:

• Cosmos - Walker Style
• Barbecued Pork Shoulder
• Grilled Chicken Skewers
• Grilled Roasted New Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic
• Grilled Corn on the Cob
• Zucchini-Tomato Slaw with a Tennessee-Style Mustard Dressing
• >Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Cosmos - Walker Style
I think my sister S first made this (I'm sure I'll be corrected if not). I'm not a mixed-drink kind of gal - my default drink is bourbon on the rocks but I'm partial to this cocktail and can be seen drinking the occasional margarita (rocks) on occasion.
Serves 2

• 4 ounces vodka
• 2 oz triple sec (I'm partial to Cointreau)
• 4 ounces no sugar added cranberry juice
• Juice of 1 lime

Shake with ice and strain into a glass. Drink. Repeat.

Barbecued Pork Shoulder
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:

• 4-5 lbs pork shoulder (trimmed of the exterior fat and any really big interior blobs), cut in 2" x 4" pieces, about 2" thick.
• Rub of choice - I grabbed something from my sister's cupboard (time was of the essence if I wanted the pork to marinate) - but you can use the ingredients and instructions found here if you have more time.
• 2 medium onions cut in 1/3" slices
• 3 limes, juiced and then cut into slices
• 2 oranges, juiced and then cut into slices

Instructions:
Lay the pieces of pork on a cutting board and season liberally with the rub, patting it in on all sides.
Place the seasoned pork in a large enough dish to hold it in one layer. top with the lime and orange juice and strew the sliced onions and juiced citrus on top and between the pieces. Marinate, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for at least two hours, and up to 8.

If you are cooking this on a gas grill, set it on high and when the temperature reads 500+ let it sit at that temperature for a few minutes, then open it clean the grill with a grill brush.

Lower the temperature to 275 F. I'd have gone lower (225-250 F) but I was concerned about time. When the grill is at temp, remove the pork from the marinade and pat the pieces dry with paper towels. Oil the grates with canola oil and lay each of the pieces on the grill, with a little space in between and close the cover. Turn the pieces every 15 minutes or so basting with the leftover marinade and check for doneness after two hours. I took mine off a little before they were done and set them in a large glass oven-proof baking dish, with about 1/2 cup of water in the bottom and tightly covered it with foil. That pan went into a 250 F oven to finish cooking. The pork shouldn't be fall-apart tender but you should be able to easily pull the meat apart with a fork. You can baste it with sauce if you want, but wait until the last 20-ish minutes of cooking.

Grilled Chicken Skewers

I'd call this "satay-style" but there was no dipping sauce. Peanut dipping sauce is common but one of my sisters has a peanut allergy. Same for peanut oil (in the marinade). 'Nuff said. Chicken strips marinaded in a "vaguely Asian-ish" mixture and then skewered and grilled" is not a title that falls trippingly off the tongue - or the keyboard - but it tasted very good.
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons canola oil (peanut if allergies are not an issue)
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• zest of 1 lemon (reserve lemon for juice)
• zest of 1 lime (reserve lime for juice)
• juice of 1 lime and 1 lemon
• 1 3" piece of ginger, minced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Trim off the tender, if it's there. Slice the breasts in 1" wide strips, lengthwise.
• Skewers. If they are bamboo, soak them in water for a couple of hours or more so that they don't burn on the grill.

Instructions:

Add the chicken to the bowl or bag and toss to cover the chicken. Cover the bowl tightly or if you're using a bag, remove all the air possible and seal it. Store this is in the refrigerator for four hours. The bag is convenient because you can reach into the refrigerator every once in a while and give it a shake. If you're using a bowl - stir it every 30 minutes or so to evenly marinate all of the chicken pieces.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you're ready to grill. Drain and reserve the marinade and wipe off the chicken pieces - you want them to sizzle, not steam, when they hit the grill. Pour the marinade in a sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium and reduce it so that you can glaze the meat on the grill.

Thread the meat on the skewers, trimming if the pieces are longer than your skewers - you can thread the extra bits on skewers like a kabob. Lay the skewers on a hot grill. Mop the top side with the reduced marinade and let them cook for about 3 minutes. Turn and baste the other side cooking for another 3 minutes. Check for doneness and turn again and cook for another couple of minutes. Drizzle any remaining glaze and serve.


Grilled Roasted New Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic
Toss small new potatoes with olive oil, chopped rosemary, minced garlic and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Empty the bowl onto a single piece of heavy-duty foil large enough to hold the potatoes in more or less a single layer. Lay a second piece of foil over top and tightly crimp the edges to seal.

Lay this packet on a hot grill. Grill 15 minute on one side, then flip (this is why you want a tight seal) and grill 10-15 minutes on the other side. Check the potatoes. A fork should slide in and out easily and there should be spots of color on some of the potatoes.

Grilled Corn on the Cob
Place shucked corn cobs on a hot grill and turn every couple of minutes for a total of about 8 minutes.

Zucchini-Tomato Slaw with a Tennessee-Style Mustard Dressing
Dressing adapted from this recipe on Saveur
Serves 8-10 as a side

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. celery seeds
• 3 large zucchini, cut in 3" julienne strips - do not include the seed core (I used 1 yellow, 1 green and 1 variegated green zucchini)
• 3 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups loosely packed Italian parsley leaves

Instructions
Whisk together all ingredients through the celery seeds and toss with the zucchini and tomatoes. Let this sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or an hour if possible.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
This is Anne Burrell's recipe. We used some beautiful ruby-colored rhubarb and exquisitely ripe and sweet strawberries purchased that morning at the Puyallup Farmer's Market.
Serves 6

Ingredients
Filling:

• 1 quart strawberries, stemmed and quartered
• 4 stalks rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Topping:

• 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/4 sticks butter, cut into pea-sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350F

Instructions:
Filling:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to be sure everything is well combined. Spoon the filling into 8 individual ramekins or 1 wide shallow baking dish.

Topping:

• In a food processor combine the flour, oats and brown sugar and pulse to combine. Add the butter, vanilla and salt and pulse pulse pulse until the mixture looks dry and crumbly. Add 1 tablespoon of water and pulse until the mixture starts to come together and look crumbly. If the mixture still seems dry add 1 more tablespoon of water and pulse to combine.

 Crumble the topping over the filling. Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is hot and bubbly all the way through and the topping looks crispy and light brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

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Baked Corn Pudding: Simple and Delicious

This recipe has been updated, see: Baked Corn Pudding - Version2: Updated and Improved

No cream, no aromatics, no bacon, no cheese (gasp!).  Corn, butter, salt. and pepper.  Eat it and be happy.

Ingredients

• 6 ears fresh corn


• 2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp iodized salt)


• 4 tbsp unsalted butter + more for greasing the baking dish


• 1/4 tsp kosher salt  (a small pinch iodized salt) for the top


• Pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Box grater or corn creamer


• A big, wide bowl in which to grate the corn


• 8" square baking dish, greased with butter (compare the a volume of corn to the volume of your baking dish before greasing it - use a smaller or larger size baking dish as necessary)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 F (204 C)


• Using the box grater, remove the meat and juices from each of the ears working very close to the cob - you want this to be very mushy and milky.  For me, cutting the ears in half makes them easier to handle.  Once you have finished the corn, season with salt and pepper, tasting the mixture.


• Pour the corn mixture into the baking pan.  Smooth out the top and dot with butter.  Sprinkle the top with the additional salt.


• Bake on the middle rack at 400 F uncovered for 45-50 minutes (start checking it at 40 minutes), or until the top is golden brown around the sides and the corn is bubbling.  Remove from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

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