Flank Steak with Red Wine Sauce

More times than not, my husband requests that I make a dinner of "meat and potatoes."  And, more often than not, I feel rather blasé about the whole thing.  After all, I have a whole kitchen's worth of interesting gadgets and shelves full of cookbooks - why should I settle for eating the standard fare?!  Easily explained: there is one variation of the old standard that is worth settling for. 

Last year, after having bought my first cookbook by Italy's favorite young food maven, Giada De Laurentiis, I ventured into the new practice of making sauces.  Not the typical Chef Boyardee kind.  Rather, sauces that had wine in them.  And special kinds of vinegar.  And exciting herbs I had never before tasted.  They were wonderful new concoctions, similar to experiments in chemistry and potion-making.  I felt so envigorated and inspired.  Her book was a wonderful expansion to my newly-opened culinary world.

With that said, one of the favorite recipes that we discovered from Giada's book was, incidentally, a "meat and potatoes" kind of meal.  Not just any meat, though - flank steak.  Added with an onion-infused red wine sauce on top.  Then a side of rosemary-seasoned polenta.  And, wow!  I must say, not many meals have made me as speechless!

I have served this to my parents.  My husband.  My three year old.  And everyone - EVERYONE - asks for seconds.  It is simply that good!  So, now we (in our family) know that there is more to Italian food than canned Spaghetti O's.  And there is more to "meat and potatoes" than just a hunk of beef and a starchy side for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/8 cup tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cups red wine
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. flank steak or tri-tip steak

Instructions:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.
2. Add the garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Whisk in the wine. Simmer until the sauce reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer and return the sauce to the saucepan and bring back to a slow simmer.
5. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into small 1/2-inch chunks and whisk in the sauce a little at a time. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steak with salt and pepper and drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the steak to desired doneness, about 8 minutes per side for medium-rare (the steak shrinks as it cooks).
7. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the steak rest in the skillet for 10 minutes.
8. Transfer the steaks to a cutting board.  Thinly slice the steaks across the grain. Divide the steak slices among 6 plates. Drizzle the sauce over the steak, drizzle a little more extra-virgin olive oil and serve.

(This original recipe came from "Everyday Italian" by Giada De Laurentiis)

Carne Asada Tacos with a side of Gallo Pinto

So, I should have been more daring.  I should have attempted to make Baho, a Nicaraguan dish of beef, plantains and yuca steamed in banana leaves.  But I chickened out.  I didn't have a pot big enough nor the gumption needed to tackle a recipe with such "exotic" produce.  A coward some weeks, I have moments in which I prefer to stick to the comfortable and familiar - this was one of those weeks.  But, mea culpas aside, I figured that carne asada, an equally Nicaraguan (albeit more generally Latin) dish was acceptable.  With flank steak in hand and spices ready to be used, I went forward with carne asada tacos in mind.

Living in Texas, I have probably had thousands of tacos in my life.  They are a dietary staple - an easy go-to food for nights in which cooking something new seems out of the question.  Warm tortillas, sliced and diced veggies and a hot grill are all that is needed to compliment the meat.  And with these items, we found ourselves rewarded nicely with a good, home-cooked warm Nicaraguan meal.

Carne Asada - Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. of Flank or Skirt Steak
• 2-3 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 Cup Onion, sliced thin
• The juice of 1-2 Oranges
• 2-3 pinches of salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. In a large stainless steel or glass bowl, mix the meat with the oil, onions, orange juice and salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate 1 hour or overnight.
2. Start a good fire in your grill, preferably with mesquite charcoal. Remove the meat from its marinade and grill over hot flame until the first side is well browned, from 5–7 minutes.
3. Turn the meat over and grill on the other side till cooked to desired doneness. Remove from grill.
4. Slice meat into thin strips across the grain and serve as a topping for tostadas or as a filling for tacos or burritos.

Of course, in my attempt at efficiency and making the evening full of all things Nicaragua, I opted to add a side dish.  Accompanying the carne asada was the national dish of Nicaragua, Gallo Pinto.  A concoction of red beans and rice, it is said to be the staple food for most people in the country.  Doubtful the same will be true in our house, it was not much more than the lackluster side-kick to the main course.  That was probably my fault.  Probably not enough seasoning.  Probably not enough attention to it while cooking.  Whatever the case may be, though it was interesting to see what others rely on for comfort food, I think we will stick to our tacos solamente next time.

Gallo Pinto - Ingredients:

• Oil -- 2-3 tablespoons
• Onion, finely chopped -- 1
• Bell pepper, finely chopped -- 1
• Garlic, minced -- 2-3 cloves
• Cooked red (kidney) beans, drained, liquid reserved -- 2 cups
• Salt and pepper -- to taste
• Hot cooked rice -- 2 cups

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high flame. Add the onions, bell pepper and garlic and sauté for about 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through.
2. Stir in the drained beans, some of their reserved liquid, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until heated through.
3. Add the rice and stir into the beans and heat through. Adjust seasoning and add a little more bean liquid if necessary. Serve hot.

(The original recipe for carne asada came from this site: http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Carne_Asada)
(The original recipe for gallo pinto came from this site: http://www.whats4eats.com/grains/gallo-pinto-recipe)