Flank Steak With Herb Sauce

This was the week for revisiting recipes I've already blogged about. Maybe I just wasn't feeling creative, but I think I just wasn't feeling on my A-Game. Anyway, we had a great week of food, and luckily all the repeats turned out better the second time around. In early March, I blogged about my experiment using top round steak in place of flank steak. The meat was tough and blah and I was disappointed. I went back to my usual flank steak this time, with great results. In that round, I plated the meal poorly as well as drowned it in sauce, cause I was trying to overcome my meat. This was much better. The meat was tender and juicy and the sauce complementary instead of dominating.

Flank Steak is cooked opposite of the way you normally cook steaks on a grill. The goal is to avoid grill marks, as you don't want your flank steak to curl up and cook unevenly.

Flank Steak

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

Yep, that's it. All you need. Rub your flank steak in olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat your grill pan on medium high heat. Add flank steak, then turn every couple of minutes, rotating the meat to avoid grill marks. The whole process takes around 10 minutes. Cook to an internal temp of 135, then move to a cutting board and let the meat rest for a full 15 minutes. Cut against the grain, and serve topped with the herb sauce.

Herb Sauce

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 a bunch flat leaf parsley, stems trimmed, finely chopped

7 sprigs of fresh mint, leaves removed, chopped

3 tbsps. capers

15-20 pitted Nicoise or Kalamata olives, chopped

1 tsp anchovy paste, optional
olive oil

In a small bowl, combine garlic and salt. Mash with a fork to make a paste. Add parsley, mint, capers, anchovy paste, and olives. Cover with olive oil and stir. Let stand at least 30 minutes for flavors to combine. Serve on flank steak.

Egg White Omlets with Ham, Cheese, and Fresh Herbs

So you know you spend too much time in the grocery store when...

Last week I got busted by the Kenneth type grocery sacker doing a little dance to the bad elevator mix in the laundry detergent aisle. Our neighborhood grocery is two stories, so while I was alone in the aisle, "Kenneth" was looking from above on the mezzanine level. When some one called out, "Hey, I like this song too!" I was mildly embarrassed, but chalked it up to the over exuberance any mother feels on a preschool day.

Today we divided and conquered after nap time. I took the baby, my 2.5 year old bundle of joy little boy, who'd been exhibiting Excorsist worthy post-nap behavior. We did well on the quick drive over, and my spirits were lifted when I pulled him out of his carseat. On our way in the grocery, spring-like, atrium inspired music met my ears, and I began to bounce involuntarily with the beat.

TO MY FLIPPING DISMAY, I suddenly realized - holy hell, this is a Paris Hilton song. Yep, same song in exhibit A and B, Paris freaking Hilton. On a mix loop version. Jeez. I wish I could safely use stronger expletives. I am now the least cool person on the block. scratch that in the city. scratch that in the universe. WOW.

Anyway, when grocery planning this morning, my stomach began to crave food. Good food. And I realized, though I am not a morning person, hey! It's noon! The stove can be my friend. So I whipped up some omelets including last weeks ham leftovers. And chives from my aerogarden (though bestowing us many fresh herbs, mine doesn't look quite that balanced). I *might* decide to like breakfast food if it could consistently be made at noon. Heck, we nearly ran out of coffee today and the end result was not pretty, unless you like things thrown at your head.

Egg White Omelet

5 egg whites

olive oil

3 tbsp finely chopped ham

1.5 tbsp chopped sauteed white onion

2 tbsp finely shredded cheddar

1/2 tsp fresh chopped chives

1 pinch Murray River Salt - if you follow the link scroll below, I used to put my thoughts at the end of the recipe

Whisk egg whites with a fork. In a skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Pour egg whites into skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes until bottom looks firm, yet surface still looks like raw egg whites. Add ham, sauteed onion, and cheddar to one half of eggs, cook for another 2 minutes. Use spatula to loosen non-topped egg side from skillet. Balance and watch. When there is too much oil, you can see the egg bubbling and oil around all the edges. When there's NOT enough oil, your egg sticks to the skillet and your spatula has troubles sliding underneath. When it's just right, you see no oil, but the egg is not sticking. Err on the side of too little. When you have to little oil, gently add oil to the edges of egg slowly, then gently squish your spatula underneath to spread the oil. That will gently ease the oil underneath. Gently fold over half onto toppings, wait 30 seconds. Slide the fold side edge to the edge of skillet, use a *fish spatula to scoop omelet onto plate. Top with fresh chives.

*when I went to make the link on this tool, what I have is no longer manufactured. What I'm referencing is a wider than long spatula. I will photograph mine and look for a new site to update purchase options, but I guess mine no longer exists. bummer.