Cuban Inspired Flank Steak

Ummm yum.  Cuban food is Lauren's favorite, and this dish was a treat!  We made some variations on the following recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/miami-cuban-style-steak-with-mojo

INGREDIENTS

• 1. 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  2. 1/3 cup water
  3. 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
  4. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  5. 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  6. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  7. 1/2 cup olive oil
  8. 8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced crosswise
  9. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  10. 6 thin sirloin steaks (8 ounces each)
  11. 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  12. Vegetable oil, for the grill
  13. 2 sweet onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the lime juice, water, orange juice, salt, oregano and pepper in a bowl.
2. Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and cumin and cook until the garlic is fragrant and golden, about 2 minutes. Very carefully add the juice mixture and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let the mojo cool to room temperature.
3. Arrange the steaks in a large glass baking dish. Add the cilantro to the mojoand pour half of it over the steaks; turn several times to coat evenly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. Reserve the remaining mojo.
4. Light a grill. Lightly brush the grate with oil. Remove the steaks from the marinade and pat dry. Brush the onion slices with some of the reserved mojo.Grill the onion slices over the cooler part of the grill, until lightly charred and tender, about 4 minutes per side. Grill the steaks over high heat until medium rare, 2 minutes per side. Transfer the steaks and onions to a platter; spoon the remaining mojo on top and serve.

Instead of grilling the steak, we opted for the oven (arranging the extra onions on the sides and the steak in the middle) and checked the steak periodically.

Needless to say, the apartment smelled AMAZING, and it tasted just as good.  We also had a side salad with a simple Cuban dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (or lime)

4 cloves garlic, mashed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

By the way, the steak was just as awesome as leftovers for a steak and eggs breakfast!

Spicy Fish Tacos!

4/20/2011 dinner ...
On a scale of 5 yum-inspired chair boogies, Lauren gives this meal 5 out of 5 boogies!  This is chair-dancing good.

Jonathan whipped up this fantastic dish ... I mean, the recipe and the pictures speak for themselves.

Fish:

1 pound firm fish such as cod, halibut or tilapia

2 cups Oil for frying

Batter:

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

2 cups flour (1 and 1/2 cups for batter, 1/2 cup to coat fish)

1 bottle beer

Radish Cilantro Slaw: (Lauren's favorite part!)

½ pound cabbage, finely sliced about 2 cups shredded

1 ½ cups radishes sliced and cut into matchsticks

1 ½ cups chopped cilantro

1 green onion, chopped

1 jalapeño, sliced or chopped, seeded if you like

1 lime juiced about 2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon local honey

Lime wedges

Hot sauce (optional)

Corn tortillas or your favorite tortilla 

Chipotle Crema

1 Cup sour cream

3 Tablespoons finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – very important to get them really fine.

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Teaspoon smoked paprika

Pictured above is step-by-step taco-making!

And below is the finished product! 

Jonathan's masterpiece

Lauren's masterpiece

Both equally delicious!  Paired with a choice of Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale or Funky Llama Malbec.

<3's Lauren and Jonathan

Cabbage Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Sautéed Red Peppers, Bacon, and Ranch

4/19/2011 dinner ...
Time to clean out some of the produce in the fridge, so Jonathan and I have been whipping up some DELICIOUS "what can we make with what we have" concoctions.








To make two plates:
1 head cabbage, sliced and served to preference (we shared about 1/4-1/2 head)
1 ball fresh mozzarella "cubed"
1/2 package of bacon, fried and diced
1 half red pepper, sliced and halved, sautéed in bacon grease
Kraft cucumber ranch dressing to taste

Jonathan added blue cheese to his as well, but either way it was a great little dinner. We paired it with the beer in the fridge: Stone Smoked Porter.

(If we had more peppers, cheese, and bacon, I would have had seconds!)

<3's - Lauren - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:E Girard Ave,Philadelphia,United States