Chocolate Strawberry Naked Cake

Sometimes I am too ambitious for my own good. I've never been much of a baker, excepting the occasional tray of brownies and cookies at Christmastime. There's also the annual cake for Mr Minx's birthday, but that's usually a simple chocolate bundt. This year, I wanted to do something fancier. I was desperate to make a "naked cake," a cake with exposed layers, popularized by Christina Tosi at NY's Milk Bar. I've seen a lot of them on Instagram, and they look so cool. Also, they didn't seem all that difficult to make. Frosting the sides of the cake always seemed like the most fidgety part, and making a cake naked eliminates that whole messy ordeal.

My idea was to use the same super moist recipe that I use for the bundt cake, with the addition of roasted strawberries, and a simple stabilized whipped cream frosting. It would be like a strawberry shortcake, only not short and with the added goodness of chocolate.

I didn't want to attempt to cut round cake layers in half horizontally, pretty sure that would be a disaster. Instead, I made several flat rectangular cakes in a jelly roll pan and cut them into rounds. That ended up looking a bit sloppy. Perhaps my knife wasn't sharp enough, or the cake recipe I used was too moist. In any case, the somewhat jagged layers got stacked between pieces of waxed paper and spent the night in a cake carrier until I was able to assemble it the next day. It would have been too much to try to get it all done on Saturday morning before our annual afternoon birthday crab feast guest arrived.

The roasted strawberry idea I got from a foodie newsletter. The recipe in the newsletter was actually for oven-dried berries, but I liked the idea of cooking strawberries in the oven until they got soft and gave up a lot of liquid. Some of that liquid became a subtle flavoring for the whipped cream frosting that I stabilized with gelatin so it would last longer and not weep all over the cake.

I had used up all the strawberries in the roasting process but wanted to top the cake with something besides whipped cream. Birthday candles were out of the question (as was singing "Happy Birthday"), but I remembered we had a bag of Crunchies freeze-dried strawberries that the company sent me to taste after the Fancy Food Show. I had been nibbling them on their own, but felt they would be the perfect garnish for this cake and a good counterpoint to the squishy roasted berries between the layers. They stood up like sweet stalagmites, adding height as well as color and flavor. They softened a bit as the cake stood, but they never sagged, and I kinda liked the third strawberry texture in the mix.

Crunchies are non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, and halal and contain no added sugar or artificial flavors. They are just freeze-dried fruit, pure and simple. I also love the Crunchies mango snacks and am contemplating making a similar cake, with yellow cake and mango filling, so I can use them as a garnish, too. That is, if we don't just eat it all straight out of the bag. :)

For someone who didn't really know what she was doing, I did a pretty decent job. Though the cake isn't the most beautiful thing in the world, it tasted so so good. ::::patting self on back:::::

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake

For the roasted strawberries:
2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved, quartered if large
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate cake:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons liqueur of your choice (I used Kahlua)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the frosting:
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatine
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Garnish:
Crunchies freeze-dried strawberries

To make the strawberries: Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Toss the strawberries with the sugar, then with the vanilla. (Don't put the vanilla on the sugar to cut corners; it will just make the sugar clump up and make it hard to toss with the strawberries. No, I did not learn that through experience.) Spread in one layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until strawbs are soft and there's lots of yummy juice on the baking sheet. Allow to cool at room temperature before scraping into a covered container and refrigerating until completely cooled.

To make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a layer of parchment in a jelly-roll pan and grease it lightly with butter.

Combine the butter, cocoa, salt, and 1 cup of tap water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook only until butter is melted and mixture is completely combined. Stir in the liqueur.

Place the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Pour in the chocolate butter mixture in 2 or three batches, stirring between each to combine. Beat the eggs with the sour cream and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture. Whisk until fully incorporated.

Here's the tricky part. Depending on the size of your pan, ladle in enough batter to cover the parchment entirely and be no more than 1/2 inch deep. Bake for enough time that the cake springs back when you touch it. I used a 9" x 13" jelly roll pan, which made three cakes with the amount of batter specified, each baking from 13-15 minutes (the first cake took longer and the last cake took less time). An 12" x 17" pan or thereabouts would probably take 18-20 minutes, so start checking at the 16 or 17 minute mark. Just looking at it should tell you if the middle is wet or cooked through. Once your cake or cakes are baked, allow them to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Loosen the edge of the cake with a knife and turn out onto a rack to cool completely. You should peel off the parchment while the cake is still warm.

Once the cakes are cool you can cut them. If you want to make it really easy on yourself, cut each cake in half and make a square layer cake. (Next time, that's what I'm doing!) But if you want a round cake, use a 7" or 8" round template as a guide. Place each cooled cake on a cutting board large enough to hold them, or right on your counter or table if that's easiest. Using the template and a sharp knife, cut your circles. Lift them away with a large spatula and put them on parchment or waxed paper until you're finished cutting. The scraps can be eaten as a cook's treat, or put them in a plastic bag and freeze them for when you're having a cake craving.

To make the frosting: Remove 3-4 tablespoons of the strawberry roasting liquid to a bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the liquid and allow to rest for several minutes until set. If your strawberries didn't give off much liquid for some reason (perhaps because you ate it as you scraped it off the pan), use a few tablespoons of water instead.

Place the cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl, if you're using a hand mixer) and beat for a minute or so. Put the gelatin in the microwave for about 10 seconds to liquify (it might take 15 seconds). Stir well so there are no clumps of gelatin, and with the mixer running on a fairly low speed, v e r y slowly drizzle it into the cream, beating all the time. Once incorporated, turn the mixer speed up and beat until medium peaks form. Don't overbeat, or you'll have butter. Scrape the cream into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, or the tip of your choice.

To assemble the cake: Place a round of cake onto a cardboard cake round or on an aluminum-foil covered springform or tart pan bottom of appropriate size. Eyeball the strawberries. Do the pieces seem too big? Then chop them up a bit. Maybe you should just chop them up a bit anyway. Spread an even layer of strawberry pieces + some of the cooking liquid on the cake. Pipe on a layer of the cream, then top with another cake layer. Add another layer of cream, then another layer of cake. Top this third layer of cake with more strawberries and more cream. (You won't use all the strawberries. Eat them with ice cream or with a spoon.) Add the fourth layer of cake and pipe the frosting decoratively on top. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.

Garnish with freeze dried strawberry pieces before serving.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Jokers n Thieves

It took us a while to get to Jokers n Thieves. A media dinner had been scheduled a while back, but the curfew put the kibosh on that. Instead, we media types went in dribs and drabs on various weeknights; June 17th was our turn.

Formerly JD's Smokehouse, Jokers n Thieves is an attractive bar on the quieter side of Canton's O'Donnell square. Jesse Sandlin, who had most recently ruled the roost at Oliver Speck's and Vino Rosina, is running the kitchen and serving up quasi-lowcountry vittles with splashes of local color.

We started our meal with two drafts, a Southern Tier double IPA and Union Craft AM Gold (which had tasted strongly of coffee when I sampled it at the brewery but just tasted like beer at JnT) and a couple of appetizers. The "white trash tacos," (fried chicken, slaw, pickled jalapenos, queso) would be as comfortable in Dundalk as in the Carolinas. I thought they were perfect little bites, and appreciated that the fillings were encased in single corn tortillas, rather than doubles, which I think muffle the flavors a bit (and are better for juicy fillings).

We also had the poutine, a massive pile of fries covered in two kinds of cheese with little nubbins of fried chicken (the menu said smoked chicken, so I suppose they were out). This is a dish best served to a mob, as it's far too much for two people. It was salty and cheesy and would probably make a hell of a hangover helper with a fried egg or two on top.

I had seen photos of the soft crab waffle sandwich on Instagram, and determined that I HAD to have it. OMG, it was so good. Hands down it was the most tender soft shell I have ever eaten (and I've eaten so many of them in the past two weeks, you don't even know). The coating was crisp, but the crab was so plump and juicy underneath, I couldn't tell there was shell in it at all. And the accompaniments - house smoked bacon, green tomato, arugula, slaw - were perfect. The bacon was crisp and not too smoky, the tomato and slaw added just the right amount of both moisture and acid. And the waffle was really tasty. Of course, waffles get soggy fast and by the time I got to the second half of the sandwich, it was falling apart, but it was worth the mess.

Mr Minx opted for the 12-hour smoked brisket, which came elegantly presented as two toothsome slabs over a generous serving of slow cooked Carolina gold rice studded with bits of asparagus. It was nicely smoky and worked well with the bleu cheese butter on top. We also enjoyed the rice, which was not quite risotto, not quite congee. A bowl of it would be comforting on a cold winter morning. Or evening. Or afternoon.

We shared a dessert, the cornbread strawberry shortcake, comprising a nicely-crumbly, somewhat coarse-textured cornbread with sugar macerated stawberries and sweetened whipped cream. The edges of the cornbread had a little crunch, and the strawberries were just sweet enough. Really good.

So, only good things to say about Jokers n Thieves. The staff was incredibly nice, the food was really good, and we liked the ambiance of the place as well. I kinda hate that it's in Canton, because we'd prefer it to be closer to us, but we can't have it all.

If you're a fan of soft shells, GO NOW and get them while the getting is good. You won't regret it.





Posted on Minxeats.com.

Strawberry Shortbread

I love butter. I have always sneered at the thought that butter is bad for me and never even entertained using anything else for baking. Certainly it is the only thing to use for slathering on bread and rolls and bagels and corn on the cob and etc., etc., etc. But I have never been a butter snob. Honestly. Even when I was a kid, and my grandmother insisted on using big blocks of butter purchased from Castle Farms in the Broadway Market. Sure, the butter was a bit tastier than the pale sticks of commercial butter my mother purchased at the supermarket, but I didn't think it was that big a deal. I know--heresy.

For much of my life, standard supermarket butter was the butter of choice. Eventually, European gourmet butters came to be available, at Whole Foods and Weis Market. But I always felt those butters were too...funky. If I accidentally got some of it on my fingers, I was stuck with the smell all day long. Thank goodness I don't have facial hair, otherwise eating gourmet-buttered corn on the cob would be a real trial (so I didn't eat it).

And then I found Finlandia Butter. Made from the milk of hormone-free Finnish cows, this rich butter is creamy and fresh-tasting. It's perfect for both cooking and topping freshly baked bread and corn on the cob. And its safe for those who have facial hair (and I still maintain I have none).

Finlandia was kind enough to send me samples of both their salted and unsalted versions, and I happily got to work creating recipes that showcased their butter's creamy goodness. What better way to show off the flavor of butter than shortbread? With only three essential ingredients--sugar, flour, and butter--there's nothing to get in the way of enjoying that luscious dairy.

Curd, too, is a buttery product. At least, that's the way I prefer my curd (some are more eggy). But I feel that I've made lemon curd so many times and needed to try something new. Pureed strawberries make a lovely pink curd, and the fruit is just acidy enough to tame the richness of butter. This recipe makes quite a bit of curd, about 2 pints, so you can enjoy it on scones or toast or by the spoonful (my favorite way).

I used 4" springform pans to make the shortbread, but you can use tartlet shells if you have them (reducing baking time accordingly if the shells are smaller) or press the dough into a single 8" tart pan with removable bottom. Heck, the dough is pretty sturdy, so you can even hand form it into large cookies with a slight rim to contain the curd.

Top with whipped cream and a mint leaf garnish, or enjoy as is. Either way, these buttery tartlets are sure to please.

Rustic Strawberry Shortbread Tarts

For curd:
1 lb strawberries, hulled and cut into chunks
2 large eggs + 3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons Finlandia unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

For crusts:
8 tablespoons Finlandia salted butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 cup all-purpose flour

To assemble:
Strawberries

To make curd:  Puree the strawberries in a blender. Pour the puree into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. While the puree is warming, whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl. Add the puree to the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking all the time. Return the puree to the pan and heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time, then stir in the orange juice and vanilla. Pour into a covered container and refrigerate until cold.

To make crusts: Stir butter and sugar together in a bowl. Mix in yolk. Add flour and stir until butter and flour are well combined and mixture is crumbly. Press dough into bottoms and a tiny bit of the way up sides of 4 4-inch springform pans. Freeze pans until dough is firm, 15 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake shells until crust turns lightly browned around the edges, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before removing outer rings. Gently slide tart shells off of pan bottoms. Cool completely before filling.

To assemble tarts:  Hull strawberries. Cut each one into slices from bottom to top.

Fill baked crusts with strawberry curd. Top with sliced strawberries arranged in a fan pattern.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.


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Strawberry Gazpacho

I love gazpacho. There's nothing more refreshing on a hot summer's day than a bowl or mug full of chilled vegetable puree flavored with a bit of acid and garlic. And it's pretty easy to make, if you have a blender.

We bought one of those mega-packs of strawberries a couple weeks ago and I was worried that we might not be able to eat them all before leaving town for a few days. Then I got the idea to substitute strawberries for the tomatoes usually found in gazpacho. It looked pretty much the same, but the soup had a lightly sweet and definitely strawberry flavor. And boom! No more strawberries in the fridge.

Strawberry Gazpacho
If your strawberries are very sweet, you might not need to add any additional sweetener.

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 pint strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Superfine sugar, to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine cucumber, strawberries, pepper, and garlic in a blender and puree. Season with the vinegar and lime juice, adding sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Transfer soup to a bowl or resealable container and refrigerate at least two hours until the flavors have had time to blend.

Serves 2-4.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Strawberry Pie and News

Back in the day, one of my favorite treats was a strawberry pie from Haussner's. A relatively simple-seeming affair of pastry cream, glazed berries, and whipped cream on a flaky crust, the pie was the perfect combination of fruity and creamy. Especially to this ten-year-old.

We ordered slices for dessert on the occasions we dined at the restaurant, but there were also special times that my Dad would bring a whole pie home. There was never any particular occasion (although he may well have been in the doghouse) but I know it was definitely a surprise that was welcome by all.

I normally opened the box and surreptitiously picked off the slices of toasted almond before anyone else had a chance to portion the pie. This resulted in a scolding from my Mother, who also liked the buttery crunch that the nuts provided. 

Haussner's closed in 1999, but I can still taste that pie. Literally, because I made one recently. And that's where the "news" portion of the title of this post comes in.

Mr Minx and I are working on a second book. This one will be called Baltimore Chef's Table, and will feature recipes from restaurants all over the Baltimore Metro area. Since there's a recipe for Haussner's strawberry pie floating around the Internet, I thought it would be fun to include it in the book - only after I made it at home and adjusted it to fit my memories.

The photo above is my result. It's not as tall as the pie from Haussner's, where they used very large berries, and the glaze isn't red and oozy (which didn't seem as appealing to me as an adult). The flavor, however, was spot on. 

If you want my variation on the recipe, you'll just have to hold on until Baltimore Chef's Table comes out in 2014. I promise there will be dozens of great recipes worth trying, and it will be worth the wait.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Pickled Strawberries

Pickled strawberries. Pretty, no? Yeah, pretty weird. But like any pickles, they make a nice accompaniment to sandwiches or paté. They're not as sweet as you'd think they would be - certainly not as sweet as a gherkin or bread-and-butter pickle. They might also, possibly, be good in a cocktail. You know, like an olive? I'm thinking maybe muddled with mint and maybe some bourbon. I haven't really experimented with it yet, but maybe soon.

Pickled Strawberries (adapted from Richard Blais' Try This at Home)

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice berries
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/4" thick

Mix everything but the vinegar and berries in a medium saucepan and heat only until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add cider vinegar.

Place berries in a non-reactive bowl or, even better, a jar with a lid (love these). Pour over enough of the vinegar mixture to cover fruit. Cover container and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Drain berries and use immediately (according to the recipe) but they're fine for a week or more in a tightly covered jar.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Strawberry Shortcake

This year's Easter dinner was much like last year's, except that I spent much of the morning baking two small loaves of whole wheat bread plus biscuits for dessert, rather than relying on my brother to hit the bakery on the way over. While YiaYia's stuff is quite good, homemade is always better.

One of the foodie pages I follow on Facebook gave me the idea to serve strawberry shortcake for Easter, so I was happy to see that the Giant had a bogo sale on 1-lb boxes of berries. I picked them up on Friday, along with the vital wheat gluten I was going to need for my bread, forgetting the second most-important element of strawberry shortcake.

The whipped cream. Hence the obviously-canned variety festooning my biscuit. Thanks to Dad for bringing it over. :)

You're probably going to say that the most important part of something called "strawberry shortcake" is obviously the shortcake, but honestly, have you eaten berries on top of a biscuit without that crown of white? Or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream? A drizzle of cream? (Ok, I have, but it had pork belly on it instead.) Kinda doesn't cut it.

In any case, my shortcakes were pretty delicious. I used a fairly basic scone recipe and added cornmeal for extra texture and flavor. They turned out light and fluffy, and were the perfect whipped-cream-to-mouth vehicle.

Perfect Shortcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter cut into small pieces
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 6-cup muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk, stirring just until mixed.

Divide (very sticky) dough into 6 balls and place one each into prepared muffin tin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until browned on top. Remove from muffin tin and allow to cool on a wire rack until ready to use.

Using a serrated knife, split cakes horizontally. Top with chopped strawberries macerated with a little lemon juice and sugar (or any other fruit you might like) and lots of whipped cream or slightly melty vanilla ice cream.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

A Taste of North Africa

Last Saturday, knowing that Mr Minx and I were going to dinner at a Moroccan restaurant later in the week, I decided to set our tastebuds going in that direction by making a North African-inspired meal of homemade merguez sausage and various cold salads.

I found the sausage recipe at Epicurious and altered it a bit to fit the ingredients I had on hand.

Merguez

1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 pound ground lamb
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1.5 tablespoons harissa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped finely
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Thoroughly combine first eight ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for an hour or so to allow the flavors to blend. When ready to cook, form meat into patties or links and use veg oil to sauté them over medium-high heat until they are brown and crusty on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside, about 7-9 minutes, depending on size.
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About an hour before dinner I got the brilliant idea to make tabbouleh, a salad of bulgur, onion, and parsley. Only we had neither bulgur nor parsley, but we did have wheat berries and mint. I set the wheat berries to cook and they were ready just in time for a quick rinse in cold water and a toss with the vegetables and herbs I had on hand. Mmmm...chewy.

Tabbouleh-style Wheat Berry Salad

1 cup cooked wheat berries
juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped and seeded
2 scallions, white and some green, chopped
salt and pepper

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit for 15 minutes or so for flavors to develop.
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In addition to the sausage and tabbouleh, I whipped up some Watermelon Strawberry Feta Salad with some very sweet watermelon I picked up at the Giant that afternoon. It was all good.

Guilford Cheesesteaks

I've eaten a true Philly cheesesteak only once - Geno's, one provolone with. I've had a cheesesteak from a local sub shop maybe 3x in my whole life, but as kids we often ate home-made ones because my brother had a somewhat wicked addicted to Steak-Umms. While I like the concept of the sandwich, the uber-greasy sliced meat really turns me off. Eventually I realized that any kind of steak will do in a steak sandwich, as long as it's tender and thinly sliced.

We had a ton of leftover sirloin after our Memorial Day grillfest, so I thought I'd use some of it to make sammies. I called these "Guilford" Cheesesteaks because they are a bit fancy and "Baltimore" or "Towson" just wouldn't do.

Guilford Cheesesteaks

10 oz or so of cold leftover grilled sirloin, sliced thin, excessive fat removed
2 oz of your favorite cheese (I used Jarlsberg and Muenster) cut into thin slices or shredded
Melted leeks (recipe below)
Spicy mayo(recipe below)
Herbed mayo (recipe below)
Two 6" - 8" segments of baguette, or two hoagie rolls

Warm the meat and melt the cheese. One can do this in a sauté pan, first heating the meat a bit, topping it with cheese, and covering the pan until the cheese melts. Since I already dirtied one pan by making the leeks, I put meat slices in two piles on a microwave-safe plate, topped them with cheese, and heated it all for about 3 minutes on high, until the cheese was melted.

While meat is cooking, slice baguette and schmear with one side with herbed mayo and the other side with the spicy mayo. Add a bed of leeks.

When cheese is melted, top leeks with meat. Close sandwich and eat.

Melted Leeks

3 medium leeks, the whites and about an inch of the lighter green part, sliced crosswise into rounds, rinsed thoroughly to remove all sand
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a sauté pan. Cover. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes to an hour until leeks are completely soft and almost spreadable. Keep warm until ready to use.

Spicy Mayo

1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon sambal oelek or Sriracha chile sauce

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Herbed Mayo

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
dash agave syrup

Combine all ingredients (it will be fairly thick). Refrigerate until ready to use.

Strawberry Watermelon Feta Salad

Twelve medium strawberries, hulled and quartered
Watermelon, cut into cubes about the size of the strawberries, approximately 2 cups
1/2 cup (or more, to taste) crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground pepper
pinch salt

Combine strawberries, watermelon, and feta in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl or ramekin, stir vinegar and oil together vigorously with a fork to emulsify. Add several grinds of pepper and the salt and whisk again.

Toss salad with dressing. Allow to sit for about 15 minutes. Serve.

2 generous servings.

Grilled marinated sirloin made an excellent sandwich as it was very tender and flavorful. The leeks are far more subtly flavored than the customary fried onions, so you may want to be generous (as it is you'll have leftover leeks). Over all, the sandwich was meaty and rich, and the tangy/sweet salad was a great counterpoint. I'll definitely be making the salad often this summer.