Flashback Friday - Skirt Steak and Watermelon Radish Tacos

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on May 12, 2014.

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We almost never see skirt steak in the average supermarket, so when we did see it, we bought one and tossed it in the freezer for later. And then promptly forgot about it.

Digging through the freezer some months later for something else entirely, I stumbled upon the skirt steak and figured it was high time to put it to use. I wanted to make something fajita-like (the word fajita actually refers to skirt steak) but not exactly. After an inspirational online search, I thought something in an Asian vein might be tasty and put together a marinade with various Asian elements like miso, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce. I also added honey for sweetness and a ton of garlic. Because what doesn't taste good with a ton of garlic? (Don't tell me--chocolate cake.)

After briefly contemplating frying some onions, I was lazy and chopped scallions to use raw. I also saw this to be a good time to use the watermelon radish we bought at MOM's Organic Market a few days earlier. Quick pickling seemed like the way to go. And of course, homemade corn tortillas, because they are so easy and better than store bought.

The resulting tacos had nicely spiced and garlicky meat, and a nice sweet/tartness from the pickle. I stirred some powdered coconut milk (from a trip to H Mart) into a bit of Greek yogurt to use in place of crema, and threw together a simple tomato and scallion salsa. However, the best addition to the steak-and-radish taco was a bit of crumbled feta cheese, which added a nice bit of funky saltiness.

Asian Marinated Skirt Steak

1 tablespoon red miso
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 1-lb skirt steak

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl. Place the steak in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade over. Massage the marinade into the steak for a few seconds, then close the bag, making sure to squeeze out as much air as possible. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat your broiler. Place oven rack in highest position. Remove steak from marinade, wipe off any chunky bits and place steak onto a baking sheet with sides. Broil 3-4 minutes per side, to medium-rare. Remove steak from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes before cutting against the grain into thin slices.

Serve as a filling for corn tortillas, with some pickled radishes, feta cheese, and sour cream or crema.

Pickled Watermelon Radish

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 watermelon radish, cut into thin rounds

Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the radish and toss well to coat all radish pieces. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Drain liquid before serving.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Summer Shrimp Salad

I love when dinner ideas come to me while I stroll through the supermarket. It was a warm summer afternoon and I was in the mood for something cool and refreshing. That means nothing fried, nothing with red meat or particularly carb-laden. I lingered in the produce section for inspiration and spotted plump heads of Belgian endive. I thought, "I love endive salad!" A few feet later, I saw ripe red watermelon and a similar thought came to mind. "I love watermelon salad!" A walk past the seafood counter and, you guessed it, "I love shrimp salad!"

Ordinarily I'd make shrimp salad with mayonnaise, celery, and Old Bay. Endive and watermelon are similar in that both work nicely with a balsamic vinaigrette and some sort of cheese, like feta or bleu. And walnuts. Walnuts go with everything. (My apologies to those with tree nut allergies.) Why not just make an endive salad that just so happens to have both watermelon and shrimp? And, just to be different, use a mustard vinaigrette in place of the balsamic. Anyway, balsamic vinegar makes the endive look like it's old and turning brown.

Once I peeled the shrimp, I tossed them in a quick poaching liquid made up of lemon juice, a bay leaf, and peppercorns in plain water. I found some Knorr shrimp bouillon cubes in the cupboard and tossed half of one of those in, too. (Knorr seafood bouillon cubes are commonly found in Asian markets, like H Mart.) The shrimp cooked quickly, and once they were done I set them aside to cool a bit while I worked on the dressing. Mr Minx was called in to dice the watermelon.

While there were a few steps to the process, the dish came together pretty quickly. By the time the chopping and dressing-making was complete, the shrimp were cool enough to handle. I tossed everything except the cheese and walnuts together and put them in the fridge to cool completely. Once it was chilled, all I needed to do was to fill the large endive leaves (optional - I thought it would be pretty) and sit down to eat.

Summer Shrimp Salad

This would be great with crab, too.

1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
Juice of half a lemon
Half a Knorr shrimp bouillon cube (optional)
1 tablespoon of salt (divided use)
1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 shallot, minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 heads Belgian endive
1 cup diced watermelon
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts
Bleu cheese crumbles

Put 3 cups of water in a 2 quart saucepan and add bay leaf, peppercorns, lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and reduce to a simmer. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 minutes, until shrimp are opaque. Turn off heat and allow shrimp to cool in the liquid. When cool enough to handle, drain the shrimp and cut each into 3-4 pieces. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the dijon, honey, rice wine vinegar, and shallot in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, or to taste. Toss half the vinaigrette with the cooled shrimp.

Thoroughly rinse and dry the endives. Cut the stem ends off and set aside 8 - 10 of the largest leaves. Chop the remaining endive and place in a bowl. Add the watermelon, parsley, and walnuts. Toss with the remaining vinaigrette. Add the shrimp and toss again. Season with the remaining salt to taste.

Spoon some of the salad into the reserved endive leaves. Mound the remaining salad in the center of the plate. Sprinkle all with bleu cheese.

Serves 3-4

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Skirt Steak and Watermelon Radish Tacos

We almost never see skirt steak in the average supermarket, so when we did see it, we bought one and tossed it in the freezer for later. And then promptly forgot about it.

Digging through the freezer some months later for something else entirely, I stumbled upon the skirt steak and figured it was high time to put it to use. I wanted to make something fajita-like (the word fajita actually refers to skirt steak) but not exactly. After an inspirational online search, I thought something in an Asian vein might be tasty and put together a marinade with various Asian elements like miso, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce. I also added honey for sweetness and a ton of garlic. Because what doesn't taste good with a ton of garlic? (Don't tell me--chocolate cake.)

After briefly contemplating frying some onions, I was lazy and chopped scallions to use raw. I also saw this to be a good time to use the watermelon radish we bought at MOM's Organic Market a few days earlier. Quick pickling seemed like the way to go. And of course, homemade corn tortillas, because they are so easy and better than store bought.

The resulting tacos had nicely spiced and garlicky meat, and a nice sweet/tartness from the pickle. I stirred some powdered coconut milk (from a trip to H Mart) into a bit of Greek yogurt to use in place of crema, and threw together a simple tomato and scallion salsa. However, the best addition to the steak-and-radish taco was a bit of crumbled feta cheese, which added a nice bit of funky saltiness.

Marinated Skirt Steak

1 tablespoon red miso
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 1-lb skirt steak

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl. Place the steak in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade over. Massage the marinade into the steak for a few seconds, then close the bag, making sure to squeeze out as much air as possible. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat your broiler. Place oven rack in highest position. Remove steak from marinade, wipe off any chunky bits and place steak onto a baking sheet with sides. Broil 3-4 minutes per side, to medium-rare. Remove steak from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes before cutting against the grain into thin slices.

Serve as a filling for corn tortillas, with some pickled radishes, feta cheese, and sour cream or crema.

Pickled Watermelon Radish

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 watermelon radish, cut into thin rounds

Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the radish and toss well to coat all radish pieces. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Drain liquid before serving.














Posted on Minxeats.com.

Coconut Gazpacho

There was a whole lotta cooking going on last weekend, partly to make up for going out to dinner so many times in the previous weeks, and partly to work on recipes for the various contests I plan on entering in the month of September. One of the dishes that were not contest-bound (and therefore not shareable here) is this lovely cold soup.

I found myself with some excess coconut milk in the fridge (along with an excess of a lot of stuff - the norm) and thought I would try the gazpacho Next Food Network Star winner Aarti Sequiera whipped up in that show's penultimate challenge. The recipe lacked seasoning and I realized that she relied on the pickled shrimp part of the dish to provide most of the flavor.

That would not do. I was not making pickled shrimp; I merely wanted a light and refreshing starter to the meaty entrée I was preparing. So I dug around through the other excess stuff in the fridge and added a little bit of this and a little bit of that to come up with...

Minx's Coconut Gazpacho

1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup coconut milk
1 heaping teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1 heaping teaspoon lemongrass paste (Gourmet Garden)
1 teaspoon (or so) honey or agave nectar
juice of half a lime
pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro for garnish

Place tomatoes and onion into blender jar and whiz until liquified. Add coconut milk, red curry and lemongrass pastes, honey, lime juice, and pepper flakes and blend well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chill to allow the flavors to meld, at least one hour. Garnish with cilantro. Makes 4 servings.
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To wash down dinner, I made some Watermelon Margaritas.

Watermelon Margaritas

1 cup cold watermelon juice

2 jiggers tequila

1/2 jigger Grand Marnier

juice of half a lime

Place ingredients in a cocktail shaker with a couple of ice cubes. Shake to blend.

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While the appetizer and beverage were big hits right out of the chute, the entrée needed a bit of tweaking. Not quite "back to the drawing board," merely an adjustment to flavors. Wish me luck. :)

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.