Around the time it first started to (finally) get warm, I decided it was time to grill something from the cookbook, and I decided Memorial Day weekend would be the perfect opportunity. I narrowed down the choices to a salmon recipe and Jame's Coffee-Marinated Skirt Steak (p. 52) and went to the store, figuring I would pick up whichever was more reasonably priced.
The salmon was not on sale and I couldn't find any skirt steak at the first store I visited, so I went home, recouped, and went back out to another. There the salmon was even more expensive and still no skirt steak! Rather than pay the extra money for salmon, I decided to drive back to the first store, and, once there... found the skirt steak! I was so excited to have found that darn cut of meat that I immediately bought it even though it was the only steak not on sale for the holiday. Also, using what I learned previously about shallots (in that I now know what they are), I successfully purchased some without hassle. I'll call this a tie, Supermarkets!
This recipe results in an impressive dish, and doesn't require too much work. First you whisk together most of the ingredients, pour half over your skirt steak, and retain the other half for basting. Then you set the steak on the counter top (covered to protect it from your cat) for the next half hour while you either set to work making more food (as I did), or play with the kids (as my husband did). Afterwards, I handed the steak over to my husband to grill while I finished the rest of the dinner.
On a whim I had decided to make Howard's Apple-Strawberry-Peanut Salad (p. 12), initially thinking that by "salad" he meant a lettuce-based salad. I was wrong; this is a salad of apples, strawberries, celery and peanuts, all held together with a mayonnaise based dressing. In what appears to be a miracle, honey and mayonnaise is combined into a dressing that is translucent and not reminiscent of mayonnaise at all. I was delighted but still hesitated in pouring it all over the apples and strawberries. What if I was ruining all that fruit for my son and me (like me, he likes his fruit raw and unadorned)?
I needn't have worried. Not only did my son love it, so did my daughter, me, and my friend who came over for dinner! My husband didn't try it (sorry, Howard, he saw me take a jar of mayonnaise to it, which he does not like, plus fruit doesn't tempt him at all). I couldn't believe that my daughter ate as much of it as she did. Of course she also loved the steak, along with me, my friend, and my husband. My frugivore son ate the steak begrudgingly only so that he could get more Apple-Strawberry-Peanut Salad.
It was a very good dinner, and a great way to kick off the summer. Thanks for the recipes, James and Howard!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
A Banana Bread Farewell
Now that summer is truly upon us, I am having a lot of difficulty A) cooking things and B) taking the time to write about it. Having just finished a yoga session celebrating the first day of summer, at the beginning of which I felt stressed by my sudden thought that I haven't written about Toni's Banana Bread, I decided to use the zen feeling I created to have a few quiet moments of composition.
The reason for my worry over not having written this post is that I made Toni's Banana Bread (p. 79) for her on her last day of work... in April. I had made Chad's Cranberry Oat Chip Cookies after his departure, so I wanted to make Toni's recipe before she left us as well. By lucky coincidence, I had 6 overripe bananas in my possession, which was extremely rare at the time because my daughter had been in the throes of a banana addiction rivaled only by her current applesauce addiction. Even luckier was the fact that I had all of the other ingredients I needed in my house.
I rushed home and mixed up the batter as quickly as I could, put them in the oven, and ran downstairs to exercise for the 50-60 minutes of baking time. I assumed I would hear the oven timer, or, worst-case, I only elliptical for 55 minutes. Well, it turns out I was wrong about being able to hear the oven timer, and also failed to calculate the 5-10 minutes I spent getting ready before starting my workout! Fortunately the banana bread wasn't completely cooked when I realized my mistake, although I think it could have benefited from being covered in foil for those last 15 minutes because the top got a little browner than I normally like.
Nonetheless, the banana bread was a hit with the coworkers (who, admittedly, will eat anything that looks remotely like food). The banana bread was even a surprise to Toni, who forgot she had submitted it and wasn't entirely sure why she had put in that recipe! I thought it was good, but I'll have to go on record that my recipe for banana bread (or rather, Southern Living's recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Bread) is much better! Chock that up to my foolish pride. Still, I wouldn't snub this recipe in a lineup of sweet breads - it was pretty tasty and had a good strong banana taste, which I love.
Thanks for the recipe, Toni, and we wish you luck in your new position!
The reason for my worry over not having written this post is that I made Toni's Banana Bread (p. 79) for her on her last day of work... in April. I had made Chad's Cranberry Oat Chip Cookies after his departure, so I wanted to make Toni's recipe before she left us as well. By lucky coincidence, I had 6 overripe bananas in my possession, which was extremely rare at the time because my daughter had been in the throes of a banana addiction rivaled only by her current applesauce addiction. Even luckier was the fact that I had all of the other ingredients I needed in my house.
I rushed home and mixed up the batter as quickly as I could, put them in the oven, and ran downstairs to exercise for the 50-60 minutes of baking time. I assumed I would hear the oven timer, or, worst-case, I only elliptical for 55 minutes. Well, it turns out I was wrong about being able to hear the oven timer, and also failed to calculate the 5-10 minutes I spent getting ready before starting my workout! Fortunately the banana bread wasn't completely cooked when I realized my mistake, although I think it could have benefited from being covered in foil for those last 15 minutes because the top got a little browner than I normally like.
Nonetheless, the banana bread was a hit with the coworkers (who, admittedly, will eat anything that looks remotely like food). The banana bread was even a surprise to Toni, who forgot she had submitted it and wasn't entirely sure why she had put in that recipe! I thought it was good, but I'll have to go on record that my recipe for banana bread (or rather, Southern Living's recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Bread) is much better! Chock that up to my foolish pride. Still, I wouldn't snub this recipe in a lineup of sweet breads - it was pretty tasty and had a good strong banana taste, which I love.
Thanks for the recipe, Toni, and we wish you luck in your new position!
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