GINGER AND ORANGE MARMALADE MARINATED FLANK STEAK

I made the recipe below for dinner last night. If you like flank steak, ginger and soy sauce, you owe it to yourself to make this recipe soon.

GINGER AND ORANGE MARMALADE MARINATED FLANK STEAK
- 1 flank steak
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh ground ginger, finely chopped
- 5-6 green onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup soy sauce for the reduction (optional)

1. In a bowl or a zip-lock bag combine all the ingredients together and mix.
Place the flank steak in the bag and push all of the air out of the bag and seal.
Place the bag in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours
(over night is recommended).

2. Prepare a fire. Remove the steak from the marinade and save the marinade.
Place the steak on the grill and cook to desired doneness (6-7 minutes per side
for medium rare). Brush some of the marinade over the steak while it is cooking.

3. When the steak is done, remove it from the grill and place on a cutting
board. Loosely cover it with foil and allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
After resting, slice the meat across the grain and serve.

4. (Optional) While the meat is resting, pour the remaining marinade and ¼ cup
of soy sauce into a small sauce pan. Reduce the marinade and soy sauce for
6-7 minutes over high heat. Spoon the reduction over the sliced steak.

Cook’s Notes: I made this recipe last night and it was nothing short of
fantastic. I used my food processor to finely chop up the ginger and the
green onions and that really brought out the ginger flavor. I marinated
the steak for 24 hours and the meat was incredibly tender. I also made
the reduction while the meat was resting and I spooned it over the sliced steak.

Brats & Beer

I have been a bit of a slacker recently regarding the Cafe. Truth be told, I was down hard with a nasty case of bronchitis, so there was not a lot of cooking going on. Well, I am happy to report that I am back in battery and tonight I will fire up the charcoal grill and cook some brats.

I picked up a package of brats at the store this morning and in a few minutes I will get a pot of water boiling and cook the brats for 10 minutes or so. I find that boiling then brats for a few minutes firms them up for grilling.

Also, quietly marinating in our fridge is a new flank steak recipe. I do not post any recipes here which I have not tried, so if the marinade turns out as good as the recipe looks, I will post a new flank steak recipe sometime late tomorrow.

Until then, be careful out there.

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

This is a heavenly delicious meal that even I can cook!  Make extra sauce, just sayin'.  

Rosemary-Garlic Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup sherry vinegar

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried fresh thyme

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Using a rolling pin, pound the chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper until they are of uniform thickness. Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and the garlic browns. (Don't burn the garlic.) Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Add the salt, pepper, vinegar, chicken broth, rosemary and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 3 minutes longer or until the chicken is fork-tender. Remove the chicken to a platter and keep warm. Increase heat to high and boil the sauce until thickened or syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter and pour the sauce over the chicken.

Baked Sea Scallops

Below is the recipe for the scallops I made on Friday night. They were yummy!

BAKED SEA SCALLOPS WITH GARLIC, SHALLOTS AND BREAD CRUMBS

INGREDIENTS:
15-16 sea scallops, rinsed and drained
5 tablespoons butter, melted
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, chopped
3 pinches ground nutmeg salt and pepper to taste
1 cup bread crumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
lemon wedges for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees.
2. Place scallops, melted butter, garlic, and shallots in a bowl. Season with
nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish.
3. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and olive oil. Sprinkle on top
of scallops.
4. Bake in preheated oven until crumbs are brown and scallops are done,
about 11 to 14 minutes. Top with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges on the side
5. If desired, broil the scallops for the last 2-3 minutes of cooking time.

Good Friday Dinner

Deirdre here ... this Easter weekend while joyful, has been slightly truncated.  Paul and I had Friday off and invited Ann Marie (our fave college student and Samson's BFF) here for dinner and an escape from the dorms.   Paul was heading back to Grosse Pointe on Saturday for a quick visit with his parents, and Ann Marie went along to see her family.  We celebrated Friday with a magnificent menu of baked scallops and crab legs.  

What is delightful and inspiring all in one thought is that Paul doesn't eat seafood.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zero. Zilch.  But the guy can hack, toss, bake and boil this stuff better than any restaurant or professional chef that I have ever met.  And having Ann Marie in the kitchen with him is like having Emeril Lagasse and Rachel Ray cooking feasts.  People, it's crazy.  Crazy good.  

Along with the baked scallops, we boiled crab legs.  We bought the legs when we were in Sam's Club shopping one afternoon and threw them in the freezer, knowing that Good Friday was fast approaching.   The easiest (and most delicious) way that we have found to cook them is to hack 'em up and throw them in a pot of boiling water.  Along with drawn butter, fresh lemons and our favorite wine from Art of the Table, the meal was a smashing success.  

People sometimes wonder why I post in the cooking blog.  Really since boiling water is easily a stretch, should I even be posting?  In my defense, I do make the salad, set the table, do the dishes and people, take the pictures!  What's a great blog without some awesome pics?  We all have our gifts.   Tonight is Paul's Rack of Lamb.  Stay tuned.  And Happy Easter.  

ROAST TENDERLOIN OF BEEF WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

I made this meal last night and it was fantastic:

ROAST TENDERLOIN OF BEEF WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

2 tsp. soy sauce
2 1/2 lbs. beef tenderloin
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. garlic clove, minced
3 med. shallots, minced
1/3 c. dry red wine
1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 c. canned low-sodium beef broth
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter


1. Rub the soy sauce all over the beef and let sit for 30 minutes. Season with the pepper.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large, heavy, oven-proof skillet,
heat the oil over high heat. Add the beef and cook until well browned on all sides,
about 5 minutes.
3. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the tenderloin for about 20 minutes,
turning once, until the internal temperature reads 125 degrees on a meat thermometer
for medium rare. Transfer the meat to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest.
4. While the roast is resting, pour off any fat from the skillet. Add the garlic
and shallots and cook over low heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
Pour in the wine, increase the heat to high and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the
mustard, broth and cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to moderate and simmer
until the sauce has reduced to 1 cup and is thick enough to lightly coat the back
of a spoon, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter until incorporated.
5. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat into 12 slices. Arrange the meat on plates
or a platter, spoon the mustard sauce on top and serve hot.