Red Wine Braised Short Ribs over mashed potatoes

I've made this before but this was worth the repost. It was the hubby's birthday.....and he requested this dish.  I served it over butter mashed potatoes with roasted carrots topped with parsley.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Wine-Braised-Shortribs-367736

Balsamic Marinated Skirt Steak with Roasted Corn

Oh baby! Another Sunday BBQ meal that rocked my world.  I used fresh rosemary in place of the dry rosemary since I had it on hand. I marinated it for about 90 minutes on the counter bringing the meat to room temperature before grilling. It reminded me of something you'd order at Gyu-Kaku! Earl suggested we also BBQ the corn and made a butter, smoked paprika and red pepper rub. And now, he will always be in charge of grilling the corn! I cheated and bought store bought potato salad from Gelson's.

Everything cooked on the grill, no pots and pans to clean....now that's how a Sunday meal should be!

http://www.marthastewart.com/342211/balsamic-marinated-skirt-steak

Grilled steak with green beans and tomatoes with chimichurri sauce

Since it's summer I've been looking for more grilling recipes since its' too hot to cook.  Since I'm no grill master, I did all the prep work and gave Earl his cooking instructions.  And he killed it! The BBQ brought out this amazing smokey flavor in the green beans and tomatoes. They were still crispy but slightly charred. You can see how perfectly the steak was cooked. Then add in the chimichurri sauce.....out of this world. I also oven roasted some rosemary-yukon potatoes.  The potatoes became the vehicle to devour more of the chimichurri sauce once the steak was gone!

I liked the idea of this one but wasn't sold on the chimichurri recipe included.  

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/grilled-steak-with-green-beans-tomatoes-and-chimichurri-sauce-recipe/index.html

Use this chimichurri recipe!  I did cut the crushed red peppers down to 1 tsp. 

And am REALLY happy I did!!!  It would have been way too spicy for me. 

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/traditional-chimichurri

I have the remaining chimichurri in the fridge and am looking for ways to use it this week! I want to put it on EVERYTHING!!!! 

Red Wine-Braised Shortribs

Last nights shortribs were the best I've EVER made. Even the leftovers I just had were AMAZING! If you are planning on making these, give yourself 4-5 hours from start to finish. For the recipe, I do make a few adjustments.  Instead of chopping the onion, carrot and celery, I purchase 2 containers of mirepoix from Trader Joe's.  Also, it says to use 1 tbls of tomato paste, I use more like 4oz.  But try it as is first and then decide if you want to add more next time.

Since it was Father's Day, I also made bacon-wrapped asparagus.
Coat asparagus in olive oil
Sprinkle with pepper
Take 5-6 stocks of asparagus and wrap with a slice of bacon
Place on foil lined baking sheet
Bake 15 minutes at 400.

Enjoy!!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Wine-Braised-Shortribs-367736

Surf 'n Turf Paella

This was a PERFECT Sunday meal after a great weekend.  I won't lie, I was actually dreading spending this much time in the kitchen but after the 1st bite, I knew it was worth every minute.  Since Sophia eats what we eat, I did cut back on the saffron and in it's place I added cumin.

Since you cook the steak first, I pre-heat the over to 250 degrees and place it in there to rest and stay warm.  As you can see, it did not overcook it, keeping the perfect red center. I'm pretty excited to eat my leftovers today too!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/surf-n-turf-paella-recipe/index.html

Steak and Potatoes

This my version of steak and potatoes!  I've picked up these recipes from multiple sources and have made them my own.  We try not to eat a lot of red meat so we share just one steak between us.

Steak
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and Pepper
Pull the steak out immediately and let it sit out while you prep everything else.  A steak will not sear properly and cook evenly if it's cooked cold.  Also if you haven't invested in an iron skillet......get one now.

Small yukon gold potatoes
Red bell pepper
Sweet onion
carrots
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Cut everything into pieces and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread out on a baking sheet covered in foil.  Bake at 425 for approximately 25-30 minutes or until they are as roasted as you prefer.
While the potatoes are in the oven, heat your iron skillet on high.  Add olive oil and a tsp of butter to the pan.  The olive oil prevents the butter from burning.  Salt and pepper your steak.  Sear it on one side (time depends on how you like your meat cooked) and then turn and sear on the other side.  Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

This is an easy way to know if your steak is cooked!