Skirt Steak with Charred Onion Salad

I wanted to try out this dish I found online because it had a lot of ingredients and flavor combos I don't normally use. I'm glad I tried it even though it wasn't my favorite dish I've made. If you're feeling adventurous, give it a try!


Ingredients:

2 medium Vidalia onions or other sweet onions (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 medium radishes, very thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)
1 large bunch watercress, rinsed and dried
1 pound skirt steak


Directions:

1. Preheat a very large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it just begins to smoke.

2. While the pan is heating, slice the onions into 1/4-inch-thick rings and toss with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl. Add the onions to the skillet and cook, undisturbed, until they char slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon until they are further charred and slightly softened but still crunchy, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.

3. Stir together the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the fish sauce in the medium bowl that the onions were in. Add the radishes, watercress, cilantro and cooked onions and toss until well coated. Allow the mixture to sit at least 5 minutes, so the juices from the onion combine with the dressing.

4. Wipe out the skillet the onions cooked in and return it to medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steak with 3/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and put it into the hot skillet. Cook until well browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes; flip and cook until medium rare, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to a cutting board and allow the steak to rest for a few minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.

5. Divide the salad mixture among 4 bowls. Top each bowl with slices of steak.

Goat Cheese, Apple, and Pecan Salad

This salad started when I found some glazed pecans in the nut section of my grocery store. There's a salad at a restaurant I like that uses the pecans and also has goat cheese. For a little brightness and crunch I added the green apple. I would definitely make this salad again, it was easy and tasty!!

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken
1 green apple (granny smith), sliced
1/4 cup glazed pecans (purchased or home made)
Goat cheese crumbles
Lettuce of your choice (romaine or mixed baby greens)
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe here)
Croutons (purchased or home made)

Directions:

1. Place lettuce on a plate.

2. Scatter pieces of chicken, slices of apple, goat cheese, pecans, and croutons over the lettuce.

3. Drizzle a few teaspoons of dressing over everything and season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is a simple balsamic dressing that you can use on all kinds of salads, vegetables, pastas, pretty much anything you can imagine. It is a very versatile. The key to this dressing is the Dijon mustard – it helps emulsify the dressing and bring it all together. You can use a mix of any herbs you like. I personally like basil, chives, rosemary, basil, mint, and sage but that’s because I grow most of those herbs in my backyard. Add in what you have on hand or no herbs at all either way the dressing will be good.

The oil to vinegar ration should be 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. My boyfriend loves vinegar so we do closer to a 1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil ratio. 

Ingredients:

1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp herbs de provence (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper - Fresh Ground is very important here!!!
3 tbs. olive oil (roasted garlic olive oil if you have it)
1-2 tbs. chopped fresh herbs (optional)

Directions:

1. Whisk together all ingredients but oil together in a small bowl. 

2. Once incorporated, slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking to make a nice emulsion.

3. Taste dressing for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired. You can add fresh chopped herbs at this point if you have them. Stir and serve over your favorite salad!!

Churros

I had some leftover frying oil from the Fried Avocados I made (find the recipe here) so I decided to make some churros. They were surprising simple to make, just took a little time to fry them all. I had to make mine skinny since that's the only piping tip I had, but I would recommend to make them about 1 inch thick. You can also make dipping sauces for the churros if you want to make them fancy.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
Canola oil, for frying
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, optional

Directions:

1. Combine the water, butter and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Using a wooden spoon, dump in all of the flour at once and stir until the mixture becomes a smooth dough. You will want to cook the dough for a minute or two to make sure you cook out the raw flour taste.

2. Remove the dough from the heat and while stirring constantly, add 1 egg at a time to the dough. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer. Once the first egg is incorporated, add the second egg and repeat until all eggs are incorporated.

3. Get a piping bag with a 1 inch star tip. Fill the piping back with the dough mixture.

4. Heat up a pan with about 2 inches of oil at the bottom over medium high heat. You will want the oil to be at 350.

5. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and set aside.

6. Using the pastry bag squeeze a 4-5 inch strip into the oil. You may need to use a knife to cut the dough from the tip. Fry the churro, turning during the frying until all sides are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.

7. Place fried churro on a paper towel to remove a little excess oil. Put into the sugar mixture and roll around until churro is coated (be careful, churros are hot!). Put on a plate and store in warm oven until all churros are fried. Serve immediately as they are best right after frying!

Fried Avocado

I went to a Cuban restaurant and they had fried avocado. It was so delicious! It is something that I've never tried or heard of before. It was so interesting to have the contrast of crunchy outside with smooth avocado inside. I wasn't sure how they did it so I tried to different ways - one with cornmeal breading and the other with the more traditional breading of flour, egg, and bread crumbs. The bread crumbs were the winner! Best way to serve the avocado is with a little sour cream dip or with some of your favorite hot sauce.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs (I do a 50/50 mix of regular and panko bread crumbs)
Avocado slices

Canola oil, for frying

• Directions:
• 1. Prep the avocados by cutting the avocado in half, removing the pit and scooping out the avocado flesh with a spoon. Then slice the avocado into wedges. 
• 2. Place the flour on one plate, crack and stir the eggs and put on a second plate, and put the bread crumbs on a third plate. Sprinkle a pinch of salt onto each plate and stir to combine salt and that ingredient. (Using paper plates for this saves a lot of time on clean up)
• 3. Place an avocado wedge into the flour. Coat avocado and pat to get rid of excess. Place the avocado into the egg and coat with egg. Get off any excess egg and place the avocado into the bread crumbs. Coat in bread crumbs and pat to get rid of excess. Repeat this for all avocado wedges. Put on a paper bowl or plate while oil heats. 
• 4. In a small sauce pan put in enough canola oil to be about 1 1/2 inch thick layer of oil. Put the pan on medium high heat until it reaches 350 degrees. (You can test it by throwing a small pinch of bread crumbs into the oil, when they start to fry you know you have the right temp). 
• 5. Fry the avocados in small batches until the outside is crispy and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Place the fried avocado on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil and season while warm with a sprinkle of salt. These are best served warm or at room temp. Put your dipping sauce of choice in a small bowl and serve with avocados! 

Grilled Chicken with Vegetables

I was looking for something that would be healthy and fast. This was super tasty and filling but I didn't feel like a big fat pig for cleaning my plate. For the dry rub I just made a mix of spices I have on hand. Feel free to buy one from the store or customize it from what you have. Use any vegetables that you like or that are in season. Grilling can be done year round (at least in California where the weather is nice) so don't be afraid to try grilling new veggies. 

Ingredients: 
1 chicken cutlet per person
1/2 tsp. dry rub per cutlet (mix of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle chili powder)
Zucchini
Cherry Tomatoes
Red Onion, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
Potatoes

Directions:

1. Season the chicken cutlets with the dry rub. Preheat a grill to medium high heat. 

2. Put chicken on the grill. Cook until meat is done (3-4 minutes, flipping once during cooking). Place chicken on a plate and cover lightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest while veggies finish grilling. 

3. Grill the veggies: 
Note for Tomatoes: Use a piece of foil to make a container (just turn up the sides and crinkle together corners to seal it). Put tomatoes in foil container and add a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. 

Note for Potatoes: Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted water until the are fork tender but not too mushy. You will finish cooking the potatoes through on the grill. 

Season all of the veggies with salt and pepper. Spread veggies on the grill. Cook over medium high flame until the veggies are tender and cooked through. Start checking and flipping veggies after about 2 minutes. All veggies should be cooked in about 8-10 minutes.

4. Serve everything together on a plate. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top and some torn herbs like basil or chives. Serve with extra lemon wedges for garnish. 

Noodle Salad with Chicken and Chile-Scallion Oil

I found this recipe from a magazine and thought it would be a great way to try some new ingredients and make a healthy lunch. The best part is that it tastes better the next day and you can eat it cold - perfect for a quick lunch at work. Do Ahead: make the chile oil. Noodles can be cooked the night before. Toss the cooked noodles with 1 tsp. vegetable oil and cover and chill in the fridge. Store noodles with chicken and store vegetables and dressing separately. When ready to eat just mix everything together!

Ingredients:
Oil:
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves,thinly sliced
2 tbsp. crushed red pepper flake
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorns
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Noodles and Assembly:
6 oz. Japanese wheat noodles (ramen, somen, or udon)
2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 english cucumber, thinly sliced
4 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 cup herbs (parsley, basil, mint)

Directions:

Chile-Scallion Oil:
1. Cook all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until scallions and garlic just golden brown, about 5 minutes. Let cool and transfer to a jar. Oil can be made ahead and stored for a few days in the fridge.

Noodles:
1. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to the package directions. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water, then shake off as much water as possible.

2. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and oil in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves.

3. Add noodles, chicken, and scallions to dressing. Toss to coat.

4. Add cucumbers, radishes, and herbs and a drizzle of chile oil just before serving.