Grilled Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak

If you hang in with this post long enough I promise that there is a pretty fabulous grilled steak recipe at the end, but in the meantime...the backstory!

At least once a year...sometimes more...the Southern husband and I head north to my favorite place on earth, otherwise known as Vermont.  Sometimes the teenager comes with us, even though there is no cell phone service whatsoever in our little neck of the Vermont hills.  (Believe me when i say that in the teenage world, there is no greater love for one's mama than going outside the zone of Verizon coverage.)

Other things that are not in our little corner of Vermont: Movie theaters.  Starbucks.  Kentucky Fried Chicken.  ATM's.   Etc.  They do have a lot of these though.

Here's the Southern husband scanning the area for a gas station that will take that little gizmo on his keychain that allows you to pay for your gas without actually taking out your wallet.

Nope.  As a matter of fact, finding ANY gas station is a wonderful thing.  It's one of the reasons I love the place.  We are Away From It All whenever we go up there.

So imagine my surprise when we stopped at the one local supermarket on the way to our cabin to pick up essentials (milk, eggs, Oreos) and discovered that they had put in a teeny tiny wine section.  We were so shocked and amazed that we automatically picked out a bottle, just to make sure we weren't dreaming.  And it instantly turned into our new favorite merlot...right there in the middle of Poultney, Vermont.

Once we got home, the Southern husband sprang into action and ordered a case of it, and ever since then it has been our merlot of choice.  So when the grill was back in service for the season, I pulled out this tried and true recipe to see if it was as good as a steak marinade as it is was in my wineglasss.

It was.  And so here you go (finally!)...this is a recipe that I have talked about before, but since it is one of my faves I am talking about it again with a little extra twist.  First,  grab a bottle of YOUR favorite merlot, and mix up 3/4 cup of it with some chopped fresh rosemary, some chopped onion,  some beef broth and a few spices.  Pour it all in a ziplock bag, add a flank steak and let it sit in the fridge while you make the grilled vegetable salad.

First you need some lettuce.  I grow my own in an AeroGarden and pretty soon it is going to need its own zip code, there's so much of it.  But I do have fresh fresh fresh lettuce whenever I need it.

Now gather up whatever veggies you have around that catch your fancy.  I had some frozen artichoke hearts that I thawed out...

(Okay, that's not a frozen artichoke heart, but it's the only artichoke picture I have, and there's an artichoke heart in there somewhere.)    The picture below IS the actual asparagus that I used...



...along with some cherry tomatoes that I cut in half.  Scatter them all on a cookie sheet that you have lined with foil and spray or drizzle them with a little olive oil.  Toss on a little salt and pepper and pop them in a 425 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes.

When they are done, set them aside to cool a little while you make the steak.  Send someone reliable outside to grill the steak, and while they are doing that, pour the marinade into a saucepan.   Add a little tomato paste and mustard and boil it up for about 5 minutes.  When the steak comes off the grill, let it sit for about 5 minutes and then slice it thinly across the grain.

Now!  Cover half of each plate with lettuce.  Spoon some nice roasted veggies on top.  I think they are just fine plain, but feel free to drizzle a little dressing on top if you like.  Lay some sliced steak on the other side of the plate and pour some of the merlot marinade sauce on top.

You are now in paradise.  Promise. 

Grilled Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak with Grilled Vegetable Salad, steak recipe from Cooking Light

• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup low-salt beef broth
• 3/4 cup Merlot or other dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 

• lettuce
• your choice of vegetables to grill
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add steak; seal bag. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes, turning once.
2. Preheat oven to 425.  Line baking tray with foil and lay veggies in a single layer.  Spray or mix with a little olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on top.  Roast for 10-15 minutes.  Remove and let cool.
3. Remove steak from bag, reserving marinade.   Heat grill to high and cook steak  6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices; keep warm.
4. While steak cooks, combine reserved marinade, tomato paste, and mustard in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring well with a whisk. Bring to a boil, and cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 7 minutes).
5. Arrange grilled veggies over lettuce on each plate.  Place sliced steak alongside veggies, pouring a little merlot sauce over the top.

Print this!

Steak Skewers with Blue Cheese Dip

This is one of those great recipes that combines super-easy-to-make with super-fun-to-eat.  I don't know about you, but for me, everything is better when it comes on a skewer.  (Corn dog, anyone?  Anyone?) This one involves threading very thin slices of flank steak onto wooden skewers.  Make sure you soak the skewers really well in water before you start assembling them.  There is nothing sadder than watching your skewer go up in flames.

Anyway, once your steak skewers are assembled, give them a good seasoning with balsamic vinegar, coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, and lay them on the grill.  It will take you only a few minutes to cook up these babies, depending on how rare or well-done you like them, and that's it!  The blue cheese dip comes straight out of whatever your favorite fancy refrigerated blue cheese dressing is - I like Marie's Blue Cheese dressing which is usually in the produce section of my supermarket.  Grind a little more pepper into the dressing, sprinkle some fresh parsley over the whole thing, and dinner is served.  Or lunch.  Or a really serious snack....

Steak Skewers with Blue Cheese Dip, adapted from Real Simple

• 1/2 pound flank steak
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup good quality blue cheese dressing
• Chopped parsley
• 16 wooden skewers, thoroughly soaked in water

1. Freeze steak for about 10 minutes (this makes it easier to cut).  Slice very thinly against the grain into strips and thread onto soaked skewers

2. Brush with vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

3. Grill over medium high heat until cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side.  

4. Put dressing in a small bowl and sprinkle with parsley.  Serve at once.

Click here for printable recipe

Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Okay, so this is the time of year I start to get panicky about my herbs. I have these great whiskey barrels right outside my kitchen door, and every Mother's Day weekend I plant them full of basil and rosemary and parsley and thyme and sage and tarragon. They are fabulous in June, and wonderful in May. Around mid-August, though, they start getting ornery. Some of them are struggling in the heat, and some of them are getting tall and woody and tough-looking. It's a sure sign that the summer is slowly working its way towards fall, and I go into herb-panic, trying to use 'em or lose'em before that first frost hits.



I know, it's 98 degrees outside and I am worrying about frost, but that's just the kind of calm, laid-back person I am.

Anyway, this recipe is a great way to match up steak cooked on the grill (yumyumyum) with some of those fresh herbs made into a quick and easy sauce that also has a fun name.   Chimichurri sauce - say THAT three times fast.   Chimichurri is a snap to make - you drop a handful of parsley into your trusty food processor or blender, add some garlic, some red wine vinegar, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes and salt.  Push the button and thirty seconds later you have a fresh and delicious sauce with just a little bite to it.  Even the Southern husband, who is a card-carrying member of the Steak Is Perfectly Fine Without Any Annoying Sauce On It Club loved this.  So much so that when I was putting the leftover steak away, he made sure that I put the leftover sauce on top of it.  That's when I knew for dang sure I had a hit on my hands.

So, go use those herbs before the snow flies.

Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

• One flank steak
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil (more as needed)

1. Season steak with salt and pepper and grill to your liking, about 5 minutes per side for medium rare.

2. While steak is resting after being grilled, make chimichurra sauce: add all ingredients except olive oil to food processor and process until parsley and garlic are well-chopped.  Add olive oil in a steady stream through processor tube until the sauce is a nice thick consistency.

3. Slice steak against the grain, and garnish with sauce.

Click here for printable recipe

Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak

Well, it's now reliably over 50 degrees most days here in the Northeast, and you know what THAT means.

It's GRILLING time.

Not that the resilient and reliable Southern husband won't happily dig the grill out from under a snowbank in the middle of February if I really need him to.

But let's face it, it's a lot more fun when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming and you don't have to wear your snow boots. This recipe is the perfect one to kick off grill season, and if you don't count the time I sent him outside in a snowstorm to roast those tomatoes for me, it's the first time the Southern husband has seriously cranked up the grill in 2010.

You need a nice flank steak for this one, and you marinate it for at least 30 minutes in a mixture of chopped onions, beef broth, chopped fresh rosemary, salt, oregano and (here's the beauty part) about a cup of red wine. I love a nice glass of merlot, so that's what my steak got to marinate in.

Once you have the steak on the grill, have someone reliable keep an eye on it while you make the sauce, which is basically a mixture of that marinade you just soaked the steak in, with some tomato paste and Dijon mustard stirred in. Boil it for about 7 minutes until it is reduced to about a cup. When the steak comes off the grill, slice it up and pour some of that sauce over the top, and summer will seem just around the corner.

Rosemary Merlot Flank Steak

1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup beef broth
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
1 pound flank steak
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1. Combine first seven ingredients in plastic bag, add steak and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

2. Remove steak, reserving marinade. Grill steak for 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes and then slice against grain.

3. While steak cooks, combine leftover marinade, tomato paste and mustard in small pot. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to one cup, about 7 minutes. Serve sauce over steak.

Click here for printable recipe

Steak Diane

If you ask the Southern husband what his favorite steak recipe is, after he gets done telling you how there is nothing better than a plain steak with some fresh ground pepper cooked really rare on the grill, he will get around to saying Steak Diane. Whenever I tell him this is on the menu his face looks a little like this...



Only a little less furry. Actual faces have been changed to protect the innocent.

Meanwhile, I did do my level best to figure out why this recipe, which is basically a tenderloin filet with an insanely delicious sauce of mustard, cream, Worcestershire sauce, shallots and a few other things, is called "Diane." I did some cursory research on Wikipedia and got some vague references to Diana, goddess of the hunt. Maybe she liked her dinner with a nice mustard sauce after a long hard day at the hunt? I have five friends named Diane (I just counted) and so many one of them will chime in and tell us.

One way or the other, if you are looking for a drop-dead elegant dinner that is also pretty much as easy as they come, this is for you. I like to serve mine on a bed of baby spinach, but pretty much any plain side veggie will do. There are a ton of Diane recipes out there; this the best version I have run across...so far.

STEAK DIANE for two, from The New York Times

• 2 6-ounce beef tenderloin filets
  
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot or onion
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• Lemon juice to taste, optional
• Chopped fresh chives or parsley leaves for garnish

1. Flatten fillets a bit with the palm of your hand, the back of a skillet or a small mallet; they should be about 1 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and a lot of pepper. In small skillet, preferably one just large enough to hold both filets, combine oil and tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. When butter foam melts, sear steaks on both sides, just until browned, no more than 2 minutes a side. Remove to platter.

2. Wipe pan clean with towel; add remaining butter over medium heat, with shallot or onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire and cream. Add some salt and a fair amount of pepper. Stir once or twice, then taste and adjust seasoning.

3. Keeping mixture at a steady simmer, return meat and accumulated juices to pan. Cook, turning two or three times, until meat is done to your liking, just 1 or 2 minutes a side for medium-rare. Remove to a plate, and add lemon juice, if using, salt and pepper to the sauce as needed. Spoon sauce over meat, garnish with chives or parsley, and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Chicken Fried Steak

Now, I need to tell you a little story about this one. It is called "The Chicken Fried Steak Rule," and it dates back to the beginning of time, before the teenager was even born, and it goes like this.

Once upon a time, there was a Northern girl and a Southern guy, and the Southern guy introduced the Northern girl to the culinary delicacy that is Chicken Fried Steak. He found a great restaurant right nearby that did a scrumptious chicken fried steak with cream gravy and mashed potatoes, and he held her hand across the table and promised his undying love in that mesmerizing Southern accent of his.

The Northern girl girl was smitten with both the Southern guy AND the chicken fried steak, and decided to make both her own. The Southern guy proved to be a lot easier to figure out than the chicken fried steak. She tried recipe after recipe after recipe for chicken fried steak, with no luck. The breading fell off, or burned. The steak was tough. The cream gravy was lumpy, or runny, or bland. The Southern guy bravely ate his way through one disappointing chicken fried steak dinner after another.

Then one day he got down on one knee, took her hands in his, professed his undying love, and reminded her that there was a perfectly wonderful restaurant nearby that served perfectly wonderful chicken fried steak. And thus the Chicken Fried Steak Rule was born, and it goes like this. If there is someplace nearby that makes something wonderful that you like to eat, do not try to reinvent the wheel at home. For the past 20 years, this has saved me from trying to make chicken fried steak (Live Bait restaurant on 23rd street in NYC), doughnuts (Krispy Kreme!) and cinnamon rolls (Grandma). And life was good and peaceful, because whenever I got a jones to make chicken fried steak either the Southern husband or the teenager looked me in the eye and said "Chicken Fried Steak Rule," and I came back to my senses.

Then the Pioneer Woman wrote her fabulous cookbook, and there it was. On page 142. Her recipe for chicken fried steak, complete with irresistable step by step photos. I wavered. I faltered. I fell. There I was, with my cube steak and flour and eggs and milk, flagrantly breaking the Chicken Fried Steak Rule for the first time in years. And you know what? Rules are meant to be broken...this was the chicken fried steak of my dreams, right here in my own little kitchen!

Anybody out there got any Krispy Kreme doughnut recipes???

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK, adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

3 pounds sliced cube steak
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups milk
3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup canola oil

1. Beat the eggs with one cup of milk and place in shallow dish

2. Mix 3 cups flour with 2 teaspoons salt, paprika, cayenne and black pepper, place in shallow dish

3. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Dip in flour, then eggs, then back in flour, coating thoroughly each time. Place on empty plate until ready to cook.

4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Fry meat 3 pieces at a time until golden, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove to paper towel lined plate and keep warm.

5. After frying all the meat, pour out all grease except for 1/4 cup and heat up the grease. Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour over the grease and whisk it together.

6. After a couple of minutes the flour mixture will turn brown. Whisking constantly, pour in 2 cups of milk. Let gravy come to slow boil to thicken. Add more milk as needed if it gets too thick. This should take 5-10 minutes.

7. Generously season with salt and pepper.

8. Place meat on plate and spoon gravy over. Serve with mashed potatoes and whatever other veggie you like. I serve with corn to make sure we really DO get enough carbs. Yum yum yum.

Click here for printable recipe

Teriyaki Steak and Sesame Noodles

Just in time for the holidays, I have a great recipe and an equally great cookbook to give away! Those of you who read my post on Pork Dumplings with Chili Sauce know that I am a big fan of Jaden Hair and her Steamy Kitchen blog. Jaden is an amazing cook, an incredibly talented photographer, a really nice person, and the author of THE STEAMY KITCHEN COOKBOOK, which is where I got the recipe for the teriyaki steak that you see above. This cookbook is jam-packed with fabulous-looking recipes that I am going to work my way through...just as soon as I get it back from my mom, who took one look at it on my kitchen counter and borrowed it.

But not before I had made this rocking good steak, which is marinated in a balsamic teriyaki sauce that is Out Of This World. Jaden makes it with a skirt steak, but says you can use the steak of your choice, so I took her at her word and used my all-time favorite cut for grilling: the flank steak. The Southern husband and I made the teriyaki sauce the night before and marinated that bad boy overnight until it was good and soaked in that amazing marinade. By the time dinnertime rolled around, there was nothing left to do but grill the steak and heat up some reserved marinade to drizzle over the steak.

Along the way, it occurred to me that the perfect accompaniment to this fantastic steak would be the Pioneer Woman's Sesame Noodles, which I have now made about one million times. And they were indeed perfect! Which brought all of this full circle, because those sesame noodles were the topic of my first cookbook giveaway...that one is over, but now I have a copy of Jaden's beautiful cookbook to give away next!

So here's what I need: leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling me your favorite food blog, and that will enter you into a random drawing for a copy of THE STEAMY KITCHEN COOKBOOK. (For my peeps who subscribe on email -- click on the recipe title up top and it will take you to the web page where you can comment. I love you guys!!) It is a perfect holiday gift...if you can bear to part with it, that is! I will announce the lucky winner at 7pm on Saturday, December 5. And in the meantime, give this scrumptious teriyaki steak a try, and visit one of MY favorite food blogs, Steamy Kitchen!

**THANKS EVERYONE -- Contest is now over, but please look for the next cookbook giveaway, coming your way soon!**

GRILLED STEAK WITH BALSAMIC TERIYAKI, from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

• 1 pound skirt steak, or steak of your choice
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 minced shallot
• 2 minced cloves garlic
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 cup beef, chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)

1. To make the teriyaki sauce, melt the butter in a saucepot over medium low heat. When it starts to bubble, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until soft, watching to make sure they don't burn.

2. Pour in the vinegar and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until reduced by half. It should be thick, glossy and coat the back of a spoon.

3. Add the sugar, stock, soy sauce and mirin, stir well and bring back to a boil. Then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool and reserve 1/2 cup sauce for marinating and 1/4 cup for serving.

4. Place the steak and 1/2 cup sauce into a large sealable plastic bag. Marinate 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

5. Thirty minutes before grilling, remove the steak from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature. Discard the marinade and pat the steak very dry with paper towels.

6. Preheat grill to high, or set a large frying pan over high heat on the stove and add oil when very hot.

7. Grill steak for 3-5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Let steak rest for 5 minutes and the slice across the grain. Serve with reserved 1/4 cup marinade to pour over the meat.

Click here for printable recipe

Grand Central Market!!

So, I am LOVING all the recipes and suggestions you guys are sending me, and have been thinking to myself, Self, this is one of the best things that has come out of this little food blog adventure. How could life get any better?

Then the Grand Central Market folks called me. Life got better.

For those of you (like me) who weren't aware of this little piece of heaven in the middle of big bad New York City, it's located in the Grand Central Station terminal, and is a beautiful collection of 13 shops selling everything from wild boar salami to the best bread pudding I have ever tasted in my life, and everything in between. A few days ago they invited me down to meet some of the great folks who work there, and to sample some of the amazing treats they have to offer.

We started out at Murray's Real Salami. You know you are in heaven when you are dealing with a store that only sells salami. Or to be more specific, cooked and cured meats from all over the US and Europe. I tried to come up with the right words for the mesmerizing aroma coming out of this place, and I finally gave up. For someone who is head of the Bacon Admiration Society...let's just say they had me at hello.

Justin, who has the great good fortune to work in the middle of this aroma all day long, told me that the Cremenelli salami was very popular, and gave me a bite of the black truffle AND the wild boar salami. Let's just say that I thought I knew what good salami was before this. I didn't. Now I do. Oh my goodness. Don't live your whole life without trying this, okay?

Murray's has quite a few other goodies behind the counter keeping the salami company. I could have gotten into some serious trouble there, but I reminded myself this was only Stop #1, and I needed to pace myself. So we proceeded on to Ceriello, which sells meats and scrumptious-looking prepared foods.

This is Martin the Butcher, and this is his marinated prime dry aged ribeye steak. He explained that they marinate it in their own brand of olive oil with Tuscan spices (and I think I spy some garlic chunks in there too), and that it is one of their best and most popular items. They only sell aged beef here, which is more tender and flavorful because of scientific reasons related to the beef-aging process that I have no hope of understanding. I could practically hear the carnivourous Southern husband telling me "grab the ribeye and make a run for it!" But somehow I resisted, and besides, the great folks at Ceriello gave me a couple of these babies to try:

Oh, mama. They poured just a bit of their homemade olive oil over them first, and I thought I might faint. They are THAT good. Marinated aged rib-eye steak and blue-cheese artichoke hearts...now this is my kind of butcher, baby.

Now that I had the meat thoroughly checked out, it was time for some fish. And right across from Ceriello's was the wonderful Wild Edibles, where we had a great visit with beautiful Maggie, who looks just like Cybill Shepherd, and told us all about the great partnership Wild Edibles has with the Blue Ocean Institute.

In a nutshell, they tell you how each and every one of their fish is caught and/or farmed, so that the customer knows exactly what they are eating. In all seriousness now, I was so impressed. And doesn't it look so, so, so good??

Next stop was Penzey. I seriously cannot believe I have lived almost my entire life in the New York Metropolitan area, and not known about Penzey's Spices. Wonderful Amy at Penzey's explained that they are famous for their spice blends.



Penzeys has a load of beautiful jars of all the spices we know and love, but they also combine them together in these AMAZING blends that pretty much take you to spice heaven. They sent me home with something called "Bicentennial Rub" (salt, Tellicherry black pepper, sugar, turmeric, orange peel and coriander) and something called Northwoods Fire (salt, chipolte pepper, Hungarian paprika, garlic, rosemary, thyme, black pepper and cayenne). Uh-huh, THAT'S what I'm talking about. Where do they think these things up?? And how great that they do!! I have already used the Northwoods Fire spice in one dish already (watch for my upcoming post on coconut shrimp risotto) and ooh-la-la.



They also have a cinnamon blend that combines four, count them FOUR, different kinds of cinnamon - China, Vietnamese, Ceylon and Korintje cinnamon. It is the holy grail of cinnamon. I could be happy just breathing it in, never mind cooking with it.



Next stop...more Murray's! And this time we were talking cheese, which after bacon is my absolute favorite food group.



And Murray's has a LOT of cheese.




So I was basically finding it a little hard to breathe in and out when Julie from Murray's said, can I give you a sample of anything at all?

Why yes! I asked what she thought were some of their most delicious cheeses, and that scored me a sample of some Pleasant Ridge Reserve (a cow's milk cheese from Wisconsin). And some Kunik (an out of this world goat cheese). And, um, some of this Meadow Creek Grayson cheese.



Well, they DID ask me. And man, am I glad they did. They have over 300 different kinds of cheese, so whatever you are looking for, I'm guessing they have it.

Now that I was in a happy cheese-induced stupor, we went over to Li-Lac Chocolates. (I know, it's great to be me.) Li-Lac makes all their own chocolate in their Brooklyn factory and they have a little bit of everything, from white chocolate almond bark, to chocolate covered candied ginger, to almond toffee crunch. But mostly what they have is chocolate. Lots and lots and lots of chocolate.



Sometimes a chunk of chocolate is all that you need, especially when it is melt in your mouth delicious homemade in Brooklyn chocolate.



Or adorable bags of Halloween chocolate.



Or, maybe you like some nuts with your chocolate? I don't mind if I do. At this point I was getting, um, FULL. So the lovely Liveth from Li-Lac put together a care package for me that included a dark chocolate coconut cluster and a chocolate mousse-filled chocolate roll. I brought the second one home that night and practically had to fight the teenager for it. (It was worth the fight. And just for the record, I did split it with her, because that is just the awesome, generous mom that I am. )

So at this point I am thinking I have reached Grand Central Market Nirvana. Because really, what can be better than cheese followed by chocolate? Right?

Then I went to Dishes.



Oh my. Oh, my my my.

Dishes is basically the Holy Grail of prepared foods. Roasted brined turkey breast. Beef and fresh ricotta lasagne. Banana pudding. Grilled filet mignon with rosemary. And on and on and on, with dish after dish after dish of amazing looking food. Here is what they hooked me up with: Turkey meatballs with golden raisins and pinenuts, with lemon and cumin yogurt sauce.

A square of this AWESOME macaroni and cheese. I generously shared this with my Italian friend for lunch, because that is the loving and giving sort of friend I am (I mean, sharing mac and cheese?? that is true love) and we agreed that it was amazing. I think we actually stared into each other's eyes and said in unison, "This is AMAZING." With our mouths full.

And finally, they bestowed upon me what was probably my favorite dish in the entire Grand Central Market....this coconut apricot bread pudding. I don't even have words for this. It was creamy and sweet and wonderful and perfect. Check out that sauce it is sitting in. I have NO idea what it is, other than unbelievably good.



And last but not least, we stopped in at Pescatore, where I met the completely charming Jerry, who owns the place with his partner Glenn. (Jerry is the one in the baseball cap. As far as I know, the other one is NOT Glenn.)



Jerry explained that their shop grew out of their wholesale business, which provides fish to many of the elegant restaurants in New York...and now us home cooks can buy that same high-quality fish here at Pescatore. Their fish comes from all over the world, and Jerry said one of their missions is to help their customers discover the many terrific kinds of fish out there. And if you go to their online site...they deliver. Nationwide. Not kidding. Go.

Hi guys.

They also have a beautiful array of prepared foods, including things like this chilean sea bass filet...



And Jerry sent me home with a serving of this gorgeous sesame-crusted tuna, which made the Southern husband fall in love with me all over again. Go visit Pescatore's, folks, and make sure you say hi to Jerry for me.

At this point I had three bags worth of goodies, and was seriously considering moving to Westchester County so I could commute in and out of Grand Central Station. So my friends...if you are ever in or around Manhattan and you are even just a little bit hungry...Grand Central Market. And for all you non-New Yorkers out there, most of these places have online sites and you can order from them, so click away on all the links above.

Thanks, Grand Central Market! See you SOON!

Summer Steak Tartare

Steak tartare. It is certainly dramatic, isn't it? This is one of those recipes that you have to be completely in the mood for. (The dog tried her best to tell me she was in the mood, and she would also be in the mood tomorrow and the next day and the day after). It is kind of primal -- we are talking raw meat, raw egg, and some serious flavorings. But every once in a while it is just the thing for a small, exotic, romantic meal.
This particular recipe comes from one of my beloved Sarah Leah Chase cookbooks, OPEN-HOUSE COOKBOOK. I love them, these cookbooks, and I go back to them over and over because they are great at putting a little spin on recipes you think you know but haven't really experienced to their fullest until you have tried Sarah's version. This one is called "Summer Steak Tartare," because along with the standard tartare ingredients it also includes a serious amount of fresh chopped herbs, which for me totally changes it for the better. The recipe calls for serving it on fresh greens, but I changed this to a bed of basil leaves (anything to use up more basil!), and discovered that eating small bites of it wrapped in the basil leaves is just as great as eating it off of toast points. And on the toast points front, I used triangles of Indian naan bread, because it happened to be in the fridge at the moment, and it was perfect!
So whenever you are feeling a little romantic and adventurous and carnivorous, give this one a try. Add a little red wine, some Van Morrison on the stereo, eat it with your sweetheart from a shared plate, and I promise you, it will not be your run-of-the-mill dinner. Thank you for the millionth time, Sarah...

SUMMERTIME STEAK TARTARE, adapted from OPEN-HOUSE COOKBOOK

• 3/4 pound finely ground beef tenderloin. Get the best one you can and your food processor will grind this up just fine.
• 1 minced shallot
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon drained capers
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 5 sundried tomatoes, packed in oil, minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 egg yolk
• Salt and pepper to tase
• Shaved Parmesan cheese
• 1 hard cooked egg yolk, pressed through a sieve
• Greens -- arugala, or even large basil leaves

1. Using your hands, mix everything together except for the parmesan, cooked egg yolk and greens.
2. Line a serving plate with the greens. Mound the tartare in the center. Decorate with Parmesan shavings. Scatter sieved egg yolk over all. Serve at once with toast points.

Serves 4 as appetizer, or 2 as a romantic little dinner.