steak – Living The Q Life

Asian Steak Sandwiches

Marinating flank or skirt steak can turn an inexpensive piece of meat into a delicious and tender meal. Cutting it thinly on a bias is also great for sandwiches, which is what we decided to do. Utilizing Asian influences makes this sandwich even more flavorful and robust. In addition to the marinade, we also drizzled it with an sesame-ginger dressing that enhanced the overall experience. Since the steak only needs to marinade for 30 to 40 minutes, it makes for an easy weeknight meal that is both satisfying and delicious.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Skirt or Flank Steak
4 Garlic Cloves – minced
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Fresh Lime Juice
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Chili Paste (Sambal)
1 tbsp Fresh Ginger Root – chopped
Sandwich Rolls
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Asian Salad Mix
Sesame-Ginger Dressing – store bought or home made

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the garlic, ginger, chili paste, soy sauce, lime juice, and sesame oil in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly. Place the steak in a plastic bag and poor the marinade over the steak, ensuring that the steak is completely covered. Let the steak rest in the marinade for about 30 to 40 minutes. Heat a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil. Once the pan is hot, remove the steak from the marinade and place it in the pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then flip and continue cooking the other side for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the steak from the pan and let it rest for 10 minutes and then cut across the grain into thin strips. Place the steak onto the rolls, top with Asian lettuce mix, and drizzle with the sesame-ginger dressing.

Asian Steak Sandwich with Spicy Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Philly Cheesesteak

We used to live outside of Philadelphia many years ago and one of our favorite meals were Philly Cheesesteaks. We have tried to get them occasionally here in Colorado and with few exceptions, nothing matches the real thing. Every time we are back in Pennsylvania, we make sure to get an Italian Hoagie and a Philly Cheesesteak, which is what we did a couple of years ago. There are a couple of important things to making a good Philly and that is getting a good, soft, hoagie roll and the other is slicing the meat very thin. We aren’t going to get into a debate as to the best place to get a Philly in Philadelphia, but in our opinion getting one from one of the many food carts downtown is better than most of the famous restaurants. Some people believe that a Philly should be served with cheese sauce instead of real cheese, but we think that provolone cheese is the authentic way to serve a cheesesteak. The only alteration that we made to the traditional cheesesteak was to add mushrooms, which you will find as an option on the food carts, and it just adds a little extra flavor. This recipe serves up to four people and is really delicious.

Cheesesteak in Collegeville, Pennsylvania (Just Outside of Philadelphia)

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Top Round Beef – sliced extremely thin
1 Medium Green Pepper – sliced
1 Medium Yellow Onion – sliced
5 to 6 Medium Button Mushrooms – destemmed and sliced
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1/4 lb Provolone Cheese – sliced
4 Hoagie Rolls
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare the vegetables being sure to slice each of them in equal thicknesses. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the green peppers. After the peppers have sautéed for about 2 to 3 minutes and then add the onions. After about another 5 minutes, add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until they begin to caramelize slightly (don’t over cook them). Remove the vegetables from the pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drain on a paper towel. Turn an oven onto broil at 500 degrees. Salt and pepper the beef and then add the meat to the same pan that you cooked the vegetables and cook until it is just starting to brown (again, don’t over cook the beef). Add the vegetables back to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, just to combine them and reheat the vegetables. Open the hoagie rolls, being sure not to completely separate the halves, and place them on a baking sheet. Add 1/4 of the meat and vegetable mixture to each of the rolls and place cheese over the meat mixture. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Transfer to a plate and serve with mayonnaise. You can add lettuce and tomato if you would like, but that isn’t necessarily traditional.

Steak Braciole

When most people think of Italian food, they generally think of pasta, red sauces, and pizza, but there is much more to the rich gastronomical heritage of Italy. We enjoyed a wonderful variety of food during our time in Italy, so we thought that we would attempt to create a different style of Italian food for ourselves. Braciole is a thin steak that is stuffed with bread crumbs, vegetables, cheese, and then rolled to create a pinwheel of flavor. We adapted our recipe from one that we saw Chef Jeff Mauro cook on an episode of a television show. It has so much flavor and made for a wonderful dinner for the two of us.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Thinly Cut or Butterflied Top Round or Strip Steak (We used top round steak)
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 cloves Garlic – minced
4 to 6 oz Fresh Mozzarella Cheese – sliced
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
16 Asparagus Stalks – cut to width
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Blanch the asparagus by boiling or steaming them for about two to three minutes and then shocking them in an ice bath. If necessary, butterfly the steak and then pound out until about an eighth of inch thin. Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Combine the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, and olive oil in a small bowl. Place the mozzarella cheese onto the steak, leaving about an inch perimeter all of the way around. Cover with the bread crumb mixture and then place the asparagus on the steak leaving about a half inch in between each stalk. Roll the steak as tightly as possible and then tie it with butcher twine. Sear the steak on all four sides for about three minutes per side in a skillet with olive oil at medium-high heat. Place the steak in a 250 degree oven for about forty minutes or until the desired temperature. Remove the butcher twine and cut the steak into about one inch pinwheels. If desired, serve with a sauce such as your favorite tomato sauce, but it can be served as is.