Flank steak with Cuban black beans

http://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/coriander-crusted-flank-steak-cuban-black-beans

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread/

Mongolian beef

This recipe from Six Sister's Stuff is billed as a copycat of the mongolian beef from P.F. Chang's.  I'm not sure I've ever ordered that dish so I can't vouch for the copycat part, but either way, it's delicious.

MONGOLIAN BEEF

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil 
½ teaspoon ginger, minced 
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped 
½ cup soy sauce 
½ cup water 
¾ cup dark brown sugar 
vegetable oil , for frying (about 1 cup) 
1 lb flank steak 
¼ cup cornstarch 
2 large green onions, chopped

rice, for serving

Instructions

Sauce:
Heat 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.  Don't get the oil too hot.  Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.  Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then increase the heat to medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens (may require a sprinkle of corn starch to thicken). Remove it from the heat.

Beef:
Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.  Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.  Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.  As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté until brown. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.  After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels.  Dab excess oil off meat with a paper towel and add to saucepan with the sauce in it.  Put the pan back on the oven over medium/low heat.  Add chopped green onions and let sauce simmer until warm. Serve over rice.

Cast iron steaks

Wow, who doesn't love a recipe with just 4 ingredients??  These cast iron steaks are from the Rachael Ray show and couldn't be simpler.  (We made the bacon-wrapped potato skins from the same episode, but weren't really wowed by them so they aren't making the cut for a blog post).

Ingredients:

• 4 flat iron or strip steaks
• 3 to 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Directions:
• Bring steaks to room temp and dress with Worcestershire, a little EVOO, lots of salt and coarse black pepper. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat to smoking. Add steak and cook 8 minutes, turning once, for medium-rare. Allow steaks to rest a few minutes then slice, sprinkle with parsley and garlic, and drizzle with EVOO.

Mexican sliced steak tacos

We made these Mexican sliced steak tacos from the Rachael Ray show a few weeks ago at the lake.  You marinate the meat, then grill it and add your choice of toppings- we chose corn, avocado, red onion, tomatoes and lime juice.  Delicious!

Carne asada cheese tacos

It has taken me way too long to post about these carne asada cheese tacos - they became an instant favorite in our house and you HAVE to try them! You know how the best part of a grilled cheese is the cheese that oozes out of the bread and gets crispy? Well imagine taking that crispy cheese and wrapping it around flank steak - YUM!!!

(And to clarify in case it's hard to tell from the written recipe - you put the cheese in the pan and let it crisp on one side only- you put the meat on the top-side of the cheese which is still gooey. So crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside. Is your mouth watering yet??)

Cowboy-style Philly cheesesteaks

We made Rachael Ray's Cowboy-style Philly cheesesteaks for dinner a few nights ago and they were a big hit! Robert and I are suckers for anything involving flank steak, bacon, and provolone cheese, so I knew this would be a winner before we even started!! This is a fantastic sandwich with lots of flavor. I can't wait to make these again!

NOTE: There is a discrepancy between the recipe link and the way Rachael cooked it on the show: on TV, she coated the meat with the spice rub when the flank steak was WHOLE and before putting it on the grill, not after it had been sliced like the link says.

Barbecue sliced steak sandwiches

Technically this recipe is for barbecue sliced steak sliders, but I couldn't find any small rolls I liked so we went the sandwich route. This is a delicious, slightly messy to eat sandwich. We loved the homemade pickles and onions (note: make those the day before!) - they were the perfect addition to the sweet and tangy barbecue sauce!

Italian hand-cut steak chili

We made this slow-cooker Italian hand-cut steak chili recipe from Rachael Ray this week, and we finished it in record time. Robert loves chili with steak vs ground beef, so I knew this would be a hit with him. The pancetta is a nice touch, and definitely use the optional garnishes - we did fontina cheese, onion, and pepperoncinis. Delicious!!!

Peruvian-style steak

We made Peruvian-style steak from the June/July issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray for dinner one night at the beach. This recipe only has a few ingredients, but cooking everything on the grill really brings out great flavors. I especially loved the grilled tomatoes and onions - delicious! The potatoes were a bit bland (even after I seasoned them with salt and pepper, which the recipe didn't call for), so we topped ours with guacamole. An entire meal cooked on the grill!

Steak a la Chorrillana
Serves 6

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 baking potatoes, sliced lengthwise, 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 Spanish onions, sliced lengthwise
1 tomato, cut into 8 wedges (we used 3 because my family loves tomatoes, and I couldn't fathom all of us sharing just one!)
3 lbs flatiron steak, halved crosswise
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Lime wedges, for serving

1. Preheat a grill to medium. Brush the olive oil on the potatoes, onions and tomato. Arrange the vegetables on greased cooking grates and grill, covered, until the potatoes are crisp and golden underneath, about 5 minutes. Move the tomatoes to a cooler spot on the grill; turn the potatoes and onions and grill until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, season the steaks with salt and pepper, arrange on the cooking grates and grill, turning once, until grill marks appear, about 7 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing.
3. Transfer the vegetables to a work surface; tent the potatoes with foil. Coarsely chop the onions and tomatoes and transfer to a bowl; stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve the steaks with the tomato-onion mixture, potatoes and lime wedges.

05.12.09 Chocolate flank steak with pineapple salsa

Dinner tonight was chocolate flank steak with pineapple salsa from Paula Deen. I marinated the meat in the refrigerator for 8 hours and we cooked it on the outdoor grill. The flavor is rich and delicious, and the pineapple salsa is the perfect compliment to the meat! (The salsa is great on its own, too - I ate the leftovers with chips).

On a side note, here are two simple tips on how to pick a ripe, sweet pineapple - smell the bottom, then look for the "eyes" on the skin to be the same size. A sweet fragrance should yield a sweet flavor!

03.14.09 Flank steak with cucumber-pepperoncini relish

Dinner last night was flank steak with cucumber and pepperoncini relish from Cooking Light. The steak is simply prepared - just seasoned and grilled - and the real flavor comes from the tangy relish. Delicious! We doubled the meat (1 3/4 lbs) and the relish for 4 people. We served it with sweet potato fries and tomatoes.

01.12.09 Barbecued flank steak sandwiches

Dinner tonight was barbecued flank steak sandwiches from Cooking Light. This was a no-brainer because I had all of the ingredients and it didn't require a trip to Kroger. Served hot - it is delicious! (If you like your sandwiches saucy, you might want to make extra barbecue sauce. And we added dill pickle to ours - it's a personal choice).

01.10.09 Tacos al carbon

If we're eating at a Mexican restaurant, chances are Robert is ordering the tacos al carbon. It's one of his favorites, and this recipe from Cooking Light is an excellent version to make at home. The amount of garlic called for seems excessive (8 cloves?!), so even though I half the recipe for the two of us, I only use 2 cloves of garlic, which is plenty. I don't make any other substitutions or changes.