Top Sirloin with tomato, red onion, and basil

I was looking through a Redbook magazine while getting my hair done.  I came across a recipe that sounded really good.  This is the modified version.

There wasn’t enough balsamic vinegar so my friend recommended mixing balsamic vinegar and sherry cooking wine.  As the balsamic vinegar and sherry cooking wine cooked, it filled the air with a strong vinegar smell, which prompted my friend’s son to search out the gas mask kept in the house and he put it on.  He sat at the table and wore the mask until the food was served.   

A small town market doesn’t really have much of a choice in cheese so instead of goat cheese we used ricotta cheese, very nice mellow taste added to the salad.

1/2 c balsamic vinegar Modena

¼ c sherry cooking wine

5 large plum tomatoes, julienned

1 red onion, julienned

¼ fresh basil, julienned

1 Tsp kosher salt

1 Tsp fresh ground red pepper

5 top sirloin steaks (approx 4 oz each)

1 TBSP olive oil

5 TBSP  Ricotta Cheese

Combine balsamic vinegar and sherry cooking wine in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer until reduced to about ½.

Combine tomatoes, red onion, 1 TPBS of the balsamic vinegar and sherry sauce, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper in bowl and mix.  Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Cook steaks for 3 minutes on each side, longer if you want the steaks cooked more than medium rare.  Transfer steaks to a plate to sit for 5 minutes.  Divide vegetable mix between 5 plates, set a steak on top of each pile of vegetables.  Add a TBSP of ricotta cheese on top of each steak.  Divide the rest of the sauce between the 5 plates, drizzling on top of the pile.

Flat Iron Steak (or Tri Tip) with Red Wine Sauce

The adventures of cooking with cousin Dianna continue.  This time we are in Uncle Norm’s kitchen with red wine and no wine opener.  Of course it has to be a fake cork, not a real cork.  We start out with knives to try to cut / push the cork through, then moved to a metal skewer.  Uncle Norm decides to use needle nose pliers, it took awhile but it worked!  Just in time to add to the recipe.  Yes, I continued to cook as they worked on the cork. 

I did not use a grill or a bbq, I just fried it in the pan.  I used the same pan the steaks were fried in to sauté the onions in butter.  If you happen to like well done steak or almost well done, sticking the medium rare steak in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time works pretty well.  

Round two, two days later with a wine opener because this time we are at my cousin Dianna’s house.   Now her family gets to try the steak.  We are using Tri-Tip instead of Flat Iron, a Tempranillo wine instead of a Merlot, and a yellow onion instead of a white onion.

I am so excited, there is a Pampered Chef Chopper, yet, bummed because the recipe calls for thinly sliced not chopped onions…sorry eyeballs (refer to Turkey Chili adventure)!   Two reasons for teary eyes, oh well.  Do you think my cousin and her family will miss the 2^nd cup of red wine in the recipe? ;)  Oh ya, the cousin has had this recipe before...two days ago. 

Ok, next challenge, the measurements on the measuring cups have worn off.  I’m pretty sure I know which is which, but still…I think we all know what she needs to get for Christmas…a label maker!  Ok, ok, a label maker might be a bit much, maybe just a permanent marker.   Oh man, she tried that and it didn't work.  I guess she'll have to settle for a new set of measuring cups.  The non stick pan vs my uncle’s not so non stick pan was wonderful!  Nothing is burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.  So happy!

If you only have 2 cups of dry red wine because it was leftover from drinking the other night, add ½ cup of sweet wine that was leftover.

Recipe Link:

Flat Iron Steak with Red Wine Sauce

Flat Iron Steak

Tri Tip 

Thanks to my cousin Dianna who put together the food on the plate!  Beautiful!

London Broil with Herb Butter

Ok...two postings today!

Beef Top Round London Broil

Continuing the freezer challenge.  Today is beef top round London broil.  Ok, two pieces of large steak.  If I stand these up to the small dog that lives in this house, they are taller than the dog.  In fact I pictured putting the steak on the back of the dog just to see a large raw steak with little legs walking around the house…but then I know the owner of the dog would not appreciate the humor of the idea and we wouldn’t be eating steak for dinner tonight.  So…back to the recipe!

Searched online again for a recipe.  Found one on www.foodnetwork.com.  Made the marinade this morning.  After putting the marinade and the steak in the fridge, I went to the store for the rest of the ingredients.  After getting back from the store I was able to make the herb butter.   I have nothing else to do for the recipe until 4:30 pm.  Fast forward to 4:30 pm.  I removed the steaks from the fridge, then removed them from the marinade and patted them dry.  Sliced each steak in half and waited until the steaks were room temperature to cook.  Used a large skillet to cook the steaks and pans with water in them for the weight to place on top of the steaks.  After the steaks were done, I placed them on a plate and put the herb butter on top, covered and let sit for 10 minutes.  The steaks were served with red potatoes, asparagus and multi-grain garlic bread. 

Recipe Link:

London Broil with Herb Butter

BBQ Beef Sandwiches

I have taken on the task of using up items in a freezer that need to be used up.  One of my favorite challenges, someone else's freezer.  First item on the list was sliced beef bottom round roast.  I did my normal search on the internet and came up with a very easy recipe from the Betty Crocker website.  Slow Cooker Root Beer Barbecue Beef Sandwiches.  Barbecue sauce and root beer in a slow cooker!  Very easy!  Instead of using buns we used multi-grain flatbread and flour tortillas.  Sprinkled shredded blended cheese on heated tortillas or flatbread and rolled up like a jelly roll.  Leftovers were served on buns and as wraps.

Recipe Link:
Slow Cooker Root Beer Barbecue Beef Sandwiches