favorite steak salad

This is our favorite steak salad - we eat it nearly once a week.

1 skirt steak
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 teaspoon (packed) dark brown sugar
4 cups (lightly packed) arugula
goat cheese
dried cranberries

Sprinkle steak generously with salt and pepper or steak seasoning. Heat oil in cast iron skillet over high heat. Add steak; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to plate. Add vinegar, shallots, and sugar to skillet; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Divide arugula, goat cheese and cranberries between 2 plates. Slice steak; place atop arugula. Drizzle lightly with glaze.

Adapted from Epicurious.com

dark rum mojito steak salad

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but it sounds super tasty, and we have lots of different rums to try in it.

1 (8-ounce) top sirloin, fat trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ounce white rum (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
½ red onion, minced
1 cup corn cut off the cob
8 to 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing
½ cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons taco sauce or salsa
Juice of ½ lime
Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of olive oil, mint, sugar, rum and juice of 1 lime. Pour over steak and marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper, and sear until golden- brown or desired doneness, preferably medium-rare or medium. Let steak rest and slightly cool.

In a large bowl, mix together lettuce, peppers, onions, corn and tomatoes. Thinly slice steak and toss with salad.

Mix all dressing ingredients together, and pour over salad. Serve immediately.

cheesy frittata

The first frittata we made came about out of necessity - we were hungry and the only thing we could make out of what we had in the house was a frittata. It was so good we went out to get the ingredients to make it again.

Ingredients:
8 eggs
2 tbsp half and half
1 small log of herbed goat cheese
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb of bacon
salt and pepper
1 tomato, thinly sliced
slices of brie
2 zucchini, chopped

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop raw bacon into small pieces. Fry in a cast iron skillet until crispy. Remove to a separate bowl and pour off excess bacon grease from the skillet. Fry the onions in the bacon grease until softened and add the chopped zucchini, frying both until lightly browned. (Cover to help speed the softening process.) Add the crumbled bacon and stir to combine.

Place slices of brie on top of the mixture (use as much or as little as you want).

Whisk the eggs with the half and half and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the eggs over the veggies, meat and cheese in the skillet. Place slices of tomato carefully on top of the eggs and sprinkle chunks from the log of goat cheese over the top.

Cook on the stove top for 8 minutes, then transfer to the oven for another 15 minutes, then broil for 4 minutes until brown and bubbly on top, and cooked through.

Cut into wedges to serve.

My favorite part of the frittata is the tomato, every time. So while we haven't tried this yet, next time we plan a tomato-heavy version. 

Prepare as above, except omit the zucchini. Once the onions have softened, add the bacon and stir to combine. Place slices of tomato over onion mixture. Add a layer of goat cheese, then add another layer of tomato and a layer of brie. Pour eggs over the top. Add another layer of tomato and crumble the goat cheese on top. Cook as directed above. 

creamy, melty spinach

This is a cooling counterpoint to the grill-ades recipe - and easy to throw together after all the work on the other dish.

1 large container of fresh baby spinach
1 cup of half and half
salt
pepper
garlic
olive oil
1 tbsp butter

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add spinach, salt, pepper and garlic and stir until all of the leaves have wilted.

In a separate saucepan, melt the butter. Season with more salt, pepper and garlic. Add the half and half, stir and heat through.

Once the spinach is wilted, pour the cream sauce over the spinach. Stir to combine. Leave over low heat stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes. Serve.

grill-ades

For the first time in all our years of cooking we finally have a dutch oven and I couldn't be enjoying it more. It (along with all of our new kitchen implements) are making it so that I can't wait to cook again. The meals I'm making take a whole lot longer, it seems, but I don't care because I'm enjoying the process just as much as the result. I swear this meal took more than 4 hours to make, but that also included a run to the store for forgotten tomatoes and a phone break. Regardless of the time it took, the result was well worth it.

For this we used a fresh ham steak from the farm share - a cut I never have any idea what to do with and have dreaded getting each month. But now I'll know exactly what to do with it the next time I see it.

1 - 2 pounds fresh ham steak (or veal or beef top round) cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces
2-3 tablespoons cajun seasoning
1/2 cup potato starch, for dredging
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 pound crimini mushrooms, brushed cleaned and quartered
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup dry red wine
3 cups veal/beef stock
1 can of whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Lay the meat pieces a few at a time between sheets of cling wrap or parchment paper. Using a meat mallet, pound the meat to tenderize and break up some of the connective tissue. Season the meat pieces with 2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning and dredge in the potato starch.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot add 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and brown the meat, working in batches and adding more oil as necessary. Do not overcrowd the pan with the meat. Cook the meat for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. As the meat is browned, transfer to a large plate and set aside until you have cooked all of it.

Add the butter to the pan and, when melted, add the onions, celery, peppers and mushrooms. Cook the vegetables, stirring often, until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Pour the red wine to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pot with a spoon to remove any browned bits that may have formed on the bottom.

Add the veal stock, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, salt, cayenne and black peppers to the pan and bring to a boil. Return the meat to the pan and reduce the heat to a simmer. Place a lid on the pan and place in the oven. Allow the meat to cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 2 hours, or until the meat is fork tender.

Recipe adapted from the Food Network

fruit salad portk chops

We had to adapt this recipe to fit what we actually had in the house, but it turned out better than if we had all the right ingredients in the first place. The seasoning is one of the best matches for pork chops I've found.

For the fruit sauce:
1 teaspoon olive oil
French sea salt
1-2 cups peaches, raspberries and dried cranberries
1/3 cup ruby port
1 teaspoon pomegranate balsamic vinegar

For the pork chops:
3 (1-inch-thick) bone-in pork loin chops
1 1/4 teaspoons french sea salt
1 teaspoon coriander
3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees to pre-heat cast iron pans. Crush coriander, mustard seeds, salt and pepper in a mortar and pestle. Rub all of the spice mixture and olive oil all over the pork chops.

Add the chops to the cast iron pan and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 3 and 1/2 minutes on each side. Place the pan in the oven. Bake for 2 and 1/2 minutes.

Let them rest 5 to 7 minutes.

In the cast iron pan used for the pork chops, stir in the peaches, raspberries and dried cranberries, port, and vinegar and cook until the fruit begins to soften and the port has reduced by half, about 7-10 minutes. When the sauce is finished, remove it from the heat and set it aside.

Spoon the reserved sauce over top of the pork chops and serve.

The above picture also includes a latke-style vegetable pancake made with multi-colored carrots and topped with beet yogurt.

Adapted from Chow.com

crocked pulled pork

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ cup honey
¼ cup black cherry balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and cut in half
3 to 3 ½ pounds pork shoulder

Mix together the first six ingredients (all of the spices) with a fork. Pour in the honey, vinegar, and olive oil and stir to form a paste.

Place the onion in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top it with the pork and then pour the honey paste over all sides of the pork pieces.

Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 7 to 8 (or 10) hours or until the meat is tender enough to be easily shredded with a fork.

Serve with collard greens and Bell seasoned mashed potatoes.

Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

stewed collard greens with baby tomatoes

1 bunch of collard greens, washed, stems removed
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup water or cooking stock
salt and pepper to taste

Remove stems and cut collards into one inch ribbons.

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes to the pan and begin to heat. Add collard greens and a dash of salt and pepper. Add water to the pan, season to taste with salt and pepper, cover and simmer on medium heat for 20 – 30 minutes until collards are thoroughly cooked.

mi csa su csa: week 11

tomato

lettuce

eggplant

cucumbers

carrots

peppers

onion

potato

garlic

We went straight for the lettuce with a steak salad - a great way to start the week with fresh flavors while getting to use some of the items that might go bad faster. We did our usual skirt steak salad with balsamic brown sugar dressing cooked down with a small red onion. We also used a cucumber and the previous week's last 3 multi-colored tomatoes. Topped with pepper-coated goat cheese and a few dried cranberries the salad was bursting with fresh flavors.

After spending the week fighting a cold we wanted to get some fresh veggies back in our meals and a frittata sounded like a pretty good way to get there.

Cast Iron Frittata

1 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon of butter

6 eggs

2 tablespoons cream/milk

1 onion

1 garlic clove

2 japanese eggplants

1 -2 red peppers

1 small log of goat cheese

1 tomato

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Chop onion, red pepper, eggplants and red pepper and garlic. Heat butter and oil in a cast iron skillet until bubbling. Cook onion, red pepper, eggplant until softened. Add garlic and salt and pepper. While the vegetables are cooking, whisk the eggs and cream with a little more salt and pepper. Slice the goat cheese log into 1/4 inch pieces. Once the vegetables have softened, pour the eggs into the pan. Place the goat cheese slices evenly around the pan. Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Very thinly slice the tomato and place on top of the goat cheese. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese and a little more salt and pepper. Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

mi csa su csa: week 10

Tomatoes

Peppers

Potatoes

Beets

Zucchini

Melon

Lettuce

We got a ton of tomatoes again, and after not eating many of last week's tomatoes I needed something to use up a bunch. And even though it's as hot as it's been all summer I couldn't stop thinking about a tomato soup recipe I saw earlier in the week. So simple, and while it took a little longer to make than the recipe says, it was totally worth it.

With peppers leftover from the week before it was time for more stuffed peppers, this time with an italian twist. After the success of the tomato soup earlier in the week, I wanted to go in a similar direction. I cooked up some onions and tomatoes with some farm fresh ground beef (and some spices, egg and cheese) and stuffed it all into some pre-roasted peppers (the key to great stuffed peppers). The long, green and sweet green peppers (shaped like poblanos or anaheim peppers, but without the heat) were the best.

Tomato Soup

3 tablespoons butter
4 to 5 medium ripe tomatoes, halved
Flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup cream
1 large sprig of rosemary or thyme, optional

Put the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When it melts, add the tomatoes, cut side down, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes have released most their juices (but aren’t charred), 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the tomatoes over and cook until they begin to break down, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. After 30 seconds, add the cream and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot as you go. Use the spoon to break down the tomatoes to a chunky but spoonable consistency. Add the thyme or rosemary sprig, if desired. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve warm. 

Recipe from Slate.com

mi csa su csa: week 9

Lettuce

Carrots

Beets 

Melon

Peppers

Potatoes 

Tomatoes
Eggplant

The only thing we actually got to after eating out nearly every day this week were the beets, which we made into both chips and sauteed beet greens with garlic.