Mom's Marinated Flank Steak Recipe by Tom

Mom's Marinated Flank Steak by Tom

A while back I was talking on the phone to my mother about a particular recipe I was making that evening.  Unrelated to what I was making, she said that she had a really good flank steak recipe that she has been making for a number of years.  In the mail a couple of days later came her recipe.  Although I have a pretty good flank steak recipe myself that I had previously posted on the blog, I thought why not try my Mom's.  She is a very good cook, so I thought this recipe must be pretty good too.  And it is!

Her secret is to marinate the meat only for 5 hours.  Not a minute longer or shorter.  Okay, I don't think it is that critical to be accurate to the minute, but I get her point.  The marinade does "cook" the meat in a fashion, and you actually want your grill or broiler to do that.  But this marinade does give the flank steak a nice flavor and helps to tenderize it as well.

 I complimented the meat with roasted red potatoes cooked in their jackets, and a very flavorful saffron carrot recipe that I found in Jonathan Waxman's "A Great American Cook" cookbook.

The entire meal was simple to prepare and very flavorful.

                                                              ---Tom

Ingredients

1 1/4 - 2 pounds flank steak (depending on how many servings you need)

Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup bourbon
1 small sweet onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar (or other wine vinegar)

Chop the onion and garlic and then put all of the marinade ingredients in a gallon size sealable plastic bag.  Mix all of the ingredients up well before you put the meat in the bag.

Put the meat into the marinade and make sure the meat is completely coated.  Start the clock for 5 hours!  Every hour or so, turn the bag to make sure the marinade is coating the meat.

After the requisite 5 hours of marinading, ( I may have gone 5 hours and 5 minutes), place the meat on a hot grill and cook for 4 minutes a side.  The flank steak will come out medium rare.

Let it rest for 15 minutes before you start to carve it.  This allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat.   Slice the flank steak across the grain.

As you can see, I served the flank steak with braised carrots with saffron and a red potato cooked on the grill for 50 minutes.

The carrot recipe is simple.  Use whole baby carrots.  I found a bag at Wegman's that served three.  (David was joining us for dinner last evening.)  Boil the carrots in salted water over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.  The carrots will be al dente.  Drain the carrots and pat them dry.  In a small skillet heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat.  Gently cook the carrots for 3 minutes.  Then add a pinch of saffron and 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar.  Cook this for 2 more minutes turning the carrots once or twice.  Take the skillet off the heat.  Now add 1-2 tablespoons of butter and cover the skillet.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  The carrots are now ready.

Easy and tasty.  Thanks Mom!

                                             ---Tom

Buckwheat Date Nut Muffins

Hot Buckwheat Date Nut Muffins Just Out of the Oven

On this cold, snowy Sunday, these muffins were a lovely treat.  They are sweet, due to the maple syrup and the dates, yet had a little crunch, because I added toasted pecans.  I used cream cheese instead of sour cream. Tom really liked them.  Said they were one of the best muffins so far. This is a one bowl recipe, and I like that. 

Buckwheat Date Nut Muffins
adapted from Cold Weather Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. (packed) light brown sugar
1 1/2 T. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 c. sour cream  (I didn't have any, so I used cream cheese, mixed with water)
1 T. maple syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups chopped pitted date (8 ounces)
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray muffin pan with PAM.  

Toast nuts, let them cool, then chop.  Melt butter and let it cool.

Place flours, brown sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine.

Make a well in the center and add the eggs, sour cream, syrup, and melted butter to the well.  Mix quickly just until thoroughly combined. 

Quickly stir in the dates and nuts.

Divide the batter evenly among the cups until almost full.  Bake until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

I baked them for 18 minutes, tested them, then left them in another 2 minutes, for a total of 20 minutes.

Buckwheat flour has a softness to it that I find hard to describe.  It's not like using wheat flour.  Look for it in the baking aisle.

More Food Blog Suggestions

More Suggestions for Food Blogs

Sarah says:

I have two to add...
http://www.dinneralovestory.com/ - blog about feeding kids. Very fun to read with good non-chicken nugget type recipes

Also a brand new one...
http://www.wordofwisdomliving.com/ - blog that gives weekly tips on healthy eating. He just started in January. Only shares an occasional recipe but talks about benefits of healthy eating and living

Colleen says:
I think I told you about this food blog before, but I'll mention again:

http://www.alexandracooks.com/
Tara, Chris' fiance, told me about it last year. I have only made her rib recipe but it is quite good and easy. The photography is gorgeous. I think she is also a graphic designer.

If anyone has more blogs to share, please let me know.

B