I’ve had the great privilege of living in some of the best steak destinations in the US – Texas, Kansas City and NYC.  Each place has their own special take on steak and I love them all!  But let’s be honest, we can’t handle that level of indulgence on a regular basis.  I can certainly see how a 16 oz. Cowboy Ribeye with all the fixins is appealing, but I just can’t find room for it all.  I created these bite-sized beauties to capture all the flavor of a great night at the steakhouse without making you feel like you need to be rolled out the door.  Eat Up!  bigcitybelle

Steakhouse Crostini

1 baguette, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 lb. flank steak (some butchers carry shaved steak – perfect for this)

2 vadilia onions, thinly sliced

3 heads of garlic

1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles

1 bottle Lawry’s Steak & Chop marinade

2 tbsp. chopped chives

Olive Oil

 Preheat oven to 350°.

Place the steak in a large Ziploc bag with the entire bottle of marinade.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Cut about 1/2 inch off each head of garlic, exposing the tops of the cloves.  Cover in olive oil and bake until the cloves are soft and golden brown – about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool.

Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned and crispy.  Saute the onions in olive oil until caramelized.  Grill marinated flank steak until medium rare (I go more for to the rare side.  Don’t over cook – it’ll get a little time in the oven too!)   Slice the steak very very thinly on a bias, against the grain of the meat.  Note:  You can also prepare the steak on the stove if the grill isn’t an option. 

Remove the garlic cloves from their papery skin and place on a cutting board.  Use the back of a fork to mash the cloves into a paste.  Place a smear (be generous!) of the roasted garlic on each slice of baguette and layer the caramelized onion and grilled steak.  Top with about a 1/2 teaspoon of blue cheese and return to the oven until the cheese has melted.  Garnish with chopped chives.

Green Goddess Dressing has been around for decades.  It certainly wasn’t popular in the South when I grew up, but I see it in old cookbooks everywhere.  The inspiration for this variation came from Dan Ackroyd of all people. Turns out the Blues Brother and Ghostbuster legend has a culinary calling as well.  He was featured on the Martha Stewart show whipping up his “Green Goddess Dressing for Lamb”.  Who knew?

A few tweaks here and there and WHOA – this stuff is amazing.  I put it over Mahi Mahi with a little fresh tomato – delicious!  Honestly though – it would be good on everything from veggies to poultry to grilled skirt steak (or maybe just with a spoon!)  Eat up!  bigcitybelle

Verdant Goddess Goodness

1 bunch scallions

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 bunch mint

1/2 c. pine nuts

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. white wine vinegar

1/4 c. water

Juice of 1 lemon

Place pine nuts in a skillet over medium and toast until lightly browned and fragrant.  Rough chop the scallions and remove the stems from the mint and cilantro (you don’t have to be too percise, just get the big ones).  Place all ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth.

BigCityBoyfriend enjoys fishing – and by enjoy, I mean he has a bone-deep, overwhelming, all-consuming obsession with “ocean hunting”.  I’m not complaining.  Fishing gets him out of the house for days at a time, gives him time with the dudes on the open water and allows me to get all sorts of important things done (like lying on the beach, shopping or drinking wine with my girlfriends).  The best part of the whole arrangement is pounds upon pounds of the freshest fish you can imagine – tuna, swordfish, mahi mahi, striped bass and my personal favorite – fluke.   Eat up!  bigcitybelle

Shrimp Stuffed Fluke with Herb Sauce

6 medium flounder fillets (flounder works nicely too)

1 ½ lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bag baby spinach

3 cloves  garlic, diced

1 pint fish stock

½ c. fat free half-and-half

½ c. dry white wine

2 tbsp. all purpose flour

1 c.  fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

2 tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped

note: save time and toss all the herbs in the food processor

Juice of ½ a lemon

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Old Bay Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400°

Sauté the garlic and spinach in olive oil over medium heat until the spinach has wilted and the garlic has softened.  Drain excess liquid and set aside.  Add 1 lb. shrimp to the food processor and chop until coarsely ground (about 4-5 pulses).  Combine the ground shrimp to the spinach mixture. 

Season both sides of each fluke fillet with salt, pepper and Old Bay.  Place about 2 tbsp. of the filling in the center of the fillet.  Fold the fillet over the filling, thick end first and place in a greased baking dish seam side down.  Bake for 15 minutes or until the fish is opaque and the shrimp has turned pink.

Add flour and 1 tbsp. flour to a saucepan.  Whisk over medium heat until the flour is slightly browned (about 1 minute).  Slowly add the fish stock and cook until slightly thickened, whisking often.  Add herbs, wine, half-and-half and lemon juice.  Season liberally with salt and pepper.   Add the remaining ½ lb. whole shrimp to the sauce and cook until pink (1-2 minutes). 

Remove stuffed fillets from the baking dish and place on a serving platter.  Cover the fillets with the herb sauce and whole shrimp.  Garnish with herbs and lemon slices.

The NCAA basketball tournament calls for some serious game day cuisine.  I thought about serving the tried-and-true “bowl or red”, but truth be told, I’m tired of the stuff.  Come football season there is nothing more enticing than classic chili at kick-off.  However, fall has come and gone.  It’s March Madness, it’s St. Patrick’s season, it’s SPRING!, we needed something green – Chili Verde fit the bill!!  Eat Up!  bigcitybelle

Chili Verde

2 1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

Olive Oil

1 large Spanish onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, diced

4 jalapenos, seeded and diced (if you can’t take the heat, only add two)

2 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. ancho chili powder

1 lb.  tomatillos, husked & rinsed

3 small cans mild diced green chilis

2 cans hominy, drained

1/2 bottle Corona

2 c. chicken stock

1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

sour cream

In the bottom of a chili pot, saute the onion, garlic and jalapenos until soft.  Add the pork tenderloin, cumin, oregano & chili powder and cook over medium heat until the pork is slightly browned.

Be sure the husks of the tomatillos are completely removed and rinse them well.  Place the whole tomatillos in the food processor with the chop attachment.  Chop until the tomatillos are the consistency of salsa.  Add the tomatillos, green chilis, hominy, beer and chicken stock to the pork mixture.

Simmer over medium low heat for at least an hour or until the chili has thickened and the pork has cooked through.  Top each serving with teaspoon of sour cream.

Thank you Aunt Joyce for sharing the easiest, tastiest, classic side dish.  Perfect for any BBQ, picnic or pot-luck (even Thanksgiving).  It is impossible to screw up this recipe.  Even Emily, my darling culinary-challenged friend, can please a crowd with this one.  Eat up!  bigcitybelle

Aunt Joyce’s Corn Stuff

2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 can yellow corn, drained

1 can creamed corn

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients except the cheese in a mixing bowl.  Mix until incorporated (it will be a little lumpy).  Pour into a greased 9″x9″ pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Top with cheese and return to the oven until the cheese melts.

In East Hampton, NY there is a tiny, local Italian market called Villa Italian Specialties.  They offer tasty sandwiches, pizza, pre-made pasta entrees and have a small grocery section with quirky pastas and sauces imported from Italy.  I came across this random pasta sauce, Vantia Pasta Sauce with Sardines & Fennel.  My first reaction was “absolutely not - gross”, but we’re always up for trying new things so I picked it up with some Fusilli Lunghi Col Buco (long spiral hollow pasta) and hoped for the best.  We added a bunch of fresh ingredients and some delicious shrimp and monkfish for an absolutely incredible and unique finished dish.  Eat up!    bigcitybelle

Seafood & Fennel Bucatini

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. large shrimp, deveined and butterflied (about 8 shrimp)

1/2 lb. monkfish fillet, cut into 2 inch cubes

1 cup sliced fennel

1 cup assorted wild mushrooms, chopped

1 cup fresh tomato, seeded and chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp. prepared pasta sauce with sardines & fennel (trust me here)  http://www.pennmac.com/items/2663

1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat) parsley

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 lb. bucatini pasta, cooked al dente in salted water (use Fusilli Lunghi Col Buco if you can find it)

white wine (1 cup to cook with, the rest for your glass)

olive oil

Kosher salt

black pepper

In a bowl, combine the cleaned shrimp and monkfish with 1 tbsp olive oil, Old Bay Seasoning and salt & pepper.  Set aside.

In a saute pan over medium heat, combine the fennel, 3 cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp of olive oil.  Season well with salt & pepper.  Add about a 1/4 cup of white wine and saute until the fennel is tender.  Add mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes (do not overcook the mushrooms).  Remove the fennel & mushroom mixture and set aside.

Add the seafood the the same saute pan with a splash of white wine and the remaining garlic (2 cloves).  Cook over medium heat until the shrimp are pink and the monkfish is firm (it will only take a few minutes).  Add seafood to the fennel & mushroom mixture.

Heat 3 tbsp. the prepared fennel & sardine pasta sauce in the bottom of the saute pan with the chopped tomato.  Add the seafood, fennel & mushroom mixture, cooked pasta, parsley, Parmesan cheese and toss to combine.  Serve with lots of white wine.