End times call for good steak

I had originally planned for this to be my obligatory spring is here post, but things have changed.

While I had almost balked at springing for a good New York strip for this springtime recipe I found from Bon Appetit, I am now quite glad that I ultimately decided it was worth the cost, as it’s one of the few remaining joys left in a pandemic.

Also, it turns out that good steak is pretty damn good.

Steak and spring veggies ingredients.

The recipe allowed me to skirt the difficulty of fitting everything in my little skillet by searing the steak to perfection and letting it rest while the veggies cooked in the same dish. It all ultimately comes together when you place the steak (sliced) on top and drizzle on the Dijon mustard sauce, but it’s much easier than trying to stir it all together at the same time.

Plus, with peas, asparagus, and spring onions, it’s perfect for springtime.

Oh, and during these very stressful times, it’s also relatively simple and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients that keep you in close contact with people for too long at the grocery store.

All in all, pretty freakin’ worth it.

Ignore the dystopian hellscape, dream of steak.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. boneless New York Strip steak
  • 5 cloves garlic, divided, 1 grate and 4 thinly sliced
  • ⅓ c. Dijon mustard
  • 1 T. red wine vinegar
  • 1 t. honey
  • ¼ to ½ t. cayenne pepper
  • ⅓ c. + 3 T. olive oil, divided
  • 1 bunch scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced and divided
  • 1 (10 oz.) bag frozen peas
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions 

Pat the steak dry and season with salt and pepper all over. Let rest while you prepare the Dijon mustard sauce.

Whisk together the 1 clove of grated garlic, mustard, vinegar, honey, cayenne, ⅓ c. olive oil, and 1 T. water, in a medium bowl to combine. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Heat a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Rub the steak with ~1 T. olive oil, and cook, turning every ~2 minutes, including some searing on edges, until medium-rare, so that a thermometer reads 120 degrees, for about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer steak to a plate to rest.

Heat remaining 2 T. of olive oil in the same skillet, reducing heat to low. Add the slices of garlic and all but 2 T. of the spring onions, and cook, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add the peas and a splash of water, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring regularly, until the asparagus is just tender, another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Slice steak and layer on top of the vegetables in the skillet. Drizzle some of the mustard sauce over the steak and top with the remaining spring onions.

Serve with any additional mustard sauce as desired, though be careful not to overdo it, and enjoy even in the end times!

Keepin’ it simple with steak fajitas

In an effort to keep building up my confidence, I found another nearly impossible-to-fail, easy-peasy sheet pan recipe. This week, it’s steak fajitas.

Aside from the ease, it was also a rare treat in this household. I almost never eat beef anymore (I know, blasphemy in Iowa … but fear not, I love pork), so I wasn’t even sure how easy it would be to find flank steak, or even how to cut it if I did find it.

I forgot my fancy compiling of ingredients, but you can see almost all of them here, steak, a variety of peppers, onion, garlic, chili powder. I’ll do better next time.

Thankfully, the local co-op had a nice big slab that allowed me to make this meal with another night of leftovers, and I have a wonderful sweetie who researches things so I accidentally learn things like to cut against the grain with flank steak.

And I have to say, it was quite delightful to bring beef back into my world. If I’m honest, it’d have been nice to do a lime-based marinade ahead of time if I’d thought of it (maybe next time!), but for ease, this can’t be beat.

There’s about five ingredients involved in baking, not counting the staples oil and salt. Frankly, the hardest part was cutting the beef, and all those peppers.

While I got the recipe from the unlikely source of Williams Sonoma, a fancy cookware store, I may just have to add it to my list of places to scour when I’m short on recipes.

Steak fajitas, fresh out of the oven.

In the meantime, here’s what I did:

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb. flank steak, cut into half-inch slices
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced (or 2 medium)
  • 5 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 T. canola oil
  • 1.5 T. chili powder
  • 1-2 t. salt (I don’t measure, just add a couple of pinchfuls)
  • 6 to 8 flour tortillas
  • Guacamole, for serving(optional)
  • Sour cream, for serving (optional)
  • Hot sauce, for serving (optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the steak, peppers, onion, garlic, oil, chili powder and salt until coated. Spread the steak and vegetables on a nonstick sheet pan (I used aluminum foil for easier cleanup on an aging pan). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the steak is cooked through.

If desired, in the last five minutes, wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and bake in oven so it’s nice and warm to serve with the fajita mix. Then, assemble the fajitas as you desire, and enjoy!