OMG a Recipe: Steak Dinner Sealed With a KISS

KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid! Does anyone remember that saying? I think I heard it in school from a teacher, before the dreaded PC Police swooped in and oversensitized everything, erasing "Stupid" from the vocabulary. But it was a good mnemonic device to always remind one to stick to the basics, because sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the details. I was cooking with a friend who wanted something really simple to make for an at-home dinner for visiting guests. The KISS-friendly meal resulted in a Marinated Seared Flank Steak, Rosemary Potatoes and Crispy Broccoli.

Meat n' potatoes - what could be simpler? Photo by Wasabi Prime

I'm truly thankful to have friends with a wide variety of interests and hobbies. I'm especially thankful for ones who don't give a crap that I write a food blog, because while they like eating at restaurants and enjoying good meals, they don't do much cooking at home, and it's an excellent realignment of perspective. It's good to work out a recipe with someone who doesn't do much cooking because it's a reminder to slow down, take the time to measure, and keep ingredient lists simple. At the end of the day, cooking feels like work to many, and the only way to encourage people to get cookin' is to make it accessible and relatively effortless. But of course the greatest incentive is tasty nomz!

The thoughts behind the meal were: basic ingredient list, short prep time, and using red meat helps resolve the whole "is it done yet?" issue with cooking, since you can eat it rare. We prepped the things needing the most time first, making a marinade for the flank steak and letting it sit in the refrigerator to soak up the flavor. Potatoes and broccoli were washed and left to dry. An hour before dinnertime, we chopped the potatoes down, tossing in olive oil and seasonings, and let the oven start working on them. Removing the flank steak from the fridge, it was patted dry and seared in a pan until medium rare. While the meat rested, the potatoes were removed and broccoli was seasoned and placed under the broiler to crisp up under the high heat. The steak was thinly-sliced, potatoes were still warm, and the broccoli had a nice smoky char on its florets, creating a simple, quick meal that was good for weeknight time frames as well as serving to guests. If this isn't a KISS-friendly meal for those dreading a turn in the kitchen, I don't know what is!

Marinated Flank Steak
(serves four, if paired w/ sides)

1 flank steak
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 sprigs of rosemary, bruised w/ blunt end of knife (to release oils, but left whole for easy removal)
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 tablespoon of sugar
salt and pepper for cooking
canola or vegetable oil for cooking

Put the steak in a large freezer bag and add the soy sauce, bruised rosemary sprigs, oil and sugar. Seal bag and smoosh (sure, that's a technical term) the ingredients up, making sure the marinade is in contact with the meat. Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight, if you can. Shift the bag periodically so the marinade can thoroughly coat and soak meat.

When ready to cook, preheat a large skillet on medium high. Remove the steak from the marinade and pat it dry, removing as much of the rosemary leaves as possible -- this will prevent burning. Drizzle some canola oil into the pan, about 1-2 tablespoons, and then salt/pepper both sides of the dry flank steak before placing it into the hot/oiled pan. Let the meat sear for 6-8 minutes on one side, developing a nice caramelized crust before flipping the meat over to do the same on the opposite side. Use a meat thermometer to check the center doneness to your taste. When meat is cooked to your preference, remove from heat, cover with foil and let it rest for at least five minutes, to let juices redistribute themselves before slicing thinly, on the bias (against the grain).

Optional: make a sauce using the same pan that cooked the steak -- all the browned bits on the bottom is flavor! Turn up the burner to a medium-high heat and pour a quarter cup of soy sauce and three quarters cup of water into the pan and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up the bits to incorporate into the sauce. Lower the temperature to medium low and let the sauce reduce to a thickness that will coat the back of a spoon. Add salt/pepper to taste or a bit of sugar, if you want it on the sweeter side. Serve on the side or drizzled over the meat.

Easy Sides: Rosemary Potatoes and Crispy Broccoli
(serves as a side dish for four, if paired w/ main course)

For Potatoes:
4 to 6 medium-sized red skinned potatoes, washed and chopped into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 tablespoons of chopped rosemary (about 2 or 3 sprigs' worth of leaves)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss chopped potatoes with oil, rosemary, salt and pepper to coat. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and place in oven. Check around the ten minute mark, and if potatoes are starting to brown, use a spatula and turn them over, to ensure even browning. Once the potatoes are fork-tender, about twenty to thirty minutes, remove from oven and cover with foil to keep warm.

For Broccoli:
3 medium sized broccoli crowns, ends removed and cut down into long stalks
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Start broiler and set baking rack about a quarter of the way to the top of the broiler coil -- not right up against coils, just somewhat close. Toss the trimmed and cut broccoli pieces with the oil, salt, and pepper, and place evenly on a baking sheet. Place in oven on the top rack and keep a close eye on the broccoli. It should start turning a bright green and the florets will start to char with a little smoke, but don't set it on fire. Should only take five to seven minutes, if that, to cook the broccoli to a nice, crisp doneness. Remove from the broiler when the color is bright and the florets have a light, smoky char on them. Serve immediately.

Basic flavor - it's magically delicious! Photos by  Wasabi Prime

UnRecipe: Happy Valentine's Day, Tiger

Yeah, yeah, I know -- it's not Valentine's Day, Rip Van Wasabi! True, but sometimes it takes a few days to get my shinola together after a busy week, so forgive the belated post to honor sweethearts and overpriced roses. The weekened celebrated Lunar New Year as well as heart-shaped lovey-doveyness, so the Prime prepared an Asian-inspired dinner for Mr. Wasabi: Sake Marinated Steak with Kimchee, Pork Dumpling Ravioli with Mushrooms, and Pork-filled Potstickers. For dessert, we had Coconut Vanilla Rice Cakes over Seared Mango Slices, drizzled with a Peanut and Coconut Sauce. But for the main "beauty shot" of the post, I'm showing all the leftovers shoved into a baked bun or ju bao, made from Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings book.

I made fresh bao - just call me YoSaffBridge! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

It seemed like all signs were pointing towards a meal like this for Valentine's Day, as the Prime was fresh off the delicious high from the luncheon hosted by Monsoon East, for Andrea Nguyen's book. I have to admit much Epic Shame that I didn't make the dumpling skins from scratch, even after her very easy tutorial over how to make them, and the fact that I had the book in-hand. I had already bought a package of premade wrappers and just promised myself, "next time, I swear." I made a filling that was used in all the dumplings, which included ground pork, chopped mushrooms and peppers, garlic and ginger. Not a typical mix, but I had made the mistake of getting mushrooms from Costco and if of course meant I had to put 'shrooms in everything that week to use them up. I hate letting food go to waste -- you know how I roll.

Hello, my little dumplings! Photos by Wasabi Prime

I used the large package of dumpling wrappers to practice a few different shapes. Everything was cooked the same way, potsticker-style -- seared in a pan with oil, add a bit of water, cover to steam, and hopefully you don't eat them all before they get plated. I had mixed results with the open-topped pork-stuffed satchel-shaped dumplings. I didn't use enough oil, so many just stuck and had to be torn up and scraped out of the pan -- FAIL! But they were still cooked and edible, so they became ugly lunch for the following week. But lesson learned, either use a nonstick pan with a little oil or just add more oil and let our arteries figure it out later.

The flank steak was marinated in a mixture of seasonings and sake, which gave it a nice hint of sweetness. Seared and left to rest, the pan was deglazed with kimchee, and served together. With the different-shaped dumplings and the kimchee beef, it was defnitely a pretty dinner to have for Valentine's Day. All the flavors were fairly similar between the three options, since I used a lot of the same ingredients, but after taking so long to take the photos of the food, we were too hungry to be picky about flavor profiles and just ATE.

Like rice pudding, on crack! - Photo by Wasabi Prime

For dessert, I had been inspired by the pancakes served at Wild Ginger for brunch -- spongey flapjacks with a peanut and coconut sauce. I wanted to do something similar, so I made a batch of rice, steamed in coconut milk and vanilla, with a bit of sugar. It was pressed in a mold to form compact little squares which were then oiled and pan-fried to give a nice crispnness to the outside. Fresh mango slices were seared and the cakes were placed over the fruit, sprinkled with toasted macadamia nuts and more mango chunks, and a sauce of brown sugar, coconut milk and peanut butter was poured over. It kind of made me think that Elvis would have liked it, as it was reminiscent of his famed cravings for peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Just call it an Elvis Goes Hawaii dessert. It was a nice mix of sweet, fresh, and a little savory.

As for the ju bao, this was both a solution for finishing off the leftover dumpling filling and penance for using store-bought wrappers. No, no, I shouldn't say penance, because that implies it was a chore to make the dough -- it totally wasn't and the results are worth the effort! It was simple enough to make, although I'm a clumsy baker, so I had to add more flour to keep the dough from being too sticky. It didn't affect the final result, as the finished pork-filled buns were a heavenly bite of springy dough and a crisp outer shell. I made giant-sized ones because I knew they would be like ready-to-eat meals and added a little flourish of sesame seeds on top -- kind of makes it look like a fluffy hamburger bun. The dough is simple enough to make and neutral in flavor to where you could fill it with anything. It makes for a great solution of getting rid of any odd leftover bits that aren't enough for a full portion.

This was the 10th Valentine's Day for Mr. Wasabi and I, and we've never gone out for a Valentine's dinner. I'm certainly not sad about it, as we've always liked making it a more personal holiday instead of going out and being in a busy restaurant where everyone else is there for the same reason. The first Valentine's Day, Brock took the whole day off from work and made an amazing meal, with a big bouquet of roses waiting for me. A couple of years ago, he literally made a portrait of me out of different kinds of chocolate, and put it on a creme brulee -- for reals! I don't think I can ever match some of his amazing and thoughtful Valentine's Day capers, but the 14th definitely makes me thankful for his sweet, creative heart.