A Grilling Fairy Tale

It's hard to believe it's officially Autumn, especially with the heat wave that many of us are feeling. I hear my friends in Atlanta are just as hot as it is here in Denver (still in the record-breaking upper 80s and low 90s). So in celebration, here's one more Summer-inspired recipe that I've decided to tell in a whimsical way like a food fairy tale picture book!

De-Constructed Grilled Vegetable Salad

Any veggies or fruit that will go on the grill

Your favorite salad dressing or marinade

Your favorite cheese (mine is goat!)

Once upon a time I took carrots, green onion, turnip, mushrooms, whole romaine hearts, zucchini, bell pepper, and a banana pepper and decided they should all live together in food harmony in a warm "salad" type thing. I sliced everything up except the green onions and the romaine hearts which I grilled whole. Using a plastic bag, all those sliced veggies were introduced to my favorite salad dressing/marinade. I used the orignial Newman's Own salad dressing and shook shook shook until all those veggies were evenly coated (but I didn't put any dressing on my green onions or whole romaine hearts). Then everything went on the grill. And then everything went together in a bowl where I ate it (after adding a little bit of crumbled goat cheese)! And then me and my tummy lived happily ever after. The end.

Are You Spicy?

I don't own a grill. I know that seems somehow blasphemous to both the gods of summer and the gods of food, but it's true.  Not even a George Foreman.  To clarify, I know how to grill and grew up in a household where the grill was gassed up all 12 months of the year.  But since I don't have any space at my house for one of my own, I make do indoors with a grill pan and a flat cast-iron skillet.

Since I have to substitute for the rich dynamic flavor of grilled meats, I'm fond of using dry rubs to give my indoor meats some extra oomph.  Today's recipe is for spicy steak, as the full flavors of the following spices lend themselves well to a rich piece of red meat.  Dry rubs also do wonders to breathe new life into cheaper or tougher pieces of meat.

And if you're not a sad grill-less person like me, feel free to slap this bad boy on the outdoor fire...

Spicy Steak
--dry rub
--1lb. piece of flat steak like flank, flat iron, hanger, skirt, or a chunk of top round (pictured here)
--cooking spray (if cooking indoors)

Let the steak come to room temperature before cooking.

Spicy Dry Rub:
*I rarely measure my spices so I recommend starting off small as you can always add more later to make it fit your taste to become more or less spicy, garlicky, peppery, etc.
--1 tsp. garlic powder
--1/4 tsp. onion powder
--2 tsp. brown sugar
--1 tsp. paprika
--1 tsp. ancho chili powder
--1/4 tsp. salt
--1/2 tsp. black pepper
--1 tsp. red pepper (ground or flakes)

In a smaller bowl, mix all the spices together with a spoon until evenly combined.

Using your fingers, grab large pinches of the dry rub mixture and rub it into the steak. When the first side is evenly coated with rub, flip it over and evenly cover the other side of the meat. Use all of the dry rub.

Grill steak!

Or heat a large cooking-spray coated skillet or cast iron skillet over medium to medium-high heat and cook until desired doneness (ours are cooked to medium), scraping away any fat that cooks off.

Remove from heat and let rest a few minutes before slicing. Cut against the grain before serving. This is AWESOME in salad!

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 15 - 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Calories: 302

A Cure for the Winter Blues

I love cold weather, but these past few days of single digit temps have got me reminiscing for warmer times. So last night I broke out the electric grill.

I know what you are thinking "What! grill indoors? and on a electric grill? What about the flavor?" Well I do admit, I don't get the charcoal-y taste that you get from an outdoor grill, but I live in a condo and have no place to put a grill anyway.

The model we have is the Krups Canyon Deluxe. It has a 1 - 5 temp setting on the side and on the top by the grill, there is a chart of food items, cook settings and cook times for a quick reference. It is a great piece of equipment. You get a bit of smoke but not enough to set off the fire alarm, and of course the grill lines.

I grilled off onion slices, mushroom caps and tri-tip steaks which I topped with some bleu cheese crumbles and chopped bacon. Yum!

The whole meal took about 5 minutes to prep, 15 minutes to cook and since the grill and drippings pan are dishwasher safe, 5 minutes to clean up. Perfect for these cold winter days when you don't want to spend too much time away from that someone special as well as the roaring fire.

P.S. Yes I know charcoal-y is not a word.