Steak dinners are special and you don’t need to go to a steakhouse to get a great steak dinner. Easy to do at home. Choosing a cut of steak may seem an intimidating task as there are so many to choose from. When choosing your cut, it should be moist rather than dry or slimy. Look for firm, fine-grained meat with a light marbling of fat – without this the steak will be dry once cooked. Any fat on the edges of the steak should be creamy-colored and the meat should be deep burgundy in color, not bright red. Rib-eyes, strip steaks, top sirloin steaks and T-bone steaks are familiar and delicious; you can’t go wrong with any of them. My choice and just the right size for a special dinner are New York strip steaks also called Delmonico steaks. The biggest mistake cooks make when grilling steak is that they overcook it. I prefer organic, grass-fed meat and that type of steak is very easy to overcook. Grass-fed beef cooks much more quickly than regular beef. To make these steaks delicious – use a marinade and follow the directions for the cooking time below. If you cook regular beef, the steaks will need a few more minutes on the grill than grass-fed beef. All you need then are some great side dishes. Dinner party a success!

Marinated Grass-Fed Steak

Serves 6

Directions

Six 1-inch-thick top loin (New York strip/Delmonico) bone-in, organic, grass-fed (8 to 10 oz. each) steaks, trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
8 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced

Directions

For the marinade:

In a medium bowl, mix the oil with the soy sauce, the Worcestershire, mustard, vinegar, half of the thyme and garlic.

Put the steaks in a large dish and coat them with the marinade mixture.

Cover the bowl and marinate the steaks in the refrigerator, turning occasionally, for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

Sprinkle the steaks with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 4 teaspoons pepper.

Clean and oil the grill grates. Heat one burner to medium high and the second burner to medium low.

While the grill heats, let the steaks rest at room temperature.

Place the steaks over the hotter part of the fire.

Cook, covered, 2 minutes per side. If the steaks are thinner then only grill for 1 minutes per side.

Using an instant meat thermometer, check the temperature of the meat.

If it is 120-125 degrees F, remove the steaks to a serving plate.

If the temperature is lower than 120 degrees F, move the steaks to the low heat burner.

Continue to grill until the temperature reaches 120 degrees F.

Transfer the steaks to a large serving platter, sprinkle with the remaining thyme and let rest five minutes before serving.

Sautéed Potatoes

Ingredients

4 pounds red-skinned potatoes
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley and chives

Directions

Place the potatoes, unpeeled, in a large saucepan with salted water to cover.

Cook the potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and let cool.

When cool enough to handle, peel them. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch cubes.

(The recipe can be prepared ahead to this point. Drizzle the potatoes with a little olive oil, cover and refrigerate until ready to saute.)

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet large enough to hold potatoes in one layer. When oil is quite hot, add potatoes.

Cook over high heat, shaking skillet and stirring gently, until lightly browned. Turn potatoes with a spatula.

Cook for a few minutes more until light brown.

Add butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss and blend well. Sprinkle with parsley and chives. Serve immediately.

Stuffed Grilled Zucchini

Start the zucchini on the low heat side of the grill about 5 minutes before you put the steaks on the grill.

Ingredients

3 medium zucchini
Olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet onion
2 tablespoons chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 chopped plum tomato
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped deli sliced pepper rings
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-in.ch thick shells. Brush with oil; set aside.

Chop the zucchini pulp.

In a large skillet, saute the zucchini pulp, celery and onion in oil. Add garlic and tomato; cook 1 minute longer.

Add the dried bread crumbs; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the heat. Stir in the chopped pepper rings, parsley and salt. Spoon the mixture into the zucchini shells.

Grill, covered, over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until zucchini is tender and the top of the stuffing begins to brown.

remove the cooked zucchini to a serving dish. cover with foil until the steaks are ready to be served.


Posted by in Beef, Healthy Italian Cooking, potatoes, Vegetables, zucchini Tags: , ,