Wednesday, June 11, 2008

A little hick-a-ma!

For my first true venture back into the kitchen in what feels like two weeks, we fired up the grill for some fail beef...sorry beef...I'm still learning. We had a baked potato and a version of my tasty jicama salad. If you haven't tried jicama yet, please do. Well, it's not that jicama is great; it just takes flavor well and has a fun, crisp texture.

Peel and slice some jicama.

Add some roasted peppers and roasted corn.

Toss with the vinaigrette and cilantro. Tasty! Fast and great on a warm evening.

Now...I need to figure out grilling beef. I rarely cook steaks. I feel they are not very forgiving to improper cooking and I have some learning to do. Tonight I overcooked the steaks...alot! Which is a shame because I gave them the Gucci treatment and that usually yields a nice flavor and texture. But not tonight. We have one more steak in the freezer...I'll give that a try and see how it goes....next time.

6 comments:

Dancer in DC said...

I liked the flavor of the steak, but admit it was a tad well-done.

This salad, on the other hand, is indeed a light and delicious treat on a warm day. Using the original recipe you can see how you could swap in and out veggies based on what you can find that looks good. I picked out the jicama and pepper this time not necessarily because they were in season (I have no idea when jicama would even BE in season). But they were from here on the east coast, unlike all of Whole Foods' other produce which was from California.

Yes, I know. I'm waaay too into the local food thing. :)

The Kara said...

I was JUST dreaming of that salad today and thinking I will have to make it on my vacation. It's certainly refreshing AND filling!

Cyber Glo said...

Here is a secret to grilling steak that I learned from one of my favorite chefs in CA:

First, start off with a nice well-marbled cut of meat. If you are on a budget and must buy a cheaper cut, just marinate the hell out of it, and you should be fine.

For medium rare:

1. Take steak from fridge and let come to room temperature. If you put it on the grill cold, it will shock the meat and make it tough and chewy=not good.
2. Cook 6 minutes per side.
3. Let it sit for a few minutes to redistrubite the juices (it will continue to cook a little bit).

Also, a friend of mine always puts a tiny bit of sugar on top of her steaks to caramelize them.

If these tips don't work, don't blame me! I am just the messenger haha!

ScottE. said...

CyberGlo--that's pretty much what I did. The steak was out for an hour and I gave it the Gucci treatment which has worked very well in the past for flavor and juiciness. My problem was the temperature of the grill. I mistook it and gave the steak a touch more time on the grill...2 minutes max...but it was 2 minutes too many! And we rested the steak, hoping everything would be better...but alas...FAIL.

Cyber Glo said...

This got me wondering...is there a difference between gas vs. traditional grill (othe than taste I mean)? I would assume stuff would cook faster on gas, but truthfully I am old school...give me a big ol' Weber any day. HAHA! On a side note, Sur La Table sells these awesome cedar planks that you can use on the grill or in the oven. A YUM!

ScottE. said...

We use a Weber and I prefer it. Being new to grilling, I am still learning how to control the heat. Once I figure that out, I think I'll get this grilling thing down! With a gas grill you can turn a knob to control the temp...