Thai-ish Beef Salad

There is something about this dinner that screams Summer to me. Yes, it's grilled and that's a warm-weather activity. It's also on the lighter side, focusing mostly on fresh flavors, and that's Summery too. More than anything I think it's the combination of herbs - cilantro, basil, parsley minced fine and tossed with the greens - that conjures a tropical/not-Seattle setting. We've come to associate these flavors with an improvement in the weather. It would be sort of sacrilegious to call this Thai Beef Salad because it only hints at what a real Thai Salad should be. Try adding a dash of fish sauce to make it more authentic. The recipe makes enough dressing for the marinade and the salad itself and feeds about four people. It's also great as a dipping sauce for potstickers.

For the dressing & marinade:
2 T soy sauce (low-sodium)
1 t sesame oil
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil (or other non-olive oil)
juice of 2 limes
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t five spice
1/2 t mustard powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t black pepper
Sri Racha to taste (or other hot sauce)

• Start by putting everything except the oil in a deep measuring cup or Cuisinart. I use the dried spices on purpose because I like the consistency, but you can substitute a little more fresh ginger and a little less mustard from a jar, no problem.
• Add the oil and blend it all to death. There's more acid than oil in this dressing so I think it would be impossible to blend it too much.
• Set aside about a 1/2 cup for the final salad and use the rest for the marinade. Or, if you're skipping the meat, the extra will keep in the fridge for at least a week (maybe two - just taste it, nothing in this will hurt you if it has gone bad).
  

Grilling Instructions:
the rest of the marinade from above
1 flank steak (about 1 and 1/2 pounds)

• Put the meat in a large ziplock bag with the marinade for about an hour. Squidge around the marinade about halfway through to be sure the meat is well coated.
• When you're ready to eat, prepare the grill (gas or charcoal).
• Let the marinade drip off the meat before you put it on the clean & oiled grill.
• Grill the meat for about 7 to 10 minutes per side.
• When it's done to your preference (medium-rare please) set it aside to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing thin.
  

For the Salad itself:
1 head of Romaine
1 red pepper
1 cucumber
2 carrots (or about a handful of those fake baby carrots)
1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup basil (Thai if you can find it), minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
just a bit of Italian parsley, minced

• To assemble the salad just prep the Romaine and veggies however you like them (I sometimes get all crazy with julienne-ing, but that's optional).
• Toss the greens, herbs, and dressing in a large bowl.
• You can either sprinkle the toppings on each salad or set them all on the table in colorful bowls for people to serve themselves (it makes a pretty table setting).

Pasta with Chorizo, Red Peppers & Queso Fresco

One of the main staples of our dinner repertoire is a very simple dish we call "Sausage Pasta." It started as a combination of two pasta recipes - one with sausage and onions (which required a side dish and I'm usually too lazy to make a side), and one with broccoli and parmesan (good as a side, but...). I'll post that recipe soon, but here's a variation I've had bouncing around as an idea for ages and the result is delicious. The basic idea is almost too easy to be good - sauteed onions and garlic, some sort of sausage, any short pasta, a complimentary vegetable, and a cheese to top it off. There is a dinner out there for pretty much every sausage flavor (maybe not brats...).

Pasta with Chorizo, Red Peppers & Queso Fresco
1 regular onion, sliced (or 2 of the small ones that come in the bulk bags - such a deal)
4 gloves of garlic, sliced
4 chorizo sausages, casings removed (or a little less than a pound of bulk sausage)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into about 1 inch pieces
1 t cumin
1 T oregano (fresh when possible)
hot sauce (we like Cholula) to jazz it up a bit
about 4 cups of uncooked rigatoni or penne
Queso Fresco*
cilantro

• Put a pot of water on for the pasta.
• In a large pan, saute the onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil (over medium heat, so they brown but don't burn), stirring often. When most of the edges are beginning to brown, add the garlic and saute that until it starts to brown.
• Add the chorizo to the onions and garlic, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. You may have to add a bit more oil, but the chorizo will release its fat any second now so add sparingly.
• Add the cumin and oregano.
• Have the pepper ready so that when the pasta goes into the water you can add it to the sausage mixture. If you have good brown bits stuck to the pan, splash just a little of the pasta water into the pan and scrape them up.
• When the pasta is cooked, toss it with the sausage mixture, and some hot sauce to taste.
• Serve sprinkled with the cheese and cilantro.

*I'm going to test cheddar or maybe asiago- Queso Fresco is $8 a package around here and that's a little rich for my blood.

Blackened Fish Tacos

I don't know where my weakness for fish tacos came from. When I was growing up tacos were something served in a hard shell, nothing else (and a burrito was ground beef with taco seasoning, cheese, and sour cream in a tortilla - no variations), but a few years ago I discovered fish (soft) tacos and I'm never going back. Yes, these tacos would probably be more exciting if I bothered to buy some cabbage to shred up and sprinkle on top (it's such a great crunch!), but I'm never able to use up the rest of the cabbage, so I skip it.

Blackened Fish Tacos
serves two big eaters (not that I am one, but...)

1 pound (or a little less) of a flaky white fish (use whatever is on sale, or try the frozen section at Trader Joe's)
blacken seasoning to sprinkle
1 lime
6-8 corn tortillas
whatever you like in your taco - we do sour cream, a simple salsa (usually tomatillo), avocado, cilantro, hot sauce, and cheese (cheddar when we're feeling broke, queso fresco when we're not)

• Sprinkle one side of the fish with a generous amount of the blacken seasoning. Heat a small amount of oil (probably not olive, canola or something like that) in a pan. When it's hot, place the fish in the pan spiced side down - now you can sprinkle the other side.Cook each side for about 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, do your little bit of prep for the tacos.
• When the second side is almost done, break it up a bit (one great thing about fish for tacos is that you don't have to worry about it all falling apart).
• With the pan still hot, squeeze the lime over the fish and cook for just a minute or two longer to get rid of the extra moisture and finish the fish.
  
• Heat the tortillas and build your tacos (I like my tortillas toasted on a dry cast-iron griddle I have, but as long as they're warm, they'll be great).