Something From Nothing ~ Week 11

Why yes, yes I know it has not been a complete week since my last post! However, I have many, many weeks to catch up on. This project must have fifty-two weeks, to be precise.  Sooooooo...on we go!  While watching food-related TV recently (what else is new?), I saw Guy Fieri making an Italian-style stuffed flank steak, and knew I must make it. Although not an authentic Italian dish, I have always loved flank steak, and was in the mood for what I call "project level cooking" - in other words...lengthy, prep-heavy, and ultimately, tasty.  Click here for the recipe. First, we get our flank steak on a plastic covered cutting board...

Then we carefully butterfly it open....carefully because this cut of meat is very thin to begin with.

Then, we cover with more plastic wrap, and (wait for it...) beat our meat senseless with a meat mallet. Hey, I can't help it...it's part of the recipe! Really!

Back to the prep work.  We assemble the following....

Carrots, scallions, onion, garlic parsley, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, white wine, tomato sauce, liquid smoke, mozzarella cheese, a jar of roasted red bell peppers, chicken stock, flour, sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, and wooden (bamboo, of course) skewers. Not shown, more extra-virgin olive oil for searing the beef in.  Whew! Hey, I told you this was project-level cooking! Now, we prep...

Shred the mozzarella, chop the parsley, onion and garlic, and cut the carrot and scallion into julienned pieces. Then, gently saute' the garlic and onions in extra-virgin olive oil until tender and translucent..

Now we get to the fun part - building the dish! Lay down your carrots, scallions and roasted red bell peppers (diced) in an attractive manner along one side of your butterflied steak...

Then, add your sun-dried tomatoes.  These may not look like your typical, store-bought sun-dried tomatoes...because they are not! I make my own..it's easy! Simply slice tomatoes, place on a baking sheet with a little olive oil & kosher salt, turn the oven to 200, and let them go for several hours.

Now, add your garlic and onion mixture, once it has been cooked and cooled down a bit..

Finally, add your shredded mozzarella, the parsley, and some salt & pepper...

Now - the scary/tricky part. Roll that bad boy up! Don't be intimidated...YOU are in charge! Here is mine, mid-roll...

You may have holes, tears in the meat...do not worry, you can skewer those shut, and it will come out just fine...here is mine at the end of the rolling, and skewered to close the seam...

Now, I got my handy-dandy appetizer tray out (funny how useful that thing is), and put the flour and Italian seasoning down, to mix and coat the meat in..

Then, roll that steak around in it...to coat completely...

Get some olive oil really hot, in your largest skillet, and sear the meat until browned on all sides...

Now, here is where I deviated from the recipe. Honestly, placing it in a 300-degree oven for only 15 more minutes did not cook it to the desired doneness. 350 for a half an hour is more like it....here is mine, going into the oven for the final roasting time...

Now, we add white wine to the skillet we browned our meat in, to deglaze and get up all the wonderful flavor from the pan...

Then, add your tomato sauce, chicken stock, and a quarter of a teaspoon of liquid smoke. Frankly, I never buy "fire roasted" tomato sauce, because any "smoke flavor" is lost on me, and the products are typically more expensive than regular tomato products. Here is the sauce, beginning to reduce...



While the sauce was reducing, I mashed the potatoes, and pulled the steak out of the oven to rest. When the sauce had thickened and the meat had rested (about ten minutes), I sliced it carefully and plated up with mashed potato and sauce.... The results?

Absolutely delicious! There are a few issues with the recipe that I would definitely modify next time.  I would steam the julienned carrots a bit, as I did not like them remaining crunchy (curiously, Dear Husband actually DID like the crunchy carrots), and clearly, the cooking time needs to be longer. All in all, though...a very tasty dish indeed.

Eat well, and try new recipes my friends....it is so worthwhile to discover a new taste! Stay tuned for some bear claw pastries, and we will check on our Kimchi.....

Love and kindness to all,

Pixie