Sun-dried Tomato and Queso Fresco

Stuffed Flat Iron Steak Pinwheel

I am always trying to think of new ways to make old foods.

Case in point; the flat iron steak.

This is a relatively new cut of meat

that was developed by scientists at the University of Nebraska

and the University of Florida.

They wanted to take a cut of meat from the shoulder

of the cow that commonly went to waste because of the

tough connective tissue that ran right down the middle of it.

They figured out a way to cut this piece of meat

eliminating the connective tissue

and the flavorful flat iron steak was "born."

As this piece of meat is a non-loin cut,

it should be marinated before cooking and should never

be cooked past medium.

Now that you know a bit more about flat iron steaks,

let's get on with the cooking.

The Sun-dried Tomato and Queso Fresco Stuffed

Flat Iron Steak Pinwheel covered

with a honeyed soy whiskey glaze.

The ingredients for the stuffed steak are:

the flat iron steak

1/4 cup crumbled Queso Fresco

1/4 cup minced sun-dried tomatoes*

2 tablespoons Country Dijon

1 clove garlic, grated

Pinch salt

Pinch black pepper

*I dry my own tomatoes, either in the sun,

or if the weather does not permit, in the oven set on 200,

with a bit of olive oil.

This is a good way to use tomatoes that are a bit wrinkled.

I then keep this bag in the freezer.

Carefully slice the steak open from the side, butterflying it. Looks like I need to practice. Mix the ingredients for the stuffing. And spread the mixture evenly over the steak. Then roll up, starting at one long end, making sure to keep the roll tight. Now you can practice your bondage knots. Oh, I'm so knotty.

Next up on the agenda is the marinade.

I personally never measure the ingredients,

but I did this time for you:

1/3 cup whiskey

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

Pinch black pepper

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon ground garlic

Mix together.

Marinate the meat in the marinade for at least an hour,

turning every 15 minutes or so.

About an hour before cooking the meat,

take the meat out of the fridge to allow the meat

to come to room temp.

Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high

heat on the stove.

Add a couple of tablespoons of oil

and when the pan is hot,

add the meat.

Sear on all sides and pour the marinade over the meat.*

Place the pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven

and roast until the internal temperature reaches

135 degrees.

Take out and cover with foil.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting the strings

and carving.

*There is some controversy about reusing marinade

that has had raw meat in it.

My take on this is that you are eating formerly raw meat,

so why not the cooked marinade,

as long as it has been thoroughly cooked?

However, if this does bother you,

then by all means, just make up another batch

of the marinade, heat it up in a pan and

reduce it by half.

Ready for service.

Gotta work on those carving skills.

The meat was perfectly cooked.

And this was a delightful dish.

The meat was tender and the filling didn't overpower it.

The glaze was slightly sweet and had

a bit of a bite to it.

This dish definitely goes into the recipe rotation.

Flat Iron Steak for Dinner - and Lunch

I like to keep certain things in my freezer for those times when I need a quick, easy dinner.

Flat iron steak has recently earned its place in this category.

This cut of meat can be marinated for just an hour or two before being cooked.

I had a recipe in mind, but my dear husband ignored my instructions to stop at the grocery and pick up a bottle of whiskey.

Of course, he claims that I told him not to stop.

Oh to have that selective male hearing.

Life must be much easier when one can pick and choose what one hears.

*

Obviously I was going to have to wing this recipe.

Here I have assembled:

Extra virgin olive oil

black pepper

sherry

Light soy sauce

dried thyme

dried rosemary

fresh parsley

chives (in place of the green onion)

garlic

flat iron steak

*

The ingredients were mixed and put with the flat iron steak in a zip-top bag.

This marinated in the refrigerator for an hour before being removed and seared over medium-high heat in a non-stick pan.

The meat rested for about 15 minutes under foil.




I prefer to cook the flat iron steak to rare.

A baked Yukon Gold potato and sauteed broccoli round out the dinner.

This was good, but I think I would have liked it even better if I had been able to use whiskey in the recipe.

*

The Foodie Daughter gave this 5 stars, while the Foodie Boyfriend and I gave this 4 stars.

The dear husband gave this 3-1/2 stars.

I'd say this recipe passes muster.

I still want to try it with the whiskey.

I promised you lunch also, didn't I?

The next day I made a salad with Romaine lettuce and red onion in a tortilla salad shell.

Seared leftover flat iron steak and my homemade Honey French Dressing finish off this delightful salad.

This was almost better than its first incarnation.

A Weeknight Family Dinner

Well, what do you know? Wednesday evening was the first time this week we were all home together for dinner. That doesn't happen very often any more. So of course I had to take advantage of this rare opportunity and make a special dinner for my family.

That afternoon I put together a quick marinade of fresh lime juice, tequila, honey, a pinch of dried Serrano chili, salt and black pepper. This went into a plastic bag with a nice flat iron steak so that the meat could marinate for a couple of hours.

I have been wanting to try this dish for some time, and thought that this was as good a time as any. Pesto Pasta certainly sounds good, right?

Here I have linguine, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, fresh flat leaf parsley, fresh basil and about 1/4 cup of frozen homemade pesto.

Now, would you look at what I have to work with here? Minx likes to just plop down wherever. That usually means he's right at my feet. I think he has made himself right at home.

Next we have a nice salad. I cut some beautiful lettuce leaves that are growing in a pot on my deck and I also plucked some lovely chive blossoms. Croutons made from bread scraps and freshly grated cheese compliment the sliced red onion for this salad.

The Pasta was cooked and drained and tossed with the thawed pesto. Then the grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley and basil were gently mixed in. In hind sight I should have added a bit of the pasta water to the pasta to help make more of a sauce, but this was still very good.

The meat was cooked to medium-rare and was tender and succulent. I realized later that a nice addition to this dish would have been some Chimichurri sauce. Perhaps next time, amigos.