Change of Pace

     My father used to go out to the "yacht club" every Wednesday night to play cards and have dinner with the "boys". That allowed me to create and experiment with dinner and save my mother from having to come home from work to cook, clean, and collapse. One such experiment was a stuffed flank steak. I had read about it in a cook book and decided to give it a shot. I got some butcher’s twine, spinach, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, and a butterflied flank steak.

I proceeded then to make, what I thought, was one of the best meals we were going to have. My father came home, changed clothes, and peeked in the oven. On his way out of the driveway, he stopped my mother as she was pulling up and said in a hurried voice, "Don't eat it, it's GREEN!".

More than one of my family members believes in the motto, "If it's green, don't eat it,“ however, there are some quite delicious green foods out there. Flank steak is a great cut of steak because it lends itself to stuffing, broiling, grilling, baking, and roasting. Sliced thin, against the grain, it will melt in your mouth when cooked medium rare. Butterflied, stuffed with your choice of fillings, rolled, tied, and baked, it makes for a one-pan meal, complete with vegetables and starches all in one.

Enjoy these suggestions for your next dinner with the beef lovers in your house. Just don't tell them what's in it before you serve it. Bon Appetit

Sausage Stuffed Flank Steak 
Serves 4

16 large basil leaves 
1 to 1-1/2 lb flank steak 
4 thin slices Swiss cheese 
2 sweet Italian sausages 
salt and pepper to taste 
3 Tbsp olive oil 
1 large onion, sliced thin
8 cloves garlic
1 Cup (2 dl) dry red wine
½ Cup (1 dl) beef stock
¼ Cup (½ dl) red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Arrange enough basil leaves on top of the steak to cover it, leaving a one-inch (2-1/2 cm) border on each short side. Top basil with Swiss cheese slices. Place sausages, end to end lengthwise, down the center. Starting at one long side, roll the steak over the sausage, then roll into a cylinder. Tie with string to secure. Season outside with salt and pepper to taste. Heat oil in a 6 quart (6 liter) Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add steak and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer steak to a platter. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to Dutch oven. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add wine, stock, vinegar, bay leaves, and chopped basil and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Add steak, seam side up. Cover and bake until meat is tender, about 1 hour. Transfer steak to a platter. Boil juices until reduced to 1 cup (2 dl), about 3 minutes. Carefully remove string from steak. Slice into 3/4 inch thick slices and arrange on heated platter. Serve immediately, passing juices separately.

Stuffed Flank Steak 
Serves 7

3/4 lb breakfast sausage 
2 flank steaks(1-1/2 lb each) 
1-¼ tsp salt 
¾ tsp black pepper 
½ tsp thyme 
1 tsp paprika 
2 cloves garlic, crushed 
2 Tbsp corn oil 
2 medium green peppers, julienne 
4 small onions, 2 sliced, 2 chopped
1 Tbsp juniper berries, crushed
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, half rounds
2 medium celery sticks, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1, 28 oz can (ca. 3 cans at 240 g each) peeled tomatoes, drained
1-½ Cups (3 dl) dry red wine
½ Cup (1 dl) beef stock

Preheat oven to 300° F (150° C)

In a heavy skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until brown and crumbly, 5-7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a medium bowl. Discard fat and wipe out skillet. Pound the steaks with the coarse side of a meat mallet for about 30 seconds on each side. 

In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, thyme, paprika, and garlic, and rub into one side of each steak. In the skillet, heat the corn oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and sliced onion, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are wilted and softened, about 10 minutes. Add the juniper berries to the sausage, and mix well with your hands, breaking up any large pieces of meat. 

Spread half the sausage mixture evenly over each piece of seasoned meat and press down gently. Distribute the cooked peppers and onions over each steak evenly. Roll the steaks, starting from a long side, jelly-roll style, being careful not to squeeze the sausage out. Secure each steak roll with butchers twine tied at 2 inch (5 cm) intervals. 

In a large flameproof casserole, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the steak rolls, leaving space between them, and cook, turning, until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and season with remaining salt and pepper. Pour any excess oil from the pan and add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, and parsley. Arrange the meat on top. Add the tomatoes, wine, and stock. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Cover tightly, transfer to the oven, and braise at 300° F (150° C), turning once, for 2 hours. 

Remove from the oven. Carefully remove strings and set the steak rolls aside on a platter. Strain the liquid from the pan, reserving the vegetables. In a food processor, puree the vegetables and return to the pan with the liquid; stir to combine well. Add the meat to the sauce. Let rest for 30 minutes at least to allow the meat to absorb the juices, or cover and refrigerate overnight. Thinly slice and reheat in the pan with the sauce over medium heat. Serve immediately with reserved sauce on the side. 

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Easter Menu

     It is funny what memories come back to people in the food industry on certain holidays. In New Orleans, the Easter Brunch menu consisted of eggplant, poached eggs, and rabbit. I imagined families sitting there eating and wondering how they were going to explain to their kids about what they were eating. It seemed odd and the memory has stuck with me to this day.

The most traditional meal eaten (in the U.S.) at Easter would have to be either turkey and dressing or ham with green bean casserole (these seem to get around to most other holidays as well). Tradition in each household can take different forms be it stuffed pork loin or turduchens from the local distributor of such curious birds or even oyster dressing instead of cornbread dressing.

Whatever the standard is in each home, try getting creative with the menu to add a flair unheard/undreamed of by kids waiting to find Easter eggs and candy throughout the day. Enjoy these suggestions for your Easter dinner and bon appetit.

Pan-Fried Quail with Smithfield Ham

2 quail
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of salt
Pinch of thyme, fresh

¾ Tbsp. butter
1.5oz (45 g) Smithfield ham
2 Tbsp white grape juice
2 Tbsp dry vermouth

1. Mix spices; rub into the quail on both sides.
2. Heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat.
3. Add quail, back down. Brown and turn.
4. Add ham, cover, cook for 3-4 minutes, until juices run clear.
5. Remove quail from pan; keep warm.
6. Deglaze pan with juice and vermouth.
7. Reduce liquid for several minutes.
8. Pour over plated quail; serve.


Pork Chop Casserole

6 pork chops
2 Cups (4 dl) rice
2 cans beef consommé (or ca. 16 oz /4 Cups / 8 dl beef or chicken stock)
1 large jar pimientos
1 Cup (2 dl) water
Salt and pepper
6 pats butter

1. In large casserole dish, put rice, consommé, pimientos, and water.
DO NOT STIR
2. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper
3. Place chops on top of rice.
4. Put a pat of butter on each pork chop.,
5. Cover and bake for 75 minutes at 350° F (180° C).
6. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes to brown chops.
7. Remove from oven, rest five minutes, serve.