Steak Salad

We set out last evening to have skirt steak, grilled corn, and a salad, yet by the time we got hungry enough to worry about dinner, Ann suggested just making a salad out of everything, which we did. While I was slicing the corn, Ann made the salad and the dressing (which was really, really good: lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper). I'm not much of a steak eater and I love salads, while Ann loves steak, so dinner worked out pretty well: Ann ate the steak and I ate the salad!

Skirt Steak Salad with Raw Corn and Tomatoes

Tacos de Carne Asada

Skirt Steak, Grilled Onions and Poblanos, Guac, Cheese, and Pico

Call them fajitas, tacos al carbón, tacos de carne asada, or anything else that pleases you. I just know that tender bits of grilled steak wrapped up in a tortilla with some freshly made guacamole, grilled poblanos and onions, and topped with queso para frijoles and pico de gallo is one of the great feeds of all time, especially for that very first time of the new year that it is nice enough to grill out.

And yesterday was that day!

Before (Note Chef Lube in Background)

Note the freaking awesome skirt steak from Bill and Holly at Martin's Angus Beef! I cannot say enough good about this meat. It is incredible, incredible as in the best I ever ate, and you need to run to a farmers market where they sell their beef and get you some. Do not stop, do not pass Go, do not collect $200! Hie thee to the market! You will not regret it.

After!

The Fixings

Above you see the red plate with the sliced beef, the peeled, seeded, and sliced poblanos, and the chopped onions. Above that, the pico de gallo: diced grape tomatoes, sliced green onions, garlic, minced jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Then the queso para frijoles in the middle: it's a little more rubbery and less salty than feta, but the idea is exactly the same. You could even use ricotta salata. And then on the right, the guacamole: avocado, minced jalapeño, crushed red pepper paste, lime juice, green onions, cilantro, and guaje seeds. And last, the flour tortillas. Me, I'm a big fan of corn tortillas, but the only one in the house and I'm not going to get a stack of fresh corn tortillas just for me.

Semillas Frescas de Guaje

Guaje seeds, come again? They're seeds from a pod of a locust-like tree from Southern Mexico that have a great green garlic flavor. I love them in guacamole: I don't add garlic to my guacamole when I add guaje seeds. I bought a bundle at the market and when the afternoon heat proved to be too much to be outside, I shelled them out while Ann and I sat in the sunroom under the ceiling fan, chewing the fat.

You'd be Smiling Too if You Were About to Feast!

Seís de Mayo: Quesadillas Etc.

This is the third post of four on our Seís de Mayo party.


Sangria

To warm everyone up when they arrived, I made two big pitchers of so-called sangria from Pinotage (a South African grape that is the scion of two French grapes, Pinot Noir and Cinsault). This is not really sangria so much as it is a berry wine punch, but I was under orders. ;) I mixed the wine with tequila and St. Germain and then added mixed berries, fresh pineapple, lemon slices, lime slices, and agave nectar.

Pinotage: Fruity and Inexpensive, Just Right for Sangria

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocados, and Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette

Ann makes a delicious salad of quinoa, black beans, red onions, avocados, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and whatever else she feels like putting in it, all dressed with a simple vinaigrette flavored with lime juice and cumin. It's just a wonderful side dish (or even a great vegetarian summer main dish).

Quinoa Salad

Quesadillas with Chorizo, Bison Skirt Steak, Poblanos and Onions

Quesadillas are fun to make for a crowd, either on a grill or as I did it, in a pan on the stove. You can put just about anything you want in them, but I was in the mood for chorizo. The cheese we used was some generic pre-shredded white cheese from the grocery labeled "Queso para Pupusas," cheese for pupusas, that amazing Salvadoran stuffed tortilla. Any melting cheese will do.

And what better to go with sausage than peppers and onions? The five pounds of onions and peppers that I started with cooked down by at least half. I was planning for leftovers anyway, because how useful is it to have onions and peppers in the fridge?

We also had a tiny bit of bison skirt steak leftover, so I cooked that too.

Bison Skirt Steak, Nice and Rare

And I leave you with two parting shots.

I can feel your jealousy from here, dear reader.

Stay tuned for the final episode in which dessert gets made!