Book Seventy-Nine: Sunset Grill

by the Editors of Sunset Books


                      Hot Flank Steak Salad with
                    Chinese Black Bean Dressing

Last week we had thunder storms. This week mid 80's and absolutely beautiful - barbeque weather; until next week when showers are forecasted once again. Mother Nature certainly is being fickle this year.

It was warm to say the least. I wanted something quick and light and this was the perfect dish. Flank steak on the grill for a whole eight minutes if that and the dressing took no time at all to pull together. Chop up some lettuce, bell pepper and a few cilantro leaves and bam! dinner is on the table.

I could tell Andy did not care for this one so much though he said the meat was good. His bowl still had a fair amount of greens left in it. May have been the cilantro. This I'm sure would be even better if I had bought the right kind of beans. I could not find fermented black beans so I substituted canned black beans which are not at all the same. Fermented black beans are actually black soy beans that have been dried and fermented in salt and other spices. Still I thought this was a tasty salad.

 Grilled up some naan to go with our salad, opened up a bottle of wine, and life is good.

Success meter (1-3): 3

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Hubby certainly knows how to grill.

Perfection!

You can't see the dressing, but it was there.

Book Thirty-Six: Popsicles and Other Fruity Frozen Treats

by  Sunil Vijayakar, Liz Franklin and Elsa Petersen-Schepelern


          Cranberry and Mango Bars (Popsicles)

It was a warm and sunny day when I ordered these popsicle molds. The weather has been less than perfect since I received them, but I can no longer wait and more rain is forecasted for the weekend. I'll just have to imagine it is summer (I can always turn up the heat!) while eating what I think will be a tasty treat.

On the second layer of cranberry juice I decided to add a few squirts of agave nectar to sweeten it up a bit. I used unsweetened cranberry juice as the recipe states, but I got to thinking that the unsweetened is extremely tart and really is an acquired taste and thought no one would care for them without the sweetener. On second thought if I left it out, there would be more for me!!

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I placed the sticks into the mold for I placed them too low, so there is not much to hold onto; not to mention it is not very pleasant to bite into the stick right off the bat. I am glad that I added the agave to the second pouring of cranberry juice; popsicles are meant to be sweet.

Success meter (1-3): 3

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partially frozen cranberry juice

Book Thirty-Three: Barefoot Contessa - How Easy Is That?

by Ina Garten

 

   Middle Eastern Vegetable Salad

I enjoy watching Ina Garten on the Food Network for she makes everything look so effortless. And yes, her recipes are easy! I own seven of her books and am looking forward to cooking through the other six.

The rains are done (for now anyway) and the weather has warmed; which means salads and barbeque for dinner. We eat a lot of salads during the summer for they are easy, refreshing, healthy, and oh so good! And I really like salads that don't have lettuce in them; just a bowl full of the goods!! Greek salad is another favorite of mine. I'll make sure to share that one as well. As I may have mentioned before, I usually shy away from recipes calling for mint or leave it out all together. I like mint mind you; it just always seems odd to me to put it in dishes other than desserts. I'm going to be a brave soul and use the mint this time.

I was slightly disappointed with this dish, however with a few tweaks I think this would be really good. It certainly was easy!! Next time I would use way less salt, and I'm talking like half, and if at all possible home-grown tomatoes; as we all know how the store bought tomatoes taste; well that's just it, they have no taste. I also have the habit of adding just a bit more of something, and in this case it was garlic. It was a bit overpowering, so I'll stick with the amount suggested or maybe even a little less.

I'm rating this a three because I really do think it will be better with the few minor changes I mentioned above.

Success meter: (1-3): 3

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