Tri-tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin that became popular as a local specialty in Santa Maria, California (according to Wikipedia). According to us, it is really good, quality steak. We grilled it this night by adapting the recipe “Smoked Santa Maria Tri-Tip” from one of our favorite grilling cookbooks. Adding hickory smoke while the beef grills is a great way to layer another level of flavor to the dish. The garnish of fresh salsa with tomato, green chiles, green onions, cilantro, etc. adds even more flavor. Continue reading “Grilled Smoked Tri-Tip”
Category: Main Ingredient
Migas (with leftover steak)
Breakfast for dinner can be a creative way to use steak leftover from earlier in the week. On this night, we decided to use our leftover steak to make “migas,” which is Tex-Mex Speak for scrambled eggs with beef, chiles (or peppers) and onion wrapped in a flour tortilla. Continue reading “Migas (with leftover steak)”
Grill-Pan Chicken Tacos
We are big grilling fans here at FoodieLawyer, and in Texas you can easily grill 12 months out of the year. But not everyone has year-round grilling weather, or the space for a full-size outdoor grill, in which case the grill pan can often be an acceptable substitute. For example, you can use a grill pan on the stove to cook chicken tenders flavored with Tex-Mex spices, served on flour tortillas with cheese and a quick pico de gallo. Continue reading “Grill-Pan Chicken Tacos”
Crushed Potatoes
We recently came across a side dish called “Crash-Hot Potatoes,” and we were intrigued enough by the name to try them. This recipe is so simple — small red potatoes boiled until fork-tender, then “crashed” and coated in a bit of olive oil for roasting in a hot oven until crispy and delicious. We love the flavors of garlic and basil with olive oil, so we switched up this recipe by using a garlic-infused olive oil and dried basil (instead of thyme or rosemary) which added a very subtle Italian flair that was fantastic. These may be the current number one potato dish in our rotation. Try them — we promise that you will not be disappointed!
Update: We followed friend and commenter Carrie’s tip to crush the potatoes using the bottom of a dry measuring cup wrapped in plastic, and it worked like a charm. We also boiled the potatoes a little longer before crushing them.
Homemade Noodles with Two Sauces
We are always looking for interesting new cookbooks. I saw a reference to a book called “The Frankies Spuntino: Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual,” and knew Dan would like it. The authors have a couple of restaurants in Brooklyn, and their book includes all kinds of useful cooking tips. We were particularly inspired by their suggestion that making fresh pasta if you have a stand mixer “is practically painless and almost entirely automatic.” So, on a recent weekend when we had family in town, we decided to try homemade pasta using the mixer. To go along with the pasta, we cooked two different quick pan sauces — one with pancetta, white wine and tomato sauce, and the other with pecorino cheese and pepper. Everything was amazing. Continue reading “Homemade Noodles with Two Sauces”
Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato and Feta
This Orzo with Shrimp dish is one of our comfort foods. We use a single pot to boil the orzo pasta, saute the shrimp, then cook a quick spicy garlic and tomato sauce. Combine all of these great ingredients in a baking dish with some feta and parmesan cheese, then heat it all in the oven for about 10 minutes for a delicious meal. Continue reading “Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato and Feta”
Chicken Nachos (with leftover chicken)
When Dan is out of town and I’m forced to fend for myself for dinner, I often plan ahead to turn our leftovers from earlier in the week into something different for my solo meal. For some reason, I find the need to transmogrify leftovers, otherwise I won’t eat them. Maybe it’s my way of pretending that I cook. So, here are the Chicken Nachos that I “cooked” while Dan was away. Continue reading “Chicken Nachos (with leftover chicken)”
Cucumber Tomato Salad
We’re always looking for new side dishes to mix things up, and this is a great one. We found the recipe on epicurious.com, which is one of our favorite sources of online recipes. This side is called Dave’s Tomato and Cucumber Salad. We’re not sure who Dave is, but he came up with a really good salad! Continue reading “Cucumber Tomato Salad”
Beer Can Chicken
Is there a more fun way to grill a whole chicken than sitting it on a can of beer? We don’t think so either. We had some loved ones over for dinner this weekend and grilled a pair of chickens. Grilling the chickens on cans of beer allows them to cook evenly, and the steaming beer keeps the chicken nice and juicy. Beer Can Chicken is pretty easy to do, especially with Dan’s perfected technique for removing the can from the chicken when it’s done. Continue reading “Beer Can Chicken”
Chicken Guadalajara
How about a recipe from West Texas? El Paso is an important place in my life — my parents met when they were students at UTEP, and I was born there. The Junior League of El Paso publishes an incredible cookbook titled Seasoned With Sun, which is full of delicious southwest recipes. My mom cooks from this book and gave my Chef Dan a copy way back when we were dating. The first dish we ever tried from this cookbook is Chicken Guadalajara — a mixture of chicken, green chiles and onion in a creamy sauce. It takes about 40 minutes to prepare and uses only a single skillet — perfect for a busy weeknight. Continue reading “Chicken Guadalajara”