Recipe/Dinner question

emcme22

So I know there are a lot of great cooks on here so thought I would ask for some advice.  I wanted to make a nice dinner for BF tonight and was going to make a flank steak marinated in balsamic, a little worcestershire and brown sugar.  Has anyone ever had anything like that before and was it good?  I wanted to try it with some sort of sauce/reduction but couldn't really think of anything.  Anyone have a better marinating idea?  Also was just going to serve it with rice pilaf, couldn't think of much else.  I am not too original haha.  Oh and I am attempting to make a rock candy martini too.  I went to a restaurant that had them once and loved it...I love rock candy haha So anyone have any tips etc?  Totally open to suggestions

sarawifenow

Oh that sounds yummy!

 

You can totally use the leftover marinade to make a sauce reduction. Simmer it until is reduces by half, put a cube of butter in it and stir until it is shiny and voila!

 

Whenever I make rice pilaf I like to spice it up by adding some different ingredients. Roasted butternut squash would go great with your meal. Just cube it into 1 inch chunks and then roast with olive oil and salt and pepper. About 45 min at 350 should be good. Just mix it in with the rice and you are good to go.

 

Can I come over for dinner? Lol

 

Edited because words are hard!

theartistformerlyknownas

Yep! When I do a beef roast I marinate/cook it in a mixture of beef broth, balsamic, brown sugar and soy sauce. It's really yummy. That's to go in the crock pot though; you wouldn't need the broth for a steak marinade. You can cook the marinade down into a reduction. Once it comes to a boil/simmer it's safe to eat.

SmileDamnit

MMMMM! We just had flank steak last night. It was a new recipe:

• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Turned out great! For a side, we did baked (microwaved) sweet potatoes with a butter/thyme/orange zest topping. Two thumbs up!

JCbride2015

That sounds great. Other options for marinades later would include soy sauce and maple syrup (weird but good), also dijon mustard and red wine vinegar are great on chicken.

emcme22

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, especially about how to do the reduction.  I should have added that since our dinner is after he gets out of work it isn't until about 10-ish so plenty of time still for the marinating haha  oh and just wanted to put in a martini pick cuz I think it's pretty haha

theartistformerlyknownas

JCbride2015 said:

That sounds great. Other options for marinades later would include soy sauce and maple syrup (weird but good), also dijon mustard and red wine vinegar are great on chicken.

This is so good on salmon.

Cookie Pusher

I've pretty much stopped using anything but alcohol to marinate my beef. Beer and tequila work really well. I have a london broil defrosting in a bag with Guinness, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and rosemary for later this week.

SmileDamnit

lolo883 said:

JCbride2015 said:

That sounds great. Other options for marinades later would include soy sauce and maple syrup (weird but good), also dijon mustard and red wine vinegar are great on chicken.

This is so good on salmon.

QFT! Throw a little Sriracha sauce & lime juice/zest in with the maple syrup and you've got yourself a fan-freaking-tastic salmon dish.

Senecaf

I love the recipe/food threads. I just sit at my desk dreaming of food. Then go home and cook something boring.

loveislouder

Growing up, having steak with anything but potatoes was essentially a sin. Easy potato recipe: Preheat to 450, put in a bowl a few peeled potatoes cubed, some oil, dill, garlic (powder or chopped) Italian seasoning, a little bit of cajun seasoning and steak spice (if you have... essentially any spices you like) and mix really well. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil, spray it with Pam or whatever, spread the potatoes out and let them cook for 25 - 30 minutes. I love them.

anndee2020

Another side option that would go great with the steak and rice especially if you already have the grill going is grilled asparagus. Its super easy and currently one of my favorite grilled veggies.

Just toss the asparagus in olive oil and seasoning of your choice. (I use a veggie seasoning with garlic in it) and I normally do it on the grill for about 8-10 min. depending on the heat of your grill and the level you want the asparagus to be done. Then afterwards I sprinkle with a little bit of parmesan cheese and it’s delicious!

NYCMercedes

Add garlic to the brown sugar, balsamic, and Worcester. Yum. Add sautéed onions to the pilaf. Yum. Really boil down that reduction. Yum.

lurkergirl

Mmmmm, he's lucky to have you cooking up that goodness for him!

FI's favorite steak marinade: sprinkle on grill seasoning--whatever you like; 2/3 C cheap whiskey; 1/3 C soy sauce.  Marinate for 15 minutes.  DO NOT marinate for more than 30 minutes or it will be way too salty.

I also make a lot of grilled pork as an alternative to steak.  I get a pork tenderloin and butterfly it (cut a bit more than halfway through lengthwise) so it's a flat piece of pork.  I like it a bit over an inch thick, so I use the pounder if I need to flatten it out a bit.

For the marinade: 2T Soy sauce; 2T honey; 2t dijon; 3/4C canola oil; 2 cloves crushed garlic (but keep the pieces in tact so you can pull them out before the grill).  Marinate for 30 minutes-a couple hours.

Heat grill to 600.  Add pork and cook 5 minutes on each side.  Pull off and tent with foil for 15 minutes.  It is AHmazing!

I always do some type of potato and green thing (salad, broccoli, okra, asparagus).  Easiest potatoes: microwave for 8 minutes.  Cover in canola oil and salt.  Place on top rack of grill while the meat cooks and sits.  Mmmmmm.

**DISCLAIMER** I don't actually really measure things, so those are my best estimates!

emcme22

NYCMercedes said:

Add garlic to the brown sugar, balsamic, and Worcester. Yum. Add sautéed onions to the pilaf. Yum. Really boil down that reduction. Yum.

I did add brown sugar.  I actually cut the steak in half(it was pretty big) and did two different marinades, I will update how it came out.  Thank you everyone for all the veggie suggestions.  I eat pretty much no veggies, I have serious texture issues and it sucks, so BF pretty much never ends up eating them even though I tell him constantly just because I don't eat it doesn't mean I don't like making it.  He claims he doesn't really like them....then at my moms house eats every veggie under the sun she's made haha

Love this bored, been going through some old recipe threads slowly, I think hummus crusted chicken is on the horizon.

P.S. sorry if my typing/spelling sucks, wearing my contacts which with my crap eyesight and astigmatism means a whole lot of blurry.  But without them can't wear makeup.  Oh the life of the visually impaired haha

emcme22

So dinner was a success, marinated the steak 2 ways, a balsamic way and one with garlic, oil and montreal steak seasoning. Both were good and the reduction came out really good too so thanks everyone for the tips. Hoping to do some of the other stuff mentioned soon. OH and sadly the drink was not so good, not a fan of Hpnotiq I guess.