I was invited to a potluck today.  I like playing mini-iron chef with myself. Mostly because I love a challenge and because it helps keep waste down. They say that over 40% of food purchased in the US is never consumed, and the home chef is one of the major sources of waste. With this in mind, I try to only buy what I need or use everything I buy. I had a lot of green beans and tomatoes, so I tried to find a recipe that had both. it can be tedious to cut each bean in half unless you’re watching TV or something.  I mean who sits next to their computer and cuts green beans while watching Korean Dramas? um, no, not me. I mean, I’d never. Ok I do, I would, I did. 

Adapted from Food and Wine I love that the recipe writer intentionally used the whole onion, I know that sounds silly, but it’s a thoughtful detail!

The Steak
Ingredients
½ small red onion
2 garlic cloves
½ cup olive oil
salt and pepper (be generous)
2 lbs. skirt steak (flank steak’s ugly and more flavorful cousin)

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a blender pour the mix into a gallon plastic bag with the steak.  Place the bag in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.  The butcher at my grocery store had the time so he ran the skirt steak through a tenderizing machine which produced a really tender steak, it may be a cheat but it was a delicious cheat. Be nice to the people at the store and they will always go the extra mile, he even got me better cuts of meat from the back (I love Pete’s!).

I don’t have a grill, so these were pan fried, it was still delicious.  The steak is super thin so it will cook fast, and if you’re patient and only flip the meat once, it’ll turn crispy at the edges.  I like my steak rare but for the party I left it on for a little longer, about 3 minutes/side.  Let the steak rest and slice thin.  You have options here, you can serve the steak warm or cool it down and serve the whole thing cold.  I liked it cold.

The Salad
Ingredients
Vinaigrette (this makes more than you need)
¼ extra virgin olive oil
2 limes juiced
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or white, or champagne, or anything lighter and fruity, nothing heavy)
1 zest of a tangerine
salt and pepper

Veggies
¾ lbs. green beans (I used the fancy French kind (haricot verts) trimmed and sliced down the middle
1 pint Campari tomatoes cut into wedges
½ small red onion sliced super thin
1 jalapeno sliced super thin
¼ cup chopped Cashews (I picked the cashews out of my mixed nut blend from Costco… hehehe)
½ cup (about 1/3 of a bunch) chopped cilantro leaves

Instructions
To keep the onions and jalapenos extra crunchy and light, run them under cold water for about 10 minutes. It also ensures you don’t kill anybody with the power of the Jalapeno! Place all the ingredients in a large bowl to hang out while you prepare the vinaigrette.
Just combine all the ingredients in the vinaigrette add about ½ of the sauce, and keep adding till you think it’s enough. I like mine dressed lightly, and it’s much easier to add more…

Final Assembly!
For the pot luck I tossed the steak in with the salad, but you could also serve it how it is pictured above with the steak placed on top.  It’s your perogative, you can do what you want to do.  What’s bobby brown up to lately anyhow?