Fresh Approach Cooking

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The fight. The Kentucky Derby. Cinco de Mayo. The Palisades Symphony Spring Concert. It was a big weekend. Bigger than big! Chock-full-o-fun! Over the top in the best possible way.

The weather? Phenomenal. The mood? Relaxed happiness. My place in the world? Secure.

Sigh. Grin. Sigh.

And now my sweets, it is Monday. And frankly, my brain is total and complete mush.

I feel like a Hollywood starlet after a bender.

I mean really.

I burnt myself OUT. And here I thought the weekend was for recovery.

Bah, I say. Bah. It is for FUN!

So as the non-stop weekend threatened to fade into the past, I had to stop and drink it all in. I enticed my boy, the Ombudsman over for a bit of chill time, replete with style, substance and sustenance, in the form of grilled steak with chimichurri sauce. (and a good old fashioned run-on sentence. Cuz who doesn't love that! Faboo!) Because we all know, sitting out by the grill in the twilight, with a beer in hand, is the best of life's little offerings.

And then there is chimichurri. Icing on the cake of happiness.

Argentina’s beloved fresh herb condiment. Simple, vibrant, delicious, versatile. Sexy good stuff.

Grill up a steak and make a fat batch to drizzle over. Lap it up my dears, it is unmitigated perfection. It might not bring your brain back from a fuzzy weekend, but it sure makes for a happy mouth.

4, 8-ounce skirt steaks
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chimichurri ingredients
1 cup flat leaf parsley stems removed
1 cup fresh cilantro, stems removed
3 T. fresh oregano, stems removed
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Black pepper

Marinate the steak in a shallow dish with the three minced garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

For chimichurri, puree the parsley, cilantro, oregano, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, cumin and salt in a blender. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed.

Heat your grill (or grill pan) and cook the steak at least six minutes, or until done to your liking. (I went for three minutes per side to medium rare.) Remove from the grill. Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice against the grain and serve.

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Orlando-based Darden Restaurants will shut down more than 50 of its Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill locations and will sell the remaining 73. The action ends Darden's plans to build the first national casual-dining barbecue chain and affects 4,000 workers. The company, owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden, said it had decided to jettison Smokey Bones based on an accelerated decline in sales and drop in customers. – AP

Argentina leads the world in beef consumption, with the annual average per person consumption at just over 143 pounds (65KG). Consumption in the US? 94.6 pounds (43.8 KG) annually, Australia and Brazil tie at 82.5 lbs. (37.5 KG) Annual average in the Ukraine? 20 lbs. (9.5KG)

Labels: Beef, Entree, Gluten Free, Grilling, Low-Carb