Grilled Steak Tacos & a Gigantic Burger

What’s better on a Friday after a long week than dinner in with some wine and someone to snuggle with?  Not much I tell ya.  Last week at the cube was epically exhausting.  I was beyond stressed to the point of not even being angry or annoyed with work, just absolutely numb.  So when Friday came around and Bri-guy and I were thinking of what to do, he knew just what I needed- nothing fancy, just some quality down time.

I decided the least I could contribute was the meal- since food and what I’m going to cook takes up about 80% of my daily thinking.  Bri-guy wanted to grill of course, and it has been unseasonably warm lately.  I decided to combine two of my favorite things then, grilled steak, and tacos.  This baby marinated all day in the fridge:

Flank steak, with garlic, onion, cumin, salt & chili powder & oil

 

Then it was time to get the shells and the fixin’s ready.  (Side note: crunchy tacos probably aren’t the best for steak, but, they are my fave, so I went with it.)

Corn tortillas, fried up until crispy

Now, I was also trying to be resourceful and use up a few things, so instead of crunchy lettuce, we had brussel sprouts slaw,  But instead of the apple, I went with a carrot this time.  And you know what, it was pretty good.

Cilantro, salsa, homemade guac, and brussel sprouts slaw

 

The taco all ready to be topped (though the guac is underneath

The meal & the company were just what I needed.  Even got my first seasonal viewing of Love Actually!  The only thing there was too much of was wine.  Whew.

Saturday was an epically bad hangover.  I mean, brutal…  not even this thing could help:

TBS Burger from The Butcher Shop

 

I could only manage about half, and it was dang delicious.  Perfectly cooked, topped with a bit of cheese and caramelized onions, I will definitely be going back for another one of those, though hopefully not hungover next time.  Ugh.

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Apple Gouda Sausage & Brussel Sprouts Slaw

There I was the other night, in Whole Foods, absolutely starving, and stumped as to what to make for dinner.  I was attempting a wholesome meal- brussel sprouts and salmon, but good lordy, the salmon was over $15 a pound!  I mean, I like to treat myself, but really?  Ugh.  For a another $7 I could go down the street and have someone else cook it for me.

I did about 3 laps before I settled in front of the chicken sausage/pork case.  I didn’t want chicken, I didn’t want steak, and I didn’t really want to buy anything pre-made.  I did a quick mental run-down of what was at home already- frozen rolls, condiments for a dressing, not a whole lot.  I already had the brussel sprouts in my cart, and I remembered seeing a shaved brussel sprout and apple salad.  I though, I can do that.  And then the apple gouda sausage caught my eye.  HELLO!  I grabbed  an onion, some mushrooms and dashed to the check-out.

It was like iron chef up in here!  I warmed up the sausage on the grill-top (was already pre-cooked), threw the onions in the cast-iron to caramelize, (adding sliced mushrooms at the end)

While those cooked up I got to shredding the brussel sprouts, 1/4 of a green apple, and made a dressing out of cider vinegar, mayo, salt & pepper.  It wasn’t half bad I tell ya.

When everything was ready I grilled up the roll, put on some spicy mustard, and topped the sausage with the onion & mushroom mix.

I don’t know if it was genuinely good or if I was just that hungry, but it was a good meal!  The slaw was crisp and tangy, and the apple gouda sausage was a definite win!

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A new take on Meat & Potatoes

So. Summer is over.  It’s raining. Waaaaaaah.

It was one of those days where I really wanted to come home and tuck into a giant pile of creamy mashed potatoes and hearty steak.  But. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  After the free-for-all I had this weekend- champagne, wedding cake, Shake Shack (!!!! AWESOME) and a whole lot of beer, it was time for some vegetables.

I opted for a healthier version of my craving… a ginormous salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onion, a wee bit of goat cheese, olive oil & vinegar dressing and topped it off with a grilled steak (marinated in garlic & balsamic) and roasted potatoes as croutons.  Not too shabby, eh?

Poootaaaaatoooooooo

 

Le beef.

 

The green anxiously awaiting the piece de resistance

 

Et voila! Meat & Potatoes. Sort of.

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Weekend Treats

Sunday night dinner

Woot-woot!! What a weekend friends!

The weather in Beantown this weekend was absolutely fabulous.  Everyone here has Spring fever and the town was hoppin’ this weekend.  (Myself and my lady friends included!)

A month or so ago, my first big night back on the town post-surgery was a dinner with 4 girlfriends over at Met Bar on Newbury St.  I had been previously for a drink & dessert but not dinner.   We were seated in the downstairs bar area, and man, everyone in the bar wanted to be at our table.  I have the funniest friends ever.

So much so that we’ve been jonesin’ to go back for another fantastic lady date night.  This weekend we went again, check out the full review here.

Saturday I went to Sonsie, another Boston stand-by.  See the review of that meal here.

I also decided that I needed to take a turn in the kitchen since I hadn’t touched it very much in nearly a week!  Poor lil’ guy was getting lonely.  I somehow (though not surprisingly) spent a good chunk of change at Whole Foods Sunday in preparation to cook the day away.  I then somehow, (though again, not surprisingly) got talked into a mini-Sunday Funday.  So much for that plan.

Amidst the randomness of the day and due to a logisitcal error on my part (Whole Foods rearranged a bunch of things so I came home missing key ingredients) my intended tasty dinner ended up being sub-par.  My sweet potato baked fries came out soggy, I had nothing to dip them in, and I didn’t have the proper accoutrements to make buffalo sauce for my buffalo turkey & blue cheese burgers.  Blurg. So round one, I had a dry & boring turkey burger.

However,  I tried again, made another trip to the store and, I achieved success.

Step 1, make turkey burgers, forgetting breadcrumbs, these were very sticky.

Step 2- make buffalo sauce

Butter & Frank's, let's go Buffalo.

Step 3- Dip cooked turkey burger into buffalo sauce, don’t be shy

Step 4, build your burger- I decided to try my hand at bootleg blue cheese dressing, crumbled fresh blue cheese & sour cream

Finally, be sure to have plenty of napkins, as well as extra sauce & dressing on hand.

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New Beginnings, Old Traditions

New salt & pepper shakers... aren't they cute?!

Happy 2011 friends!  Welcome to the new year, I hope it’s treating you well so far.  I’ve decided not to make any life altering resolutions, it seems not to be the best way to make changes, rather, I try to keep smaller goals that way, the task does not seem as daunting.  What I would like to do, is (like I’ve said a hundred times before here) get back to a better me.  Though I am lucky and fortunate in a lot of ways, have a loving family, and a supportive and fantastic group of friends, 2010 was not the best year in the life of AT.  I’m glad it’s over, and 2011, I’m expecting a lot from you.

As one of my girlfriend’s said on New Year’s Eve when I asked her what her resolution was: “I want to be better at stuff.”  I think that’s the best resolution I’ve heard in years.  And one that I may work toward.  Just be better at stuff.

However, before we can move forward, we must maintain tradition around here and start the New Year off right.  For my family, that means the annual trip to Mike’s Pastry early New Year’s Day, and then a return home for the Rose Bowl Parade, and the annual Lasagna.  For an italian family, we don’t really eat lasagna that much.  My grandfather was telling stories around the dinner table after we finished eating, and he said, “We only made it twice a year, Easter and New Years”  To which I interrupted and said, “Wait, what? But, we’re italian, that doesn’t make any sense at all!”  Nope, only twice a year.

The hiccup in the system was, God rest her soul, my grandmother.  Not being italian nor the best cook, she didn’t churn out loads of food the way most italian grandmothers or big families do.  Actually, if I think about it, even going back the generation before, my grandfather’s parents, Nonno, did most of the cooking.  Anyway, I didn’t mean to delve deep into Tallo family history, but there you go.  My stepmother also has recently pointed out to me my family’s weird obsession with parades.  We do love a good parade- gotta watch the Macy’s parade at Thanksgiving, the Disney one at Christmas is a little obnoxious, but sometimes we watch it, and then yes, the Rose Bowl Parade on New Year’s Day.  I always assumed that this is what people did, apparently it’s weird.  Whatever. I like parades. Judge all you want.

And lasagna.  And Mike’s cupcakes.  Just sayin’.

And because of all that lasagna and cupcakery (OH! by the way, Todd English’s new place, Curly Cakes, on Charles St is finally open, and ohmygod, you need to go.  C$ & I went last week and it’s amazing. Totally worth the $4.) I’ve been feeling a bit out of sorts and have again recommitted to my workout routine and eating better.  I’m trying to stay within the guidelines of an all natural diet, but, am not going to be as restrictive, because that’s just setting myself up for failure.  Like I said in the last post, even just having some of these things in my diet is a big change from what it used to be.

So what was the first dinner of the New Year?  A stir-fry of sorts.  I realized after that I should have added garlic, but, everything balanced nicely and though not the most exciting of meals, I had just worked out, was starving, and it took about 15 mins to make (chopping and all!)

I pity vegetarians.

A quick saute

Served over bulgur, leftover from last week's tabbouleh, with a dash of worcestershire

Hello healthy & delicious meal!   I’m never going to be one of those carb-free people, but I’m at least trying to make the better choice when it comes to grains etc.  I like this bulgur business, it’s a similar taste to brown rice, but with a couscous consistency almost, it’s a solid base for veggies & meat.

So there you have it.  A start in the right direction to a new & improved AT.  I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

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