Spicy Thai Filet Mignon Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing

Now that I am focusing on where my meat comes from, I have the pleasure of really great building blocks for meals.  Grass-fed beef is good. In the past, when I've been lucky enough to have a special piece of meat, I've done as little to it as possible to highlight and honor the amazing natural flavor.

With that philosophy, however, I start to miss out on all of the other flavors that have been used for centuries to make some of my favorite meat dishes.For this meal, I abandoned all reverence and marinated a beautiful piece of grass-fed filet mignon in lime juice, soy sauce and chili paste. Rather than mask the flavor, this marinade elevated the whole meal and made the experience better.

The main use for this meat was in a salad, a bit of a twist on a Thai beef salad with great mixed greens and tomatoes from Vermont and basil and chili peppers from our own garden. The meat also made delicious sandwiches over the rest of the week. This recipe will definitely go into the rotation as both a show-stopper on its own and a good staple for lunches.

Now that I am focusing on where my meat comes from, I have the pleasure of really great building blocks for meals.  Grass-fed beef is good. In the past, when I've been lucky enough to have a special piece of meat, I've done as little to it as possible to highlight and honor the amazing natural flavor.
With that philosophy, however, I start to miss out on all of the other flavors that have been used for centuries to make some of my favorite meat dishes.For this meal, I abandoned all reverence and marinated a beautiful piece of grass-fed filet mignon in lime juice, soy sauce and chili paste. Rather than mask the flavor, this marinade elevated the whole meal and made the experience better.

The main use for this meat was in a salad, a bit of a twist on a Thai beef salad with great mixed greens and tomatoes from Vermont and basil and chili peppers from our own garden. The meat also made delicious sandwiches over the rest of the week. This recipe will definitely go into the rotation as both a show-stopper on its own and a good staple for lunches.

Spicy Thai Filet Mignon Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing (adapted from Bobby Flay)

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic (I used sambal olek)
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 (12-ounce) filet mignons, sliced thinly
• Freshly ground pepper

Ingredients for Salad

• 1 head Bibb lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
• 3 cups mizuna leaves, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/4 cup chiffonade Thai basil or regular basil, optional
• 1/2 English cucumber, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 5 radishes, thinly sliced
• 8 each yellow and red cherry tomatoes, halved
• Salt and ground black pepper

Ingredients for Dressing

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Whisk soy sauce, lime juice, chile paste, and peanut oil together in a small dish. Add the steaks, turn to coat, cover, and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. 
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Saute meat until desired temperature (about 3-5 minutes for medium rare). Remove from heat and let rest. 
3. Whisk ingredients from lime juice to salt & pepper together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit 10 minutes before using.
4. While steak is resting, combine all salad ingredients(lettuce through salt and pepper) in a large bowl. Toss with half of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter, top with the steak, and drizzle the remaining dressing over the top.

Harvest Season at the Brooklyn Forager Garden

We've actually got quite a lot going on on the old terrace.  Here's a look at what's still growing: 

Our Gigantic Overachiever Radish

 Morning Glories

Jalapenos

 Italian Basil

Pineapple SageBolted Thai BasilA Lonely Little Carrot

Walnut and Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken

I have a rosemary addict in my house.  Just as I'm always asked to amp up the spice or add Asian flavors, if a dish calls for rosemary, I somehow can never add enough.  When I found this recipe for Walnut and Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken, I figured that I couldn't go wrong.  

To top it all off, despite the rough-going in our little terrace garden, the rosemary is flourishing.  We planted rosemary and thyme in the same pot and they are both heartily reaching up and climbing over the pot to try and gain even more territory.  

I modified the original recipe because the mustard was a bit heavy when we first tried this and overwhelmed the other flavors.  I also upped the breadcrumbs because I used chicken tenders instead of full chicken cutlets and needed to cover more surface area.  The crust really is the star here, so it pays to throw in a little extra, but of course you can dial it back if that seems better for your dinner table. 

Another reason these shone - they are just about the right size for the old convection toaster oven and keep the kitchen cool.  Give it a shot if you have one at your disposal. 

Walnut and Rosemary Oven Fried Chicken (Adapted from Cooking Light)

• 1/4  cup  low-fat buttermilk
• 1  tbsp  Dijon mustard
• about 1 lb chicken tenders (local and organic if possible!)
• 2/3  cup  panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/3  cup  finely chopped walnuts
• 2  tbsp  grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 3/4  tsp minced fresh rosemary
• 1/4  tsp  kosher salt
• 1/4  tsp  freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil cooking spray
• Rosemary leaves (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Combine buttermilk and mustard in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat.

3. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko to pan; cook 3 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently. Combine panko, nuts, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a shallow dish. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture; discard buttermilk mixture. Dredge chicken in panko mixture.

4. Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Arrange chicken on rack; coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 13 minutes or until chicken is done. Garnish with rosemary leaves, if desired.

Sundays in Brooklyn: The Pizza Edition

Aside from a barbecue here and a locavore party there (and here too), I really don't entertain anywhere near as much as I'd like to.  This is something that I'm always trying to work on, but there always seems to be more to do either to get the house ready for guests (fun summer repairs needed to the deck) or things to do outside of the house.  I decided recently to take a step forward and just invite some family over and let the chips fall where they may.

From this little flash of determination, I got a locavore pizza party! The plan had been to experiment with pizza on the grill.  Some iffy weather nipped that one in the bud, but some creative seating around the kitchen counter made for a cozy (ish) lunch indoors.  

The change in seating also resulted in a change in pizza plans since I'd originally planned on doing three large pizzas for four people.  (Yes, I realize the math is fairly ridiculous - I was raised to cook for an army when feeding a small family!)  Ultimately, I made two: The first, a locavore pizza with DiPaolo turkey sausage, Valley Shepherd ricotta salata, garden herbs and hothouse Phillips Farm tomatoes and arugula; the second, a simple fresh mozzarella pizza with pepperoni all courtesy of Trader Joe's. The crust also came from TJ's, I'm afraid, although I have my sights set on the dough from scratch project.  That's for another weekend.  

All in all, the pizzas ended up great because of the great ingredients, but also from the great company (and a little bubbly on the side never hurts!).  Next time, we'll hit the grill! 

Locavore Pizza

• 1 ball pizza dough (try Trader Joe's or your local pizzeria)
• 1-2 medium hothouse local tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus 2 tbsp
• 1 small handful fresh Italian basil, roughly chopped
• 1/3 lb ground Italian spicy turkey sausage 
• 2 cups arugula
• 4 ounces ricotta salata, crumbled
• 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Place pizza stone in oven (if you don't keep it there regularly).  Preheat oven to 500F.  
2. Chop tomatoes and add to bowl with garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, basil, salt and pepper to taste.
3. On a lightly floured surface, stretch out pizza dough. Brush dough with remaining oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. 
4. Top with tomato mixture, arugula and ricotta salata.  Sprinkle parmesan on top. 
5. Place in oven and cook for about 15 minutes until crust is golden brown.  Enjoy! 

Scallion Update!

The scallions have been planted.  I meant to post an intermediate report, but time has been getting away from me these days.  I'll post pictures soon, but we've seen some serious growth in the past weeks. Success!

I used scallions in our salad the other night, straight off the plant.  I can see how I'll miss the white bulbs for certain dishes, but for salads, omelets, stir fries and other dishes that benefit from the pretty greens, I never have to buy scallions again. 

To use the growing greens, I snipped off the older green stalks (marked by the previous snipping scar) and used as I would use them from the store.