Skirt Steak with Chimichurri and Raosted Tomatoes

Saw this on RR the other day, but I made changes in the Chimichurri sauce. It turned out really good, and the tomatoes on the Ciabatta were delicious!

Ingredients:
1 pound skirt steak
6 large tomatoes, cut in half & cored
6 cloves of garlic
olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
bunch of cilantro
bunch of basil
bunch of sage
salt & pepper
ciabatta rolls, sliced in half and toasted or grilled

Directions:
Place the tomatoes cut side down in a casserole dish. Put 5 of the cloves of garlic, skin intact, in with the tomatoes. Drizzle some olive oil, salt & pepper and toss. Bake at 500 for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and starting to brown.

For the chimichurri sauce, blend together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, the herbs, salt & pepper. Drizzle some of the sauce over the steak and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Reserve the rest of the sauce to garnish the steak.

Cook the steak on a grill about 4 minutes per side, or until preferred temp. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Take the roasted garlic and spread on the toasted rolls. Smash some of the tomatoes on top of the garlicky rolls and enjoy! You can eat it as a sandwich or open faced, like I did.

This was really, really good!!! :)

Bittersweet

Everyone else we know has gone on vacation and is already starting school! But we are just now going on our summer vacation. Tomorrow! Well, practically tonight, since we have to get up at 2am and leave for the airport by 3:30am! Might as well pull an all-nighter, right? Dread.

I am not a good vacationer. I am one of those weirdo's that just can't relax when away. I worry about my pets. The dogs, mainly. I love my dogs like they are my children, and they love me unconditionally! Hayley & Madison are super attached to me and get separation anxiety! I feel sorry for them being left home all alone with no hugs & kisses! I keep telling myself that the main thing is that they are safe and (hopefully!!!!) healthy! Our longtime friend, Jeff, is going to pop in and check on them, feed, & walk them every night after work and hopefully even twice on the weekend. They will be fine. We've gone on vacation before and everyone has survived. Well, I take that back. :( Sydney got really sick and died in 2004 when we were in Newport Beach. :( So sad. I will never forgive myself for not being there with her!! But it all happened so fast that there was no time for me to fly back home. I was just looking into flights when the emergency vet called. I miss Sydney. Then there was the time that poor Chuckie had to have emergency surgery on his ear and wear a cone the whole time we were gone in Hawaii. My poor friend had to deal with all that, but he was fine. However, now he's really old and senile and I do worry that he's going to crawl off in to a corner and never wake up while we are gone. The other cats will be fine and I'm not too worried. They will miss us, and I will miss them.

So, we are going to Atlantis in the Bahamas! I got my very first passport! I've always thought Atlantis looked pretty cool, especially for little kids. But my kids are 13 & 19 and I'm sure they will still have an amazing time. This trip is costing us a small fortune and I've been having anxiety attacks about all the money we will be spending! Yikes. Not terribly happy with my current weight, either. But it won't be my fattest vacation....and it won't be my thinnest. Just somewhere in between. Who cares? I won't know anybody there. Thats what I keep telling myself, but on the inside I'm just not comfortable with my body. All the running, walking, tennis, yoga, weights, etc I've been doing wasn't enough. I make it sound more brutal than it actually is! lol I've played tennis & done yoga once in the past month. But I've been walking, running, riding my exercise bike, and doing weights and a few situps. Trying to eat right. I've managed to lose about 5 pounds. I was hoping for 10. I will continue the fight, even while on vacation. I have my trip to Montana coming up in just over a month, and then my birthday trip to Napa in 2 months. I just want to look good in my jeans for those trips! :)

We have a long day of travel tomorrow. 12 hours to be exact. Get up at 2am, say our sad goodbyes to the pets, leave at 3:30, flight leaves at 6am, arrives in Miami 2:40 their time (11:40 here). Then we have a 3 hour layover and finally arrive in Nassau at 6:40. At least that one is a short flight. I hate to fly! See? Bad vacationer! Ugh.

I am really just looking forward to getting there, taking a shower, eat, and sleep! Saturday night my husband splurged on front row tickets for us to see Jimmy Fallon live! Apparently he's doing a comedy show at Atlantis! So excited. Other than that, I will be laying out by the pool, working out every morning, eating and drinking like a queen! And I will be missing my dogs & cats every single minute of every single day and dreaming of going home.

I don't usually like to write so much personal stuff on this blog, but I don't think anyone reads this anyway. I'm hoping to rejuvenate my blog in upcoming months. Give it a makeover and post more often. But for today, I just needed to get my stress out on "paper". I feel better, but nervous about who might see this. Well, I better get busy and clean the house (why? I don't know...cuz I'm weird) and finish packing. I've started compiling stuff, but I still have to decide what makes the cut. I bought new, bigger suitcases but I'm not sure if I will use them...I want to try to pack light. I tend to over pack. Too much is better than not enough!

Til next time: Cheers!

Ravioli w/ Spicy Brown Butter Sage Sauce

I saw this on Giada's show yesterday while I was riding my exercise bike. Trying to do some last minute damage control before our vacation in a couple of days! This recipe is so easy to make! Especially if you use store bought ravioli, like I did.







Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter, room temperature
16 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t paprika
3/4 t crushed red pepper (more or less)
Kosher salt to taste

Directions:
While your ravioli is boiling, melt the butter on med heat until melted. Add the sage, paprika, cheese, paprika, red pepper, & salt. Simmer until its slightly bubbling, 2 or 3 minutes. Drain your ravioli and put into a bowl. Add the sauce and toss lightly. Enjoy!

Salisbury Steak

Going Retro! Salisbury Steak w/Mashed Potatoes, Onion/ Mushroom Gravy, & Green Beans with a Grapefruit/Sriracha Vinaigrette.

Cheese Omelette

Bella requested a cheese omelet for lunch today. I like to spell it "omelette". :) Turned out so pretty that I wanted to share. Much prettier than the spinach & mushroom scramble that I made for myself!

Why are the pics not working? :(

Spicy Artichoke Dip

I took this to my tennis party a couple weeks ago and everyone loved it! So, I made it again for my husband, Corey, but this time I used hot jalapenos. This dip is soooo good!


Spicy Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup light mayo
8 oz 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese, softened
6 oz marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
2 oz diced green chiles (Ortega)
6 oz can diced jalapenos (Ortega)
1.5 cups Parmesan cheese
1 oz sliced jarred jalapenos (La Victoria)

Directions:

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a bowl with 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Turn into a baking dish. Garnish the top with the sliced jalapenos and the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then broil for 5 minutes until brown and bubbly. Serve with your choice of tortilla chips, sliced baguette, crackers, or veggies. Enjoy!

Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Tuscan Porterhouse)

Tuscan Porterhouse with Arugula and Cannellini Beans

Bistecca alla Fiorentina with Arugula & Cannellini Beans(serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 Porterhouse steaks

8 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish

4 sprigs of rosemary, plus more for garnish

Fleur de sel & freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Arugula

8 oz dried Cannellini beans

Lemon

Herb infused olive oil

Pecorino cheese

Directions:

Rinse and pat dry the steaks; season with sea salt & pepper. Put steaks in large Ziplock bags or a glass dish and drizzle with the olive oil. Rub in the garlic, toss in the rosemary sprigs, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, or up to 12. Set out on counter for 30 to 60 minutes to bring to room temperature before grilling. Grill or broil 5 to 10 minutes per side until a brown, golden crust forms, depending on thickness of steak and preferred temperature. Garnish with rosemary sprigs ( I make sure I grill mine with the rosemary still stuck to the steaks to give it a charred look for the garnish) and serve over dressed *arugula and a side of **Cannellini beans.

*I like to use arugula, but you can use whatever greens you want: spinach, mache, etc. Toss the greens with a drizzle of olive oil and juice from half a lemon, salt & pepper (or you can use a flavored vinegar such as grapefruit or champagne, instead of the lemon juice).

**Soak Cannellini beans in water 4-6 hours, or overnight. Rinse, cover with fresh water, a drizzle of olive oil and bring to a boil. Simmer on low anywhere from an hour to 3 hours, adding more water if needed, until the beans are soft. When the beans are soft and most of the water has evaporated, then you can add sea salt and a little pepper. Garnish with a nice green olive oil, such as parsley or basil, and a lite sprinkling of grated Pecorino cheese.

Note: I only had Parmesan on hand, and it didn't melt like I wanted it to for the picture....and I didn't have any infused olive oil, so you'll have to visualize it. Asparagus is optional and only there because Corey isn't eating "carbs" these days, so he needed two vegetables.

Enjoy!:)