Teriyaki Flank Steak

 Sunday I was searching for something different, and found this recipe for flank steak (link to original recipe).  I did some minor changes, and I cannot tell you how delicious this one is.  I don't know who said it, but they eluded to the saying that recipes are merely guidelines.  I find that many of my recipes evolve from some other enterprising soul, and I merely add my personal preferences to the mix.  That's what really makes cooking so satisfying and progressive.  Nobody has a patent on a recipe (to my knowledge, which I wouldn't take to a bank), and everyone just continues to put they're personal twist on it in hopes that others will enjoy it and continue the tradition of improvisation.  Grandmothers have been passing on family recipes for generations, and we can thank God that patent trolls haven't managed to corner this market (yet).  You take from the Asian, add some Caribbean and combine some hamburger (kidding) and unique spices. Anyway to complete this meal, just add a baked potato, salad and some garlic bread, and the skies will part, I promise.  Without the hot pepper oil (my addition), you will still have a teriyaki sauce you can't buy anywhere, but the addition of the pepper oil, gives this a unique flavor and just a tad of heat.  Here is the authors condensed recipe with my changes added.  Sorry for not having a link to their site, because the author did a great job of putting this together. When I find the link I will give the credit.  I hope you try it, and if you do, let me know what you think.  BTW, the grill is the best way to prepare this dish.  Now in the original authors words (with a few minor adjustments and additions) Bon Appétit

Teriyaki Flank Steak Recipe

You can either pan-fry or grill this steak, either way you'll want to sear it on very high heat. If pan frying, I recommend using a large cast iron frying pan or griddle pan.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup mirin rice wine
• 1/3 cup sake
• 1/3 cup soy sauce (if cooking gluten-free, use gluten-free soy sauce)
•  or Sweet Soy Sauce and eliminate sugar (what I do TG)
•  1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp Chiu Chow chili oil (my addition, I love this stuff. TG) 
• 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger(plus a few thin slices as you see fit)
• 1 1/2 to 2 lb flank steak or skirt steak
• Olive oil or grape-seed oil

Method

1 Combine the mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar, and grated ginger in a large, shallow bowl. Place the steak in the marinade and let marinate for at least an hour, and up to 48 hours. If marinating for more than an hour, keep chilled until an hour before you plan to cook.

2 When ready to cook, remove steak from marinade, reserving the marinade. Place steak on a plate and set aside. Place marinade in a saucepan, add a couple teaspoons of the sweet soy sauce and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, or until the marinade has reduced to a thin glaze, becoming your teriyaki sauce.

Please note that if you are concerned by the idea of reusing the marinade after raw steak has been sitting in it, you will be boiling the heck out of this marinade, killing anything that may have decided to grow in it during the marinating process. Also steak isn't the same as chicken. People eat steak raw (beef carpaccio). Salmonella is not a problem with steak; it is with chicken. If you are still concerned, make twice as much marinade, and reserve half to boil down to make the sauce, using the other half as a marinade.

 3 If grilling the steak, prepare your grill for high, direct heat. If pan frying, heat a large cast iron pan on high heat. If grilling oil the grill grates. Pat dry the steak. Rub a little olive oil or grape-seed oil all over it. Place the steak on the hot grill or pan. Sear for 3-5 minutes on one side, or until the side is well browned, and turn the steak over and sear the other side. Baste the steak with teriyaki sauce. When the steak is well seared on both sides, remove from the heat and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

4 Notice the direction of the grain of the steak. It should like like striations in the muscle fibers of the steak. Slice the steak in half, following the grain of the steak so that you are slicing along the grain. (This will make it easier to make cuts across the grain.) Then make thin slices (1/4-inch) against the grain and on a slight diagonal. Slicing this way will break up the muscle fibers, making this naturally tough cut of meat quite tender.

If there are juices that run out of the steak as you cut it, add the juices to the teriyaki sauce. There's lots of goodness in the steak "jus" that you don't want to waste.

Arrange on a serving plate and pour the remaining teriyaki sauce over it.

Serves 4.

Fantastic Italian Meatballs

I was watching Everybody Loves Raymond, and there was a mention of Marie's fantastic braciole.  I was wondering what it was, so I did some searching and found this great Italian site by Anthony Baker.  I attempted to make the sauce with  braciole and meatballs, but the recipe is quite lengthy, and took me 4 hours just to make the sauce.  I decided to just skip the braciole and just make the meatballs with the sauce due to my lack of patience.  The completed project was true Italian, and the meatballs were heavenly.  Anyway to make a short story long, here is the meatball recipe from Anthony's website that I've condensed down for your review, and if your in a rush, just add them to your Ragu sauce.  I'm still going to try the braciole soon.  Hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think.  Here's a link to Anthony's site, quite a story to tell as well. http://www.spaghettisauceandmeatballs.com/ 

Italian Meat Balls:

1 lb. / 450g Ground Chuck 1 Egg 1-1/2 pieces of dark Wheat Bread with crust (Pumpernickel is what I used. TG) A tiny bit of Italian bread crumbs (about 3 Tsp.) Fresh Parsley Parmesan Cheese (parmigiano!) Fresh Garlic - You can never have too much garlic! Cooking Spray Garlic Powder Coarse Black Pepper and Salt A splash of red wine Sweet Basil

First...
Get a big bowl and put the 1 lb. of ground chuck in it.
Next...
Chop up 1/4 cup of fresh Parsley as fine as you can. Fresh Parsley is extremely important.  Add the Parsley to the bowl. Don't mix anything yet. You're going to add all this stuff and mix when your done.
Next...
Add (1) Egg to bowl.
Next...
Chop up (2) large cloves of garlic as fine as you possibly can and add to bowl.
Next...
Add 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese to the bowl.
Next...
Take your (1-1/2) pieces of Dark Wheat Bread and rub it under the faucet and get it soaking wet. Then squeeze as much of the water as you can out of the bread. The bread should be a gooey consistency. Break the bread up into the bowl. At this point you need to also add about (3) Tsp. of Italian bread crumbs.
Next...
Add coarse black pepper, salt, garlic powder, a splash of red wine and about a tsp. of Sweet Basil.
Mix all the ingredients in the bowl well. You will need to work the meat for about 3 minutes until you end up with a big relatively firm ball. Note: it will help if you refrigerate the meat before mixing it in the bowl, this will help keep the balls firm while you browning them.
Next...
Get a good Non-Stick frying pan and spray on some cooking spray. Take the meat and make 1" to 1-1/2" balls. Roll them around in your hand and try to make them as firm as possible. You might want to start out with 1" balls the first time you make them. 1" balls are easier to handle. What I mean is they don't fall apart as easy. Also what I use is two flat wooden spoons to roll the balls around while browning. Important note: The meatballs will not be perfectly round when your done searing them, you may have some odd shape balls, but don't worry about it, you're more concerned about the taste. :-)
Next...
Get the pan very hot, heat should be on medium high to high, you will probably add a lot of smoke to your house at this point, if you are not getting a LOT of smoke from the browning Meatballs, you don't have the heat high enough. You want to sear the meat to a dark brown. Be careful with the balls at first you don't want them to fall apart. They should be cooked to a point where you can roll them around the pan and have them appear to be firm.
Next...
When they appear to be seared well and firm take them right from the frying pan into the sauce. Grease is an important ingredient to the flavor of the sauce. (If you're worried about cholesterol and fat then don't eat Italian food.