Grilled Carne Asada with Cilantro Jalapeno Sauce

I taught a "Margarita Madness" couples class a couple weeks ago at Kitchen Conservatory, and this was the best recipe of the night. I liked it so much, in fact, that I made it at home last weekend. It's the perfect meal to enjoy with a few beers on a warm evening.

Carne Asada

3 pounds flank steak
juice of 3 limes
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon salt

Sprinkle the salt over both sides of the steak & place in a shallow baking dish. Mix the lime juice & garlic and pour over the steak. Cover and let marinade for 30 minutes. Grill the steak over a hot fire for 6 minutes per side. Let rest 10 minutes, then slice against the grain as thinly as possible.


Serve with flour tortillas, avocado slices, and...

Cilantro Jalapeno Sauce

2 jalapeno peppers, roasted & peeled
1 garlic clove
1 handful cilantro, heavy stems removed
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream

In a blender or food processor, combine everything except the sour cream. Puree until smooth. Add the sour cream and adjust seasoning if needed.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

I'm a food snob. I admit it. I spend hours--sometimes, oftentimes late hours--cooking, especially cooking for friends, and I expect others to do the same. I can't help it. It's just how I am.

Ok, yeah, so I don't have kids at home that suck my time and energy. But I do have two jobs and that never-ending pile of papers to grade (the curse of an English teacher). Still, I find time to make real food...even if it is 10:30 at night.

And, that's what I did Thursday night. Even though I bought all the ingredients to make a cucumber salad for a faculty picnic on Friday, I forgot to get the recipe started earlier that evening. At 10:30 (after baking four dozen cookies to share with my students), I remembered and stayed up until midnight to finish it (because you have to let the salted cucumbers sit for an hour to draw out of the moisture before adding the marinade). But, I'm glad I did because it brings me so much joy (it's cheesy but true!) to see people enjoying the food I made.

I liked this cucumber salad a lot, so much in fact that I am thinking of adding it to the menu for my upcoming sushi class.

Spicy Cucumber Salad

slightly adapted from Eat Real Butter

3 English cucumbers
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon red curry paste *


* You can find this jarred product in the Asian foods aisle of the supermarket.

• Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise & scoop the seeds and pulp out with a spoon. Slice the cucumbers into 1/4-inch pieces. Sprinkle the cucumber slices with the salt and toss to coat evenly. Cover and place in refrigerator for an hour, then drain the cucumbers. (Note: You only need to do this step if you are not serving the salad immediately. For example, if you are making it the night before, you need to salt & drain the cucumbers so that your finished salad isn't too watery.)
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce & sugar. Stir in the curry paste and serve cold.

Blogiversary & Baby Artichokes

April 15 marked my two-year blogiversary. Two years ago, inspired by the book Julie & Julia, I started cooking new recipes and writing about them here...as a way to keep myself occupied in my cable-less, internet-less (I was pilfering any stray wireless signal I could get), drafty old house and as a form of cheap(er) therapy. My first post was about Julia Child's potato & leek soup.

In December of 2006, my life had been uprooted. I had left my husband after 13 years together, including 7 years of marriage. I gave up the life we had built together; I gave up a new home (my dream house) and most of my friends. I was trying to find that elusive thing called "true happiness."

Since then, I've faithfully stuck to my cooking project...making and posting at least one new-to-me recipe a week (see my favorite recipes and posts of 2007 & 2008). I've also met several other food bloggers, joined the Foodbuzz featured publisher community, began working at Kitchen Conservatory, and gotten into the St. Louis food scene. I'm still living in that old, drafty house...but now I have direct tv and my own wireless internet access.

Have I found true happiness? Honestly, I hate to say it, but I'm not sure. These days, with my new teaching job (high school English), I simply don't have enough time to complete all of the cooking projects I'd like to. I'm almost always mentally and physically exhausted...and overwhelmed with the amount of school work (planning & grading) that I'm always behind on. Plus, my boyfriend has a work schedule that is nearly the complete opposite of mine (he manages a bar in St. Louis), so I find myself alone often.

But, I'm managing...or at least trying to. I'm trying to make time to experiment in the kitchen more often, because cooking really does calm me. It makes me feel creative and successful. I did manage to make a couple new recipes lately, including one for braised baby artichokes...

* * *

After spending four hours prepping in the kitchen at Monarch on April 11, including trimming way too many artichokes, I decided to make sauteed baby artichokes for Easter dinner. A baby artichoke isn't just a smaller artichoke; it's actually a different variety of artichoke that matures at a small size.


The best thing about baby artichokes, besides being MUCH easier to trim than those big 'uns, is that there is no choke in the middle, so you can eat the entire thing (minus some of the tough outer leaves, of course).

To prep the artichokes, I picked off the darker green petals until I reached the lighter green ones near the center. I then trimmed off the top to remove the sharp needles & peeled the stems down to the center. I cut the artichokes in half lengthwise & let them sit in a bowl of water with a couple lemons squeezed into it to prevent them from discoloring.

To cook the artichokes, I seared them in a non-stick skillet with a bit of olive oil & garlic. I added white wine, chicken broth, & fresh thyme sprigs to the pan and let the artichokes braise (covered) until they were tender. I served them with shaved aged gouda cheese & a splash of freshly-squeezed lemon juice.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Amaretti Torte

(Whew! Right under the gun! *wink*)

Holly of Phe/MOM/enon chose the "15 Minute Magic Chocolate Amaretti Torte" for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. Holly explains, "I chose the Chocolate Amaretti Torte for a few reasons: (1) My recipe choice had to be chocolate, of course; (2) I wanted to choose something that had no photo in the book, so that we could have the chance to all make it together; (3) Did I mention my need for chocolate... oh, yeah, I did; (4) I have never heard of making something like this, so I was completely intrigued."

And, was she satisfied? "Absolutely. I couldn't find the cookies Dorie suggests, but thankfully, she said you can use most any brand with great results. The torte is chocolate and almond, combined at their very best. You can use the torte for a hot fudge sundae, as Dorie suggests, or to make mini tortes, like I did. I used three 5-inch paper pans to make my tortes.

All in all, it's a fool-proof recipe...simply crush amaretti cookies and almonds in a food processor & remove; then cream butter, eggs, & sugar in the processor; finally, add the crushed mixture and melted chocolate & pulse until it's all smooth. Bake. Cool. Glaze with mixtue of chocolate and hot cream, sugar, & water. Top with a sprinkling of sliced almonds (my addition).

I couldn't find Italian amaretti cookies (or ANY amaretti cookies for that matter), but I didn't look very hard. Most people were able to find them at Whole Foods, World Market, and even Starbuck's. And, even though I was just at a Whole Foods on Saturday, I completely forgot I needed those cookies. So, I used ginger snaps instead.

Someone on the TWD blog suggested that the ginger might overpower the almond flavor, so I used a "heaping amount" of the almonds that the recipe called for. You could definately taste the almonds in the cake, and the ginger snaps gave it a nice little kick of spice that wasn't overpowering at all. I can imagine, though, that using amaretti cookies instead would intensify the overall almondness.

Chef for a Day at Monarch

My friend and Kitchen Conservatory co-worker Ruth won a silent auction during the Slow Food trivia night recently to be "chef for a day" with Executive Chef Josh Galliano at Monarch. And since Ruth is such a nice person, she invited me and Teresa Sweeney to come along with her.


First, I have to say that Chef Galliano was so nice to us. I was a bit worried about being in the way, but he put us to work (nicely, though I did ask him to yell at me in a British accent to complete my fantasy) and seemed to trust that we were doing everything correctly. We worked for four hours & between the three of us we scaled trout; blanched, peeled, cut & de-seeded tomatoes; cleaned 10 pounds of morel mushrooms; trimmed what seemed like a hundred artichokes; cut homemade marshmallows; rolled dinner rolls; pickled beans; cleaned scallops; and shelled raw fava beans.

10 pounds of fresh morels & only a few crawly critters to be found!

I don't think Teresa wants to cut another tomato for a LONG time.

I didn't hear Chef say I only had to trim HALF of those artichokes, so I did them all...happily.

While that might not sound like a lot of fun to most people, I had a blast! I find that cooking, even prepping, is very therapeutic. I also enjoyed seeing how a restaurant kitchen like that operates. It was a quiet, laid-back kind of atmosphere...at least from 12-4. Everyone was nice and patient with us.

The kitchen at Monarch is huge. And, I was impressed to find out that everything on the menu--charcuterie, desserts, stocks, breads, liqueurs, etc--are made in-house. I was also impressed to see Chef Galliano doing his share in the kitchen (as well as running finished plates to tables in the dining room)...and not just delegating tasks as I imagine several executive chefs do.

Afterward, we had a few cocktails & a snack in the bar. Teresa asked us to stay for dinner with her and her family & friends. Thus began a 6-hour orgy of food and drinks. I loved seeing how the ingredients we prepped were prepared & presented in the final dishes.

Limoncello Mojito.

Monarch martinis: Orangecello & Tea-infused.

The infamous Chicken Confit Nugget with Salsa Verde.

Such beautifully rolled breads!

Apple of my Rye.

Stinging nettle & ricotta gnocchi with asparagus, mushrooms & bacon.

Diver scallop with olive oil mashed potatoes, fava beans, tomato confit, preserved lemon, & thyme foam.

Soft chocolate fudge with avocado ice cream, chocolate & vanilla soils, & candied pepitas.

Many thanks to Josh, Ruth, and Teresa for a fabulous day!