“Jim ______ would be proud.”

It’s amazing, sometimes, how spending a little time in the kitchen can just melt the stress away.

This morning, Dustin woke me up to go to the Lynchburg Community Market, where our produce co-op was supposed to begin today.  We joined the co-op in March, but the co-op didn’t start until May, and goes through October. But before we went to the market, I checked my Everyday Food app on my iPhone to see the recipe of the day – Skirt Steak with Crispy Garlic Potatoes – and got inspired to make steak.

We arrived at the market with Max, our loveable pup, and I began working my way around the various vendors. I found our farm co-op, but saw they were only selling plants this week (I found out later that produce will be picked starting next week), and moved inside to the Lorraine Bakery. Having heard excellent reviews from friends, I stood in the line to purchase a handmade croissant for myself (breakfast!), cinnamon-sugar pretzel for Dustin and a gorgeous baguette. The croissant instantly reverted my mind to last June when I enjoyed an authentic croissant at a boulangerie in Paris. The baguette lies in wait until tomorrow, when I may wake up to make stuffed French toast.

Alright, moving on from the bakery…I ended up purchasing eggs and Virginia-grown strawberries from Yoder’s Farm and yellow squash and green beans from Rock Hill Orchard and Farm. The strawberries were irresistable, even at $4.75 a container. The fragrance was unbelievably sweet and fresh.  And thus, I began to think about dinner.

Later in the afternoon, we went to Kroger, where Dustin had an interview for a second job. I’m traveling for work quite often now, so he is looking at getting a second job to 1) provide some additional income so we can pay off debt, faster and 2) have something to do in his spare time. While he was being interviewed (and offered the job pending a drug test, which shouldn’t be a problem), I slowly made my way around the store to put together the rest of tonight’s meal.

Once we got home, I started putting things together in my head. I couldn’t find skirt steak at the store (and failed to remember any other terms for it), so I purchased a 1.25-lb flat iron steak and started searching for recipes. Knowing already that I would make the crispy garlic potatoes from the Everyday Food app, that I would split my strawberries between a baby greens salad and dessert and that I wanted grilled yellow squash, I searched for a recipe that would work with all of those dishes. Did you know that Taste of Home had only two recipes in the search results for “flat iron steak” and Food Network has a lot of recipes with less than 3 stars for flat iron steak?

After finding some inspiration through Recipezaar, I put together a quick marinade for the steak, let it sit for about an hour and a half in the fridge, and then started the rest of dinner. My plan of attack was:

1. Marinate the steak
2. Make a shortbread-based “crust” for my dessert, bake it.
3. Macerate the strawberries for dessert and cut up about a cup for the salad.
4. Take the steak out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
5. Cut and season the squash.
6. Cut and season the potatoes, then start roasting in the oven.
7. Grill the steak and squash.
8. Take the squash off the grill when cooked and remove the potatoes from the oven when done.
9. Let the steak rest.
10. Make the filling for the tart and assemble the tart.
11. Eat!

Our final menu tonight included:

• Grilled flat iron steak, marinated in red wine and fresh herbs
• Crispy garlic potatoes (recipe from Everyday Food)
• Grilled yellow squash with lemon and pepper
• Baby greens salad with fresh strawberries, feta and homemade honey-balsamic vinaigrette
• Strawberry cheesecake tart

The meal was delicious – the steak was perfectly cooked to medium, the squash was excellent, the salad was fresh and delicious and the tart was to-die-for. The only thing that could use a little extra work was the potatoes – I definitely prefer the glorious taste of butter to olive oil! And the crowning glory of the “spread” was Dustin’s review: “Jim (last name omitted) would be proud.” (Jim is my dad)

RECIPES:

GRILLED FLAT IRON STEAK, MARINATED IN RED WINE AND FRESH HERBS

1, 1 – 1.25 lb. flat iron steak
1/4 cup red wine (I used Pinot Noir – good for summer weather!)
2 T. olive oil
About 1 t. dijon mustard
About 1 t. chopped fresh Italian parsley
About 1 t. chopped fresh rosemary
2 garlic cloves, pressed in a garlic press or minced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk together all ingredients for the marinade and place in 1-gallon plastic bag. Put steak in bag and ensure marinade coats steak. Marinate for at least one hour in the fridge, then let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before grilling. Heat grill to high heat and sear bottom side of steak, then turn heat to medium-high and cook for 10-12 minutes, turning once. Meat temperature should be at least 145 degrees F before removing from grill; remove from grill when done and let rest for at least five minutes before serving.

CRISPY GARLIC POTATOES

2 garlic cloves, pressed
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 t. dried thyme
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 lb. new red potatoes, sliced 1 inch thick

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Mix together garlic, thyme and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss sliced potatoes in oil mixture and place on rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 475 for about 30 minutes (but check at 25 minutes). Potatoes are done when fork can be easily pierced into them and bottoms are browned.

GRILLED YELLOW SQUASH

5 yellow squash, sliced 1/4″ thick, lengthwise
1 T. canola oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 – 1 t. Lemon Pepper seasoning (I used Weber’s grilling seasoning – Zesty Lemon Pepper)

Toss squash in oil, salt, pepper and seasoning and grill on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per side.

BABY GREENS SALAD WITH STRAWBERRIES, FETA AND HONEY-BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Baby spring mix
1 c. sliced fresh strawberries
3-4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 c. honey-balsamic vinaigrette

Toss all ingredients together and serve.

HONEY BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 T. dijon mustard
3 T. honey
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and pepper

Whisk together vinegar, mustard and honey. Whisk oil in gradually until dressing emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste.

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE TART

Shortbread crust
2 sticks of butter, softened
1 t. salt
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
2 c. flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cream together butter, salt, sugar and almond extract until combined. Add flour gradually and mix together until crumbly. Press dough into tart pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until beginning to brown around the edges. If not using a springform tart pan (and perhaps using a Pampered Chef tart pan like me), let the tart dough cool for at least 10 minutes before carefully turning the dough out to your serving platter.

“CHEESECAKE” TART FILLING
1 bar of cream cheese (I think it’s 8 oz.), softened
4 oz. ricotta cheese
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. lemon zest

Mix together all ingredients until well-blended, then spread into tart shell.

MACERATED STRAWBERRIES
Sliced fresh strawberries (probably about 3 cups)
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. fresh lemon juice

Mix together ingredients and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until juicy. Use slotted spoon to put on top of tart filling.

Enjoy!