Grilled Steak with Cumin Garlic Rub

As much as I like to experiment, when your 8 year old loves something that has enough flavor to also make the grown up palates happy, you make that dish a lot! So this simple rub for grilled steaks gets made a lot here. I figured I should share before grilling season is a distant memory! Cumin, garlic and salt are the main ingredients, and depending on what you like and have on hand, you can add in some other spices as you see fit. Give it a try, and do some experimenting of your own, too!


For the spice rub
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
optional: try a pinch of cinnamon, or a 1/2 tsp of sage or other dried herb that strikes your fancy.

Steak: This amount of rub is good for about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of steak. If you have more steak, increase the rub ingredient proportionally. We've enjoyed this with sirloin, porterhouse and ribeye.

Method: Combine all of the rub ingredients. Rub it evenly onto both sides of the steak, and let it sit out at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Pre-heat your grill on medium high, spraying with cooking oil first. Put the steak on the grill, over direct heat, and close the grill. Cooking time depends on preference and thickness. I find the steaks I get come out with a nice medium rare to medium doing 5 to 6 minutes per side.

Remove the steak from the grill a bit ahead of your optimal doneness as it will continue to cook. Let it rest on a serving platter for a couple of minutes. Serve drizzled with the juices that build up on the platter. Enjoy with the a big red wine of your choice! Cabernet Sauvignon is a natural choice with steak, but a Zinfandel can also be a nice match for the spices here.

Beef with this rub also can be a good base for steak tacos, as shown below.

Callalloo: Easy Recipe for a Tasty Caribbean Green

My ears perked up when the woman next to me at the farmer's market inquired in a Caribbean inflected accent about callalloo. Back when I was working in Cambridge, a vendor at the Central Square farmer's market turned me on to this tasty green popular in the islands. And he urged me to use the meaty stems as well as the leaves, which makes it a heartier side. But it's not something I've seen at the grocery store, so hadn't made it in years. I was glad to come upon it at our local market at Spence Farm last weekend and make up a batch following this simple recipe. And yes, though its flavor is a bit different than some more familiar greens, it too tastes good with bacon!

bunch of callallo ready for prep

1 strip bacon
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
bit salt red pepper flakes
callalloo, coarsely chopped including stems
pinch of salt

Heat a large skillet with cooking oil on medium. When hot, add the strip of bacon and cook until nice and crispy. Remove the bacon, set on a plate with a paper towel on top to cool. Empty most of the bacon grease, leaving a bit in the pan for flavor.

Add a tbsp of the olive oil to the skillet on medium heat. Add the garlic, cook for a minute until it begins to turn golden. Gradually stir in the callalloo in batches, so that one batch begins to cook down creating room for more greens. Once all the greens are in the pan, stir to combine with the garlic and the 2nd tbsp of olive oil. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and salt. Saute for about 15 minutes until the greens are softened, stirring occasionally. You want to have a bit of liquid in the pan, if needed add a bit of additional oil and/or some water. White wine would be another option.

The greens are ready when nice and tender. Crumble the bacon and stir it into the greens shortly before serving. We had this along with some mashed potatoes, which was a nice combo, though rice would be a more traditional accompaniment. Though the stems have a meaty quality to them, we also enjoyed a bit of roast chicken with this dish, too. If you're looking to try a new healthy vegetable, give this one a try!

Grilled Onion Vinaigrette for Green Salad

Here's a quick and easy way to use leftover grilled onions: add them to a vinaigrette for a tasty salad dressing! This one is so simple it doesn't warrant an ingredient list; I'll just give you the basic idea. Start with a basic combination of extra virgin olive oil and vinegar, 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. For a salad to serve 2 to 3 people, I use 3 tbsp olive, 1 1/2 tbps balsamic vinegar. Stir vigorously to combine, add some salt and pepper to taste, and a bit of chopped fresh herbs if you have some on hand. I used oregano from our prolific plant.

Take your leftover grilled onions* out of the fridge, heat for 10 seconds or so in the microwave so they are about room temperature. Combine the onions with the oil and vinegar, let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving to let the flavors meld. I used one heaping tablespoon of the onions. I like to toss the dressing with the salad to get it to consistently cover the lettuce leaves. I used a nice head of local red leaf lettuce. All it needed in addition to the dressing was a bit of toasted nuts and parmesan cheese and, voila! Great example of how one can add a flavorful twist to an every day salad, and make it a real treat.

*Note: In case your not in the habit of grilling onions, a few words on that. I chop an onion in thin slices, toss with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Then I put the onions in a grill pan, which keeps it from sliding the the grates of the grill into the fire. I put the pan about half on direct heat, half on indirect, and stir occasional. It takes about 15 minutes to get them nicely caramelized. Great flavor boost to burgers and other grilled items.

A Tavola: An Italian Take on Fresh, Local Food

Not sure why it took me so long to try A Tavola restaurant in Winchester center. It's just a couple of miles from my house, has a good reputation and a strong commitment to fresh, local food. Plus, they have an innovative food education program for children called Seed to Plate. Oh well, glad I had the chance to finally get there last weekend for a dinner with my sister and her husband, who are fairly regular there.

burrata to the left, prosciutto on the right

They have a nice selection of "piattini", small plates for the table. We started by sharing duck prosciutto with foie gras and balsamic, Maple Brook Farm Burrata with Shaved Mushrooms and Pea Tendrils, and an arugula salad with pickled ramps (photo on top of post). I definitely had to try some salad when I saw they grow their own greens, and I wasn't disappointed with its peppery freshness. The burrata, a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, was especially tasty.

what's under here?

Pork seems to be a specialty of the restaurant, so I ordered the lightly smoked pork roast for my entree. It was presented with some flare, coming to the table with a cover that was dramatically lifted to let hot steam pour out. There were a couple different cuts of the pork on the plate. The larger piece was soft and tend, prepared with an herb blend of some sort. Then there was also what seemed to be a smaller chop. Very savory, and the grilled polenta side I ordered with it was a nice touch. It was also served over some well cooked kale, which soaked up the pork flavor well.

A Tavola has a pretty good wine list, primarily Italian, which certainly makes sense given their menu. My one critique of the experience was the red wine that we ordered was served warm, like it had been sitting around the kitchen. I certainly run into this issue at plenty of places, but one would like to see a restaurant which overall provides high quality food and service more aware of how to properly store and serve their wines.

Overall, A Tavola shows a strong commitment to well-prepared fresh foods. The menu offers a nice array of choices with the small plates, pasta dishes and meat/fish entrees. I look forward to a return visit!

The tasty pork roast was revealed!

Filet Mignon with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Some recipes don't require much introduction. I'd put this Filet Mignon with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms in that category! A great cut of steak like this doesn't need much to make for a special meal. One could simply grill it with the rub, but the mushrooms make a nice addition to the flavor. Save this one for a time your looking for a special yet simple summer meal!

cooking oil spray
2 portobello mushroom caps
4 filet mignon steaks, 4 to 6 ozs each
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

for the rub
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sage
pepper to taste

Combine the rub ingredients in a small ball. Rub both sides of the steaks so that it is lightly coated with the mixture. Heat the grill to medium high, and let the steaks sit with the rub for about 10 minutes.

Spray both sides of the mushrooms, then place them on the grill. After about 5 minutes, flip them over. Put the steaks onto the grill at this time. The mushrooms take about 10 minutes total to get cooked through, they should be nice and tender. Keep an eye on them so they don't shrivel up too much. Remove the mushrooms when done, let them cool a bit on a plate. Slice the mushrooms thinly when cooled slightly, toss them in a bowel with the olive oil and vinegar, along with salt and pepper to taste. Put the bowl of mushrooms at the table to serve on the the steaks.

The filets take about 4 to 5 minutes per side to get to medium rare. Keep a close eye on them, you don't want to overcook filet mignon! Remember they will cook a bit more as they rest. Remove from the grill when cooked the way you like, let stand for a few minutes before serving topped with the mushrooms.

Wine Pairing: I've really enjoyed the Cass Winery Grenache a few times, but Ray at Pairings Wine and Food had told me the 2010 Cass Mourvedre is even better. It's also about $10 more ($35ish total) so I waited to try it with a special meal. The filet mignon definitely qualified! I didn't capture tasting notes but just remember thinking the wine was a real treat and good match for the meal. Cass Winery provides a shining example of the high quality wines produced in Paso Robles, often giving traditional French varietals a tasty twist in the California sun. Cass is part of the SIP Certified network, meaning they use sustainable practices producing their wines; another reason to enjoy them.

Grilled Swordfish with Pineapple Salsa

I went to Whole Foods planning to get the tuna on sale to make this recipe. But I couldn't pass up the freshly caught swordfish that was being filleted to order when we got there (and it was on sale, too). I figured the basic approach to the pineapple salsa would work for swordfish too, so I converted the recipe and made Grilled Swordfish with Pineapple Salsa. We really enjoyed it, and also had enough of the salsa to go with some pork chops we had on hand. Double-yum! I generally just link to other folks' recipes I make, but there are enough changes I made--along with helpful tips--to re-blog it here. Not too mention the MyRecipes site was lacking tasty photos! I made another version of pineapple salsa recently for chicken, but grilling the pineapple as done here definitely enhances the recipe.

1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized chunks* see note below
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
1 swordfish steak, about 12 ozs
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (original recipe called for mint, bet that would be good too)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced

Pre-heat grill to medium-high. Boil orange juice in a small saucepan 15 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Beware: orange juice can quick boil over the sauce pan. Transfer juice to a small bowl; stir in soy sauce. Once it starts to boil, lower to medium high and keep an eye on it. Learned this one the hard way! I'm not a frequent boiler of orange juice.

Place pineapple and onion on a grill rack or grill pan coated with cooking spray. Grill 5 minutes on each side or until the onion is tender. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes. Coarsely chop, and transfer to a bowl.

Brush both sides of the swordfish evenly with oil; sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place fish on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; brush with half of juice mixture. Grill about 5 to 6 minutes; turn fish over. Brush fish with remaining juice mixture; grill another 5 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Note your grilling time for the fish will depend on the thickness of the swordfish steak. Mine was about an inch thick.

Add the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, basil,oregano, lime juice and serrano pepper and next 3 ingredients to pineapple mixture; toss.  Serve the swordfish with a generous topping of the salsa and enjoy! A side of couscous went nicely with this, along with some greens. I served with a Rioja rosé, which I think was the right idea, but the particular wine was a bit big for the dish. Something a bit more delicate and nuanced, but enough heft, like a Bandol perhaps, might be ideal.

*Coring pineapple: you can Google for more details instructions, but as you can see from my photo above, you basically twist the top off, chop off both ends, then start cutting off the sides to reveal the fruit. Cut the fruit off around the core and chop.

The Perfect #Wine? A Noble Quest!

When my friend and fellow wine aficionado offered to share a wine written up as "almost-perfect", I was intrigued. I eagerly accepted the opportunity, and set to planning a little dinner. The wine in question was the 2001 Mas de Daumas Gassac, Cuvée Emile Peynaud. The wine is labeled a "vin du pays" which typically implies a humble French wine, but here the term applies because this wine doesn't conform to the traditional French wine classifications. It's made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, produced according to the methods of the Medoc region of Bordeaux. They have found a way to make some pretty wines in the foothills of the Massif Central, a previously overlooked part of the Languedoc region. (source: "The World's Greatest Wines").

Typically I'd plan a special meal to go with such a wine. But the evening we landed upon for this wine coincided with Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, so I wanted a simple preparation that could be made and enjoyed before the puck dropped. A big Cab seemed to call for beef; Grilled NY strip steaks topped with grilled onions, along with some salad and couscous, answered the call nicely.

John and Liz arrived at the appointed time, and John eagerly set the bottle in a suitably prominent place on the counter for us to admire.  "Should we start with some white, and save this for dinner?" I inquired. This would be following be the typical approach to this sort of foodie gathering at our place.

John smiled, "I think we should get started with this now," proffering the Mas de Daumas, "It's going to take awhile to drink and enjoy this."

Now, this comment was a bit of a head scratcher at first. This was not a larger bottle of wine, and when several of us gather on such an occasion, there is usually more than one opened in the course of the evening. John continued, "It's a very big wine. We opened it at Pairings when I bought it yesterday."

Hmm, interesting. A substantial investment in a bottle of wine that's a dozen years old, and it was opened the previous day for a couple of small tasting pours? But John's confidence that the wine would hold up to being open that long was well-founded.

Now here's where I must confess the limited notes I do take were tossed somewhere during the quick post-dinner/pre-game cleanup. What I recall a week later was that this hit me from the start as being a huge wine, big bouquet of forest floor and blooming flowers. The first taste was a bit overpowering, I'm quite sure my first comment was simply, "Wow!". Never could have guessed that it had been opened for 24 hours nor that it was a 2001. Taste of leather, prunes and ripe berries. It evolved in the glass, softening a tad, showing great depth and complexity, various spices coming through along with the other tastes. It surely was a wonderful treat!

The production of this wine was extremely limited; 2,500 bottles according to this article. That low number along with the great quality means if you happen to find a bottle somewhere it is not likely to be inexpensive!

Now, on to this comment I read about this wine being "almost-perfect". That leads to an interesting question...is there such a thing as a perfect wine? It strikes me that a winemaker might might have some vision for the perfect wine that she might make from a particular vineyard. But I suspect that might be a quixotic quest. For those of us who simply enjoy good wine, what would constitute perfection? A top notch Bordeaux? Barolo? Or perhaps this interesting gem from the Languedoc?

Alas, I suspect we could not single out wine wine as being truly perfect. But I'm willing to try others that are associated with claims of perfection! Trying to coax the most wonderful wine out of a great vineyard is truly a noble quest, one that I'm happy to appreciate.