Day 343: An Oldie, But a Goodie

The recipe for this tart is from the May 2006 issue of Saveur magazine.  I made it several times for dinner parties when the magazine first came out, but then forgot about it.  Tonight we were having some friends over, so I brushed the dust off the issue and made this delicious tart again.

I'll warn you - this recipe isn't difficult, but it takes a long time to pull it together.  But it is so yummy, so it's worth it, especially if you're making it for people who will appreciate it. 

The main course tonight was flank steak (2 lb), marinated for 6 hours in this delicious mixture and then grilled:

1.5T freshly squeezed lime juice

1T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1t hot chili paste, like Sambel Oelek

1/2t grated or minced ginger

1/2t honey

Finally, we had some grilled figs, which are a seasonal specialty that I absolutely love.  Fresh figs are lightly coated with olive oil, then seasoned with S&P, and grilled for a couple of minutes over medium-low heat.  Simple, but amazing.

I encourage you to try any or all of these recipes!

Day 113: Saturday Night Feast

99 times out of 100, we go out for dinner on Saturday night (oddly, this is highly provable now that I am into the second hundred days of this blog!).  Tonight, however, I had a strong desire to stay home so we prepared a feast on the grill.

30 days ago, I wrote an entry called "Farewell Fig Season :-(" but tonight we discovered that late season figs (or those that were picked awhile back and somehow stored) are quite good if cooked on the grill.  Just lightly coat them in olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and cook for a few minutes, turning frequently to prevent them from bursting.  We mixed them into a salad with fresh arugula, blue cheese, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

The grill also provided us with yummy steaks and veggies tonight.  We marinated some mushrooms, a red bell pepper, half a large zucchini, and an onion in my favorite bottled salad dressing for a couple of hours.

We also peeled a sweet potato and cut it into wedges which we marinated in olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, and red pepper flakes for a couple of hours.

The steak marinated for 5 hours in a homemade Chimichurri sauce.  This recipe came from a Williams-Sonoma cookbook called Essentials of Grilling: 

1/4 cup olive oil

2/3 cup sherry vinegar

3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 T chopped fresh oregano

6 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

3/4 tsp salt

All ingredients were mixed together in a dish just large enough to hold the steaks.  We made one porterhouse and one rib-eye, just to see which was better (I preferred the strip side of the Porterhouse).  The meat should marinate in the fridge and be flipped every hour or so to ensure both sides have a chance to suck up the yummy flavor of the marinade.

Quite a feast indeed!  I'm thinking we should do this more often - like, at least once every 50 days or so!