Day Three Hundred Fifty Five: Beef Carpaccio**

Sunday I made Martha's Beef Carpaccio, which is basically raw beef tenderloin drizzled in a lemon vinaigrette.  It's really rich and tasty, but maybe not for finicky eaters or those with high cholesterol.  Here's how it's made:

Wrap about one pound of beef tenderloin in plastic wrap and throw in the freezer for about an hour, or until firm.  Using a very sharp knife, cut the beef across the grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

If you don't need an urgent visit to the emergency room after severing a finger, move onto the next step.

Gently pound the slices between pieces of waxed paper and refrigerate for an hour.  Serve with arugula and sliced pear, drizzled with lemon vinaigrette.  Top with shaved parmesan.

Easy, good and oh so chic.

**No fingers were severed during the making of this dish.

Day Three Hundred Fifty: Beefy Rolls

Only fifteen days remaining...I'm currently in a state of shock that I'm nearly finished.

Tuesday I made Martha's Beef and Scallion Rolls for my husband.  He loves beef and Asian food, so I was positive this recipe would be a hit.

It's a pretty simple recipe, although it is rather involved.  First, cook thinly-sliced red bell peppers over medium-high heat and set aside.  After cutting the tenderloin into thin slices, pound each slice between two pieces of plastic wrap until each are 1/8 inch thick.  (If you've had a rough day, take this opportunity to relieve some stress.) Divide the bell peppers and scallions among the newly-flattened slices of beef, roll tightly and secure each with a toothpick.

After browning these little beef rollups, remove the toothpicks.  Make a sauce with soy sauce, rice-wine vinegar and sugar; cook until thickened.  Drizzle the sauce over the rolls.  I served mine with store-bought sushi and spring rolls.

My hubby and I agreed that more salt would not have gone amiss in this recipe.  Other than that, this was a delicious recipe that is fancy enough for company.

I love being right.

Day Three Hundred Forty Five: Dressing Surprise

Over the weekend I made Martha's Flank Steak and Arugula Salad.  The meat makes my husband happy, and the salad makes my waistline happy.  How often do you get to mix red meat with salad greens?  So I admit, flank steak isn't a favorite cut of mine, but this one is well-seasoned and definitely worth a try.

The thing about this salad is the dressing. I loved it, but you may be surprised to hear what's inside it.   Are you sitting down?

Balsamic vinegar and Salsa.  That's all.

I used our favorite roasted chipotle salsa and mixed in the balsamic.  It was spicy and full of flavor.  About knocked me off my rocker it was so good.  Well, I wasn't actually sitting on a rocker, but if I were, I'm pretty sure I would have lost my balance.  Nearly.

Day Three Hundred Ten: Skinny Beef Tacos

It seems like weight-loss is at the top of everyones's resolution list.  It's definitely on mine.  As a result, I'm trying to cook healthier dishes.  I thought Martha's Lighter Beef Tacos would be a nice start.  My family loves tacos and so this would be an easy sell.

It's not like I'm asking them to eat tofu.

This recipe is much like a regular taco recipe, expect Martha adds onions and bell peppers to the lean beef.  The result is an almost-hidden serving of veggies.  Add some shredded lettuce and salsa.  Skip the sour cream and cheese and you have a pretty healthy taco.

Surprisingly my husband loved these...even when he realized I had surreptitiously added veggies to his precious meat.

I'm like a culinary secret agent.  

Day Three Hundred Seven: Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

My husband loves Asian food, so Monday I used some sirloin steak to make Martha's Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry.  I love stir-fry recipes.  Despite having a mile-long list of ingredients, they are ridiculously easy to throw together.  This recipe doesn't even involve much cutting.  It was made even easier since my husband volunteered to pull together the ingredients.  :fist pump:

After marinating and quickly cooking the meat, just cook the broccoli and pour in the marinade to create a sauce.  And it's done:

No, really.  That's all.

Serve over rice and it's an amazing(ly easy) dinner. 

Day Two Hundred Seventy Three: Cooked-in-a-Flash-Pan-Seared Steak

As my faithful readers know, my hubby loves a good steak.  He eats steak a lot.  In hopes of balancing out the health benefits, I often serve his steaks with a nice salad.  Tuesday night I decided to mix it up and serve Martha's Pan-Seared Steak with Spinach, Grapes and Almonds.  It's pretty simple and pretty good:  sear the steak, remove it from the pan, then wilt the spinach and grapes in the steak juices.  Toss in the almonds with some balsamic vinegar and you end up with a tasty twist on our usual salad and steak.

Give it a try.  It only took 15 minutes.

(Yes, it really did.)

Day Two Hundred Fifty-Five: Leftover Beef Sandwich

Leftovers are such a dilemma at our house.  I'm always wondering what to do with half of a steak or two chicken drumsticks.  So leftovers often sit in our refrigerator until they go bad, or I get tired of looking at them in the refrigerator.

But Friday I took some leftover steak and made Martha's Open-Face Roast Beef Sandwich.  Okay...so it wasn't roast beef, it was New York Strip, but it's the same animal, so I think it counts.

This sandwich is all about the sauce, which is a mix of horseradish and sour cream.  It's so good you could eat it as a dip...Which is exactly what we did with the leftover sauce.

Did I say leftovers were a dilemma?

Day Two Hundred Forty-Eight: Kicked-Up Steaks

My husband loves a simple steak, but sometimes I like to mix things up.  So Friday I made Martha's Steaks with Balsamic-Mustard Sauce.  The sauce is a balsamic glaze mixed with Dijon mustard.

**Warning**  don't get too close when you mix in the mustard.  It might singe the hair from inside your nose.

Uh, and it looks like chocolate sauce.

Once you get over those two things, the sauce is quite...kicky.  My husband and I quite liked it, but I doubt I'll make it again soon.

I have to give my nose hair a chance to regrow.

Day Two Hundred Twenty-Eight: Oh My! Pimiento-Cheese Burgers

When you are feeding a crowd, there is almost nothing easier than hamburgers.  Martha's Pimiento-Cheese Burgers are a fun twist on the American classic.  It's basically pimiento-cheese dip on top of your burger.  It's almost too ridiculously good to imagine.  A few diners were exceptionally proud of their creations.  I took photos of a few:

Oh, yes.  They were over-the-top good.  If such a thing as a special-occcassion burger exists, this is it.

Day One Hundred Ninety: Slow and Steady Rot Roast

Today was a total nightmare.  It was one of those days where I hardly sat down, much less sat down to eat.  I knew it was going to be a crazy day, so I planned ahead and made Martha's Slow-Cooker Pot Roast.

I know. I know:  pot roast isn't very exciting...especially when made in a slow-cooker.  A slow-cooker is the appliance version of your grandmother's girdle.  But it's hard to go wrong when you cook a piece of meat for ten hours in its own juice.  My ten-month old daughter was even able to eat some...and she only has a four teeth.

Did I mention it also rained cats and dogs?  There is nothing better than arriving home, feeling (and looking) like a drowned rat, greeted by your warm, already cooked dinner.    

Ah........If you looked up "comfort food", next to the definition would be that picture.

Day One Hundred Eighty One: Constitutional Burgers

It's Labor Day.

This is the day you are supposed to lay down your heavy workload and rest your weary bones.  Or as my son said, "the day to rest your weary load".  Indeed.

It's also the day you are Constitutionally Required* to grill hamburgers.  If you didn't grill burgers, someone in your neighborhood might report you to the hamburger-equavlent of the IRS.  Just be prepared.

* Not really.  I took a Constitutional Law class and there was nothing about burgers in it.

I made Martha's Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers.  These are surprising.  Just imagine finding a piece of melted cheese the size of your thumb inside your hamburger.  It's fabulous.  It's like a meat version of a Twinkie.  That might sound gross to you but your husband will appreciate the mental picture.

If you didn't make burgers today, I hope you at least ate one.  If not, just tell them you saw the above photo.  That should count for something.

My husband wants me to add that he made Martha's Sweet-and-Sticky Grilled Drumsticks.  

The sweet glaze was very good, although it took 45 minutes to simmer and that was before the drumsticks went on the grill.  I would like to claim some sort of victory, but I was the one inside tending the simmering sauce for 45 minutes while my husband played outside in the pool.  Who was the winner there?

Happy Labor Day!

Day Fifty Five: Taco-vers

We had some beef leftover from our party on Saturday, so instead of letting it go to waste, I decided to make tacos with the meat. You may remember that my husband is anti-leftovers, which makes the subterfuge necessary.

I used one of Martha's recipes for something she calls "Taco Filling". I find this name as odd as the photo of it, which is three tupperware containers stacked on one another with some brown stuff inside.  This is the actual photo:

I am assuming this recipe was part of a feature on foods that freeze well, because if not, Martha probably fired the editor who decided to publish this photo.

But back to my tacos.

Despite the odd name, this recipe made some pretty good tacos.  If you usually use one of those packages of taco seasoning, let me save you a lot of trouble:  this recipe, which took me at least forty minutes to make, tastes really similar to the package stuff.   That being said, if you have forty minutes to spare, go for it.  I've always wondered what went in those taco seasoning packages.  But now that I know, I'd like my forty minutes back, please.

Chopped brisket:

Brisket with Martha's spices:

Completed "taco filling" on flour tortilla:

My husband really liked these tacos.  He has been known to put ketchup on his tacos, however, so I can't really call that a ringing endorsement.

At least there are no leftovers.

Day Forty Two: Sirloin of Asparagus or Blame It On the Rain

Today it rained. And rained. And rained.

It rained so much I started to wonder if I could hail Noah from my porch.

Because of the rain I did not go to the grocery.  Correction:  I *did* go to the grocery, but lost enthusiasm/ momentum/ large enough umbrella, and decided not to brave the storm.  Since I did not go to the grocery, I did not buy the items I needed to make the yummy dish I was going to make today.

And that is why I am staring into my refrigerator trying to figure out what's for dinner. Or, more specifically, what Martha recipe I'm going to make for dinner.

So here's what I've found:  a couple of sirloin steaks, salad greens, asparagus, two cucumbers, three eggs, and a bunch of leftovers from Easter.  (Note to self: review Martha's guidelines on stored food).

After a little online research, I've figured I can make Martha's Grilled Sirloin Steak with Herbs and Roasted Asparagus.  My husband says this doesn't count for two separate days/entries, so consider this your double-helping.

One of the sirloins with herbs:

Sorry, I forgot to take a "before" photo of the asparagus. :kicking self:

Completed sirloin and asparagus with a large glass of wine. (Mommy's had a tough day.)

Both recipes are absurdly simple, very good, and if you can get your husband/significant other/ personal slave to grill the steaks, you'll have plenty of time to finish that glass of wine.

That was so easy, I couldn't mess it up if I tried. And if I did, I'm blaming it on the rain...

Day Twenty One: Meat My Husband--Grilled Beef Skewers

My husband is from Montana.

Montana is the land of cowboys, cattle and Big Sky country.  He grew up eating meat and potatoes:  a lot of beef (mostly overcooked), and a lot of potatoes, cooked every way imaginable.

His Montana family is also big on "salads", but nary a leaf will be found on their tables.  True story:  I have visited for a whole week without being served anything green.  Until then, I had never before craved a salad.

If it were up to my sweet husband, he would eat a steak with a twice-baked potato every night.  And a cold beer.

He doesn't get his way much.

But today, just for him, I made Martha's Grilled Beef Skewers with Zucchini and Mint.

These are ridiculously easy, and even healthy.  (Shhhhh. He doesn't know.)

I think Martha was on to something with this recipe, and my hubby confirmed it:  the meat is cut pretty small, so it cooks quickly.  That way your veggies don't have to be rushed to the burn-unit by the time the meat is cooked.

I served it with arugula and brown rice.  Look at all that green!  Zucchini!  Mint!  Scallions!  Arugula!  

My husband wasn't sure if he should eat it or mow it.

But he did love it.

Day Eleven: The Beef Carpaccio Canape Disaster

A little success can go to one's head.

Or at least to my head.  

We had a few couples over for dinner last night, so I thought I would try something else from the MS Hors D'oeuvres Handbook.  I was confident, especially after the mango crab stacks went so well. I thought Beef Carpaccio Canapes (MS Hors D'oeuvres Handbook p.327) would go well with the homemade pizza we were serving. (They're both Italian, right?)  My confidence was short-lived, however, since the canapes went awry from the start. 

It was the bread's fault. 

The recipe called for white bread that was sliced "very thin".  I do not think regular sandwich bread is sliced "very thin", so I tried to cut it thinner myself.  I quickly discovered that I do not possess the ability to slice bread thinner than the bakery. The loaf I cut is in the foreground, the loaf the bakery cut is in the background.  Note how my loaf is completely mangled.

And yet, the mangled loaf did not deter me. I persevered (using the loaf from the bakery) and began cutting the canapes before the guests arrived.

Unfortunately, my guests were unaware of my canape disaster and were annoyingly punctual.  Luckily, the canapes are easy to assemble and I was able to impress them with my deft food-layering abilities and thereby prove that I actually made these fancy-looking things:

Martha made them look better, but I was just happy they were eaten and I wasn't left with a pound of raw, very thinly sliced tenderloin.

The canapes were a success, but I won't be letting it go to my head.