Resolution Cooking: Tips from Chemeeka

On any given weekend in our home, you can find either my husband or myself cooking up something yummy. Since we are both “foodies” by nature, many times we try to go “over the top” in impressing the other person. This weekend, it was my husband’s turn. He was making me chimichurri sirloin steak, sauteed broccoli-rabe, tri-color peppers and onions and a cauliflower-brown rice blend (with a little carrot) that made what we’re calling “risotto”. Introducing….. Resolution Cooking

A Meal with a Resolution!

I say that because this meal was not only delicious but more than half of my plate was taken up vegetables, not including the veggies that were in our rice as well as the yummy chimichurri sauce that was drizzled over the meat.

Here’s how you make it:

*Chimichurri sauce If you have fresh herbs laying around you can always make something average extraordinary but even if you don’t…get out to the grocery store. There are tons of fresh markets and farmer’s markets (in season) that have readily available what you are looking for. For the chimichurri sauce you will need a package (or 1/2 cup) fresh parsley leaves, chopped, 1/2 fresh oregano (again, this is in your produce section), 1/4 extra virgin olive oil, one clove of garlic minced, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, to taste.

Finely, finely chop your herbs as best as you can. Many times for either a pesto or a herb-based sauce we will use a food processer, and you can do that in this case. If you are not using a machine and you are chopping it by hand, make sure that you mince your garlic thoroughly so that you get an “even” flavor throughout your chimichurri. Now in a bowl, add first your olive oil (to infuse the flavors of the garlic and the herbs) then the kosher salt and pepper to taste. Set aside & wait for our steak to be ready 🙂

*The Risotto
This one was a real treat. For our “risotto” Don sauteed up a small yellow onion in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and then added in about 1/2 cup of hand-grated cauliflower. Yeah. When I heard him out using the grater, I thought, “what is he doing?” We both have our “signature” dishes that we make and he doesn’t always use the grater for his. So this was new. Next, he added about 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cooked the cauliflower until soft. Sauteed up the already cooked brown rice (1 and 1/2 cups) and mixed the two together. He let those cook together for about ten minutes and added ten finely grated baby carrots and 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan. YUM!

*Brocolli Rabe

Now Mama loves her some brocolli rabe! I was first introduced to the dish by an Italian woman that I used to work for. She was having a family dinner for her entire immediate family and their spouses and children and that totalled up to about 40 people including the children. She and her sister were making dinner and I offered to help and this was one of the dishes that I was assigned to. I was smitten ever since! For the brocolli rabe, you start it the “traditional” way: a little olive oil in the pan with two cloves of sliced garlic. Next you add your cleaned brocolli rabe (rinsed and with the ends chopped off) and you sauteed until wilted. If you feel that your pan is not moist enough, you can add a little bit of water. No more than 1/4 cup.

*The Steak

For the steak, you want to go with your favorite cut of meat. Be it prime rib, or filet. The choice that we made in this case was: sirloin. Now interestingly enough, this was (1) the cut that was on sale, and (2)just as delicious as prime when it was cut. For the meat, it’s all about how you season it or tenderize it and how it’s cooked. If you know what you’re doing, a good steak only needs a little drizzle of kosher salt and fine cracked pepper. My hubby fired up our cast iron skillet for this one. He seared it nicely about 4 minutes on each side & then he let it rest. Once it rested for about 6 minutes then he sliced it and served it with our sauce.

I have to tell you that this meal was deeeeliiiicious! And it was so easy on the waist line. I had about 4-6 ounces of steak and 1/2 cup of starch that was 1/3 vegetables. The rest were all veggies. You couldn’t ask for more!