Friday, May 11, 2007

Easy summer supper

We have a cut that Southern California butchers call London Broil. This is a term usually associated with a method of preparation rather than a cut of beef but we never said Californios are logical.

The London Broil cut, in my stores, is taken from the Boneless Top Loin. It's usually about two to three inches thick. We like it seasoned and thrown on the grill, sliced across the grain and for the sake of the beef, don't over cook!

Summer has sneaked into our lives this week with temperatures hovering in the 80s so that means lots of outdoor cooking. And because I've been trying to be "Green*" at least once a week I BBQ'd two LB steaks at once. The first night it was a simple meal of steak and a salad, one of our favorite meals. While the grill was going, I caramelized onions in a small pan, blackened the skin off some red peppers and used both in my salad. I made more than I needed and boy, was I glad I did because the next day temp soared to 100 and I did not feel like cooking.

In the fridge:
  • leftover steak
  • caramelized onions
  • red pepper
  • some cooked spaghetti
  • basil

What a bonanza. I heated the pasta in olive oil with some garlic, added basil, onions, red pepper until hot and then tossed in the thinly sliced steak. I turned off the heat, covered and prepared some garlic bread. The beef was heated but still had the rareness we like and was great with the garlic bread. This took me minutes from fridge to table and didn't heat up the kitchen that night.

* I know, I blabber on about being Green and conservation but I truly believe we could all make a difference. Let us know any of your ideas for cutting down somewhere else in the kitchen.

7 comments:

Freya said...

I'm lucky if I have leftover steak but next time I do, this is a definite yes to make!

barb said...

I'm with freya in the leftover steak department, however I have been cooking twice the amount to make salads, which is one of our favorite. But I bet Mr Doodles would like this too. Good job sister moon

Deborah said...

This looks and sounds scrumptious. I know what I'm cooking tomorrow night and eating for lunch for a couple of days!
As far as being green - most people don't realize that toaster ovens can be used to do a lot more than toast. My sister's oven was broken over the holdiays one year, and she did everyhthing up to and including pecan pie in her toaster oven. They are incredibly more efficient than an oven when it comes to energy.

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

Debbie, that sounds like a good idea. I have something that measures the electricity an appliance uses over an hour. I'll need to plug one in and try it.

maltese parakeet said...

ah, london broil. the meat of my childhood.

Deborah said...

mooncrazy, if you do that measurement, I'd love it if you posted the results or emailed (lildebbie77@gmail.com) them to me - now I'm curious to know just how MUCH the difference is.

Chris said...

This looks great! I am always looking for ideas for left overs. This is perfect! :)