I have been a very bad aunt and sissy. My new angelic niece was born 6 weeks ago and the only day I have seen her in person was the day she was born. I missed her and it was way past time to visit. I decided to have a fun Friday evening out in the suburbs with my second little sister's family and make the new momma and daddy a semi-fancy meal.
Little Alice was so sweet and cute and I couldn't get enough of her. My nephew Elliot was so excited because he had the class stuffed animal, Duffy, home for the weekend. As an aside, all I could think of when he said Duffy was Big Freedia's song "Go Duffy" (Warning link is maybe not safe in a crowd, it's a youtube video of bounce music). I told my sister that and we giggled a lot.
I am not the only amateur chef in the family...My first little sister had texted us what she made for dinner the Tuesday before and I decided to copy her and add these salt and vinegar potatoes to make it a full on cheat day. She made a flank steak stuffed with rosemary ham from Costco, basil, and romano cheese with Brussels sprouts on the side. I neglected to ask her the method for cooking the steak and I made it wrong. I'll tell you the correct method in the full recipe after the montage.
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| I beat that steak into submission with a rolling pin until it was about a 1/4 inch thick. |
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| I marinated it overnight in these lovely ingredients. My sister did shallots. I didn't have any so I did onion and garlic. |
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| I didn't trust the bag, so I placed it in a bowl before putting in the fridge. I have been burned before when I haven't done it. Like raw chicken juice all over the fridge, ew. |
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| The next day I traveled the 30 minutes (Metairie is the home of traffic!) to her house with all these goodies in tow. I went to the fancy Rouses downtown after work, hence the hella expensive brussels sprouts on a stalk. |
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| The steak was purple after it's overnight soak. With all the wine I drink I am sure my insides are this color too! |
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| Place a few pieces of ham on top the steak |
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| Then the last of the basil from my herb garden for this year. |
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| Topped the fancy Trader Joe's cheese. We all decided we wanted maybe some mozzarella instead to make it meltier. |
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| Roll it all up and then cook |
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| Place broccoli and Brussels Sprouts on a foiled baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast. |
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| It's been so long my potato friends! |
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| Boiling with vinegar to really set the flavor. |
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| That's me massaging the kale. I tried out the black band on my Cluse watch from the Rachel Zoe Box of Style. Meh. I just like the gray one WAY better! |
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| Melty goodness! |
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| This is going to be sooo yummy! |
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| I was right! |
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| Even though I cooked it wrong it still looks pretty good! |
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| Everything but the potatoes was overcooked. That's what happens when kids are around! |
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| It would have been evenly cooked if I would have made it correctly! |
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| A beautiful, semi-fancy meal fit for a special family! |
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| Gratuitous cute poisoning now, Elliot and Duffy |
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| My sleeping angel, Miss Alice Rosalie. |
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| We had frosties for dessert. It was my first since the 90's. I am not kidding. |
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| Thanks for dinner! Come back soon Aunt Sissy! (She's waving!) |
1.5 pound flank steak, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1/2 cup red wine
one small onion sliced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
3-4 pieces rosemary ham (or regular ham)
Handful of basil leaves
1/4 cup cheese of your liking
2 tbsp olive oil
Marinate the steak in wine, onion, garlic and seasoning for anywhere from 45 minutes to overnight. Lay ham, basil and cheese over it and roll up. Tie with kitchen string very tightly to hold everything in. Heat olive oil in a pan and cook on each side (that basically is four sides) for 5 minutes on each side. Stick it in the oven for the last 5 minutes of greens cooking to ensure it is cooked through.
Roasted Green Veggies (adapted from 80/20, a really awesome blog):
1 head broccoli, crowns cut into 2" chunks and stem discarded
2 cups kale leaves, chopped into 3-4" pieces, stems discarded
1 lb small/medium Brussels sprouts, stemmed and halved
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1/4 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl toss Brussels sprouts and broccoli with half the olive oil, seasoning salt, and pepper. Transfer mixture onto a large baking sheet and spread evenly on middle rack of oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. While cooking, add the rest of the oil and seasoning to kale and massage it in. Add to the other veggies after 10-15 minutes. Check and flip vegetables to ensure they don't burn. When Brussels sprouts are soft, remove from oven.
Serve with her balsamic reduction in the linked recipe, or use the premade kind from the store like I did. This is what I used.
Crispy Salt and Vinegar Potatoes: (borrowed from Bon Appetit)
2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved, quartered if large
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (I used green onions)
Combine potatoes, 1 cup vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. kosher salt in a medium saucepan; add water to cover by 1”. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20–25 minutes; drain and pat dry. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes; season with kosher salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, 8–10 minutes. Drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. vinegar. Serve topped with chives and sea salt.
Happy Cooking!
Missy
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