Hanger Steak with Dandelion, Arugula, and Grana Padano by Alison Roman

Though this recipe appears in the Meat section, it is really a glorified steak salad. In fact, it’s the best steak salad I’ve ever had. 

Here’s why. All previous steak salads did one thing for me. They made me constantly choose between a bite of steak or a bite of salad. When I was hungry for a bite of beef, my fork would have to rummage around for it, knocking back leafy greens as it went. If I wanted lettuce and dressing, my fork would dodge steak bits in search of the perfect stack of leaves. It sounds like a lot of effort because it was. And until this dish, I’ve always wished that my steak would just be served separately from my salad from the beginning. 

This steak, and this salad, well, they belong together. In the same bite. Gone were my desires to curate the perfect forkful. Every bite was effortlessly lovely. The flavors and textures worked together so seamlessly that any combination was delightful. The elements to this perfect steak salad are as follows: 

• Red onion soaked in ice water. This mellows the bite, but leaves enough umpf behind to make the red onion a real player. 

• The simplest of dressings. Just olive oil, a dash of fish sauce, salt and pepper, mixed with finely chopped dandelion greens and arugula (or in my case, baby kale). 

• Medium rare steak. The recipe calls for Hanger steak, but I couldn’t find it. I even asked the meat guy at Whole Foods and he said they never carry it. According to the internet, and the meat guy, the closest substitute is Flank steak. So that’s what I used. I seasoned the steak with salt and pepper and seared it in my cast iron over medium-high heat. All it took was 5 minutes on each side and another 5 minutes to rest before slicing against the grain. This steak is solid proof that you really only need salt and pepper to turn out a fabulous piece of meat. That and a meat thermometer so you can easily gauge the cooking time. 

• Dandelion greens and baby kale. Dandelion greens are very bitter (really, so bitter). And that bitterness, in my opinion, is what made this salad so cohesive. The leaves provided just the right balance to the salty steak. They were meant to be eaten in the same bite. Baby kale was a subtle undertone to the steak and dandelion greens. I chose baby kale because I wanted something a bit mellower than peppery arugula for this undertone role. The greens are tossed with a bit of lemon juice and salt before joining the onions and pieces of steak. 

• Shaved grana padano really complements the whole ensemble.

Honestly, please try making this salad for yourself. Or ask me to make it for you. I will gladly eat it again. 

109 recipes cooked, 116 to go.

Butcher’s Steak with Dried Chiles and Salted Peanuts by Alison Roman

I appreciate when a single recipe creates an entire meal. There are days when I don’t mind flipping between pages to follow three separate recipes to make three separate dishes simultaneously. But most days, I just want to look at one page and end up with everything I need to feed and satisfy the people at my table, which is usually just J and I. 

This recipe contains instructions for two key components: the salsa and the steak. But it also gives plenty of fabulous ideas for sides and fixings, including some helpful quick tips that I will be using for all kinds of future taco nights. 

The salsa. Generally speaking, I’m a salsa verde type of gal. I’m incapable of turning down tomatillos and lime. But this dried chile salsa is made from red chiles, New Meican and Guajillo chiles to be exact. (FYI, Whole Foods is rather reliable for their dried chile selections, if you have a hard time finding some.) First step is to remove the stems of the chiles and toast them with garlic and oil in a small pot. However, every time I’ve cooked with dried chiles, I find a layer of dried dirt hidden in some of the chile crevices. I have yet to see a recipe or a package instruction that says to wipe off said dirt, which sort of flummoxes me. But you’ve heard it from me, look out for the dirt and use a lightly dampened paper towel to clean the chiles before cooking with them. 

Once the chiles and garlic are toasty, the nuts get tossed into the pot for a quick coating in oil before all of the ingredients get transferred to a blender or food processor to be roughly pureed. Lately I’ve been having issues with raw peanuts and my stomach not getting along. So I’ve been sticking with almonds instead of peanuts. Yes, they’re different flavors, but they’re both still nutty! I think cashews could also have been a fine substitution here, but sadly, J can’t stand cashews. The pureed salsa can go into a bowl and be mixed with some apple cider vinegar and more oil, until it’s the consistency of a “spoonable sauce.” 

Dried chile salsa can be made ahead, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks! If there are just two of you eating this recipe, then you’re bound to have a lot leftover. We ended up doing a second taco night a few days later with some chicken instead of steak, and used all the leftover salsa, tortillas, and other fixings that didn’t get eaten. 

Now onto the steak. Alison says you can use any kind of butcher’s steak: hangar steak, strip steak, etc. I chose a strip steak, rubbed it with salt and pepper, and cooked it over high heat in a cast iron skillet. 

Alison provides instructions for two other elements in the taco smorgasbord. Red onions - slice them very thinly into rings and soak them ice water before serving. I don’t know why I had never heard this trick before, but it’s brilliant! By soaking them, the red onions lose their strong, sometimes overpowering bite. They still retain a lot of their flavor, but they didn’t take over the tacos. Secondly, watercress marinated in lime juice and salt and pepper. I could not find any watercress -- I searched three stores! So I used a head of chopped romaine instead, and honestly it was a wonderful choice. I also served up some leftover mexican brown rice and cilantro, in addition to the corn tortillas. 

This recipe was a crowd (of 2) pleaser. I see more taco nights like this in our future.

48 recipes cooked, 177 to go.

Perfect Steak with Buttered Radish Toast by Alison Roman

What does a “perfect steak” mean to you? I’m not sure the word “perfect” is ubiquitous when it comes to describing food.  I think it’s more subjective. A perfect steak could be a lot of things to a lot of people. The more I think about it, the more I think that a steak is only truly perfect when it’s both excellently cooked and associated with a good memory. A steak, to me, is a celebratory food. Something I eat at a dinner party, a graduation, a wedding, an anniversary. Steaks are usually bound up in important events. The most perfect steak I’ve ever had was on my honeymoon. 

This particular “perfect steak” is a bone-in ribeye, seared in a sizzling hot cast iron, and topped with foaming butter, Gordon Ramsay style. I made this steak on a casual Friday for just Jordan and I.

And there were a few mishaps…

1. Alison politely warns that it may be prudent to temporarily disable one’s smoke alarm prior to making this recipe. Admittedly, I’m not sure how to disable my smoke alarm, so it stayed on. But oddly the alarm never went off, even though there was a LOT of smoke. This produced lots of coughing and some general concern about the effectiveness of our smoke alarm.

2. I followed Alison’s directions (6-8 minutes on each side on high heat), but I still got a solid burnt crust on one side of the meat. Thankfully we could easily cut the burnt bits off, but it was disappointing. I was so alarmed by the burnt crust, that I removed the steak from the pan to rest, and subsequently… 

3. Forgot the butter. The best part! I sat on the couch for about 5 minutes, letting the meat rest, when I suddenly sprang up and ran to the kitchen whilst shouting, “BUTTER!!!” Jordan was both concerned and confused. The pan was still super hot, so I was able to melt the butter and spoon it over the meat. What a close call! The meat went back on the cutting board to rest for yet another 10 minutes. 

Was this steak perfect to me? No. Could it be perfect to you? Absolutely. 

A note about Buttered Radish Toast. It was really nice! Something I would never have thought to combine - bread, radishes, butter, anchovies, capers, parsley. What a fun, funky side to a buttery piece of meat! That’s really all I have to say about it - such fun! 

Do you have a perfect steak? I’d love to know all about it. 

33 recipes cooked, 192 to go.