Looking for Excitement

After facing one's mortality, people do crazy and wild things. They jump from airplanes with parachutes, they jump off of bridges attached to a bungie cord, they get really fast cars and push them to the limits, and they run off with new partners half their age. Though I am still sorting how I _feel_ about the last seven months, I do not wish to do anything like this. But, I do need a little excitement, something new, and as usual, it is all about the kitchen.

Today, with a totally empty pantry and refrigerator, I watched foodtv for inspiration. Now sometimes this works, sometimes it truly doesn't. But today, the food gods were with me. I saw not one, but two, recipes that seemed worth making. This is good.

[aside]
We are back to our regular schedule starting tomorrow. Leslie returns to teaching which means I am on my own from Monday mid-day through Tuesday night. So during his absence, I have to feed myself [which turns into a bowl of cereal way too often] and have dinner ready for him Tuesday when he returns. The weeks that Leslie leaves and there is absolutely nothing in the fridge are really bad.
[end aside]

So back to our food adventures. Our first course was a roasted tomato and basil soup. Okay, I had the soup, Leslie was inspired by grilling a few shrimp. The main course was a salad with a lime-ginger dressing. Recipe is below. The 'celebrity chef', Bobby Flay, is a total jerk and this is the first time that I have ever actually tried one of his recipes. And, you know it was good!

I didn't follow his directions exactly. We got a rib-eye steak instead of the tenderloin. I didn't marinate it, or season it in any way. [Okay, I just forgot but it didn't matter.] I also substituted some baby greens for the 3 cups mizuna leaves. The Prospect Street Whole Foods doesn't have mizuna leaves. In fact, on a Sunday afternoon, the baby greens are hard to find. And finally, the portions are way off..... 2 steaks for 4 people with salad? Forget that! One steak will do four entrees in my house; so about 2 ounces per person. Other changes: I washed a lot of lettuce, but didn't dress it so that I can eat the remaining greens over the next few days. I hate soggy greens. So, I circled each plate with halved tomatoes, lay down some sliced beef and drizzled it with the dressing. Finally, we each placed greens on the plate, added dressing as desired [Leslie like more than I do] and tossed on the plate.

Grilled Spicy Filet Mignon Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 (12-ounce) filet mignons
Freshly ground pepper

Whisk soy sauce, lime juice, chile paste, and peanut oil together in a small baking dish. Add the steaks, turn to coat, cover, and let marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before grilling.

Heat grill to high. Remove steaks from marinade and pat dry. Season both sides with pepper and grill for 3 minutes per side or until slightly charred and cooked to medium-rare doneness.

Remove from the grill, let rest 5 minutes, and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Salad:
1 head Bibb lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
3 cups mizuna leaves, torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup chiffonade Thai basil or regular basil, optional
1/2 English cucumber, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
2 carrots, julienned
5 radishes, thinly sliced
8 each yellow and red cherry tomatoes, halved
Ginger Lime Dressing, recipe follows
Salt and ground black pepper

While steak is resting, combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with half of the dressing and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter, top with the steak, and drizzle the remaining dressing over the top.

Ginger-Lime Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons peanut oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit 10 minutes before using.