Fam Recipes: Shish or Steak

Pina Colada -- see Recipe Card

Serve with french bread with this appetizer in separate bowl: See RECIPE CARD

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp (serves 4) ** For the best result, use medium-sized shrimp, as bigger shrimp tend to be rubbery in texture. Peel off the shell, leave the tail on so you can actually use your hand to eat the shrimp. Hold it on the tail and suck the lemony, garlicky, and buttery flavors off the entire shrimp, ahhhh, you will be in shrimp heaven.

Ingredients:

1 lb shelled, deveined, tail-on medium-sized shrimp
Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 heavy dashes black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick butter)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves
Lemon wedges

Rinse the shrimp thoroughly. Peel and devein the shrimp, but leave the tail-on. Drain the excess water in a colander. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat up a skillet on medium heat. Add the butter and saute and garlic until aromatic, but not browned. Add the shrimp and spread on a single layer, stir to cook well. Add the cayenne pepper and lemon juice and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked. Add the parsley, stir to combine well. Dish out and serve immediately with some lemon wedges - use bread to sop up juice

Using bamboo or wooden skewers instead of metal will help keep the steak from getting overcooked on the inside. Metal transfers heat, so is useful to use for chicken, or a meat that you want to cook all the way through, but not so useful for steak that you want done rare or medium rare. Serves 4

Ingredients

Marinade Ingredients: See recipe card

1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS water
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper

Kebab Ingredients: See Recipe Card

1 top sirloin or porterhouse steak 1 inch thick, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 small green or red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1-2 medium red onions
12 large fresh mushrooms
About 20 bamboo or wooden skewers

Method

1 Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and add the bite-sized meat pieces. These steak bites will knock you straight in the taste buds. The marinade soaks into the steak so that every bite is just as amazing as the one before it. Cover and chill in the fridge for maybe 30 minutes.

2 Soak the skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling. This will help prevent them from completely burning up on the grill.

3 Cut the vegetables into chunks roughly the width of the beef pieces. Taking care not to poke yourself, thread the meat and vegetables onto double bamboo skewers. One way to do this safely is to put the piece that you are trying to pierce on a cutting board, and then push the skewers through the piece to the board. Using double skewers will help you turn the kebabs on the grill. If you keep a little space between the pieces, they will grill more evenly. Paint the kebabs with some of the remaining marinade.

3 Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is, and how done you would like your meat, turning occasionally. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Grilling with gas. (there are many rub choices) Grilling with charcoal - use hickory pouches/bags. Indoor grilling. It's all about the flavor, right? You must choose the method that suits your taste.

Optional: broil skewers 3 inches from heat turning often until desired doneness // approx 12 - 16 minutes

Serve with rice See Recipe Card
fajitas - See Recipe Card
carne asada -- Recipe Card
forget the grill - cook flank steak in the crock pot & I never do the pineapple/mango salsa

Can use chicken: Ingredients: See recipe card

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

Sesame seeds, for garnish, if desired

Sliced green onions, for garnish

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic powder, honey and 1 cup water; bring to a simmer. Stir in cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes; let cool to room temperature.

In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine teriyaki marinade and chicken; marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight, turning the bag occasionally.

Preheat grill to medium high heat.

Thread chicken onto skewers. Add skewers to the grill and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side OR broil as described above

Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired.

Salad Ingredients MAKES: 8-10 servings See Recipe Card

· 1/4 cup olive oil

· 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar

· 2 tablespoons white vinegar

· 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· Dash hot pepper sauce

· 1/3 cup sugar

· 1 cup pecan halves

· 2 tablespoons butter

· 4 cups torn fresh spinach

· 4 cups torn romaine

· 1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained

· 2 celery ribs, chopped

· 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

· 4 green onions, chopped

Directions

For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, vinegar, parsley, salt and pepper sauce until blended. Cover and refrigerate.

In a large heavy skillet, melt sugar over medium-low heat without stirring until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Add pecans and butter; stir constantly until butter is melted and pecans are coated. Remove from the heat. Pour onto a foil-lined baking sheet; cool completely. Break pecans apart if necessary.

In a salad bowl, combine the spinach, romaine, oranges, celery, strawberries and onions. Just before serving, drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Top with sugared pecans. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Skillet Steak See Recipe Card

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

6 ounce mushrooms, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped

1 teaspoon oregano, chopped

2 lean New York Steak strip steaks

salt and pepper

Garlic Butter Compound:

¼ cup softened butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped

1 teaspoon oregano, chopped

In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and butter, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Cook for about 3 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside on a plate.

Heavily salting a tough cut of meat and letting it sit an hour or two before you cook it is an effective way to break down tough muscle fibers, no fussy marinade needed. When you're ready to cook, just rinse off the salt, pat the meat dry and add it to a hot skillet.

Turn the skillet to high heat. Add the steaks. Cook on each side for 3 minutes or until outside is browned. Reduce heat to medium-high. Cook the steaks to the desired doneness. Mine took about 10 minutes flipping 3 times to get a medium well.

Right before the steaks are done, make the garlic butter compound. Mix the butter, garlic and fresh chopped herbs. Slather on top of steaks. Add the mushrooms back to the pan and heat through and let the butter melt into the steaks

Iron skillet pineapple cobbler See Recipe Card

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained (save 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice)
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained
1 stick butter or 8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Spray a 10 inch iron skillet with cooking spray. Add the butter to the skillet and melt in the oven. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the milk, pineapple juice and vanilla extract to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour into skillet with melted butter and mix with a spoon. Sprinkle on coconut flakes, pineapple chunks, cherries and nuts. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 35-40 minutes. Can brown top under broiler for a few minutes if you want it browned. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Enjoy!