Too Darn Hot

Forecast for Olney, IL for this week:




This is ridiculous. I had a former student stationed in Afghanistan tell me the weather is better there. Sheesh.

So my mission, should I choose to accept it, is to serve meals that are refreshing, light and yummy. I knew we had leftover Bourbon Marinated Flank Steak to eat. Then I remembered how much my husband likes the steak salad served at Olde Tyme Steakhaus.

An idea was born. Since this meal would be our main meal of the day, I wanted to add a bit more, so I also remembered we ate a yummy bruschetta at Buca Di Beppos in Indianapolis. The following meal was my attempt at putting two restaurant-inspired dishes into one meal.




Balsamic Glazed Bourbon Steak Salad with Bruschetta and Fresh Fruit.

The salad was the easy part:

2 Bags of "Italian Mix" Lettuce
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 a green pepper, diced
1 large mushroom, sliced and sautéed
1 tomato, diced
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Balsamic Glaze
Balsamic Vinegar
3/4 lb Bourbon Marinated Flank Steak leftovers, cut in bite-sized pieces

Heat the steak in a frying pan until warmed through. Drizzle the balsamic glaze on the meat, lightly coating it. Allow it to carmelize a bit on the meat - darkening the color and intensifying the flavors.

Then, build the salad. Lettuce, green onions, green peppers, tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, meat, Feta cheese (or blue cheese - my hubby prefers that, and would also work quite well with the "balsamic" theme). Then, drizzle balsamic vinegar over the salad - but go easy! I skipped the traditional addition of oil - to me, it doesn't add much except extra calories.

Bruschetta recipe:
Loaf of sourdough bread, about 4 inches in diameter
1 tomato
Several leaves of fresh basil - a couple stems worth
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 large clove of garlic

Roll the leaves of basil into a tight roll, then slice into strips (aka "chiffonade" - click here for a video explanation). In a small bowl, combine about 2 tablespoons of the basil with a quarter of a cup of extra virgin olive oil (I resisted the temptation to use the abbreviation "EVOO" there, because the next thing you know, I'd be calling sandwiches "sammies" and saying "yummo". Ick.). Set the oil/basil mixture aside while prepping the rest.

Slice the sourdough bread on the bias (diagonally, across the loaf, so as to create slightly larger pieces, and a crust that is easier to bite through - demonstrated here with a carrot, from the Food Network show "Worst Cooks - so bear with me on this one, it gets the point across), about 3/4 of an inch thick. Place the slices on a broiler pan lined with aluminum foil.

Dice the tomato, placing the more firm, fleshy pieces in one dish, and the mushier inner bits into another. (I'm not going to make it on "Next Food Network Star" with guidance like this, but dangit, it's how I think, with regards to cooking, anyways.) Put the mushier bits, a few strands of the basil and just a tiny bit of kosher salt into a small food processor and purée. Then, run this mixture through a strainer to remove most of the liquid, forming a fresh tomato paste.

(The idea here is to provide a sort of glue that will hold the firmer diced tomato bits on the bread. One of the concerns my daughter had with the restaurant bruschetta was that the yummy tomatoes kept falling off, and she had to scrape them from her plate back on the bread. Putting the purée on first will stop this from happening).

Lightly brush the slices of bread on one side with the basil-infused olive oil. You can also use an olive oil spray, if you want to reduce the amount of oil. Place under the broiler set to "high" - and keep an eye on them! When they just start to brown, remove them from the oven, and rub the clove of garlic (which you have already cut in half, so it will release its garlic-essence on the bread) on each slice of bread. Then top with a small bit of purée, then a few of the diced fresh tomatoes, and a few strands of the fresh basil. Place back under the broiler, and again - keep an eye on them! The goal is to heat the tomatoes and basil just enough to soften them a bit.

Serve with a small dish of the basil infused oil. Here's mine:




The "fresh fruit" was simply sliced up strawberries, kiwi, bananas and whole grapes. I actually made this first, to give the fruit favors time to macerate. Be careful though - cut the bananas too far in advance and they turn brown - not very appealing to the eye.

The meal was a hit, and met every goal. For those of you familiar with the Weight Watchers Points Plus system - the whole meal was only 7 points (3 for the bruschetta, 4 for the salad, and the fruit was free). Light, filling, and yummy - even my daughter thinks so - see!





Side note: the music I played while I made this meal was my Pandora station based on the music of "Little Charlie and the Nightcats". I've named the station "Low Down Blues" - and if you dig raw, earthy, nitty-gritty, bar band blues, you should check them out...fun to dance around the kitchen, and to paraphrase Muddy Waters, "Get my mojo workin'." Good times!