Law Students

bistro dinner

Somehow I managed to pull off a major win tonight with dinner. Skirt steak, green beans, and mashed potatoes doesn’t sound all that groundbreaking?or even interesting?but it managed to kind of be both.

First, I marinated the skirt steak for about half an hour, maybe a touch longer, in a mixture of lime juice (2 limes), soy sauce (less than 1/4 cup), olive oil (also less than 1/4 cup), and a dash each of Worcestershire, cumin, and paprika. I seared the steak for about 3 1/2 minutes on each side in a cast iron skillet with some sliced sweet onions. Once out of the pan, I let it rest for a couple of minutes before slicing against the grain.

I sautéd the green beans in a touch of olive oil with salt and pepper for about 6 minutes, then poured in about 2/3 cup of water, covered the pan, and let the beans get tender. After I took the lid off, I let the water evaporate, then threw in a mixture of butter, garlic, and paprika and cooked until the beans got a little wrinkly.

The potatoes were nothing special?just one russet potato, boiled with skin on, and mashed with some sour cream, butter, and a little salt and pepper. I should have added some garlic, but they didn’t really suffer for the lack.

The whole meal was so balanced and the flavors were full without being overwhelming.

The skirt steak was my own creation?it’s pretty much the same marinade I use for fajitas?but it turns out it’s also pretty similar to an Alton Brown recipe. The green beans were from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe and, typically, there are several variations with different aromatics and flavors, and I want to try them all because it was such a good veggie. The potatoes . . . well, mashed potatoes are mashed potatoes. I would have used milk instead of sour cream, but we’re out; otherwise, the potatoes were, you know, standard.

All in all, a filling, delicious, and reasonably healthy meal. Oh, and total cost? The skirt steak was $5.99, the green beans were $1.99, and the potato was probably about a buck. Under $10 for a delicious meal for two? FTW.

Full post as published by Divine Angst on August 06, 2009 (boomark / email).