Tag Archives: garlic

Balsamic Vinegar & Garlic Glazed Flat Iron Steak

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Veronica

I have a significant backlog of recipes waiting to be blogged, but I made this one yesterday and two things prevailed upon me to post it immediately:

1) This week’s BSI (blogger secret ingredient) is beef so this is perfect timing to submit it for the contest, and

2) It’s so delicious, I couldn’t wait!

Fish aside, I’m not much for meat. I’ll put a bite on my plate, then fill the rest with dessert vegetables and potatoes, etc. Then I usually share what little meat is on my plate with Jessie. But this steak was so delicious I was sneaking bites of it from the platter before Dennis came home and almost couldn’t stop myself. Between us, we ate an entire 1-lb flat iron steak in one sitting. It was just incredible.

Dennis was beside himself. “How did you get it so juicy? What did you do to this? This is so good. What did you put on it? THIS is the best steak I’ve ever eaten.” “Even over the steak au poivre?” I asked. “Yes, even over that one.” An hour after eating, Dennis looked over at me and said, “That steak was really, really good.”

This recipe was inspired by my friend, Suzie*, who shared a recipe for Balsamic & Garlic Glazed Strip Steaks with me last summer. At the time, I knew my hubby would love it but I didn’t think I’d ever use it. Then I happened to pick up a flat iron steak because it was on sale and because I’d never heard of it before. I had NO idea what I was going to do with it so I searched all the recipes I had for steak to get some ideas, and found Suzie’s. The marinade was just PERFECT for this steak.

*Suzie just started her own food blog this week! If you’ve been reading long, you’ve seen many recipes on my blog from her. She’s a great cook with a great sense of humor. Check her out here!

Flat iron steak is the second most tender cut of meat, next to the tenderloin, and that obviously helped with the resulting steak. The acid from the balsamic vinegar also tenderizes it a bit during the marination process, so you’re left with an incredibly juicy and tender piece of meat. The marinade is simple but just perfect. I couldn’t believe how delicious it made the meat!

Balsamic Vinegar & Garlic Glazed Flat Iron Steak

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

½ cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (1 lb) flat iron steak
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic. Reserve ¼ cup marinade and pour the rest in a large Ziploc bag. Put the steak in, press out the air and zip it up. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before grilling.

Meanwhile, light your charcoal mound in the grill (yes, I was grilling yesterday-the weather was so nice!) and then spread the coals out once the fire dies and they get ashy around the sides. Remove steak from bag, discard marinade. Salt and pepper steaks. Grill covered for ten minutes on each side for medium-well, brushing with extra marinade while it cooks.

Set grilled steak on a platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes so juices can recirculate throughout the meat. Enjoy!

Recipe source: adapted from Suzie S.

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Posted in Meats, My Favorites and tagged Balsamic vinegar, best, easy, flat iron steak, garlic, grilled, juicy, marinade, simple, summer, tender. Bookmark the permalink.

World’s Greatest Salmon (improved)

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Veronica

Yes, I know the title is a bold statement, but that is how much I love this salmon. I’m willing to admit there may be better recipes, but I honestly have never had better salmon, no many how many variations I try. This is my favorite and it may be presumptuous to call it “world’s greatest” simply because I love it, but this is my blog and I think it’s the best, so there! :)

This is actually the first recipe I ever posted, back when I was just a MySpace blogger. I actually started Veronica’s Cornucopia in the fall of ’09 but if you do much searching, you’ll see I have recipes dating back to June of 2008 because I copied all those I had on MySpace over to here when I started it. And this one was the very first. But I like it so, so much, and have improved it since the original post, so it merits an encore.

Enjoy!

World’s Greatest Salmon
adapted from my friend Rossie K’s recipe
Serves 6

6 (4-oz) salmon fillets
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup REAL maple syrup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, sliced into rings
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

Put the minced garlic, maple syrup and soy sauce in a gallon-size Ziploc bag, seal it, and shake it to combine. Add the filets and reseal, then place the bag in the fridge for at least two hours, turning halfway through.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the salmon filets in a single layer in the dish and pour about a tablespoon of marinade over each filet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat the sesame and vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the peppers and onion, stir, and pour the remaining marinade over everything. Saute on medium-high until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has reduced. If the sauce is too thin, add the cornstarch and cook another minute or two until it has thickened, adding additional cornstarch if necessary.

To serve, plate a salmon filet and spoon some of the vegetables and sauce over the top. Serve hot!

Veronica’s Notes: This recipe is best with skinless salmon filets. You can replace the maple syrup with honey if you don’t have any–I haven’t tried it this way because I like the maple version too well to change it, but Rossie made it that way and loved it. You can use any soy sauce you like, but I always use light soy sauce (in this case, the “light” is referring to reduced sodium) because even that has plenty of salt and makes a wonderfully flavored fish.

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Posted in Lighter Fare, Main Dishes, Meats, My Favorites and tagged garlic, maple syrup, recipe, salmon, soy sauce, world's greatest salmon. Bookmark the permalink.

Honey-Garlic Wings

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Veronica

When I needed a recipe for wings so I could make them for Den’s potluck at work, my friend Marina pulled through for me with this one. I used a 4 lb bag of frozen wings and increased the sauce accordingly and as you can see, it still wasn’t enough to fill my [old school 1980’s] crockpot. So if you’re needing to make enough for a large crowd, I’d suggest doubling the recipe….and then making it twice. Believe me, they will go fast.

Honey Garlic Wings

2 1/2 lb. wings, trimmed and separated
1/2 c soy sauce
3 Tbsp. honey
3/4 c water
4 large garlic cloves
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger

Combine soy sauce, honey and water in a small bowl. Heat wok and add a little oil. When hot, add garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for a second or two. Add wings and stir-fry until nicely browned, adding more oil if needed. Add soy sauce mixture and turn heat down to simmer. Cover and cook 20 to 25 minutes or until wings are cooked through. Stir occasionally. Remove lid and turn heat up to high. Cook wings, stirring all the while, until sauce is reduced enough to glaze wings.

Recipe courtesy of Marina C.

Veronica’s Notes:I ended up with so much sauce in the pan that the wings basically boiled in it until done. To keep from overcooking them, I removed them with a slotted spoon and continued simmering the sauce until it was cooked down enough I could put the wings back in and glaze them. I don’t know if my chicken was extra juicy and that caused the overabundance of sauce, but just thought I’d warn you. I think I will try leaving out the water next time.

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Posted in Snacks & Appetizers and tagged garlic, honey, wings. Bookmark the permalink.

Chicken Kiev with Garlic Rosemary Potatoes & Walnut Apple Salad

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Veronica

On the recommendation of my dear friend, Jaci, I prepared chicken Kiev when my little sister and her family joined us for dinner last night. It was a raging success, even with all my mistakes (slightly burning the crust on the chicken (at least the inside was perfect), getting impatient with the potatoes and not waiting for them to get crunchy on the outside, putting too much vinegar in the dressing (that’s why the apples look brown–the balsamic dyed them!)), and my company is already looking forward to their next invitation for dinner. Thanks for the great recipes, Miss Jaci!

Chicken Kiev with Sautéed Garlic Rosemary Potatoes
Rachel’s Food for Living by Rachel Allen

4 Chicken Breasts-skinned
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Garlic Butter
4 oz butter, softened
2-4 garlic cloves
1 heaping Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, thyme & rosemary and used more than recommended)
finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 a large lemon

Coating
2oz flour
1 lg beaten egg
6 Tbsp plain breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Potatoes
8 potatoes
2 oz olive oil
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Lay chicken breasts on chopping board; slit but don’t cut completely in half. Season with salt and pepper.

Cream butter & add garlic and herbs and zest and juice of lemon; mix well. Spread garlic butter out onto the center of chicken breasts leaving about 1/2 inch all around the breast. Fold chicken breast back to original shape.

Place flour,beaten egg and breadcrumbs on 3 separate plates (or shallow bowls). Toss each breast in flour,coat with egg and roll in bread crumbs until chicken is well covered. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cut potatoes into slices or cubes,dry with paper towels if needed. Heat oil in frying pan, add potatoes,season with salt and pepper and cook on med low heat for 16-20 min until almond golden and crunchy on the outside but soft on inside. Toss in garlic,chopped herbs and a little more olive oil,cook for couple more minutes until garlic is golden. To keep warm, place in uncovered casserole in the warm oven.

Sorry no prep photos on the potatoes, just the finished product–it should actually look crispy and golden but I only cooked mine until tender b/c I had hungry people waiting.

For chicken, place 4 Tbsp oil of choice and 1oz of butter in frying pan–heat until hot. Add the chicken and cook about 2 minutes on each side until golden,transfer to the oven for about 8 minutes until cooked through, serve with sauteed potatoes and salad–Jacie’s recipe follows.

Jacie’s Walnut Apple Salad

One bag baby spinach (I used 1/2 bag butter lettuces and 1/2 bag spring mix)
3/4 c walnuts–toasted (I used some pecans too)
1 sweet apple, such as Red Delicious, cored and diced (I used Braeburn for crispness)
1/2 c feta cheese

Make a dressing with 4 parts olive oil to one part balsamic vinegar with one tsp of honey per 4 T of evoo. Toss with salad ingredients.

(If you don’t want to do the math, just mix 1/4 cup olive oil with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp of honey. Add more vinegar and/or honey to suit your tastes.)