After making Sunday dinner and finding out that the Wife is working all early shifts this week, I decided that I would make dinner everyday this week. We are trying to more healthy and of course it will save us a bunch of money by not eating out. On the menu tonight is Tri tip marinated and then grilled and a summer squash and quinoa salad..
This is the gorgeous Tri tip. The tri-tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin primal cut. It is a small triangular muscle, usually 1.5 to 2.5 lbs per side of beef. It is also almost a uniquely California cut of beef. This cut of beef was usually under appreciated and just ground up or cut into steaks until a gentleman named Otto Schaefer started marketing it in his place in Oakland,Ca. The cut is most popular in Cali's central coast, but it gained national recognition for it full flavor, low fat content and cheaper cost.
I chose to go super simple on the seasoning of this piece because it tastes so good. After trimming off the fat flap and taking the silver skin off( be sure not to miss that it is not good eating. It's like meat rubber bands), placed it in a gallon bag and I added chopped garlic, thyme sprigs, Worcestershire sauce, shoyu( soy sauce), lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a little granulated garlic. I then closed the bag and massaged the meat. Insert juvenile comments here.
This is where the tri tip comes from.
For the side dish/salad I made Summer Squash with Quinoa. There is also toasted walnuts, Italian parsley , and a nice vinaigrette.
I found this recipe in the latest issue of Bon Appetit and thought it would be a great sidekick to the roast. I first had to slice the squash into thin strips and rounds and then salted them so that they wilt and release some of their water. After about 15 minutes of sitting in the salt, I rinsed them and patted them dry with paper towels. The squash goes from firm to a tender, flimsy, and almost noodle like texture. This recipe is also awesome because it's summer and the squash is beautiful and delicious right now.
Yummy, nutty Quinoa. This is a delicious grain and is packed with nutrition. The Wife and I have fallen in love with this versatile grain and use it often. The recipe called for red quinoa, but we already had regular.
Fresh toasting some Walnuts. I could not believe how good these were. I usually don't like walnuts. I find them very bitter and dry and have never really eaten them unless they are in something like baked goods or candied in a salad. After just a minute or so of toasting these bad boys were crispy, flavorful, light, and full of a beautiful nutty taste.
This is the super simple vinaigrette. It's a little Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar( recipe calls for sherry vinegar), and then just whisk in some extra virgin olive oil. It was bright, tart, and the salty Parmesan cheese was the perfect finishing flavor.
Ooooo pretty...eh hem.. I mean hell yeah fire bitches!
Meat meets grill
Ummm, yeah fire good!
After taking the meat off the grill, I covered it with tin foil and let it rest. This step is often on lists called " mistakes home cooks make" or "tips from top chefs" for a reason. When you cut into meat right after cooking it's like popping a water balloon, as soon as the knife pierces the muscle all the juices run out leaving you with a dry piece of shoe leather. It doesn't matter the size, shape, or species, rest your meat you and it deserve it!
Family dinner table
The finished plate! As a finishing touch for the salad, I just shaved Parmesan over the top. The tri tip was awesome. Beefy, salty, a little tangy from the lemon juice. It had a nice crust on it and was a beautiful rare to mid rare. The salad was good, but the best part was when you got the walnuts and cheese together in one bite. The Italian parsley was too over powering and enhanced the lemon flavor to a point where it was too much and you lost the fresh squash flavor. If I make this again, the wife and I agreed that I should use brown rice because the quinoa got lost amidst all the strong flavors of the parsley and vinaigrette. I also might replace the Italian parsley with maybe a peppery frise or some kind of micro green. Overall this was a simple, delicious summer meal perfect for a hot summer night and was relatively inexpensive.
Links to info and such:
Specialty Produce
Bon Appetit
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