4th of July Means Celebrating With Good Food, Family and Friends!

I love holidays! Why you ask? Because it always means a gathering of friends, family and good food. Nothing says the Fourth of July better to me than a barbeque.  Now yes, the easy way to barbeque is to throw some burgers, hot dogs, and brats on the grill with some potato salad and cole slaw, but if you are a foodie like me, it means a chance to try out a new recipe, and enhance my grilling skills.

One of my favorite things to make on the grill is flank steak.  I think flank steak is one of those foods that people walk by at the butcher and say: “I’ll skip it, because I don’t know what to do with it.”  I’m a firm believer that marinades can make any cut of meat taste great! Here’s my favorite recipe for a marinade for flank steak:

Flank Steak Marinade

Serves 4

2 lbs of flank steak

Juice of 5 limes

Juice of 2 oranges

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 TBSP of olive oil

2 TBSP of red vinegar (may also substitute red wine or balsamic vinegar)

2 TBSP of chopped Italian Parsley

1 tsp of dried oregano

1 tsp of Sea Salt

*Optional: for zing, 1 Jalapeno, seeded and diced

1. Place Flank Steak in gallon size Ziploc bag. 
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, pour over flank steak and marinate overnight.
3. Cook flank steak on grill to temperature of your liking (I like my steak, medium to medium well). Slice and serve.

Now that you’ve got your main dish, wondering what to make as a side? Here’s a simple side dish recipe that I adapted from a frogmore stew.

Old Bay Potatoes and Corn
Serves 6

3 quarts of water

1 bottle of lager beer

3/8 cup of Old Bay Seasoning

1 lb of new red potatoes

6 ears of corn -husked, cleaned and quartered

1 bay leaf

Whole peppercorns to taste

Butter or I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter

Sea Salt

1. Bring water, beer, Old Bay Seasoning, peppercorns and bay leaf to a boil in a large stockpot.
2. Add potatoes and cook for 15 minutes then add corn and cook for another 15 minutes (or until corn and potatoes are tender).
3. Drain immediately, add butter and sea salt and toss.

Need some dessert to top off the day? Here is a simple but great tasting twist on strawberries:

Balsamic Strawberries

Serves 4

 16 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and large berries cut in half

  2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1. Place strawberries in a bowl. Drizzle vinegar over strawberries, and sprinkle with sugar. Stir gently to combine. Cover, and let sit at room temperature for at least  1 hour but not more than 4 hours.
2. Just before serving, grind pepper over berries. 
3. Serve over vanilla bean ice cream or for a lighter version, over lemon yogurt              

Have a happy, safe, Fourth of July!