Steak Fajitas

I am currently sitting in rainy Minnesota, starting a week+ worth of "Brother-Sitting."  Dropped my parents off at the airport an hour ago ("Bring me back something French!") and since then, have 1) tried on my mom's shoes, 2) found lots of potential treats/pitfalls (I've eaten a spoonful of Ben and Jerry's, a piece of leftover Easter chocolate and some almonds from a fancy tin), 3) perused the magazine collection and 4) had my fill of sattellite tv (we got rid of ours last Fall and I thought I would be glad to catch up on the Food Network and others, but the magic seems to be lost--probably just as well).  I thought that before I go do something useful (like read a book?), I'd post a dinner-worthy recipe.  Even though it's gray and drizzly here today, we have definitely entered the grilling season.  Let's celebrate with a classic, Steak Fajitas (of course, you can also substitute chicken breast or all veggies if you prefer, I just happened to get a screaming deal on skirt steak last week).  Also, these might be the perfect way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo next week...

 Steak Fajitas
Marinated Skirt Steak
1 pound skirt steak
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, washed and cut into big chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Fajita Veggies
1 large onion, thinly sliced length-wise
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced into strips
1/2-1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into strips
4 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil, divided
lime wedges (optional)

Extras
tortillas (click on link for homemade, if you like!)
Fajita fixings: sour cream, shredded cheese, guacamole, etc...

To prepare the steak, remove skirt steak, rinse and place in a gallon sized freezer bag.  In a blender pitcher, combine oil, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, lime juice, vinegar, red pepper flakes, cumin and brown sugar.  Blend until smooth and thoroughly combined.  Pour into bag over steak, seal up and marinate for about one hour in the fridge.  Remove steak from bag, pat with paper towels and allow to come to room temperature while you prepare the grill (I just used our gas grill, but you can use charcoal or an indoor grill pan as well). 

Grill steak for 1-2 minutes on each side (you just want to sear the outside, flank steak is thin!).  Remove from the grill, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes while you're cooking the vegetables.

Preheat a large skillet over high heat.  Add half the oil and saute vegetables in two batches, paying attention not to crowd the pan (so you don't steam them).  Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned and crisp tender.  Remove from heat and keep warm.

After steak has rested, cut across the grain into very thin slices.  Serve in warmed tortillas with the pepper and onion mixture and topping with your desired fixings.

Skirt Steak inspired by Alton Brown's recipe 

"Make Shift" Mu Shu Pork with Broccoli Slaw

When I was growing up, we almost never ate out at restaurants (having five kids in the family makes dining out a bit of a challenge financially and logistically).  What we did do for special occasions, however, was get Asian takeout.  Although we usually got Vietnamese or Thai food, occasionally we would get Chinese and when we did, my mom especially loved to order mu shu pork.  It's a little unique, because it's one of the few dishes not served over rice.  Instead, you get to enjoy a tortilla-like pancake brushed with smoky-sweet plum or hoisin sauce and topped with a mixture of stir fried pork and vegetables.  Delicious!

A few nights back, I was trying to come up with something to use up a bag of broccoli slaw.  When Googling "Broccoli slaw," all that came up was recipes to make it into a salad (go figure).  Then, I remembered the mu shu pork of my childhood and felt inspired.  Although the recipe is far from authentic, it turned out so delicious that my four year old (who sat at the table crying for an hour the other night because he didn't want to try his broccoli cheese soup) even wanted the leftovers for lunch the next day!  To make things even easier, you can try substituting flour tortillas for the Mandarin pancakes (really, they don't take too much effort, give them a try!).

Make Shift Mu Shu Pork
serves 4
2 thick cut pork loin chops (about 3/4 pound), trimmed of fat at sliced into thin, bite-sized strips
3/4 cup your favorite bottled stir fry sauce (SoyVay or Trader Joe's Soy Yaki suggested)
2 eggs, well-beaten
salt and pepper
cooking spray
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 green onions, white and green parts, sliced
1 bag broccoli slaw (or substitute coleslaw mix)
 cup your favorite bottled stir fry sauce (SoyVay or Trader Joe's Soy Yaki suggested)
1/4 cup hoisin or plum sauce

Directions: If making your own pancakes (see recipe below), make ahead of time and warm just before serving.
Stir together strips of pork and 1/4 cup of stir fry sauce.  Set aside and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.  In a large skillet over medium-high heat sprayed with cooking spray, scramble eggs seasoned with salt and pepperl.  Once cooked through, remove from the skillet and set aside.  Add 1/2 tablespoon oil and over medium-high heat, stir fry pork until no longer pink.  Remove pork and add to scrambled eggs.  Wipe out pan with a paper towel and add remaining oil.  Over medium high heat, stir fry garlic, ginger and green onions stirring frequently until fragrant and onions are softened (about 1 minute).  Add slaw mix and stir fry for an additional few minutes or until vegetables are beginning to soften but are still crisp-tender.  Add remaining stir fry sauce, scrambled eggs and pork back to the pan and cook just until heated through.

To serve, spread a small amount of hoisin sauce on pancake or tortilla, top with a couple spoonfuls of pork mixture and fold to eat like a soft taco.  It is helpful to fold the bottom part of the pancake up so the filling doesn't escape!   Also, it truly isn't "mu shu" without mushrooms, I didn't have any that night (and honestly, we didn't miss them).  If you're wanting to be more authentic, though, go ahead and add some sliced mushrooms (preferably a shitake or wood ear type) while stir frying the veggies.

Mandarin Mu Shu Pancakes (or can use flour tortillas)
makes 16 small pancakes
(from Cooking Light)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and water in a large bowl. Stir until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes). Shape the dough into a 1 1/2-inch-thick log. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Roll each dough portion into a 6-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Brush 8 pancakes evenly with oil. Top each with one of the remaining pancakes, gently pressing together.
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place 1 pancake stack in pan, and cook 1 minute on each side or until slightly puffed. Remove from pan, and cool. Peel pancakes apart.

Recipe Mash Up: Breakfast Burritos

I know I am not alone when I say that I really enjoy the t.v. show, "Glee."  I especially love episodes that have song mash up's--when they take a couple familiar songs and combine them in a clever way.  This is what I would consider a mash up of some of the recipes I've posted in the past, and thus, this post has links galore (cleverness, I guess could be debated, but deliciousness is a sure bet!).

Green Chile Stew and Homemade Tortillas

Growing up, I had the opportunity to live in Albuquerque, NM for a few years.  It was there that I was introduced to green chiles.  They are amazing.  Being rather young (upper elementary school) when we lived there, I don't know if I got to fully appreciate how amazing and unique New Mexico and its cuisine truly is, but one thing that remains distinct in my memory is that in the fall, the air would be perfumed with the scent of roasting chiles. 

Now living in Colorado, we are fortunate to be able to have access to fresh roasted chiles again.  Just recently, a stand (trekking up from the green chile-famed town of Hatch, NM) sprouted up near our house and I knew I had to get some.  Two bushels later, I have ten quart-sized freezer bags of green gold that I will be happily adding to quesadillas, chile relleno casserole, breakfast burritos, soups and more throughout the winter! Here's one of the first green chile recipes I made with my bounty!  We served it with homemade tortillas (well worth the little extra time over packaged!).  Scroll (way down) if you came just for the tortillas...

My box of freshly roasted chiles.  If it says "Hatch," you know it's the real deal!

Green Chile Stew and Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 medium onion, finely diced
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 small tomato, diced
4 cups green chiles, roasted, peeled and seeds removed (see note)
2 cubes chicken bouillon
6 cups water
2 cups pinto beans (canned--drained and rinsed, or homemade--see earlier post on beans and rice)
2 small potatoes, large dice

Season cubed pork with salt and pepper and toss with flour.  In a large pot over medium high heat, brown pork, stirring occasionally to brown on all sides.  Add onion and garlic and allow to cook 2-3 minutes, or until onions are beginning to turn translucent.  Dump in carrot, tomato, green chiles, water and bouillon cubes.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours or until pork is tender and falling apart.  Raise heat to medium and add beans and potatoes.  Simmer about 20 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.  Feel free to garnish with cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc. (but I like it just plain!) and serve with tortillas.

Notes on Green Chile:  If there aren't chile roasting stands near you, you can also buy fresh chiles in the grocery store (look for Anaheim peppers near where the jalapenos are kept--they can range in heat, but are generally pretty mild).  To roast them at home, you can put them on the grill or under the broiler, turning occasionally until most all of the skin is blistered and blackened.  Put into a paper grocery sack and allow to steam for at least 30 minutes.  Then, the skins will slip right off.  Make sure to wear gloves when peeling and seeding the chiles (better safe than sorry!).

If you are not as lucky to have access to freshly roasted green chile, don't despair, you can find canned ones in the Latino foods section of the grocery store.  Sometimes, you can also find green chile in the freezer section as well!  Also, the chiles can really range in heat depending on the variety.  We like mild ones (because we like to taste our food and so I don't burn my four year old's socks off), but you can get hotter ones, if you like. 

Finally, if you omit the potato and beans, you roughly have "pork green chile."  You can serve this also as a soup with tortillas or serve over (or in!) burritos.  Delicious!

Homemade Tortillas
(Adapted from Homesick Texan Blog-- http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/)
2 cups flour (substitute 1 cup whole wheat for all purpose to make whole wheat tortillas)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
more flour as needed, for rolling

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder.  Add oil to warm milk and stir milk mixture into flour mixture until it forms a sticky dough.  Knead a few times in the bowl until dough becomes smooth.  Shape into a big ball, cover with a damp towel and allow to sit covered for 20 minutes.  Remove towel, form dough into small balls (you'll end up 10-12 for approx. 6" tortillas) and lay out on a flat surface.  Recover with towel and allow to rest for about 10 more minutes.  To roll out, scatter some flour on a smooth surface.  Using a rolling pin, roll out one dough ball at a time until as flat as you can make it.  Continue to roll out tortillas, covering them up as you go so that they don't dry out.  To cook, heat a dry skillet over medium high heat.  Once it's hot, lay tortillas, one at a time, on skillet.  Let cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until bubbles start to form on top.  Flip over (there should be brown spots on the bottom of the tortilla) and allow to cook about 30 seconds longer or until starting to blister and brown on the bottom side again.  Watch them closely, they can start to burn quickly! Serve immediately.  We like to spread them with a little bit of butter!