Steak Sandwich and a Reflection on Leftovers

When I came home from work yesterday, I opened the door and suddenly the unmistakable scent of burning charcoal came drifting towards me.  I followed the scent and found my parents in the front yard grilling up some some steaks and vegetables for dinner.  After a hearty meal complete with some delicious red wine, there was still some steak that remained uneaten. Leftovers are an opportunity to make a completely different dish the next day and still enjoy the deliciousness from the day before.  I love leftovers, and today I decided to make a steak sandwich.  After throwing this into the oven at work for 10 minutes it'll be delicious, crunchy, gooey, chewy goodness.  Really you can make whatever sandwich you want with as much of each ingredient as you want, but this is what I made.

Pan-fried Quinoa Balls

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is an ancient grain that is amazingly versatile and very delicious.  It is gluten-free and rich with protein and also has a fair amount of the essential amino acids.  You can eat it hot or cold, and it can be mixed with just about anything.  Make sure you always rinse your quinoa before cooking otherwise it was have a very bitter taste to it (due to a coating of bitter saponins). Tonight I decided to make it into balls stuffed with cheese and pan-fried.  The result was delicious and also healthy.

Vanilla-Lemongrass Infused Simple Syrup

Basic simple syrup is one of the easiest things in the world to make.   It is a combination of sugar and water (usually in a 1:1 ratio) that allows you to sweeten things without having to worry about trying to dissolve the sugar.   It is a great way to add flavor to drinks especially if you infuse it with other flavors.  Today I decided to make Vanilla-Lemongrass simple syrup.  It has a fruity/floral scent that adds that extra pop of flavor to whatever you choose to use it on.  

Roasted Beet Salad

This salad is quick and actually very pretty.   I don't think there are many things more beautiful than the inside of a roasted beet.  Seriously, take a moment to appreciate it the next time you find yourself roasting a beet.  That's reason enough for me to make this dish again.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 large beets, washed to remove any dirt
1 cup red wine vinegar
olive oil, salt and pepper
1 red onion, sliced
1/3 cup feta cheese plus more for crumbling on top
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 Tablespoon torn mint
more red wine vinegar (to taste)

1) Preheat your oven to 375 F.  Place the washed beets into a loaf pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and then add the red wine vinegar so that there is about an inch of liquid in the pan.  Cover and seal with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for 40-50 minutes or until the beets are easily pierced with a paring knife.
2) Remove the beets from the oven and allow to cool completely or enough for you to handle them.  Meanwhile, place the red onions in some red wine vinegar or lemon juice for 15 minutes to remove the bitterness from them and then rinse them off.   If you want to save vinegar you can just soak them in ice water instead, but the vinegar gives the onions a nice flavor.
3) Wearing gloves, take some paper towels and rub the skin off of the beets.  Then cut them into cubes and place in a large bowl.
4) Add the torn mint, pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil, crumbled feta, some of the cooking liquid, fresh red wine vinegar (to taste) salt and pepper.

5) Put into serving bowls and top with some more crumbled feta and mint.  Enjoy!

*I used mentuccia which is a wild mint plant because it grows in our yard but you can just use fresh mint leaves.

Flourless Molten Chocolate Cake (Good for Passover)

I wanted to make a Passover dessert that wouldn't taste like cardboard.  After looking through a lot of molten chocolate cake recipes, I came up with this one.  It is so so so easy to make and a definite crowd pleaser. 

Jalapeno Infused Tequila

A couple of months ago my brother ordered this amazing drink at a restaurant in the city.  It was spicy, refreshing and delicious.  I recently looked up the ingredients of said drink and found out it contained jalapeno infused tequila muddled with fresh cucumbers.  The restaurant has since closed, so I decided to recreate the tequila myself.

Cake Pops

A blog called Bakerella came up with a neat idea called "cake pops".  They are essentially a mix of cake and frosting rolled into a ball, put on a stick, and dipped in chocolate.   They have become pretty trendy and I decided to try my hand at making them.