I think design is about a lot more than just putting images on a page. Distilled down, it is nothing but problem solving. Well my problem is that I am hungry and I love food and want to taste as much of it as I can. Cooking has become a sort of design process. I barely use recipes, resorting to them only when I want to learn a new food genre or technique. I start out with a flavor I want to achieve and then shop accordingly, treating the trip like a very cathartic jazz set. With a cupboard full of staple ingredients, all I have to do is hit up the meat, produce and specialty items. Here on the east side of Atlanta, we have the Dekalb Farmer’s Market and it has become my church. I leave feeling cleansed and inspired, ready to create something new. So in addition to posting graphic design, photography and other art related content, I am going to be using this space to share a few of my recipes as well.
I have found that the best recipe creations emerge when you’ve just gotten home from the grocery store and you have this huge palette of flavor to work with.
Food should make you make moaning noises. This is a good example of moany food. The other flavors serve as a great platform for showcasing the mix of delicious Angus beef and the smoky/tangy taste of goat cheese. Since it’s Saturday night (you ARE making this on Saturday right?) why don’t you go ahead and pop open a cold one and work on that pre-game before you head out to the bars. Bear in mind though that this is a plan-ahead recipe so you will want to have the meat marinating beforehand.
Total meal cost: approx $10 at Dekalb Farmer’s Market, since I already had some cheap tequila that I keep on hand specifically for meals like this. Maybe you want to waste some good Patron on this. Be my guest.
Ingredients
1 lb skirt steak
2 TB minced shallots
2 minced thai chilies
1/3 cup of goat cheese, slightly softened. I use Montchevre. It is cheap and delicious.
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ts oregano
1 ts cumin
1/2 cup tequila
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
juice of 1 lime
1. Tenderize the steak with a mallet. It will already be thin. We just want to thin it out a bit more to allow the flavors to mesh with the meat and to allow easier rolling. Combine tequila and lime juice. Rub kosher salt into steak, then place in shallow dish and add liquid slowly, taking care not to wash the salt out of the meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2a. A mix of Journey, REO Speedwagon, Simple Minds and Tears For Fears makes for some incredible background music for cooking and working on your kung fu..
2b. Mix shallots, chilies, goat cheese, garlic and oregano in a small bowl until creamy. Spread mixture across steak evenly. Roll up the meat firmly and place in aluminum foil with the roll’s seam underneath to hold it securely in place. You could use some baker’s string to secure it too but it’s probably not necessary if you are tightly rolling a length of thin steak. Before sealing it up, pour in the remaining marinade.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Take out and slice into 3 or 4 spiral pieces.
(NOTE: I am finding that the cooking time and temp could be adjusted according to how thick the spiral is. Last time I baked according to this recipe, then turned up the heat to 400 or so for 5 minutes and that seemed to finish it off nicely.)
4. I had mine with some fresh steamed broccoli and tomato slices with fresh cut basil and it was a-mazing.
