Taco Tuesday on Today

I have many irrational fears.  Like of spiders crawling into my mouth while I sleep or clowns popping out of the sewers as I walk by.  And don't even get me started about driving over bridges.  (By the way, I love that you can google ANYTHING and Buzzfeed has already turned it into a list.)  Some of my fears involve trains.  Like realizing you're on the wrong one or falling asleep, missing your stop and waking up in Alaska.  This morning, I witnessed the terror in a poor girl's face as the train ticket person (I'm sorry, I'm sure there's a more official name for that person) very nonchalantly told her that she was on the wrong train.  And then, not long after that, it happened.  I fell asleep!!!!  I woke up in a flash, nearly dropping my coffee everywhere, and realized I was only one stop away from my own!  So uh, yeah, it all worked out and I didn't end up in Alaska.  BUT JUST THINK OF WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED!?  (Oh, I would have been just fine?  Ok.)  

  I was so tired, because all three of my kids decided to wake up at different intervals last night.  And why wouldn't they do that?  I actually had something important to do this morning!  I was on the Today Show!  So of COURSE they wanted to give me as little sleep as possible!  (I love my kids I love my kids I love my kids I love my kids.)  Well, after a cold shower and a LOT of hot coffee, I woke up and had a great time cooking and grilling with Carson... it's Taco Tuesday!  We made a basic street taco with the tastiest steak ever, homemade corn tortillas that only require one ingredient, and a stripped down delicious margarita.  If you missed the segment or want to check out the recipes, you can find everything here at Today.com.

Photos by Samantha Okazaki.

Filet Mignon

I'm on an airplane right now but I'm talking to you BECAUSE IT'S THE FUTURE.  I wonder what 2012 will bring?  Probably flying mini vans.  Just mini vans.  Anyway where are my manners HOW WAS YOUR CHRISTMAS?  I think in the future of 2012 I'm going to yell a lot via the caps lock button.  SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.

Well, with a new year comes a lot of "I'm going to diet and work out yeah sure I am" resolutions.  That means, you have about a week to eat what you want.  Like Filet Mignon marinated in Guinness beer, soy sauce and worchestire sauce.  Do it.  Or better yet ladies, get the man in your life to do it for you.      

Adam Perry Lang

I'm still trying to figure out if last Friday night actually happened. Did it? Was June 24th, 2011 a date that occurred in history? Let me explain...

It was Carson's birthday dinner. I was cooking for a lot of people, and stressing just a tad (melting, meltdowns) about it. So I asked one of his friends for some advice on the main entree, the steak. But what I wasn't expecting was for him to say, "You know, I actually have a friend in town who happens to be a Meat Maestro/Established Chef/Barbecue and Grilling Expert - can I bring him? He'll cook the steak." (Those weren't his exact words but that's what I heard in my cartwheel-twirling brain.)

His name is Adam Perry Lang, and not only does he grill like THEEE BEST of them, he is a lovely person and now a friend. Let me learn you some things that I learned from this genius chef...

First off, the above photo, that's Adam personally butchering the massive Rib Eye we were to eat that night at Lindy & Grundy's Butcher Shop in Los Angeles. Go to there.

Now, here's Adam at our house. He asked for a pepper grinder, and I was very excited to hand him the only one I own... Mr. Bigfoot MaGoo...


Now this. This has changed my life. Everything I thought I knew about herbs and basting and uses for wooden spoons has been thrown out the window. He asked me for a pot, he asked me for a spoon - seemed normal enough. But then, he took a massive bunch of herbs and tied it to the end of the spoon with kitchen twine, turning it into a basting brush. BUT I LIKE TO CALL IT A MAGICAL BROOM OF JOY. In the pot went the fat trimmings from the steak, butter and clove upon clove of garlic. He warmed the pot on the grill, and used the MAGICAL BROOM OF JOY to sop up the goodness in the pot which he smeared all over the steaks as they cooked...


If you think I stuck this herb brush up my nose all night long and the next morning, you are correct.

Ok, grilled meat, resting peacefully on some olive oil...


Next came his carving techniques. He took more herbs, chopped them up, placed them on the cutting board and the steak on top of that...


...and he carved the beautiful, beautiful meat. Don't you love this story?


Carson's dad, Pops, secretly taking notes...


I have never tasted such flavor in a steak. The herbs, the garlic, the butter, the marbling, the perfect crust, the smoke, the expert medium-rare...

Here's a gratuitous Siri Chewing Picture:


A PERFECT evening... old friends, new friends, great food, lots of drink and older kids to watch Jack. It was such an honor to meet Adam and to have my kitchen blessed by his presence! If you're ever in these areas, check out his restaurants...

London... Barbecoa (with Jamie Oliver)
New York... Daisy May's BBQ USA
Las Vegas... CarneVino (with Mario Batali)

Daniel's Steaks

I know I've already talked about grilling steaks, but I want to elaborate. The other night our friend Daniel brought over steaks to grill that he had marinated in fresh herbs, olive oil and salt and pepper. They were outstanding. So we decided to give them a try last night. I added a touch of Worcestershire sauce to each and some roasted garlic because... I would enjoy roasted garlic on a chocolate bar or in my cereal. Minus a small (large) grill fire, they were a success!

Roasted garlic...


Spread...


Fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme...


Sprinkled over steaks with salt, pepper, olive oil and Worcestershire...


Sauteed mushrooms in a little butter, olive oil and red wine...


Dinner...

Grilling Steaks...

Try putting some fresh herbs on your steak... parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme...


Grill them in a smoker. Like the Big Green Egg.


Tasty stuff. Smoky and juicy with a delicious, earthy crust. For my boyfriend's birthday his friends brought steaks and pies and creamed spinach and mac & cheese. I barely had to do anything! Great friends, great time... even if I did wake up with a little man dribbling a basketball inside my brain.

Steak Mole and other things too...

I finally did it!! No, I'm not talking about cutting bangs or booking a trip to the Hampton's so I can celebrity stalk Ina Garten. I made Mole! ("Mole mole mole mole mole" - name the movie.) A truncated version but nevertheless, it was mole! I've heard that in a great mole, you can taste every ingredient. Well my mouth noticed many of the elements of this sauce... smoky heat from the chipotle, a hint of spicy sweet from the cinnamon and chocolate, an earthiness from the cumin and a brightness from the orange peel. Yeah, my palate's pretty advanced.

This was quick and relatively easy to make. Here's the recipe... Steak Mole with Cilantro, from the April Twenty-Ten Bon Appetit. I added a minced garlic clove to the sauce and more chipotle than BA called for because I'm dangerous like that.

We paired our meat with a lovely Mango Banana Margarita...


...and a Chunky Mexican Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing...


Roughly chopped red pepper, avocado, almonds and crumbled Queso Fresco. Here's how I did the dressing:

Cilantro Lime Dressing
(Serves 2)

1 T fresh lime juice
1 T chopped cilantro
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper

Combine the lime juice and cilantro. Drizzle in the olive oil while stirring with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.

Time to make Mexican Brownies for my mom's big birthday dinner tonight...

Coffee Rubbed Flank Steak

In my world, watching the Food Network show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives before bed is equivalent to eating food. Because, I will undoubtedly go to bed and dream about what I just watched on the television set, and I will wake up still thinking about it, and I will spend most of the day re-watching it in my brain. Then, I will try to make what I saw. Hence, watching Triple D = eating food. Do you follow? It's okay because I don't.

The other night on the show someone made a huge coffee rubbed beef brisket, and it looked ridiculous. A thousand spices, grilled, then braised, then sauteed in au jus. I want to go to there. So I tried, and came up with my own quicker, smaller, more affordable version...

Coffee Rubbed Flank Steak
(Serves 4-6)

2-3lb. Flank steak
1 T instant espresso
1 T chili powder
1 T brown sugar
1 T paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all spices in a bowl, stir with fork.


Place steak in roasting pan. Set oven to broil. Rub spices all over steak, on both sides.


Broil 4 minutes a side for medium rare. My cup 'o tea.


This was really good, y'all. Very flavorful, a hint of spice, a hint of sweet, juicy steak. It wasn't slow roasted brisket, but it was a good Tuesday night meal.


(Served with Chipotle Green Beans, which I will try to post soon...)