Beer + Citrus Steaks with Grilled Veggies & Pesto Pasta Salad
This weekend was all about making our house a home. Keeping relaxation & couch time to a minimum to take on one of the bigger products at the Zehner Ranch - staining the fence. & the deck for that matter. The sad thing is we did the whole staining thing once already, and “we” really means I took the role of doing inside chores and watching Jordan bust his ass handling the stain situation. In the end of staining Round 1 - I hated the color. My husband worked so hard to get it done, ended up with a sore back & sore legs, & I hated the color. So we pivoted this weekend & went dark. & I got my hands dirty & we double teamed the project this time. About 4 trips to Home Depot & 10 hours of real-deal labor, we had ourselves a rejuvenated and freshly stained fence. Sunday morning we both woke up & the first thing we said was “ow.” Our bodies felt the burn of extreme housework. Our legs, our backs, our butts - I don’t think I’ve ever been as sore as this in my life, which actually makes me feel horrible since Jordan did this whole song & dance twice now. Point being I don’t know how he functioned a day after doing this by himself. So needless to say, we both phoned in our workouts the rest of the weekend. But I focused all my energy on mustering up the strength to keep our Sunday dinner tradition alive, and mde sure Beer & Citrus Steaks with Grilled Veggies & Plant Based Pesto Pasta Salad was our reward for a weekend of hard-work.
Next to learning how to operate a paint sprayer, learning to operate our barbecue has been my milestone of 2019. & if I can impart any advice it’s do expand familiarity with the array of cooking tools at your disposal, because getting familiar with the grill has totally broadened my scope of the meals I am actually capable of making. & needless to say I’m apt to get in front of that grill as often as possible, but without totally taking Jordan’s place as grill-master
This weekend all I wanted for my Sunday treat was a good ol’ barbecue - putting my newly acquired grill skills to use to put a perfectly medium steak on my plate paired with lots of veggies. More than anything, I love the serious vibe that is grilling outside. Hanging out with the que’ while it heats up, keeping an eye on the temp to spot when it’s hot enough to get cooking, and doing it all with a brewski. Afternoons like this are what my husband’s dreams are made of, and truth be told I used to think grillin’ and chillin’ was dumb. & boring. But being the barbecue babysitter is serious business. I’ll company it football - it’s a drag if you don’t what’s going on, but once you understand the name of the game it’s easy to get into. I’ve learned that barbecuing is literally the same.
As a new griller, the one thing I’ve really come to learn is marinading is everything - citrus & onions & garlic being big players in the flavor realm. I took my love for beer can chicken & redirected it towards tonight’s steaks. Threw in a can of Hamms with 1 sliced orange + 1 sliced onion, let is sit in the fridge for 6 hours, and let time be my friend. & it was beer-y, steak-y greatness. The perfect juicy piece of red meat to satisfy my carnivore cravings.
One thing that is FACT in my book as it pertains to steaks is it’s medium or nothing. Anything closer to the well done side is total trash. & I’ve eaten a lot of total trash steaks in my time due to a prominent tendency to overcook - especially when it comes to meat. But I’ve figured out the trick to medium steaks on the grill, and it’s fool proof, and I will pass it along to anyone. Get your barbecue to between 550 & 600, season it generously with salt & pepper on both sides, and grill on each side for 4 minutes. Watch the time carefully & keep them on for no more than your 4 minute timeframe. They’ll come off que’ still pink in the middle, juicy, and just pretty perfect. The outside always has that crusty char that’s makes it an irresistible hunk of red meat.
If you know me, and you’ve eaten dinner with me - especially if you’ve had dinner at my house - you know I’m a home-cook that appreciates a well composed meal. Like something where all the dishes go together & the sides are the perfect back-up dancers for the main course. What you don’t want is to end up with a Beyonce main dish & Guns N Roses back-up dancers. It doesn’t make sense, ya know? My favorite dinners are ones where you’ve got a good balance of flavors & combos that pair together to keep mealtime light, bright, & refreshing. & combos that are so good you want to eat them in the same forkful because they’re so great together. An herby pasta salad just sounded nice since it’s not something that goes down in our house often, so we resorted to Pesto Pasta Salad made with our plant based pasta staple - cauliflower gnocchi. & forkfuls of that with little bits of steak…let me tell you - to die.
I thought I was going out on a limb with cauliflower gnocchi that’s fully cooked & served cold. Like I was over or under on if it would be something I actually want to eat, texture being the wild card. & then Jordan reminded about all the times we’ve binged cold leftover pasta, and I was instantly optimistic again. I went with my number one pasta rule - load it with veggies. A cauliflower gnocchi tossed with asparagus, sundried tomatoes, just a couple of mozz junks, & trading in a heavy pasta sauce for just a simple pesto. It’s herb-y & tangy & the perfect plant based pasta salad to curb carby cravings, and my new favorite picnic salad to go with any barbecue. As in this will be made for my friends because it’s truly a treat for all.
Conclusion - the barbecue has changed my life. and it has only aided my quest to be a true bad bitch. Added bonus - summer dinners at the grill have evolved from me passing on all grilling responsibilities to Jordan to him talking me through the process. Like my own personal grill coach, and what a hell of coach he is.
For the Steaks & Veggies
2 Ribeye Steaks (1.5 lb - 2lb total)
1 orange
1 onion
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 beer (cheap beer like Hamm’s or PBR will do the trick)
Scallions, trimmed
1 red onion, sliced
Zucchinis, halved
Butter, for the finished steaks
Fresh herbs (thyme of parsley)
For the Salad
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
2 bags of TJs cauliflower gnnocchi
1/2 c. prepared pesto (LOVE the kale pesto from TJS - found in the refrigerator section)
1/4 c. sundried tomatoes
1/4 c. mozzarella pieces (I used a log of mozz that I sliced then cut into bite-size squares)
2-3 c. arugula
Use a shallow dish to get your steak marinading. Layer half the oranges slices + half the onion slices in the bottom of the pan. Add in the steaks, and lay the remaining orange + onion slices right on top. Pour in your beer & soy sauce, and let it sit for 4 hours.
To make the salad, start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, drop in the trimmed asparagus, let them cook for just 3 minutes, remove, & drop into an ice bath. Remove the asparagus after just one minute and place the veggies on a cutting board. Cut the asparagus spears into thirds.
Move to making the cauliflower gnocchi, following the package instructions. Some additional tips - use the largest skillet you have so the gnocchis are spread apart while cooking (when they’re clumped together, that’s when they become a blob). Put the gnocchi over medium heat, resisting any urges to bump things up to medium high, & add in EVOO once the water has evaporated. Lastly, try to shake the skillet instead of stirring the cooking gnocchi with a spoon or spatula. Once the gnocchi has fully cooked, add in the sun dried tomatoes & pesto, stir, & turn off the heat. Let the gnocchi cool for 10-15 minutes. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving bowl, add in the asparagus + arugula, and stir. Sprinkle the mozz on top and place the bowl in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
To prep your veggies for the grill, place the red onion, scallions & zucchinis on a baking tray (sliced and all). Brush them with EVOO on both sides and sprinkle wit salt & pepper. I also recommend a pinch of garlic powder on the zucchinis - delish.
Time to grill. Get your grill going and get it heated between 550 & 600 degrees. Remove steaks from the fridge right before lighting the grill to get them to room temperature. When the grill is hot, pat them dry, and season with salt & pepper. Place the steaks & veggies on the grill, letting them cook for 4 minutes on each side. Remove all your grilled meats + veg, & set them on a foil lined baking sheet. For the steaks, place a small pat of butter on each steak while they rest for 10-15 minutes. For a finishing touch, sprinkle the veggies + steaks with your favorite fresh herbs.
Serve the steaks right alongside the grilled veg + cauliflower pasta salad. & don’t forget to have fun with your food - trying bites of steaks with bites of cauliflower gnocchi + grilled veggies. Winning combos that will make dinnertime real fun for ya.