Everynight Dessert: Day 1

Someone around here hates Mexican food. It's not me, but I will say it isn't my favorite. I'm a sucker for the condiments (salsas, guacamoles, sour cream) but in general, I've never had anything that wasn't a snooze-fest for my taste buds. When I do have an inkling for something a little er Latin, I have to disguise it. Hide the tortillas until the very last minute! Tonight someone was eating these fajitas faster than I could warm them on the pizza stone.


My new favorite cut of meat is the flank steak. It is generally leaner than a skirt steak and so incredibly easy to cook. It comes out perfect nearly every time. Even if I overcook it just a tad it is still incredibly tender. The flank steak is making me think I can actually cook meat well. Don't be fooled.

These fajitas are so good I don't even care about the David Lebovitz dulce de leche brownies I made for dessert. Not to mention that the salsa had so much garlic in it I don't think I can taste my brownies.

Chili Rubbed Flank Steak
adapted from Serious Eats and Chef on a Shoestring

1 flank steak (1.5 pounds)
1 bottle of dark beer
1/3 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt

I tend to look at ingredients and not instructions, so here's what I put together with this one.
Take a flank steak, trim it of any excess fat, put it in a big bowl and pour a bottle of beer on it. Sounds great so far, right? I used Sam Adams because it was the cheapest bottle in the fridge. The beer works to tenderize the meat but I only let mine sit for about 10 minutes because it was starting to eat away at the muscles fibers like an episode of Myth Busters I saw involving coke... Anyway take out the steak and pat it dry. Rub the 'rub' all over the steak covering it completly on both sides. Press it in firmly and let it sit for a bit to reach room temperature. Preheat the broiler and line a shallow baking pan with foil and a light coating of olive oil. Broil the steak for about 6-8 minutes depending on thickness and flip it once during that time. It will be hard to tell since the whole thing will look red from the chili powder, so go by feel and squish the middle with your finger. I suppose a meat thermometer would work too but who uses those? Let the steak rest then slice it thinly against the grain and pour the pan juices on top. Sautee bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms to go in your fajitas.

For the green salsa, I found this recipe from Dinner Party. It is a real cinch to put together in your food processor. The base is basically a tomatillo sauce but the addition of avocados gives it a nice creamy texture. I didn't add the water that is mentioned in the recipe because I really don't think it's necessary. Play with it until you get the consistency you want.

So what were we talking about....? Dessert. These were easy too. I ruined my appetite by dipping into the can of dulce de leche one too many times though.














I tried to make them look pretty with a toothpick. They came out oooey and gooey as expected. David Lebovitz is the chocolate king afterall.

I'm stuffed.