Meaty Monday – Marshall Salad & Beef Strip Steak Supper

When looking for a good lettuce based salad to serve at our Century Appreciation Party, I immediately thought of the Marshall Salad recipe that was given to me by my sister-in-law, Sally.  When you have the basics down, you can do some switching up to suit your tastes, or your crowd.

The dressing for the salad needs to be refrigerated for 3 hours, so a little planning ahead would be good. To make things easier for serving at our party, we skipped making the dressing, and had bottled dressings available.

The full written recipe will appear after the photos.

The very first step, especially if you are making this in the summer, is to prepare an iced coffee (or your favorite cold beverage). I would save the intoxicating forms for later…you’ll be operating with sharp knives.

MMM. Iced coffee
MMM. Iced coffee

Next, you will need to make your salad dressing. Remember, it needs to chill for three hours (it can be left in the fridge overnight and be just as good).

Salad dressing ingredients
Salad dressing ingredients

Does anyone else have issues with the markings washing off of your Pyrex glass measuring cups? That’s one reason why I like to measure liquid ingredients larger than 1/4 cup on a scale.

I like using a scale when measuring out liquid ingredients
I like using a scale when measuring out liquid ingredients

After you have measured out and poured the oil and lemon juice into the blender, crush the cloves of garlic. If you don’t have a “bash and chop” style utensil, use a broad knife such as the chef knife shown here.

IMG_8739b

Place the knife flat onto the garlic clove, and strike the knife with the heel of your hand. It is super important to keep your fingers out of the way. We don’t want any emergency room visits while we are making supper!

IMG_8740b

After you have smashed the garlic, it becomes super easy to peel. Give it a rough chop, and add it to the blender.

Garlic Smash
Garlic Smash

Add the salt, and pepper…

IMG_8747b

Then blend. The liquid will turn white pretty quickly as the oil and lemon juice emulsify, just make sure you blend long enough to chop the garlic into itty bitty pieces.

IMG_8748b

Pour the dressing into a glass jar, and cover. If you have a small Mason jar with a lid handy, use that.

IMG_8754b

While the dressing is chilling, slice your bacon slices. If your knives are not sharp, a kitchen shears works really well for cutting bacon.

IMG_8852b

Fry the bacon until it is a golden brown.

IMG_8853b

Then drain the bacon on paper towels and let cool. I scoop the bacon out of the pan with a slotted spoon, and put it in a cereal bowl that has been lined with paper toweling. That way, I can throw some plastic wrap over the top, and put it in the fridge to cool while the dressing is chilling.

IMG_8864b

When I was about ready to assemble the rest of the salad, I took our Angus beef strip steaks (from our local Hy-Vee) out of the fridge and put them on a platter and lightly seasoned them with salt and pepper. We’re not huge pepper people, so I only seasoned one side with pepper. I set them aside until it was time to throw them on the grill.

IMG_8860b
Even pig farmers enjoy a good beef steak!

Using a clean cutting board (it is important to use separate cutting boards when making meals with meat and produce to prevent cross contamination. The chances of getting sick are low, but we all must practice food safety!), I brought out my Romaine lettuce, cut off the ends and removed the outer leaves before cutting the lettuce into bite size pieces. I ended up using all three heads of lettuce that came in the pack so none would go to waste.

IMG_8862b

I use a lettuce knife which is supposed keep the lettuce from turning brown. I don’t know if it works, but I like this little plastic knife. After the lettuce was cut, I washed it, and spun it dry in my salad spinner. I also washed the grape tomatoes and gave them a spin. If your grape tomatoes are approaching cherry tomato size, slice them in half after washing.

IMG_8865b

Then, it was time to put the steaks on the grill.

IMG_8867b

While the steaks were cooking, I assembled the salad in my fancy Dollar Tree bowl. On top of the lettuce I dumped the mozzarella cheese, shredded Parmesan cheese, grape tomatoes, and the cooled bacon.

IMG_8871b

I mixed the salad together with a pair of tongs before adding the dressing. Being the amateur food photographer that I am, I didn’t tidy up my work space before taking the next photo. But, really, who has time to be all tidy when you have steaks almost finished cooking, and your tummy is growling for this yummy salad?

IMG_8883b

After the dressing was added, I mixed the salad one more time with a large spoon. I don’t like soggy croutons, so we add ours at the table.

Finally, time to eat! The steaks were super tender, and didn’t need all kinds of treatment before grilling. The lightly seasoned meat paired very well with the salad.

A huge thanks goes out to my friend, Jenny Dewey, who helped guide my steak preparation.

Supper is served!
Supper is served!

 

Marshall Salad

Dressing:

3/4 c (6 ounces) salad oil

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper

Blend in blender. Store in refrigerator for 3 hours. Toss with salad just before serving.

Salad:

2-3 heads romaine lettuce, torn up

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

7 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup croutons

Mix together just before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

 

 

 

Going Old School – Boneless Pork Loin Supper

When I am having troubles with inspiration on what to make for supper, I’ll ask Jonathan to bring a random package of meat in from the freezer.  This time, he brought in a boneless pork loin roast. We put it in the fridge to thaw overnight, so I had a few hours to decide what I wanted to do with it.

The roast as it arrived in from the freezer.
The roast as it arrived in from the freezer.

 

Typically I like to use the Crock Pot, but since I wasn’t roasting any veggies with this one, I decided to use the oven.  I have a Corning French White baking dish that we received for a wedding gift 24 years ago. It is the perfect size for most roasts.

This Corning baking dish rocks!
This Corning baking dish rocks!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. It is a good idea to spray the baking dish with non-stick spray.  Unwrapping the roast is a little like unwrapping a Christmas present. You know that you are going to love what’s inside, you just don’t know exactly what it looks like.  This one did not disappoint!

Beautiful boneless roast with an excellent fat cap
Beautiful boneless roast with an excellent fat cap

The layer of fat on top of this roast was beautiful! It wasn’t too thick, yet it covered nearly the whole top.  When you are shopping for roasts, look for one with a layer of fat like this one. It helps keep the meat moist while it is roasting, yet isn’t so thick that your seasonings can’t flavor the meat.

Speaking of seasonings, I decided to go old school with a twist. I don’t know what is tradition in your area, but around this Scandinavian area, we don’t get too wild with the spice.

Hy-Vee dry onion soup mix, Vegetable Stock, and Red Wine - simple seasonings
Hy-Vee dry onion soup mix, Vegetable Stock, and Red Wine – simple seasonings

I love the Hy-Vee brand of dry onion soup mix. It is inexpensive, and has a great flavor. Emeril’s Vegetable Stock has a good flavor, and isn’t too salty.  The red wine may break some rules, but I really have no clue what wine is supposed to go with what meat. I just use what I like…as you should!  If you don’t like wine, use apple juice.

Wine and Vegetable Stock poured over roast
Wine and Vegetable Stock poured over roast

Pour the liquids over the roast to get the surface moist. I used just under a cup of liquid total.  After the liquid is in, sprinkle the dry onion soup mix over the top. It should look like this:

Dry onion soup mix sprinkled over the top
Dry onion soup mix sprinkled over the top

Cover the whole thing with aluminum foil, and place on the middle rack of the oven.

The middle rack is the best to make sure heat circulates evenly
The middle rack is the best to make sure heat circulates evenly

This roast was still slightly frozen when I put it in, so I set the timer for 2 hours.  I took it out about 5 minutes before the timer went off, and let it rest while still covered. If you are using a meat thermometer that you leave in while it is cooking, set your timer for 145 degrees.  This is what it looked like after the rest period:

Fresh from the oven. It smelled so good!
Fresh from the oven. It smelled so good!

I’m always a little nervous when I make the first cut into a roast. I don’t want to mess it up with a bad slicing job! I should mention – it is okay for the center to have a bit of pink in it if the meat reached 145 degrees. The first few slices revealed a slight pink, and lots of juice!

This roast was tender and juicy.
This roast was tender and juicy.

I sliced the roast into 3 ounce portions, or one slice per serving. If you are weight conscious – as I am – one serving of lean pork roast is an excellent source of protein.

Each slice is about 3 ounces, or one serving.
Each slice is about 3 ounces, or one serving.

I went traditional with our sides. We love Bird’s Eye Baby Sweet Peas, mashed potatoes, and homemade gravy. One final photo before Jonathan and I devoured our supper. The meat was moist, and tender…sooo good!

Supper is served!
Supper is served!

I hope you are able to try a similar recipe soon!