Living in Northern California normally means enjoying some of the best weather in the country. My town’s motto is “Weather Best by Government Test”. I don’t know which government declared it, but it’s pretty much true. HOWEVER, we are not prepared for the heat waves that hit occasionally, we don’t have A/C for those 10-14 days a year that we really need it. Father’s Day was one of the days this year as temps hit over 100˚ and that heat stuck around. Cooking for dad in the kitchen was not an option so I put together everything we had to cook on the grill while we played his new game Kan Jam under the redwood canopy in our yard.
I picked up some Flank Steak at Costco and did a dry rub over night and then added some fresh lime juice and olive oil before grilling. It only takes a few minutes on high heat on each side, then letting it cook over low heat on the other side of the grill for another 10 minutes. (Then cover with foil for 10 minutes off the grill.) I wrapped the corn in foil after putting some lime butter on it and then put some peppers, fennel and olive oil in another foil pack. Each of those cook for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
Add some chimichurri or your favorite sauce on the meat and some pickled onions (I like Carla Halls recipe below) and you have dinner.
The heat wave continued into the next day so I cut the kernels off the leftover corn, sliced the leftover flank steak very thinly and added pickled onion, freshly chopped tomatoes, peppers, green onions, romaine lettuce and spinach to create a great steak salad. Same ingredients different flare.
I made a nice western dressing using some grilled peppers, pickled onions, a few tablespoons of salsa, chimichurri, olive oil and seasoned rice vinegar. I put them all in our Nutri Bullet blender and whirred away until it was smooth. It was a quick assembly with my leftovers and it was devoured!
Pickled Onions
1 large red onion, thinly sliced- 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 garlic cloves smashed
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 serrano chili thinly sliced
Blanch the onion in boiling water for about 2 minutes, drain and put into a 16 oz mason jar. I added some fresh chive blossoms as well.
Bring the vinegar, sugar and spices to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over onion in glass jar. Cover and let cool. Can be kept for weeks in refrigerator. Use for salads, sides, hot dogs and hamburgers etc.
