Be the reason someone smiles today.

This past weekend my family gathered for the one year anniversary of my mom’s passing.  We have now taken a full lap around the sun and here we are, one year later. I sure didn’t think we would get here so fast and couldn’t have predicted the depth of what I’ve learned about grief,  about myself, and so much more.

More specifically I’ve found that writing (particularly here for the blog) has given me an outlet to reflect on my days and to share the crazy kitchen experiments that I’m up to in the evenings after work.  I get strength from the community that I’ve grown to know here and can’t thank everyone enough for all of the tips, tricks, and inspiring posts.

In the planning stages for this meal, we were looking for a dish that was hard to mess up, that all of us could help to create, and that would be something we might not typically make for ourselves at home. Steak pinwheels fit the bill (shout out to my brother’s girlfriend who suggested it), and is also something simple enough that I will indeed make it again at home.

We used a fairly straightforward recipe and they were delicious!  We placed blue cheese in the center of some which added a delicious extra bite if you are a blue cheese lover.  Next time I would season the meat before grilling, and play around with stuffing them with other cheeses and sauces.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup low salt soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon lemon pepper
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 drops of hot sauce
• 1 flank steak (apx 2 pounds) – trimmed

Steps and Notes:

1. Prepare the marinade by combining the oil, water, soy sauce, lemon pepper, Worcestershire and hot sauce.
2. Cut the meat into 1/2 inch strips
   • Be sure to cut against the grain to ensure long pieces and a tender final bite
3. Pour the marinade over the meat, cover, and store in the fridge for 4 hours
   • The recipe ideally called for overnight, but we hadn’t planned that far ahead
4. Start with a small piece of meat, and roll along the wide edge. Then, add several pieces creating a pinwheel shape (see image). Stick a skewer through to secure the meat.
   • It helps to add the longer pieces around the outside edge to help hold the pinwheel together
5. Grill for 5-6 minutes per side (or until done)
   • Note: the center took a bit longer to cook, so it was helpful to cut into one to check the temperature.

Thoughts for Next Time:

• Add a piece of pineapple to the center
• Add roasted red peppers or spinach, as suggested here
• Salami, bread crumbs and fontina or pesto and mozzarella. Ummm, yes please! Thank you Serious Eats
• Scallion, ginger, and teriyaki glaze. Another Serious Eats specialty!