Grilled Skirt Steak

skirt steak – about 6 oz. per person
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat a grill pan, large saute pan, or grill until hot. Meanwhile, drizzle a bit of olive oil on both sides of your steaks and season both sides generously with salt and pepper (if you have any fresh rosemary, chop one or two sprigs and add with the salt and pepper). Add steak to pan or grill and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Four minutes for medium rare, about five for medium, etc. Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Chimichurri

The star of this meal is the chimichurri. This Argentinian sauce is usually used for grilled meats, but goes nicely with grilled fish and even vegetables. I like to make a good amount, store it in a mason jar in my fridge for a few weeks, and use it on as much as I can.

This epicurious.com recipe is great, but I usually half it since 4 cups seemed like a lot, Also, I used a few hot pepper flakes instead of a jalapeño because that is what I had.

Cucumber Salad

There is nothing easier than cucumber salad. I usually make it with red wine vinegar; but my Dad makes a killer mayonnaise version that he calls Combination Salad – does this sound familiar to any of my upstate NY readers? I was messing around on Pinterest recently and came across this recipe from Saveur. It reminds me of the cucumber salad you get at a good BBQ place. In a twist from my usual recipe it uses apple cider vinegar, which I think is one of the unsung heroes of our kitchens. My variation is below:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 TB. sugar
1/2 ts. salt
2-4 cucumbers (depending on size), peeled every 1/2 inch of so around and sliced thin
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
ground black pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar and salt. Add cucumber and red onion and toss. Season with salt and pepper and chill.