Skirt Steak and Artichokes or Let’s go to Tahoe for the weekend

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by Karen Schmautz

We spent last weekend at one of my favorite places in the world (not that I have traveled the world over, but even if I had, I think this would still be my favorite place because this is where I grew up)…Lake Tahoe.  It was kind of spur of the moment, but the weather had been so nice and it was supposed to remain nice, so I talked Yes!Chef! into going there for a couple of days.  We are most lucky to live about one hour from Lake Tahoe and, even luckier, we are blessed to have a cabin up there that my family has owned for a very long time.

So, we packed up and made the trip.  I must say the weather was beautiful.  I can’t remember the last time we stayed at the cabin in April.  Last year there was snow up to our eyeballs into May.  This year, although there was still some snow on the ground, it mostly just added to the ambiance.  My dog loves Tahoe because it means we go on walks twice a day to fun places.  (His idea of fun is anywhere that has lots of great smells.)  One of our favorite places to walk is the Angora Burn Area.  Although the Angora fire that occurred a couple of years ago was terrible and scary, I do enjoy walking thru that area to watch how God heals the land. Plus, Obie (my dog) can walk off-leash.  What dog wouldn’t like that?

Obie T. Dogg and Yes!Chef! head out into the Angora Burn Area

I know it doesn’t look like much right now because it is still basically winter, but as the season goes along this area becomes quite beautiful.

Angora Burn Area August 2011

Here’s that same area last year in early August.  See what I mean?

Obie doesn’t much care what it looks like in this area, there are always lots of great smells and he can go off-leash.

Obie waits patiently for me to finish taking pictures

At any rate, when we are at Lake Tahoe we walk this trail almost every day for one of our walks.  After our walk, on Saturday, I took Yes!Chef! on a coffee date.  Lake Tahoe is very dog friendly, and many of the little eateries have outdoor areas where you can bring your dog.  So, I took them to one of my favorite coffee places, Alpina Coffee Cafe.

Yes!Chef! reading the paper and having coffee at Alpina Coffee Cafe

And because Obie is a great and friendly dog, he didn’t have to wait in the car while we had our coffee.

Obie enjoys the day while Yes!Chef! reads a restaurant guide

You can see by the clothes that Yes!Chef! is wearing, that it was still a bit chilly up there.  In fact, the ski resorts were open, but it was the last weekend.  I heard that the snow was pretty slushy.

After that, my husband felt like grilling something.  So, we found a couple of recipes that we were interested in cooking and stopped off at the store to pick up a few ingredients.  Yes!Chef! settled on Grilled Skirt Steak with Herb Salsa Verde from Bon Appetit and I picked out a recipe that I had seen Ina Garten make on her show, Fried Baby Artichokes with Greek Yogurt dip. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Baby Artichokes at the store, so I got a couple of large ones and peeled them down.  I did not peel them down far enough.  Even after frying them, the leaves were still too tough.  The next night I tried them again, but I took them all the way down to the hearts and they were absolutely wonderful  They didn’t look as pretty as the ones above, but they were very tasty.

Here’s the recipe for the skirt steak:

Grilled Skirt Steak with Herb Salsa Verde

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, savory, and mint
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 1 skirt steak (about 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed, cut into two or three 10-inch pieces
  • Lemon wedges

Preparation

  • Mix 1/4 cup oil, garlic, and lemon zest in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Let marinate for 20 minutes. Add all herbs to oil mixture; stir until well coated. Let stand until herbs begin to wilt, about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup oil. Season herb salsa verde to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Season skirt steak generously with salt and pepper and grill until charred, 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steak to a serving platter; let rest for 5 minutes, allowing juices to accumulate on platter.
  • Transfer skirt steak to a cutting board and slice against the grain on a diagonal. Season to taste with salt; return to platter with juices. Spoon half of herb salsa verde over. Serve with lemon wedges. Pass remaining herb salsa verde alongside.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/05/grilled-skirt-steak-with-herb-salsa-verde#ixzz1tCHVtg9K

And here’s the recipe for Fried Baby Artichokes from Ina Garten

Fried Baby Artichokes

2012, David Ziff, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
—
Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 servings

Ingredients

  • 10 baby artichokes
  • Olive oil
  • 6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
  • 1 bunch fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Remove and discard the artichoke stems. Peel off lower leaves (approximately 18.) Slice off the top half so that only the light green remains (artichokes should be approximately 1 1/4 inches), then cut the artichoke in half lengthwise.

Place the artichokes in a medium pot, flat side down, and add olive oil to just cover. Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the olive oil to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a low flame and simmer for 15 minutes. Insert a knife into the lower half and if easily penetrated, it’s done.

Remove the thyme and garlic from the pot, raise the heat and fry uncovered for approximately 2 minutes, turning over the artichokes midway. They are done when brown and crispy. Remove the artichokes from the pot and place them on paper towels flat side down. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

A viewer or guest of the show, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.

And here’s Ina’s Recipe for the Yogurt Dip

Yogurt Dip

2012, David Ziff, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:

5 min
Inactive Prep Time:
15 min
Cook Time:
—
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 32.5 to 35.3 ounces Greek yogurt
  • 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
  • 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
  • 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 4 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Drain the yogurt in cheesecloth or paper towel for a short while so it thickens even more. Place the yogurt in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix together.

You need to make the yogurt sauce.  It was wonderful and creamy and tangy.  The steak was herbaceous and had a great grill flavor along with the marinade.  This was a very simple recipe to make but there was quite a bit of prep for the artichokes.  If you can find baby artichokes, it would make it a lot simpler.

Enjoy!

Published by

Karen Schmautz

Photographer

20 thoughts on “Skirt Steak and Artichokes or Let’s go to Tahoe for the weekend”

  1. What a wonderful mini vacation you two had. I love your walk in the woods and cooking up that yummy dinner. I was wondering if you had found baby artichokes. Its not too common.
    Terrific post Karen.
    Sue Batz (photowannabe)

  2. This is a beautiful meal. The scenery isn’t bad, either. I love Lake Tahoe! I drove through two years ago in very early June on my way to Nevada to see my son graduate high school in Elko, and there was still snow all over the place, which was really amazing to me, as we’d been in and out of the pool for weeks back here in Eastern NC. (I took a week and flew out to hang out with my Dad in Napa before we took the drive to Elko.)

    Sounds like a wonderful time, and your dog looks like a big sweetie!!! 🙂

    1. Oh, my dog is terrific. He’s a great photographer’s dog because when I stop to take pictures he sits down and waits. I picked him up at the shelter a couple of years ago and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

      You should have seen the snow last year. It was still snowing in May. Weird. Anyway, we enjoyed our stay.

    1. I didn’t see this earlier. I love, love, love Tahoe. I spent every summer since I was knee high to a grasshopper on the South Shore of Tahoe. Now, fortunately, I can go there whenever I want. I can’t wait to get back there again. Maybe next weekend.

  5. I’ve never been to Tahoe but would love to go someday, I noticed the Vermont sweatshirt on Yes Chef – do you guys ski in Vermont? The fried artichokes look delicious, I saw the episode where they made them, I will try them. What a nice weekend you had!

    1. Thank you. The artichokes are quite good, but I learned that I needed to follow the recipe on that one. We visited Vermont in the fall in 2008. It was so gorgeous.

  7. everything looks nice dont know where to start……..never been there but it looks buetifull,never left kenya.

  8. It looks so good, I would love to dish on this one, In fact I’ve always wanted to try artichoke, always thought it’s a unique looking vegetable too. Great photos by the way and your dog is adorable 🙂

    1. Thank you for your compliments (Obie T. Dogg thanks you, too.) Do try artichokes. They are kind of a pain to eat, but very yummy. Needs dipping sauce, though.

      1. OK thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. I love asparagus and i think it’s the closest thing to artichokes, so I’m sure I’ll like it.

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