Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Grilled Wine Country Beef with Arugula

Nate and I have been eating healthier lately (think fresh veggies, lean meats, and whole grains) and so far, this has been our favorite recipe hands down! it's easily halved for two :) you can marinate the beef up to 24 hours ahead of time, which i recommend :)

Ingredients:
  • 4 6-ounce boneless beef sirloin steaks, cut 1 inch thick
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more!) :)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 6 cups torn arugula leaves
  • 1 cup thinly sliced celery
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese
  1. Trim fat from steaks. Season steaks with kosher salt and black pepper. Place in a large self-sealing plastic bag and set in a shallow dish.
  2. For marinade, in a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the mint, the rosemary, and crushed red pepper. Pour over steaks. Seal bag; turn to coat steaks. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.
  3. For dressing, in a screw-top jar, combine lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover and shake well. Season to taste with additional kosher salt and black pepper. Set aside.
  4. Drain steaks, discarding marinade. For a charcoal grill, place steaks on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill for 14 to 18 minutes for medium-rare doneness (145°F) or 18 to 22 minutes for medium doneness (160°F), turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place steaks on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.)
  5. Remove steaks from grill. Cover with foil and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice meat across the grain.
  6. In a large bowl combine arugula, celery, tomatoes, and the remaining 1 tablespoon mint. Drizzle with the dressing; toss to coat.
  7. To serve, divide arugula mixture among four dinner plates; top with meat slices. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
We had it with toasted whole wheat pita bread brushed with garlic and olive oil. It's delicious, trust me! It also makes for beautiful presentation!

cleo and her party hat

if you haven't been to nate's blog to see his post about cleo and how she reacts to her party hat (i don't know the technical name, but the big cone collar they put on dogs so they can't mess with themselves) -- go watch the video! it's not action packed at all, but i've never seen that dog stand so still. as soon as we put it on her, she freezes and seems to only be able to go in reverse. poor thing! we only put it on her when she won't quit licking though, don't worry!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

allergic to florida?


cleo has been super itchy and scratchy lately so nate took her to the vet this morning. apparently she could be allergic to dust... grass...her toys...we don't even know what! apparently the longer we live in florida, the worse it will get. we're supposed to spray her paws twice a day with some allergy stuff, give her benadryl, weekly baths, etc. hopefully she feels better soon!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

our new baby!


omg i can't believe we bought a car :) is it the cutest or what? after six years, i said adieu to my lovely corolla and nate and i are the proud new owners of a rav4! kept it in the toyota family though ;) nate says the subaru still has more cargo space but i don't know if i believe him!

Monday, February 9, 2009

the weather is gorgeous!

i love this time of year in florida :) we're headed over to our local pub to play some trivia, it's been quite awhile since we've been! and ivey extravaganza is fast approaching: nate's birthday, valentine's day, and our wedding anniversary are all within a week :) we always change up the celebrations a bit, some evenings in, some evenings out. we're still figuring out what to do with ourselves this year!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

i think cleo likes the band

nate and some friends have started a band, they practiced on friday night. cleo was particularly interested in the sound when they trilled on the keyboard ;)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

trying something new...

it may change shortly :) we'll see!

so, GO STEELERS! i have to admit, every time the cardinals scored or showed a chance of making it, i was a little excited for them. but i was super excited at the outcome (as was all of beef o'bradys and all of our PA company that's in town this week!) we had a great time watching the game all together :)

today, we also went to see the manatees at blue springs state park, and found a great place to eat on the river called Swamp River Grille. definitely adding it to our list of great places to enjoy the beautiful winter florida weather!