When I received a box of cookbooks from an Arizona address, I was thrilled that some Arizona/Southwest books might be inside. I had many that were lost in the flood of The Culinary Cellar. Gwen Minnier who generously sent me the cookbooks must have read my mind because there they were, right on top!
Gwen included a very sweet note that said she could not imagine losing all her cookbooks, as they all have a place in her heart. She said it best for those of us who love cookbooks: “If it’s possible to be sentimental about books, then cookbooks would be those books!” I completely agree, Gwen!
Gwen went on to say that some of these books are old, some new, but all with good recipes. “My cookbook bookcase is bursting at the seams,” she explained, “so sharing these with you just seemed like the right thing to do.”
This is a great group of books with some real favorites along with the southwest cooking. I love Eating Well cookbooks, and anything chocolate, cheese, pasta, and cooking with wine. Since Labor Day is upon us, I decided to try a grilling recipe using two of my favorites, flank steak and corn, from the wine cookbook.
I love cooking with wine. This book is fabulous with ideas of cooking and serving with many varieties of white and red wines for appetizers, seafood, beef, chicken, pasta, pizza, risotto, desserts, and much more. The grilled flank steak has a delicious marinade using dry sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil, Worcestershire, and chipotle. The steak is paired with a salsa made with fresh corn off the cob, pancetta, roasted red bell pepper, white wine Worcestershire sauce, jalapenos, sherry wine vinegar, and fresh basil. How’s that for getting the taste juices going? It’s so good and a perfect grilling idea for Labor Day weekend.
It tastes as good as it looks. Being the Midwest girl that I am, I like fresh corn in just about anything!
Thank you, Gwen, for all the lovely books. They all have a special place on the new Culinary Cellar shelves. I continue to be grateful beyond words for the generosity of my readers.
- Marinade:
- ⅓ cup dry sherry
- 3 Tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup sliced yellow onions
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 rehydrated dried chipotle pepper, stemmed and minced, or ¼ teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce
- 2 pounds flank steak
- Salsa:
- 4 ears fresh corn, husks removed
- Olive oil
- 2 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped
- ½ cup chopped roasted red bell pepper
- 1-1/2 teaspoons minced roasted garlic
- ½ teaspoon white wine Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced jalpenos
- 2 teaspoons sherry wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- To make marinade: Combine all marinade ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly. Place steak in a large, sealable plastic bag and add marinade.
- Refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours, turning bag occasionally.
- Remove steak from marinade and reserve marinade for basting.
- To make Salsa: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Rub corn cobs lightly with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast in oven for 45 minutes. Remove corn and scrape kernels off cobs (should produce about 2 cups of corn) and place in a medium mixing bowl.
- In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, cook pancetta or bacon until lightly browned. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels to dry, then mix with corn. Add the bell pepper, garlic, Worcestershire, jalapenos, vinegar, and basil to the corn. Mix thoroughly, season to taste with salt and pepper, and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.
- To grill flank steak, prepare fire and place flank steak flat over the heat and grill for 5 minutes per side, until rare. Remove from grill and let rest under foil for 5 minutes. Slice steak on an angle against the grain. To serve, place steak on serving plates and top with salsa. Serves 4.
This sounds fantastic–but what I am going to do is what I have done in the past with flank or skirt steak–I reserve the marinade and boil it to make it safe and then serve on the side as a sauce. I pat dry the meat after marinating and then mix a little baking soda with olive oil and brush the meat with it before I grill it. The baking soda helps create a nice crust on the meat.
I set aside a little of the marinade before I put the rest over the meat, to use for brushing on while grilling. When I write a recipe from a cookbook, I always write it the way it is written by the author.
I ran across your blog quite by accident and was immediately thrilled to find another “kindred spirit!” I have been collecting cookbooks for years and have hundreds, plus recipe boxes of handwritten recipes. I love them all! I recently moved to a smaller house and had to give some of my cookbooks away, which was very difficult. I love to read them just for fun. I have learned so much about people, cooking and cultures. I hope to check back here often. Thanks for putting so much work into your blog!
Brenda, you made my day! Thank you for all the kind words. I love hearing from fellow cookbook collectors and all the stories that go with them. You are so right about cookbooks introducing us to people and cultures. It’s the best thing about cookbooks and cooking, bringing people together and learning from each other. I’m so happy you found me and hope you will return often.