Adventures in sirloin flap

A month or so ago, my adventures at Restaurant Depot ended up in a freezerful of Angus sirloin flap. You would think with all the cooking planning going on this week, that dinners would have been mapped out. And maybe it was, but I was too lazy to finish the dishes that would have been ready for dinner.

So instead, Josh fished through the chest freezer for a pretty sizable piece of sirloin flap. While it defrosted, I put together a new chimichurri, a combination of Francis Mallman's classic and my own concoction that I've been making for years. I ended up going heavy on the garlic (half a head, just like Mallman's) plus a 2:1:1:1 ratio of parsley, cilantro, basil, and oregano, all fresh. Then I went with a pinch of crushed red pepper, a bit of the salt dissolved in boiling water (1 1/2 tsp salt :: 1/2 cup water), and a ratio of 2:1 evoo to red wine vinegar. Basically, I went heavier on herbs and lighter on the sauce. It turned out very well, though I would cut down the garlic next time.

Moving on with the meal, I found some sunchokes in the fridge that have been slowly degenerating for a long time. I peeled them couchside and then put them and some yukon potatoes into water to boil. Normally I put sunchokes into the food processor, but I didn't feel like washing it, so I mashed em with a masher. It definitely did not turn out that well. I added just a bit of my butter plus s+p. It lacked a distinct creaminess.

I also finally pulled out that spaghetti squash that we've had for over a month. Perhaps longer. Eeeee. Anyway, I cut it in half and scooped out the bits and put it into a pan with a bit of water, covered it with foil, and roasted it in the oven for an hour. After that, James Peterson says to scoop out the squash meat and heat it in a saute pan with butter (my own again) and s+p. It was definitely more squashy tasting than I remember spaghetti squash tasting, but relatively good.

Lastly, Josh picked up some bibb lettuce at Publix when he did a store run, and we were definitely missing his requisite green, so I mixed up a quick vinaigrette and let that meld. I smashed a garlic clove, went heavy on the dijon, and added champagne vinegar and an Argentinian olive oil (1:3). I think you are supposed to go 1:4. but oh well. Just before Josh tossed the salad, I added s+p to the lettuce.

Dinner was delicious. And we only eat half the meat. So this morning, I cooked up the steak, some over easy eggs, and potatoes with onions. Josh put chimichurri on everything. It was definitely a good batch. And since it keeps two weeks, I see it showing up again soon.