Oven Grilling

Sugar and spice rubbed steak with garlic bread

So Spring is definitely on it's way...the snow in my yard is almost gone (hello winter season of dog poop) and Deli is two days in with no winter hat (my daughter has been OBSESSED with a pink winter hat this year, that has barely come off of her head in the past three months. Thank you Meme!) The change of the season has me ready to welcome our grill back into my life. This past Sunday, however, I wasn't quite ready to fire up the old gal, so I pointed my grill itch to my oven.

Where this recipe came from
Back in the day when I had let's say a little more time on my hands for TV (cough, pre-kids, cough), I watched a lot of Rachael Ray. There was one particular episode I remember where she used a sugar rub on steak.I'm a huge fan of the sugar/spice thing, so when I make it - I always add some crush red pepper.

Making the recipe
When I cook steak, I follow the rules and let it sit out for an hour before cooking. So you have to think enough in advance of cooking to take the steak out of the refrigerator. I also put my broiler rack on the second position down from the top...I think it's slightly too hot on the first.

The results
My kids won't touch steak, and to be honest (for Deli anyway, I think it's still too chewy). But the garlic bread, they LOVED! They ate it like a watermelon! :) Brett and I loved the steak, and the leftovers made some great steak burritos the next day!

The recipe
1.5 lb sirloin steak
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
generous amount of salt and pepper

Let the steak sit out for an hour. Preheat the broiler. Mix the olive oil, brown sugar, coriander, crushed red pepper, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Rub half of the mixture over one side of the steak, flip it over and repeat with the rest. Line the bottom of the broiler pan with foil. Place the steak on the broiler pan.

Cook for 4-5 minutes, flip the steak and return to the oven and cook for 4-5 more minutes. (I cooked 4 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second. It was a perfect medium rare). Put the steak on a cutting board and let sit for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Garlic bread
1 loaf of multigrain bread
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp shredded parmesean cheese
salt and pepper

Slice the bread in half horizontally. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano. Mix and brush equally onto both sides of the bread. Divide the parmesean cheese and top each half.

Put the bread back together and wrap in foil. Put on the bottom rack of the oven while you cook the steak to heat through. (I put it in a few minutes before I put in the steak and it came out great. remove from the oven, let cook for a few minutes and slice.

Ahhhh…so I was getting ready to post this blog last night and was too tired to do photos, etc. Thanks God I waited…I almost forgot the STAR of the meal (at least for me). The mojito, my favorite warm-weather cocktail. I love the tart mint combo, to the point where I can’t smell mint leaves without thinking about a mojito. This was the perfecto accompaniment to my oven grilled meal.

Mojito (Jen version...I'm sure this is not authentic, but it works for me!)
6-8 fresh mint leaves
1-2 tsp sugar. I don’t like my mojitos too sweet, so I go on the “scanter” side. Feel free to increase to your taste.
Juice of ½ to a whole lime (again I like it tart, so I use the whole thing. It also depends on the juiciness of your lime)
1 ½ shot of rum (I used Bacardi. This is also a spot to increase to your taste…or depending on the kind of day you had!)
Ice cubes
Seltzer (flavored or plain works fine – I probably use about a half a cup?)

Put your mint and sugar in a muddle and muddle to crush up the mint leaves and incorporate the sugar. If you don’t have a muddler (basically a glass with a wooden cylinder), you could use the back of a spoon. Stir in the lime juice and rum. Pour into a glass with ice, top your glass with seltzer.

ENJOY!