Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Simple and Delicious

So, my work has been crazy lately. Lots of travel and hurry up and wait going on. It is exhausting. So last night I managed to crank out a really nice dinner for myself (hubs was on the road) without too much effort AND while simultaneously assisting co-workers with report edits. Sometimes I amaze myself with my multi-tasking prowess. It all started with a steak that I had marinating in the fridge. I intended to cook it Sunday but that didn't happen so it was ready for cooking yesterday. The marinade was a store brand balsamic vinaigrette - Wishbone I think.  I seared both sides in a cast iron pan and threw it in a preheated 350F oven. After a couple minutes my phone starting ringing with work stuff and I knew I would not be able to keep an eye on the steak so I turned the oven off and address the work stuff. The steak was fairly thick and it needed a tad more time than most steaks so I wasn't too concerned about neglecting it for a bit as long as the oven was off. I then transferred the left over marinade to a frying pan and cooked it with a tsp of garlic powder and half a container of cherry tomatoes. I let that cook over medium heat until the tomatoes were soft. I then squished the tomatoes with a spatula to get them to give up their juices. Another five minutes or so and they were done. I then sliced the steak thinly and served it over a plate of fresh hot polenta (cooked with water, milk and chicken base) and poured the tomato mixture over. After a 2 day bath, the steak really had picked up the flavors of the marinade quite nicely and those flavors carried over to the tomatoes. It was so good I went back for seconds.