Zucchini Crab Cakes and Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce

We have family visiting this weekend, so I am happy to be able to cook a few big meals while they are here. The zucchini crab cake recipe is from allrecipes.com, and I have made them before- I bake them, instead of frying them, and will adjust the recipe to reflect this. The beef recipe is from foodnetwork.com. We visited friends in Atlanta 2 weeks ago, and Tony made this for us.

Zucchini Crab Cakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning TM
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

I swear sometimes I'm recipe retarded. I was just looking at the recipe, and I definitely didn't follow it, but here's what I did.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a baking pan or casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients together (the original recipe says to put the flour on the outside, but I missed this, and both times I made them, mixed it in). Shape into patties with your hands, and place on baking sheet.
3. Bake 15 mins, turn patties, and bake another 15 mins. If they do not seem browned, turn on the broiler for 3-4 mins at the end.

I also made a remoulade-ish sauce to go with these. I didn't measure the ingredients, but here's what I put in it: mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, sweet relish, ciracha hot sauce, and lime juice. It's super tasty!

And now for the super tasty beef!!!

Beef Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds skirt, flank or sirloin tip steak, cut into thin wide strips against the grain
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger, plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic, plus 1 teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Thai fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon toasted chopped peanuts

Directions:

Place the beef strips in a medium-sized bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce over them. Add 1 tablespoon of ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic and the salt to the bowl and stir to combine. Marinate, refrigerated, while you make the dipping sauce. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ginger, peanut butter and coconut milk in a small bowl and whisk together. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic to the bowl and whisk to combine. Place the sauce in a serving bowl and garnish with the cilantro and chopped peanuts. Remove the beef strips from the refrigerator and use skewers to thread the meat. Have your guests grill the satays themselves over the grill, about 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side for medium-rare. Serve, with the dipping sauce on the side.


Dan made a fennel salad that had mixed greens, almonds, oranges and a honey lemon vinaigrette, which was awesome!

The result: One word...YUM!! Such a good description, right?? I think next time I'll bake the zucchini cakes for a little bit longer to dry them out some. I know that I will make both of these recipes again and again.

Gas Grilled Stuffed Flank Steak

So...what's a food blogger to do when the internet is down, guests are coming for dinner, and her recipes are online?? Go from memory...of a recipe I've never made. But I DID watch the video of how to make it a couple days ago, and bought the ingredients for it. So, obviously now I have internet, and after reviewing the recipe, I didn't do so bad. I didn't put the herb mixture inside the roll, instead I rubbed it on the outside before slicing it, and on each individual slice. I also thought that there was supposed to be spinach in it, but there wasn't, so mine had spinach. I did not use any olive oil or shallot. I substituted country biscuit ham for prosciutto. I know that sounds absurd, but the flavors are actually VERY similar. The commissary didn't have any packaged prosciutto, and I didn't want to wait in line with my kids at the deli. I sauteed the ham for a minute on each side prior to putting it in the roll. Here's the recipe, another from Cook's Illustrated:

Serves 4 to 6. Published July 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.

Depending on the steak’s size, you may have between 8 and 12 pinwheels of stuffed meat at the end of step 2. Freezing the steak for 30 minutes will make butterflying easier. You will need both wooden skewers and twine for this recipe.

Ingredients

2	medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1	small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2	tablespoons fresh parsley leaves , finely minced
1	teaspoon sage leaves , finely minced
2	tablespoons olive oil , plus extra for oiling grate
1	flank steak (2- to 2 1/2-pounds) (see note)
4	ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
4	ounces thinly sliced provolone
8 - 12	skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes
	Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Combine garlic, shallot, parsley, sage, and olive oil in small bowl. Following illustrations below, butterfly and pound flank steak into rough rectangle. With steak positioned so that grain runs parallel to edge of counter and opened side faces up, spread herb mixture evenly over surface of steak. Lay prosciutto evenly over steak, leaving 2-inch border along top edge. Cover prosciutto with even layer of cheese, leaving 2-inch border along top edge. Starting from bottom edge and rolling away from you, roll beef into tight log and place on cutting board seam-side down.

2. Starting ½ inch from end of rolled steak, evenly space 8 to twelve 14-inch pieces of butcher’s twine at 1-inch intervals underneath steak. Tie middle string first; then working from outermost strings toward center, tightly tie roll and turn tied steak 90 degrees so seam is facing you. Skewer beef directly through outermost flap of steak near seam through each piece of string, allowing skewer to extend ½ inch on opposite side. Using chef’s knife, slice roll between pieces of twine into 1-inch-thick pinwheels. Season pinwheels lightly with kosher salt and black pepper.

3. Turn all burners to high and heat with lid down until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape grate clean with grill brush. Dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe cooking grate. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).

4. Grill pinwheels directly over hot side of grill until well browned, 3 to 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip pinwheels; grill until second side is well browned, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer pinwheels to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue to cook until center of pinwheels registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 1 to 4 minutes (slightly thinner pinwheels may not need time on cooler side of grill). Transfer pinwheels to large plate, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Remove and discard skewers and twine and serve immediately.

The result: these were so insanely good. Not only did they taste good, they looked beautiful. I'll definitely be making them again. I didn't soak my skewers long enough, so most of them burned on the grill. I bought silicone rubber bands to hold the meat together, instead of twine. They worked really well. I served this with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.