The Weekend Chef: Grilled London Broil With Soy-Mustard Sauce

A couple of weekends ago we had a Sunday where we weren't crazy busy with a gazillion things to do.  I thought it would be nice if my husband, The Weekend Chef, grilled a steak.  This was probably one of our last meals on the Weber Grill before it gets put away until next spring.  I had a london broil in the freezer, not a flank steak, but followed the original recipe otherwise, minus the cilantro, which we didn't have in the house (and I wasn't going to make a trip to the store, just for that!).  Normally, when we make london broil, we marinate it first.  I don't think we had ever prepared it this way before where we pre-season the meat a little bit and then have a sauce to dip it in after it's cooked.  Well, the kids LOVED the sauce!  My daughter loves steak and was really enjoying this.  Even my son, who normally finds steak to chewy and doesn't eat it, was eating this, making sure each nibble of steak we cut for him was drenched in sauce! The broccoli we served with this went in the sauce as well.  The sauce was easy and quick to make, which I made while my husband was grilling the meat.  I would definitely make this again, especially since the kids enjoyed it so much.

Pan Grilled Flank Steak with Soy-Mustard Sauce
recipe slightly adapted from For The Love of Cooking

Ingredients:
1 lb flank steak
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
1 tsp canola oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1-2 tbsp water
3/4 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp 2% milk

Directions:
Season both sides of the london broil with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, and garlic powder, to taste. Heat grill.  Once the grill is hot, place the london broil on grill and cook for 4-5 minutes on the first side, flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let the meat rest for 5-7 minutes before slicing across the grain.

While the steak is cooking prepare the sauce. Add the oil to a small pan over medium heat; add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 45 seconds. Add the soy sauce, Dijon mustard, water, and sugar to the pan. Cook for 1 minute or until bubbly. Remove from the heat and stir in the milk. Taste the sauce and add more water if it's too salty.

Serve the london broil with the sauce.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Marinated London Broil

After my husband and I decided on making chicken, I realized that I also had a twin pack of london broil in the freezer.  We figured we'd marinate those up and grill them and our mains were taken care of.  Normally I do an asian-inspired marinade with hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and garlic.  I wanted to do something different and my cookbook was open to one of my dessert recipes (see Friday's post this week!) and this recipe was on the opposite page!  How convenient!  I put the marinade together the night before and my husband grilled this up the next day.  It was flavorful and tasty and the meat was cooked perfectly medium!  It was a nice change from our usual marinade and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Marinated London Broil
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, May 2008

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (2-pound) boneless top round steak, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Pierce steak with a fork. Add steak to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes.

2. Heat grill.

3. Remove steak from bag; discard marinade. Scrape shallots and garlic from steak; discard shallots and garlic. Place steak on heated grill . Sprinkle steak evenly with salt and pepper. Grill approximately 5 minutes on each side, to desired doneness. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing against the grain.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Steak and Cheese Sandwiches with Mushrooms

Prior to make this, I cannot remember the last I had a steak sandwich.  It's never something I think to order when eating out and I just don't think of making it at home.  I was cleaning out my recipe folder though and saw this recipe.  I figured I'd give it a try.  Steak sounded really good at the time and I love mushrooms and onions.  While the recipe calls for presliced onion and mushrooms, mine weren't so that added to my cooking time.  This is a super quick and easy recipe.  I thought it tasted really good with everything. The picture below was taken before I got to add the cheese, since it wasn't really warm anymore at that point and wouldn't get all melty anyway (this is what happens when I get the kids ready to eat and get their dinner plated....I usually get a not-hot-enough to my liking meal!). Let's see, my son ate just the bread and cheese and my daughter ate just the steak and bread on hers.  We had some filling left over. I had to go to the doctor for my yearly physical this past weekend.  Because I had to do a fasting blood test I warned my husband that I would be starving when I got home and I'd need my coffee.  Well, he ended up making me an egg sandwich using one of the leftover rolls and the steak filling.  Can I say, yum?!!  And very filling!  It was nice walking in the door to that breakfast!

Steak and Cheese Sandwiches with Mushrooms
Cooking Light, March 2008

Yield:  4 sandwiches

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups presliced onion
2 cups green bell pepper strips
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 cup presliced mushrooms
3/4 pound top round steak, trimmed and cut into thin strips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 (0.6-ounce) slices reduced-fat provolone cheese, cut in half
4 (2 1/2-ounce) hoagie rolls with sesame seeds

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Sprinkle beef with salt and black pepper. Add beef to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in Worcestershire sauce; cook 1 minute.

2. Place 1 cheese slice half on bottom half of each roll, and top each serving with one-fourth of beef mixture. Top with remaining cheese slice halves and tops of rolls.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.