Steak Tacos al Carbon

This recipe goes way back to our first year of marriage, when Bobby tore his ACL in a pick-up game of basketball and had to have surgery. That night after his surgery, I made this for dinner for the first time and we LOVED it. I remember Bobby all sprawled on our full-sized double mattress borrowed from the guest room and carefully sandwiched between our living room furniture. And we slept downstairs for a while since Bobby couldn't make it up the stairs the first week or two. I remember grilling this steak on our George Foreman and I remember Bobby with his swollen knee and enormous leg brace, all drowsy from the painkillers and telling me how much he loved his dinner.

Then for some reason, this recipe was forgotten about until now. Boy am I glad for this reunion. This meat is tasty! BTW, I am feeling better. I found the secret to avoiding nausea is eating. Eating a lot. So I may gain a lot of pregnancy weight (what else is new), but at least I won't feel so nauseous anymore. Now if I could only figure out how to fix the constant headaches and fatigue. And yes, I am being dramatic.

So back to the delicious recipes! I served these on corn tortillas that I briefly toasted over a very hot skillet. I also served them with a delicious tomatillo-avocado salsa that goes with a Martha Stewart recipe I have. Sorry the pictures aren't great. I didn't bother to take them until after we ate. But it was dee-lish!

Marinated Flank Steak

1 1/2- 2 lbs. flank steak
1/2 cup lime juice
4 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a shallow dish, stir together lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the flank steak and marinate in refrigerator 2-4 hours. (I marinated it overnight.)

Remove steak from marinade. Discard marinade.

Grill steak over medium heat to desired doneness. (It will be perfectly tender at medium rare. Well done will mean rather chewy steak.) It took mine about twenty minutes to grill, ten on each side. Transfer to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes before carnving. Carve steak across the grain into thin slices.


Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa

3 tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
1/2 yellow onion, halved
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed and halved
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut into small cubes

1. Grill tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeno, turning occasionally, until lightly charred, about 10 minutes.
2. Place grilled vegetables in the bowl of a food processor, and add cilantro, juice, salt, and peppe; pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl, and fold in avocado.