Grilled Steak/Veggie Stir Fry and Lemon-Wine Scallops

As much as we all love barbecued food, grilling can become a bit boring towards summer's end. I've grilled just about everything this season from fruit to nuts, and I'm starting to feel like I'm in a grilling rut. This week, in Upstate New York, the humidity has been in the high range, along with annoying, sporadic thunderstorms. There haven't been many comfortable days to cook outside over a hot grill, which is the perfect motivation for me to become reacquainted with my indoor stove.

I love food shopping on sultry days, and this past week, I was lucky to find fresh, giant scallops by the pound. Thinking of an inexpensive "surf and turf" type dinner theme, I also bought a lean, thick cut of flank steak. At our house, some people like seafood, others do not. So serving the scallops on the side works best for me. You don't even have to serve these two recipes together, it's really up to you, and what everyone likes.

If you want to make the stir fry, first assemble all your ingredients, and prepare the meat. (I really can't stay away from the grill completely, so I did venture out in the rain to grill up this steak.)

The recipe: (print)

You'll need about a one and one-half pound flank steak-

Dry Rub:
1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons good quality paprika

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

fresh cracked pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

Wash steak, pat dry with paper towels, then rub thoroughly with olive oil. Combine dry rub ingredients, pressing/rubbing it into the meat with your hands. Coat completely, then place in a ziploc bag. Letting it marinate will really tenderize this particular cut of beef. Chill for 3-4 hours or until ready to grill.

Grilling Flank Steak

After the steak has marinated, preheat your outdoor grill to 400 degrees, and lightly grease the grill grates. Sear steak on high heat about 5 to 7 minutes on each side, then lower heat to medium, and continue grilling until steak registers medium rare with a meat thermometer. If you're using the steak for the stir fry, take it off the grill when "rare", cover with foil, and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Slice it into thin strips against the grain, cover again, and set aside. (At this point, you can even serve with a baked potato and a crisp, green salad.)

You can use any combination of vegetables for the stir fry. I usually browse the produce department and the local farmer's market to see what's fresh or on sale, and select my recipe ingredients randomly. I was able to find baby zucchini, which are perfect for this dish, as well as assorted peppers, onions, green beans, celery and broccoli. I also prefer using low-sodium versions of seasonings and broths.

Steak-Veggie Stir Fry

1 grilled flank steak (about 1 and 1/2 pounds); cooked rare and cut into thin strips

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

thin sliced vegetables of your choice (about 6 cups)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 heaping teaspoons Wondra (or instant flour)
1 and 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

3 teaspoons rice vinegar

3 cups cooked fettuccine noodles, drained/rinsed with cold water

In a small saucepan, combine the beef broth and flour, whisk until smooth. Add minced garlic, soy sauce and rice vinegar, and heat over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. When mixture has thickened, remove from heat and set aside.
Pour olive oil into the bottom of a large, deep nonstick pan. When hot, add sliced veggies. Cook until "crisp" tender (about 5-8 minutes), then add steak. Mix together, then add noodles. Pour pan of broth mixture over the top. Toss all together; simmer on low heat until hot.

*While you're heating up the steak stir fry, you can whip up the scallops.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Lemon-Wine Sauce

(print)

1 and 1/2 pounds of fresh, large scallops

1/2 cup Wondra (or cake flour)

sea salt/cracked pepper

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon, halved

1/4 cup dry white wine

fresh snipped parsley

Wash the scallops with cold water; pat dry with paper towels. In a gallon sized ziploc bag, add the Wondra, and season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Add scallops to the bag, then shake to coat. In a deep frying pan, add the olive oil and butter, heat gently and swirl to evenly coat the pan. When hot, add the scallops one at a time, flat side down. Allow to sear and brown, then turn. Add juice of 1/2 lemon, and slowly pour in the white wine. Sprinkle with a pinch of parsley.

Loosely cover and allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes. Uncover and press the top of each scallop with your finger, testing for firmness. Remove from pan, arrange on a plate, and pour the lemon-wine pan sauce over the top. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with additional lemon wedges.

Now pour the stir fry into a large serving dish, and enjoy steaming hot with sweet scallops as a side.