Holiday Cooking : Flanking the Holidays

One of my favorite meals during this season is made up of beef and good red wine. For most of the year I don’t really crave either, but Christmas is the time to indulge oneself, and nothing leaves me as well satisfied as a simple piece of broiled beef and a California red.

Among the choices for broiling, I prefer flank steak to the classic T-bone or sirloin. It’s easy to cook, doesn’t have a lot of fat to trim or wasted bone, and takes the flavor of a marinade very well.

In the following recipe, flank steak is marinated in a mixture of garlic, soy sauce, honey and red wine that brings out the meat’s sweet-smoky taste. If the flank steak is broiled and served plain, it’s a fine entree. But to enhance the dish, I like to add a pungent oil and vinegar-based herb sauce. The contrast of the meat with its honey accent and the sauce spiked with horseradish is marvelous.

I like to duplicate the colors of the month--red and green--in a delicious salad of radicchio, Bibb lettuce and watercress. The bite of the radicchio is especially pleasant after the meat’s richness.

WALNUT, RADICCHIO AND WATERCRESS SALAD

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 small head Bibb lettuce leaves

1 small head radicchio

1/2 cup watercress leaves

Dressing

Place nuts on baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees until nuts are lightly browned and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet and set aside to cool.

Wash and dry lettuce, radicchio and watercress. Discard any browned leaves. Tear all leaves into bite-size pieces and place in salad bowl. Add walnuts.

Prepare Dressing. Spoon over salad and toss gently but well. Serve immediately. Makes 2 generous servings.

Note : If you prefer not to use radicchio, substitute 1 heaping cup chopped red cabbage.

*

Dressing

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt

Freshly ground white pepper

Combine olive and sesame oils, vinegar, mustard and salt and white pepper to taste in cup and mix until thoroughly combined. Makes about 1/4 cup.

Note : Do not use toasted sesame oil. Instead, use clear oil for salad dressings and cooking. If desired, use red wine vinegar and dash sugar instead of balsamic vinegar.

FLANK STEAK WITH HERB SAUCE

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 (3/4 pound) flank steak

Herb Sauce

Combine honey, soy sauce, wine and garlic in deep plate and stir well.

Trim off all fat from flank steak. With sharp knife score steak in shallow diamond pattern on both sides. Place steak in marinade. Set aside at room temperature 30 minutes or in refrigerator up to 4 hours, turning steak over once.

Remove steak from marinade and pat dry. Place steak on grill pan and broil 6 to 7 inches from heat, allowing 6 to 8 minutes per side (for medium). Set aside to cool to room temperature while making Herb Sauce.

Slice beef across grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices and arrange on platter. Top with strip of Herb Sauce or serve sauce separately on side. Makes 2 servings.

*

Herb Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Salt, pepper

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon drained white horseradish

1 shallot, chopped

1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley

1/4 cup coarsely chopped dill

Combine oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, mustard, horseradish, shallot, parsley and dill in blender container and process until well pureed. Makes about 1/2 cup.