While I was at the grocery store a few days ago, this gorgeous hunk of meat caught my eye from across the aisle.  It was big, beautiful, gleaming, and fresh.  It taunted me with its possibilities.  And, all things considered, it was a fairly cheap date.  It called itself “London Broil” and virtually begged me to take it home with me and have my way with it.  How could I resist?

I had to combine two of my favorite flavors in the world – coffee and chipotle – and do right by it.

Try this on the grill, or if it’s raining, under the broiler.  It’s so simple, don’t tell anyone how you did it – it’ll make you a grilling rock star!

Coffee & Chipotle Crusted London Broil

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. ground coffee (not instant!)
2 tsp. ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp. kosher salt

1 London Broil, 2-3 pounds and at least 1-1/2 – 2 inches thick

A little olive oil

Method:

Combine the coffee, ground chipotle pepper, and salt in a small dish and set aside.

Rinse the London Broil, pat dry with a paper towel, and rub or brush a bit of the olive oil onto the surface of the meat.

Sprinkle the seasoning onto the meat, pressing it into the surface with your hands.  Coat the entire steak well, including the sides.  Let sit for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to an hour.

Grill or broil to your preferred doneness (about 10 minutes per side for medium), at least six inches from the heat source, whether flame or broiler element.

Allow to rest about 5 – 10 minutes before slicing across the grain to serve.

Notes:

This is going to generate some smoke, so again, make sure to keep it a good six inches from the flame or broiler element, and if you’re doing this indoors, turn on your kitchen ventilation fan!

London Broil is not generally the most tender cut of beef, hence the lower price.  The keys to keeping it from turning into shoe-leather, are to allow it to rest well, once cooked, and slicing it thinly across the grain.

Do Ahead:

Want to have this during the week, but don’t have time to grill on your average weeknight?  Go ahead and grill this up when you’re grilling other things on the weekend and cut the cooking time by 2 minutes per side.  Remove from the heat, allow to cool, and wrap in foil and refrigerate whole.  Slice thinly while cold and lay the slices out on a baking pan.  Brush the exposed surfaces with a little cold coffee and cover with another sheet of foil.  Heat in a 350º F oven for about 15 minutes, or heated through.

Serve with your favorite sides or even a simple baked potato and pickles or tossed salad.

*We take a moment today to remember the sacrifices of our Service men and women, past and present.  To all members of the Armed Forces: Thank You For Your Service!

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Happy November, all! And welcome to the mad-dash before Christmas! Because we all know that, as far as the stores are concerned, Thanksgiving is but a speed-bump along the way, right? From here on out it’s going to get a little tougher to squeeze in a meal that doesn’t come from a food court or a take-out bag.

Which is not to say that, with a little planning, you can’t produce something fairly quick, easy, and healthy from your own kitchen – in between batches of cookies – right?

There are two tricks to cooking with tofu: First, getting rid of the liquid it comes packed in, to allow other flavors to soak in; and Second, marinating it for at least a short period of time, to allow it to pick up those other flavors.

Keeping in mind, once again, that I am not a food stylist, and this really looks a lot more appetizing in real life, I bring you:

Tofu Steak with Edamame Mash

1 14 oz. pkg. extra-firm tofu

For the marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbs sesame oil

2 Tbs rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. onion powder

optional: 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper

Drain the tofu and slice into 4 equal portions. Take a couple of paper towels, one on top of the other, and lay two slices of tofu on them side-by-side. Fold the paper towels over them and lay the other two slices on top. Cover with two more paper towels and lay the whole package on your dish drainer, or some other surface where the liquid can drain off. Now place a heavy object or two on top of the package to press it down. A couple of cans of tomatoes or something like that, work well. Allow the tofu to drain for at least an hour.

Put the marinade ingredients in a gallon-sized zip-top bag, and shake it up to combine. When the tofu has been drained, put the slices in the bag with the marinade, seal it up, and allow them to marinate for at least 1/2 hour, preferably longer. You can do these steps the night or morning before cooking, but if you do, put the bag in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, remove the tofu slices from the marinade (do not discard the marinade!) and blot them with paper towel just to dry them off a bit. Heat a large pan to medium-high with 2 Tbs. peanut oil and 1 tsp. of sesame oil. Fry the tofu slices till brown on both sides, approximately 10 minutes per side.

For the Edamame Mash:

1 pkg. frozen edamame (out of their pods)

1 cup vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the frozen edamame according to package directions, drain, return to the pot, add the vegetable stock and seasonings, and mash over very low heat with a potato masher or stick blender, if you have one, until smooth.

For the Vegetables:

1 16 oz. bag of your favorite frozen vegetables (I like my store brand Asian or Japanese style)

The reserved marinade.

Because we used this marinade for tofu and not meat, we can reuse it with no health concerns.* Dump your frozen vegetables into the hot pan you used to cook the tofu, and add the reserved marinade. Stir-fry over medium to medium-high heat until they’re just cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.

Spoon some of the mashed edamame on a plate, place a slice of tofu over it, and top with the veg.

Enjoy!

*Note: Do not reuse marinade that has had meat in it. That would be a very bad thing and can make you sick. They tell me.