BSI: Almond (Grilled Asian Steak)

Karen over at To be the Whole Package chose almonds for this week's BSI!

I knew immediately I'd use almond butter, since we always have it on hand. Rather than force an idea, I just let one come to me!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day in Chicagoland. We hit our projected high of 80°, and while it was a bit windy the sun was shining bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! Our grass and the trees are finally starting to turn green. Perfect grilling weather!

The grocery store was having a meat sale this week, so I picked up some black angus "Delmonico" steaks. Wikipedia and my Food Lover's Companion tell me that it's another butcher name for NY strip. Looks good to me, and had great marbling! I was sold!

I also picked up some great string beans at the grocery store, so decided to be inspired to make tonight's dinner Asian themed. Out came the hoisin sauce, almond butter, and reduced sodium soy sauce.

I combined about 2 Tbsp of each into a zip bag, closed the top, and mushed it around a bit to mix the ingredients and loosen up the almond butter. Then I put each steak in, taking time to toss them around and make sure both sides were equally covered with the mixture. I squeezed out the air, sealed the bag, and put it in the fridge to marinate for a few hours.

Before I moved in with Johnny, I bought myself this little Hibachi grill (still in the box!) at a yard sale for $2! We do have a big Weber, but I like this little guy for the smaller jobs, and the grates are really easy to bring inside and clean in the kitchen sink.

I took the meat out of the fridge about 30 minutes before I started grilling so it could come up to room temperature. Alton Brown is always emphasizing cold meat + hot cooking surface = bad.

Accompanying the grilled steak this evening was another visit with oven roasted cauliflower, because I've been craving it.

After the cauliflower's first 15 minutes of cooking, I put the steaks on the grill. I let them cook about 6 or 7 minutes per side because this little grill doesn't get too terribly hot, and doesn't have a lid to hold all the heat in. The sugars from the hoisin sauce were smelling so delicious as they crystallized and gave the steak a nice color.

When there was about 4 minutes left of the cauliflower's second 15 minutes of cooking, I pulled the steak from the grill and let them sit and rest while I got to work on the string beans.

Mimicking the marinade for the steak, I put about 1 tsp of soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and almond butter in a skillet with the beans and tossed them over medium heat for about 3 minutes. It kept them bright and crunchy, but the sauces carmalized and really clung to them, adding a great sweetness that tied the side dish to the grilled meat flavors.

This was a very filling dinner! I only ate half of my steak and green beans, saving the rest and more cauliflower for a second helping as leftovers!

Don't forget to enter my give-away before next Thursday!