London Broil with Twice Baked Potatoes and Corn

This is a "basics" night. Nothing real fancy, but these are all good foods to know how to make.



Coincidentally, we screwed up the potatoes. They ended up being mashed.

MARINATED LONDON BROIL

Original recipe courtesy of Cooks.com

One of the confusing things about buying meat is that some retailers label certain cuts with names that really identify a method of cooking, rather than the part of the animal from which the cut has come.

A good example is London broil. Traditionally, London broil has been prepared with flank steak. Yet the cut of the beef labeled "London broil" in a supermarket meat case is usually not flank steak but top round, cut from the most tender part of the round next to the sirloin.

From very high quality beef, this can be broiled or barbecued as is. However, you can produce a delicious London broil using a more modest cut of top round if you marinate it first to tenderize and flavor it. Broil it just to the rare stage, then cut the meat in thin slices diagonally across the grain. 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 1/4 tsp. each sugar, crumbled rosemary Seasoned pepper 1/4 c. salad oil and dry red wine 1 tsp. Dijon-style mustard 1/2 tsp. salt 1 bay leaf Chopped parsley, for garnish

Place meat in a shallow dish. In a covered jar or blender container, shake together oil, wine, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, salt, sugar and rosemary until well combined. Pour over meat, turning to coat well. Place bay leaf in marinade. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, at least 8-10 hours.

Remove meat from marinade, reserving marinade. Place on a rack in a broiling pan. Sprinkle with pepper. Broil, about 6 inches from heat, until well browned on each side (allow about 10 minutes per side for rare), brushing occasionally with marinade.

Place on a wooden board and carve in thin diagonal slices. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Makes 6-8 servings.


TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Original recipe courtesy of Cooks.com

1 small yellow onion diced
olive oil
5 baking potatoes
3/4c milk
2tbsp. butter
1 tsp pepper
4oz(1/2 bag) kraft shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 place baking potatoes directly on oven rack and bake for 1hour 20minutes.

Meanwhile, cover the bottom of a skillet or frying pan with olive oil add onions to oil and sautee until tender (About 5 minutes) Remove onions from heat; drain excess oil. Add onions to medium mixing bowl.

When potatoes are done, take out of the oven and cut the top 1/4 off of each potato (the long way) Scoop potato out of the shell and into mixing bowl with the onions. Add milk, butter, and pepper to mixture. With mixer, combine ingredients until well blended. Add cheese and mix with spoon.

Place potato mixture into a medium sized plastic bag. Twist bag (bag should appear as a pastry bag) with scissors, clip the corner off the end of the bag. Squeeze the potato into each shell. place on cookie sheet and bake another 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and light brown crust forms on top of potatoes.



Artichokes
Original recipe courtesy of California Artichoke Advisory Board


Wash artichokes under cold running water. Cut off stems at base and remove small bottom leaves. Stand artichokes upright in deep saucepan large enough to hold snugly. Add 1 teaspoon salt and two to three inches boiling water. (Lemon juice, herbs, garlic powder or onion powder may be added, if desired.) Cover and boil gently 35 to 45 minutes or until base can be pierced easily with fork. (Add a little more boiling water, if needed.) Turn artichokes upside down to drain. Cool completely; cover and refrigerate to chill. Makes 4 artichokes.