Delinquency

It has been a full month since I've posted. That is very bad of me. I don't know what my deal is -- it's not like I haven't been cooking, I've just been too lazy to blog about it. Like, two nights ago I made the Orzo Risotto with Sausage and Artichokes from this month's Food & Wine, and I was so hungry I couldn't even wait to take a picture of the food before I started devouring it. And I hate blogging without photos, so...

Okay, here's one meal that I successfully photographed. Actually, that's a lie. I made this meal, but the only reason it got photographed was because I was in Philly with Joe and he took a picture of it before we ate. It's a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food mag, and I was going to link to the recipe on the magazine's website, but it's not on there (weird). So I'll try to reconstruct it from my memory.


Balsamic Skirt Steak with Polenta and Roasted Tomatoes
serves 4

• 1-1/2 lb skirt steak
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 6 scallions, sliced into 1-inch pieces, white and green parts separated
  
• extra virgin olive oil
• coarse salt, black pepper
• 1 c. yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. balsamic vinegar
  

Preheat oven to 400 F. Toss the tomatoes and white parts of the scallions with about a tablespoon of olive oil, spread on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with coarse salt and black pepper. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the skins of the tomatoes start to pop open. When they are done, toss them with the scallion greens. While tomatoes are cooking, season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper and pan-sear over medium-high heat with a little olive oil for about 4-5 minutes on each side (for medium rare). Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan, then gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Continue whisking every couple of minutes until the polenta is thickened, about 10-12 minutes. When it's done, whisk in butter and parmesan and keep warm over very low heat (whisking in more water if it starts to get too thick). When the steak is done cooking, remove it from the pan to rest on a plate. In the pan the steak was in, add the balsamic vinegar and boil until reduced by half. Add any juices that accumulated from the resting steak. Slice the steak and, on the plate, drizzle with the balsamic sauce. Serve with polenta and tomatoes.