Last weekend was recital weekend for us. This year, with Abigail’s added dance classes, that meant that we were going to be busy all weekend. Between her dancing and Andy’s light-making magic, we were going to be very busy, and food was going to take a back-seat for a few days. The problem with that? Company came calling, and simply running through the drive through six times in three days just wasn’t an option. I had to put my thinking cap on, and try to come up with meal ideas that met three important criteria. One, they needed to be something I could make ahead of time. Two, they needed to be protein and fruit-laden for my dancing daughter who needs the nutrients. And three, they needed to meet our criteria of real food- no preservatives allowed.
Well, the first night that we were gone, I decided to just throw together some Sloppy Joes. Since we were going to be gone all day though, and I didn’t want them to scorch in the crock-pot, I pulled a little trick out of my sleeve to guarantee perfect Sloppies. Mainly, I made them up completely the day ahead of time, and then put the mix in the freezer overnight. The next day, just before it was time to go, I dropped the frozen block of Joe into my crock and set it to low. We were gone for about eight hours, and when we got back the mix was perfect- it wasn’t all disgustingly scorched around the edges, and it was ready and waiting for us. I added a fruit salad and some cut up veggies and dip, and we were set.
Having a sandwich on a bun one night worked well, but the other crock-pot candidates I could think of that would survive us being gone eight hours also involved a bun- things like shredded beef or hot turkey- or even pork carnitas on tortillas. I didn’t want that, and then inspiration came at me in the form of a dinner salad. This worked better than I could have possibly imagined, and I can’t recommend it enough if you need a great make-ahead dinner.
I started with a pair of sirloin steaks that I got from our little grocer with a good meat department. They were simply seasoned with salt and pepper, and Andy threw them on the grill for a few minutes in the morning. When they were done to just past medium, he took them off and we let them cool on the counter. Meanwhile, I threw together a really simple marinade. I used red wine vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, horseradish mustard, extra virgin olive oil, honey, and a pinch of an Italian herb blend. Literally, I dropped all these things in a jar, screwed on the top and shook it up. I tasted, added a little more honey, and then I thought it was good to go. I sliced the steak thinly, and then cut the slices into about 2-inch pieces- enough for a mouthful, but not so much that you’d need to take a knife to it. Then I dropped the steak pieces into a container along with a handful of freshly chopped parsley, about 2 cups of bell pepper strips, and 3 chopped scallions, and then the marinade. I shook it all up really good, popped it in the fridge and then left for the day.
While the steak had been cooling, I also took a head of romaine, washed and chopped it, and then diced up a cucumber and broke up a head of broccoli florets. I already had radishes in the fridge, cleaned and sliced, and the cherry tomatoes on the counter were clean and read to go. Everything went into the fridge to await our arrival back home.
When we got home then, I took the romaine and blended it with a spring mix I also had. This went down on my largest serving platter as a base. On top of this I scattered my cucumbers, radishes, broccoli and cherry tomatoes. Then I went for the steak mixture. I used my tongs to gently lay this all over the top of the salad, and then a final scattering of sunflower seeds finished the plate. The salad was stunning to look at. The best part was that it tasted even better than it looked. It was a huge success at dinner time.
The thing about this salad is that it did start with a recipe. I’d found it in a cookbook, read the ingredients (which included mushrooms and sliced onion), and then discarded the recipe completely and ran with the idea. I certainly could have used a bottled salad dressing instead of making my own marinade for the steak, and I could have adjusted the vegetables to include so much more. Cheese would have been a nice addition as well- maybe a nice mild gorgonzola to compliment the beef. The idea was genius though, and I really think it’s highly adaptable. Cooked chicken breast would easily work here instead of the steak.
This huge platter of steak fed four adults and two children comfortably. Everyone had seconds, and after encouragement, a few thirds even occurred. There was still a little bit leftover then for Andy for lunch the next day. While we ate this as salad, I also thought that this would make an excellent filling for a wrap in some flatbread- and in that case, I would be mighty tempted to add some chickpeas to the party as well. Marinated Steak Salad is a no-recipe recipe. Use what you like- if making the dressing is intimidating to you, buy a bottle of your favorite vinaigrette. Or, check out the post I did several years ago on making your own free-form vinaigrette. Either way, there’s no need to thank me when this salad hits your dinner table and makes everyone happy.