Letting Him Know He’s Loved

Posted by Sarahbear on November 19, 2010

It’s Chad’s 28th birthday! It’s hard to get him gifts because, like his father, he picks up the things he wants when he wants them. He says he would be content with sex, but I like to do something else for him too. Usually it’s a really involved meal and a red velvet cake. It’s his favorite. Every year I get a little better at cooking, so this year I wanted to do something a little fancier for dessert.

Dinner was the typical male request of a good steak, a baked potato and a side salad. I found an amazing recipe by Rachel Ray for a quick marinade that is delicious. It’s just a few simple ingredients and the flank steaks only need to sit in it for about 15 minutes. They cook up quick too. I really think that most marinades with red wine in them are fabulous on steak. This one just happens to be the best I’ve had so far. The link includes a recipe for an entire meal, so I’ll pull out the marinade ingredients for quicker reference.

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning)

1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ground chipotlechili powder or ground cumin

2 teaspoon hot sauce – eyeball it

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 splashes

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds flank steak

The Marinade

You basically mix everything in a shallow dish except for the olive oil. You whisk that in slowly, like you would if you were making a salad dressing. Lay your steaks in the marinade and make sure they’re covered evenly. If they’re not, you can flip them over a couple of times. After about 15-20 minutes (depending on how long you want them to soak), you just grill them. They have so much flavor. That’s seriously the best recipe I’ve found for a steak marinade. Add your favorite side dishes and you’ve got a really filling meal. We baked some potatoes and tossed a simple salad together.

My version of Chad's dinner. I prefer ginger dressing.

For dessert I made a Red Velvet Trifle. I got the recipe from the new Paula Deen Christmas magazine. It was really, really good. The only problem was that there was so much of it and we eat much smaller portions around here. I served it in glass goblets, but it can be done in a clear cake stand too.

Dessert.

Happy Birthday, Chabo. I love you and I hope you enjoyed yourself.