Spicy Flank Steak With Shrimp

This is one of mine, and it's pretty simple. Once again we are using beef, which is not something I eat all that often, but it's a good recipe, and it's summertime, and we are doing it.

The recipe has plenty of room for improvisation, though I can tell you that as written, it produces one hell of a good meal.

I am not a large portion eater, so my recipes on this blog are pretty reasonable. Further, I write this for solo eaters. But, if you feel this meal needs something else, a piece of nice bread with butter or spreadable cheese, or a simple salad with a creamy dressing, will do nicely.

YOU WILL NEED:

- 1 Flank Steak (choose your size, although no matter what you'll have some leftover, unless you are REALLY F-ING hungry). Let steak warm to room temp (or close to it) before cooking.
- Baroody Turkish Red Pepper Hot Sauce*
- 1/4 lbs. fresh shrimp, regular size (not jumbo, unless again, you are REALLY F-ING hungry).
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced.
- 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- Several dashes crushed red pepper
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
- 1 large bottle red wine.

Pour yourself a glass of wine. Put some music on. Repeat as necessary while cooking.

* you can find this at world food markets, and surely at some whole foods stores and supermarkets with kick-ass world cuisine sections. You can also use Spicy Black Bean sauce, or other similar things, but this recipe REALLY works well with Baroody.

1. Mince garlic. Place flank steak in large pan to marinade, then spoon 3-4 moderate spoonfuls of Baroody onto it. Use your hands (yes, your hands -- good cooking involves getting messy sometimes) to massage the sauce into steak on all sides.
2. Sprinkle 3/4 of the minced garlic on the top of the steak, lightly rubbing it in. Sprinkle 2-3 dashes of crushed red pepper onto the top of the steak, as well as a few dashes of sea salt an black pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 20-25 minutes.
3. Prepare shrimp, peeling and de-veining if necessary. Set in fridge to keep cool for now.
4. Pour ketchup into small bowl or ramekin, adding lemon juice and horsey. Stir until mixed well, and place in fridge to keep cool.
5. Put oven (or convection oven or broiler) on broil to heat, placing rack near top heating element. Place a pan to catch drippings on lower rack.
6. In a skillet or wok, pour in olive oil and remaining minced garlic. Heat to medium heat, and get the shrimp out of the fridge.
7. Place steak in oven, directly on rack. Check for doneness every 5 minutes. Depending on your taste, it will be done sooner or later. I like it medium-rare, and that usually takes broiling for 12-15 minutes in my small convection oven. After around 7 minutes, I take it out and make a small cut in the middle to see how done it is .... gauge from there how done you want it. For medium-rare, 7-8 more minutes should do it ....

... don't be lame here ... a well-done steak often becomes a wasted steak ... pinkness means tenderness ... I am just saying ...

8. As your spicy flank steak cooks, place shrimp in skillet and saute in heated olive oil and garlic until done.
9. Take steak out of oven, let sit for five minutes on cutting board.
10. Turn off the burner for the shrimp when done, which should be about now.

Slice flank steak with a sharp, worthy knife into 1/8-1/4 inch slices ... place on heated plate with shrimp, and get your cocktail sauce out of the fridge, setting it on the plate. Pour another glass of wine, and enjoy the steak. If you made it right, meaning HOT, the shrimp and cocktail sauce will temper the heat of the steak ....

... finish off with a few pieces of chocolate after digesting your dinner for 30 minutes or so ...

Tech Tip: if you live alone, turning up the stereo is not a problem. And, if you have a spouse or roomie that likes it, it is all good. However, if you have one or more roomates who are sensitive, this could be complicated. Further, when you cook, do you share it? or not? Well, you can solve the music problem with your iPod (or some such) ... put on the earbuds, crank it up, then drink and cook .... yet another practical use for those things. As for the sharing, well, not everyone likes spicy food ...