Auld Lang...Salad?

It's a tradition for my household to host a family get-together for New Year's Eve. This year, in my quest to become a planner of actual events, I decided to take the reigns. The results? Success! The menu?

Tri Tip Salad
(modeled after Pluto's, a very excellent salad restaurant in Santana Row)

(see recipe below)

Sushi

(homemade with eel, cucumber, masago, and seaweed salad)

Liege Waffles

(the kind they make at Northstar Ski Resort)

Forgot to take a picture, so here's a link:

http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2009/04/brussels-and-liege-waffles.html

(see recipe in next posting)

There were several things I've learned from this experience: don't think you can clean AND cook on the same day in preparation for a party, RELAX, and don't rely solely on texts as invitations. I found out the day of the event that only two people out of ten received the invite. Shame on my cell phone company for not letting me know something went horribly wrong!

Tri-Tip Salad Recipe-Serves 5

1 tri-tip cut piece of beef approx. 2 lbs.

your favorite cajun seasoning (make sure salt is already included)

1 box of spring mix lettuce

balsamic vinagrette dressing of your choice

(You can add any toppings you like, but I've listed what I used. My advice is make your salad loaded)

1 box grape tomatoes, whole

1/2 medium sized red onion, thinly sliced

2 boxes of sliced button mushrooms

1 small bag of stringless sugar snap peas

1 large red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 small bag of shredded carrots

1 box of croutons

1. Light your gas grill and set the temperature to medium

2. Rinse the beef in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

3. Sprinkle your favorite cajun seasoning liberally on one side of the beef and rub it in. There should be an even, thin, coat. If you can't see the beef through the seasoning, you've gone too far, my friend.

4. Flip the beef over and repeat step 3.

5. Place the beef fat side up in the middle of the grill, if possible not directly over the burners. Starting with the fat side up allows the fat to melt into the meat, making it more tender, juicy, and tastier...a fact I give credit to America's Test Kitchen. I happened to see their recipe on BBQ chicken and wondered if it would work for beef, too. It did!

6. Leave the beef on the grill at medium heat for 30 minutes. You can peek to see how the beef is doing, but do not flip it!

7. After 30 minutes, flip the beef over and continue grilling for another 20-30 minutes depending on how you like your tri-tip cooked.

8. If you would like a crispier crust to the meat, you can turn up the heat to high and place the meat directly over the heat source for a few minutes on each side.

9. Remove the beef from the grill and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

10. Cut the meat into thin slices going against the grain using a serrated knife. Serrated knives are better for cutting cooked meat. So how do you know if you're doing it wrong? There's long lines going across the pieces of meat. It's not too important to cut against the grain, but it does help make the meat more tender.

11. Plate the salad and place the slices of meat on top. Enjoy!

Notes

-I prepared the salad while the meat was on the grill.

-I roasted the red bell pepper on medium high in extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pushing them around the pan occasionally until they were limp.

-I also cooked the mushrooms in a pan with extra virgin olive oil on medium high.

-In a large container with a lid, I added the spring mix lettuce and all the toppings minus the salad dressing and croutons. Be sure there's still some space after placing the lid on for tossing. I waited until the guests started arriving before I added the balsamic vinagrette dressing, because the less time the salad is mixed with the dressing the better (no sogginess).

-The croutons were excluded until right before eating because they would get soggy.

-I also served extra lettuce, toppings, and dressing, in case my guests didn't like all the ingredients in the salad, so they have the choice to build their own.

-I'll hit you guys back with the story of the liege waffles soon! Promise!

Seeds for the Feed

So here's the deal: I'm an inveterate planner. I plan things. All the time. For example, I've already planned my wedding. Haven't gotten a proposal yet, don't know when or where it will be, but almost every detail has been worked out, down to the songs I'm gonna request the dj to play...and in what order. I've planned parties, ski trips, honeymoons, vacations, dinner table settings...most of which I haven't executed, but that's the thing: I don't even have to execute it. I just love the planning process. What I need is an actual wedding, an actual party, an actual something for me to plan for. And then I need to make money off of it. But that's for later. Possibly much later.

So why blog about it? I had a misconception about blogging being an extra vehicle for self absorbed people to moan about people they hate. But then after reading my friends' blogs and watching Julie & Julia, I realized that blogging is not just a public journal, it's also a rich resource borne of normal people going about their lives. Genius! Not to mention, it's useful information wrapped up in an entertaining package. I'm not saying that I have a lot of useful information to share, it's just who knows? What if one of my 0 followers actually get something out of one of my postings? Nevertheless, with this blog I can pretend that I'm planning these events for whoever might "actually" go through with one of my plans.

Here's what's in store for you, dear reader(s):
I will post my endeavors to plan. Whether it be a never-to-be-vacated-by-me vacation, an actual party for my friends or family, or the planning of my career in planning, it will be posted. At least weekly. Cross my heart.