Peanut butter + jelly. Macaroni + Tillamook cheddar cheese. Summer nights + s’mores. A soft kiss + a tight hug. Combinations. Partnerships. Things that go better together, or things that become better when they’re matched up. You know what I’m talking about...you can probably add a half dozen more combinations without any effort at all. I’m going to suggest a combo that becomes better when put together, one that should definitely go to the top of your list: Steak + salad. Let me tell you how I got there... Recently, I giddily unpacked a delivery of various cuts of prime Clear Creek Natural Beef—tri-tip, rib eye, ground beef, ribs, flat iron. The preparation options seemed endless, and although my mouth was watering with the possibilities, I knew I wanted to create something worthy of the meat and pleasing for my family. First, a little background... I cook for my growing family of four, and they’re definitely the toughest customers I’ve ever found. I care about providing them healthy meals—not just once in a while, but every time they sit down at our dinner table. Where their food comes from, and how it’s prepared, is quite important to me. In a nutshell: I love to grill great quality beef because it allows me to show my family how important each of them is to me. Clear Creek Beef fits this description to a ‘T,’ giving our family a tasty, healthy, enjoyable meal every time out...including leftovers (leftovers are a rarity at our house, however)! So, as I looked over our freezer full of Clear Creek Beef trying to decide my course of action all of these thoughts went through my head: ...with great beef comes great responsibility. ...grill something healthy, that everyone will enjoy. ...remember, time is precious today—you have two lawns, three shrub hedges, and tree trimming to get after today. The freezer chill narrowed my focus. Great beef...healthy meal...limited time. I grabbed a package of beef and closed the freezer; I had my answer—flat iron steak salad! In my opinion, warmer weather doesn’t naturally lend itself to heavy meals, so we like to add cooled or cold veggies to our dinner menu, pairing protein and fresh vegetables with a leaf salad. Combining all of that into an ultimate steak salad is a no-brainer! Perfectly seasoned with ‘The Rocks’ All Red Meat Dry Rub by @whiskeybentbbq, the Clear Creek Beef flat iron was grilled quickly over high heat on my Traeger Grill. Combined with a platter full of three types of lettuce, roasted peppers, sautéed mushrooms, tomatoes, radishes, and a generous helping of blue cheese crumbles, this salad is definitely a marriage of flavors that made the whole experience greater than the sum of its parts. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it created a FLAVOR EXPLOSION (we enjoyed this on Independence Day, after all)! For a family that enjoys dining al fresco (fancy for “out on the patio”) as much as possible when the Oregon weather allows, this was the ideal summer meal. A combo worthy of inclusion in the “great partnerships in history” discussion, for sure. Enjoy! |
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