Hash Leftovers A Go Go

Prepping the cabbage

We may have exhausted our corned beef quota for the season, but there is only one way (in my opinion) to use up the leftovers - Corned Beef Hash. I had a sneaking suspicion this would be a hit because my kids have never met a salted, cured meat they didn't like.

There are a zillion ways to make this dish, but I simply sauteed a small chopped onion and one diced red bell pepper in about two tablespoon of canola oil till soft. Then I added two cups of chopped corned beef, two cups chopped roasted cabbage and two cups diced cooked potatoes and let it warm through, browning and crisping the potatoes along the way. The adults fried an egg and plopped it on top of their bowls, but the kids inhaled theirs with a side of When Will You Be Making This Again?

About that Flank Steak...

As I mentioned in my latest menu, we don't eat much red meat. I have nothing against it, I love a good burger and I drool over the menu weeks ahead of our once-a-year trip to the House of Prime Rib. I appreciate red meat for all its iron and goodness, but buy it at my local *Safeway? No way.

This past weekend was unusually warm and I had steak on the brain. It's a practically fool proof cut of meat and my mom's marinade recipe is always a sure fire winner. We were in Bernal Heights and I stopped by Avedano's and was disappointed not to see any flank steaks. But this is where an awesome local independent butcher can shine like nobody else can. This place beyond accommodating - if you don't see what you want in the case, they happily go and get it out of the meat locker for you. If you wonder aloud how much steak will feed two adults and two children, they talk with you about it. If you excitedly describe your mom's amazing flank steak marinade, they readily agree with you that yes, she should bottle and sell it.

Avedano's reminds me of Meats of the World, the fictional butcher shop from the 'So I Married an Axe Murderer' movie, which was filmed in San Francisco: Friendly, courteous, with a slight tinge of hipster (they have curing and butchering classes for crying out loud!).

Best movie ever filmed in San Francisco.

Also, I felt like I could take my grandmother's advice for once - talk to the butcher and see what they recommend. When she and I would grocery shop together, she would ask the grocery store butcher what he recommended and then she'd look at the price per pound and decide what to make from there. However, I think she would have keeled over upon seeing at the prices at Avedano's. She appreciated freshness, but she also pinched pennies like nobody else - so paying top dollar for a steak would probably break her heart.

Yes, Avedano's is expensive, but at least they give me the peace of mind that what they weren't selling was some funky piece beef just off the freighter, this was the good stuff.  We got six meals out of that two pound steak (four dinners and two lunches) which came to roughly $4.60 per meal. That is far, far less than dinner out for a family of four and still less than a sandwich, chips and a soda for lunch.

Mom's Flank Steak Marinade
Enough for 2 pound steak
This marinade does well with time, I usually let it marinate the meat for at least three hours

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbls. EVOO
1 Tbls. grainy mustard or dijon
1 Tbls. worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbls. soy sauce
1 Tbls. chopped garlic
1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix all the ingredients and pour over your steak, marinate for at least three hours.

*Mini rant: I really can't stand the way my neighborhood Safeway has a completely pathetic selection  of organic poultry. They usually only have three very sad looking packages of organic chicken, all tenders for some inexplicable reason. Surely I am not the only person looking for organic meat in my section of the city.