Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Would you like some Chimichurri?

We've spent all of July in North Carolina at my parents beautiful new house.  We've done lots of hiking swimming and adventuring. 

We've also made some pretty great food.  Friday afternoon Mom and Dad took off to Asheville to pick Marie up from the airport, leaving Ben, his friends Chris and Dana, me and the girls here to hang out and play with the expectation that we would also cook dinner.

We made the best steak dinner I've had in a while.  Fresh green beans, baked potatoes, rolls, NY strip steak, chimichurri and some pretty darn tasty wines.

Addy found eight potatoes, washed them, poked them with a fork and then arranged them in the cold oven.  Think of all the skills she was building; counting, one to one correspondence, fine motor skills, spacial relationships,  verbal skills and a sense of responsibility.


 Yummy ciabatta rolls arranged by Addy to warm in the oven just before serving. 


Uncle Ben mans the grill.  He rubbed these with salt, papper and oil before grilling to medium rare.  We let them rest about 10 minutes before serving.     
And now for the best part of the meal--the chimichurri.  Chimichurri is a green sauce from Argentina.  It can be used as a marinade or dipping sauce.  We used it as a dipping sauce for the meat and bread.

Ben had had this with a friend earilier in the week and came up with this recipe based on that experience and a little googling. 

1 bunch parsley
1 bunch cilantro
1 handful fresh oregano
8 cloves garlic
1 wedge lemon
1/2 onion
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
5/8 tsp

Roughly chop herbs and add to blender or food processor with peeled garlic, chopped onion, salt and pepper.  Squeeze lemon over all and blend while adding oil and vinegar.  Chill for about an hour before serving.  Serves 6-8.


Getting ready for the blender dance.
Helping Uncle Ben put the chimichuri in a bowl for the fridge.
Two words:  Yum! Yum!
Chris and Dana, friends, meal collaborators and photographers, seen here with the wine: A red with Susana in its name and a white by Quattro Mani.  Both very good.