Beef . . . it's what (was) for dinner

Last Friday, in addition to the twice-baked potatoes for my steakhouse-style meal, I also made this grilled balsamic and garlic flank steak.  I had made this recipe once before and the first time I followed the directions to a T . . . I didn't this time.  Let me tell you why, this "marinade" doesn't really penetrate the steak very well.  If you buy a flank steak like the one I had, one end is substantially thicker than the other and it's really hard to get even flavor throughout.

That, kids, is a large piece of flank steak which has been marinating for TWO HOURS.  Not five minutes, like the recipe says.  TWO HOURS.  The smells that come off of this large hunk of meet when you grill it are divine.  The whole apartment smelled like Italian meaty goodness.

After it's time on the grill, and it's time resting while I coordinated side dishes, I was ready to slice this bad boy up.

And yes, I do realize that the amount of juice on my cutting board indicates that I didn't let the steak rest for long enough (but I HATE WAITING FOR FOOD); and yes, I do realize that the picture on the Food and Wine magazine website is much prettier and the steak is much more rare.  I have only recently become a regular eater of cows, and am not yet adept at their preparation.  All in due time, I suppose.

The marinade went really well with the potatoes I made, so I was pleased with myself from a menu-planning perspective.  And I consider a meal a success when I am pleased with myself afterward.

As it is Columbus Day, I bring you these Sam Edelman Zoe boots:

Image via Solestruck

I don't know what they have to do with Columbus Day, but I love them.