I love to cook and I love to take pictures. So, after countless moments spent meandering through
The Pioneer Woman's website and paging through her
cookbook, I became inspired...and I promise you that after a few minutes on her site and in her cookbook, you'll be hooked too. What's not to love? Her photos are gorgeous, her voice is honest and funny, and her recipes are delicious. So, after reading up on aperture and her ten tips for food photography, I decided to make fajitas and take a few pictures along the way.
This recipe is something I adapted from the Food Network...shocking, I know. The recipe was for a grilled flank steak, and I amped it up a bit to make my fajitas, a dish which my friend Jen has just dubbed my signature summer dish. Thanks, Jen...so glad to
finally have a signature dish.
So, here we go.
The Cast of Characters
The Peppers: green, red, jalapeño, serrano
Garlic
The Citrus: oranges, limes
Vidalia onions
Balsamic vinegar
S & P
Chicken Breast & Skirt Steak
(not pictured, because no one really wants to look at a pile of raw meat next to those beautiful veggies)
The key to this recipe is citrus...lots and lots of citrus. Zest two limes and one orange before you juice them.
Now the marinade...The acid from the limes (and a bit more from the balsamic) is essential to breaking down the tough skirt steak. The oranges add a wonderful sweetness to the marinade.
Pour the sweet and tangy juice mixture in with the zest.
Oooh, look, an action shot. Here, I am using cheap balsamic vinegar. Since the marinade will just be discarded there’s no need to break out the “good stuff.” Again, the vinegar will help to break down the steak and make it more tender.
Next, I chop the garlic and jalapenos. I sliced the peppers and kept the seeds and ribs intact, and no, that doesn’t make it too hot. The finer you chop these items, the stronger they will be in your marinade. Since the kids are eating this with us, I kept the peppers bigger to control the heat.
And here it is…the beautiful, citrusy, acidic, garlicy, mildly spicy marinade. There’s also plenty of salt and pepper in here, too. Yum. I bet this would reduce into a lovely glaze…oh, wait, that comes later.
Here is the aforementioned chicken and steak. How lovely is that bag of meat? See how artistic this shot is? Do you see the heart formed by the blue and pink Ziploc seal? Beautiful.
And here, the marinade unites with the meat in citrusy harmony. See the tough tissue on the steak that the acid needs to break down?
Place the bag o’ meat into a bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. The longer the steak is in the marinade the more the meat will break down…allowing you to enjoy tender melty steak instead of chewy jaw-exercising steak.
While the meat marinates chop these beautiful peppers and this sweet onion into strips.
I like to cut the veggies in advance and place in the fridge so I can avoid handling knives while grilling meat. Also, the veggies sauté for about the same time as the meat needs to be on the grill, so it just works out.
Six hours later…here is the meat with beautiful grill marks. I like to drizzle a bit of the marinade on the meat as it cooks. What about contamination, you ask? Well, the meat stays on long enough for the marinade to heat up and caramelize, so I consider it safe.
Here are the veggies happily warming up with a bit of olive oil on the grill.
And, now we are back inside to cut the chicken and steak. Remember all that talk about the acid breaking down the steak, making it tender and delicious. Well, that ONLY works if you cut against the grain. And, well, I was busy taking pictures, being mocked by Kevin for taking said pictures, telling Faith and my neighbor to stop screaming, and getting Connor another cup of milk…so, I ruined the steak by cutting it with the grain. Sadly, there’s no fixing that. So, for today, we’ll overlook that minor [MAJOR] detail. Prepare to exercise your jaw.
After the meat is sliced, add it to the sautéed veggies to bring the flavors together. At this point I crank the heat and then deglaze with the juice of one lime, half an orange, a splash of balsamic, which helps to create a sweet tangy glaze over the veggies and meat. [It’s early evening, and I’ve lost the afternoon light through the windows…so sad]
Here is the finished platter of fajitas. We like flour tortillas warmed over the fire on the stove…but I’m sure corn is equally delicious.
And, here is the prepared meal., served with a smile by my favorite sous chef. Chicken and steak fajitas topped with sour cream, green onions, Jen’s homemade Tequila Salsa and her fresh guacamole…lime wedges on the side, served with a homemade shandy.
It’s a wonderful meal to celebrate the arrival of summer, and that’s just what we did.
