I have to admit, Day 2 was a million times better than Day 1.  Oh my gosh this meal was outstanding.  It was fancy-schmancy to boot!  I took an ordinary, every day piece of meat and I fancied that sumbitch up like you wouldn’t believe!  I’m feeling quite smug and proud of myself right now!

On the menu tonight was London broil marinated in red wine and served with red wine gravy, creamed spinach, and a fresh vegetable casserole (it’s just veggies smothered in a cheese sauce!).  It was fantastic.

The cocktail for tonight was a good old fashioned Bloody Mary.  Now I know that there are 1,000,001 recipes out there for homemade Bloody Mary mix.  If you want to go through the trouble of testing them and finding the right one and going through a bunch of crap to get a good Bloody Mary, be my guest.  Or, you know, you could listen to your old pal Somer and buy a mix.  I’m not usually big on drink mixes.  Most of the time, it IS better to make your own…but not this time.  This time you have Mr. & Mrs. T’s Bloody Mary Mix!  You can find this stuff anywhere and it is seriously the BEST Bloody Mary I’ve ever had.  We buy the Bold and Spicy version because we like a bit of kick, but they make a milder version for you big babies out there.  (Note:  This is NOT a compensated endorsement of Mr. & Mrs. T’s.  I’m telling you to try this stuff because it really is kick ass.)

I love these drinks.  My father-in-law drinks one or two on Fridays and says that it is his vegetable serving for the week.  And that is all kinds of awesome.

Now on to the glorious dinner!

Like I said, this meal was fantastic.  I was so excited eating it because I couldn’t wait to write about it and share my two creations with you all!  Let’s start with the London Broil.  Here is the recipe!

Smell My Plate London Broil

My Recipe

1 London Broil

2 cups red wine

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup water

1 Tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried parsley

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

Red Wine Gravy (Recipe Below)

Have your London Broil defrosted by the night before you intend to serve it.  It needs to marinate over night.

Place the London Broil in a large freezer bag.  Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour into the freezer bag with the meat.  Seal the bag and be careful to get most of the air out.  Smoosh (yes that is a technical term!) the meat and marinade around so that the meat is well lubricated.  Then place the bag in a large dish and store in the refrigerator.  Turn the bag over once the next morning.

Lay the meat out to come to room temperature 15 minutes before cooking.  Set oven broiler on high.  Place meat on broiler pan and cook for about 9 minutes on each side for Medium to Medium Rare.

Reserve marinade for gravy!

Strain marinade through a fine mesh strainer and set aside.  Melt 4 Tablespoons butter in a saucepan.  Stir in 4 Tablespoons flour and stir.  Add 1 cup of the marinade and 1 can of beef broth.  Stir until thick.  Serve with London Broil.

Cooked to perfection and tasting oh so faintly of that wonderful Pinot Noir I used in the marinade.  Seriously, folks.  Everybody has been saying for years to only cook with a wine you would drink.  THERE IS A GOOD REASON FOR THIS.

Also, really and truly make sure that when you put the meat and marinade bag in your fridge that you put it in a dish so that it won’t leak.  Like this:

Or if you like to learn things the hard way you can ignore me.  It will only take ONE instance of having your refrigerator leaking with raw meat juice and marinade for you to never make that mistake again.  And yes, I DO know from experience.  Learn from my idiocy, people.

The other dish that I put together was Creamed Spinach.  Can you believe that I had never had it before tonight?  As much as I eat steak one would think that I would have had it by now, but no.  But seeing how I was serving a huge piece of red meat with dinner and Creamed Spinach is traditionally served with red meat, my opportunity was hard to ignore.  It’s not a fussy dish.  It’s really straight forward and seriously only takes a few minutes to make.

Creamed Spinach

My recipe

1 1-lb. bag frozen spinach

4 Tablespoons butter

1 shallot, minced

3 Tablespoons flour

2 cups half-and-half

salt and pepper

Wrap thawed spinach in a clean dish towel and squeeze as much water from it as possible.  Set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet.  Add shallots and stir until soft.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring the whole time.  Add half-and half.  Stir until thick.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in spinach and heat through.

That’s it.  It’s really that easy.  And it’s really freaking good as well.  Win-Win.

The third thing that I served is a cheese-gooped vegetable casserole that comes from that cookbook I keep referencing lately.  It’s really good and really decadent.  I don’t usually serve my vegetables swimming in goopy cheese (even though I love it) so I really only make this dish around the holidays.

Fresh Vegetable Casserole

Favorite Brand Name Old-Fashioned Holiday Recipes 2004

8 small new potatoes

8 baby carrots (Did you know that baby carrots are actually mature carrots shaved down?  True story!)

1 small cauliflower, broken into florets

4 stalks asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 Tablespoons butter or margarine

3 Tablespoons flour 2 cups milk

salt

black pepper

3/4 cup (3 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

Chopped fresh cilantro

Cook vegetables until crisp-tender.  (I steamed all but the potatoes.  Steaming is a good option.)  Arrange vegetables in buttered 2-quart casserole.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make sauce, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in flour until smooth.  Gradually stir in milk.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add cheese, stirring until cheese is melted.  Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with cilantro.  Bake 15 minutes or until heated through.  YIELD:  4-6 servings.

It looks goopy and decadent, no?

3 days to go!

Enjoy!