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Argentinean Chimichurri Sauce
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Four Steps: Making the sauce, using it as a marinade, preparing the beef, cooking it.
1. Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped parsley (use the stems as well)
6 garlic cloves
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
(or whatever you have in the kitchen)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 or 2 red jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
Process the parsley and garlic in a blender or food processor with a little of the olive oil until very fine. You may need to use a spoon to “push” the parsley down into the blades of the blender. Also, you may need to add half or more of the olive oil to get the parsley to puree into a sauce consistency. Add the other ingredients and taste for seasoning.
2. The Marinade
Ingredients:
½ cup Chimichurri sauce (above)
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
Put your steak in a large zipper storage bag. Combine the Chimichurri sauce with the olive oil and pour into the bag. Squeeze out the excess air so the bag collapse and surrounds the meat with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours (can be stored up to 3 days for more flavor). Remaining Chimichurri sauce should be placed in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. Preparing the Meat Before Marinating
Although you can use any steak available, flank steak seems to work the best and is the leanest of all meats. Use about 1 ½ pounds. When preparing the flank steak for marinating, generously poke holes in it with a fork. This will allow the marinade to seep into the meat and permeate with its flavor.
4. Cooking the Steak
Pre-heat your grill on high temperature. Combine the pepper, salt and pepper flakes. Remove steak from marinade and place on hot grill. Sprinkle the spices on the meat, cook for a few minutes and then flip. Sprinkle spices on the other side. Flank steak takes about 6-10 minutes a side and should be pink on the inside. Flank steak should be sliced diagonally against the grain. Slices should be 1/8” to ¼” thick. Serve Chimichurri sauce on the side for additional slathering.
Serve the beef with a black bean salad or a side salad of mixed greens and fresh vegetables. Pair the meal with a red wine such as a Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel or an ice cold imported beer.
Enjoy!
Did You Know?
In Argentina , they eat a lot of beef. In fact, often a meal will consist of a plate of marinated and grilled beef with a small side salad. Like Americans use steak and barbeque sauces, the people of Argentina use Chimichurri sauce on everything. Three key ingredients make this sauce a hit: red chili peppers give it a little heat, garlic the zesty zing, and red wine vinegar the tang. Combined with the subtle flavor of pureed parsley, this sauce is a show stopper!
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Don't Back Down
Thinking of cutting your marketing efforts?
Full Article
One expert argues that a faltering economy is a great excuse to expand them
By Kelly K. Spors
In a sputtering economy, small businesses are often quick to rein in their marketing budgets. But that may be a shortsighted strategy. Glum economic times can be an opportunity for small companies to make inroads on their competitors' turf and re-energize their marketing efforts.
The Wall Street Journal recently spoke with Stefan Tornquist, research director for MarketingSherpa Inc., a Warren, R.I., marketing-research firm and unit of MECLabs Inc., about how small businesses can improve their marketing in a shaky economy and take advantage of some underused marketing channels. Excerpts of the discussion follow:
What marketing strategies should small companies be looking at right now?
________________________
I'm of the opinion that it's a good time to increase a brand imprint [by buying print or radio ads, or banner ads online, for instance]. A lot of small companies see branding activities as a waste of money. If I have a paid search ad, I see direct results. That's something about the Internet's effect on advertising -- if you don't get something immediately, you assume it's not working.
What we lose sight of is that brand activity makes us trust a company and buy when we see their ad later on. One of the greatest challenges for small companies is to make a name for themselves, and a downturn actually provides an opportunity to do that because it tends to suppress the branding activity. There's absolutely the opportunity to leapfrog competitors, especially if the local leader is using the downturn to curtail their activities. Full Article
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