I just finished I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti.  I think one of the worst feelings is when a great book is over.  Okay so maybe I am being over dramatic!  But I did laugh so hard throughout the book that I am sure the people sitting next to me on the 7 train thought I was insane.  Giulia Melucci has so many hilarious stories that I could relate back to my life.  I think there is a little bit of Giulia in all of us.  The book is written as if your one of her close girlfriends just catching up on each other’s lives.  One of the best things about this book is that she includes the recipes of all the dishes she mentions in her stories.

Everyone I have told about Cooking the Books thinks it is a fun and awesome idea.  But I have to say there hasn’t been one person who didn’t laugh or chuckle when I told them that I was going to cook!  It’s pretty much a known fact that I only make things that are microwaveable, so I can understand everyone’s amazement.     Since this is one of the first times I was going to try to cook, I wanted to make one of Giulia’s recipes that meant something to me.  It’s funny because with my cooking ability or lack thereof.  Most people might imagine that I would just do something ridiculous like “Kit’s Drunken Soup”.  I have to admit that “Kit’s Drunken Soup” is totally up my alley.  (You will just have to check out I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti to know what I am talking about!)  However I wanted to make real food, so I took a stab at the “Grilled Marinated Flank Steak”.  It seemed like an easy enough recipe that even I would have been able to pull it off.

Grilled Marinated Flank Steak

2 to 3 pounds flank steak

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

Place meat in a bowl or Ziploc bag with remaining ingredients and marinate for 30 minutes on the counter and as much as overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat broiler or grill.  Cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Slice thinly.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

I was pretty excited to try and make this recipe.  During the week I don’t have time with work to come home and cook (aka experiment!!).  I figured this would be perfect for Saturday night dinner.

Shaun has been really supportive about me learning to cook.  He went with me yesterday to Whole Foods to pick out the meat and get the ingredients.  Without him I would have been a deer caught in headlights at the meat counter.  I insisted that we make the special trip to Whole Foods because I wanted beef that had been grass fed.  (Shaun and I watched Food Inc the other day.  It really opened my eyes to a few things and now I only want to eat grass fed meat.)  Yes, the meat was more expensive but it was worth every penny.

Shaun gave me a quick lesson in knife skills and directed me on how to mince garlic.  He laughed at me when I though the whole bulb of garlic was a clove.  How the hell was I supposed to know?!

Jeanine Mincing Garlic

As a side dish I made brown rice fusilli pasta with red sauce.  Shaun has a gluten allergy so regular pasta is out of the question in my house.  And for those of you that were wondering, the red sauce was store bought.  I will try to make my own sauce next time.  Rome was not built in a day people.

Overall the meal was a success.  It was awesome that I got to learn from Shaun.  It made me feel good to know that Shaun loved the meal and he was proud of me.  He called me his wife the “Chef”.  While I don’t think I deserve all this fanfare I can’t wait to try this again next weekend.   Next I am going to try the “Food Club Pork Roast”.  When I told Shaun that I wanted to make a roast he said “the microwave queen wants to learn how to use the oven”!

I want to thank Shaun for being patient with me and Giulia for all the awesome recipes.