Pizza Sauce

I don't make homemade pizza very often, but when I do, I never know what sauce to use. Jared sauce is just not very good, spaghetti sauce ... well, tastes like spaghetti. :) This sauce was simple, but very good. I will definitely be making this again.



Simple Pizza Sauce
(Recipe from cooksillustrated.com)

2 cans (14oz) crushed tomatoes in puree
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in pan. Add garlic and cook until it starts to simmer (only like 30 seconds). Add in tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to lump up on a spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Grilled Flank Steak

For this flank steak I just used the same marinade recipe as the steak I made a while back, and just added a couple extra ingredients.


Ingredients:
1 flank steak (mine was just under a pound and a half, and it fed 3 adults and 1 child)
Kosher salt and pepper

Marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
4 large cloves fresh garlic, minced
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp liquid smoke (mesquite)

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk well.
2. Using a dinner fork, poke steak about 20 times on each side. Season with salt and pepper and place in a gallon size ziplock bag. Pour marinade over the top and put in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
3. Preheat grill
4. Using paper towels, wipe marinade off steak. Grill steak directly on grill until well browned 4-6 minutes. Using tongs, flip steak; grill until second side is well browned, 3-4 minutes. Cook until the internal temperature is 125 degrees. It will continue to cook as it rests. You do not want to over cook a flank steak! It is a meat that needs to be cooked rare or medium rare.
4. Cover steak with foil and let rest at least 15 minutes to let the juice redistribute.
5. Using a sharp chef's knife or a carving knife, slice steak about 1/4" thick against the grain and on a bias. Serve immediately.

Below is a drawing, it will show where you need to cut your meat to make it so it doesn't end up super tough and chewy. The grains on a flank steak all run the same direction so we need to cut against the grain and on a bias to give the slices a bigger surface area.

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Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Crispy Smashed Potatoes
(Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated, altered slightly by me)

Ingredients:
Small red bliss potatoes or small gold potatoes (However many you want per person)
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
Garlic powder
Parsley
Thyme

1. Adjust oven racks to top and bottom positions and heat oven to 500 degrees. Put potatoes on a baking sheet and pour 3/4 cup of water into the pan and wrap tightly with tin foil. Cook on bottom rack until soft (paring knife slips in and out easily) about 25-30 minutes. (This will depend on how big your potatoes are). Remove foil and cool for 10 minutes. If any water remains, blog dry with paper towel.

2. Drizzle some olive oil over potatoes and roll to coat them. Space potatoes evenly on baking sheet and place a second baking sheet on top and press down on the potatoes, flattening the potatoes (or just splitting them open). Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top of the potatoes again and season each potato with a little garlic powder, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme.

3. Put the potatoes back into the oven on the top rack for 15 minutes. Then transfer the potatoes to the bottom rack and continue to roast until well browned (20-30 minutes longer).

Serve immediately.