The Intimidating Holy Grail Recipe; + Awards!

Listening to "Faster," Rachael Yamagata.

The Flank Steak

When I first saw this recipe over at My Tasty Treasures, I was intimidated.

Very intimidated.

Let me explain. Picture this from the beginning. Here I am, trying to learn how to cook this year... and I figured: I'm going to need to learn three things:

1. What kind of flavors are appropriate with what foods

2. How long to keep stuff in the oven or on the stove top

3. How to make gravy, so I can just pour that over things I burn.

Turns out... you need a little bit more than that to cook. It sounds unbelievable-- was I really that naive about cooking?-- but in all seriousness, I thought that it was kind of a one-process-fits-all deal. But recipes aren't just lists of ingredients... they're instructions. I know that now. Back when I first saw this recipe... it was proof that learning to cook, to really learn, the way I want to, would take a little while. There's a lot to learn!

I've learned a lot so far this year... or I feel like I have... thanks in big part to the Recipe Blogroll challenge (have I mentioned how excited I am to make a new one of those soon!?)... and last week I had sudden motivation to try the holy grail.

The recipe with string. (more commonly known as butcher's twine)

That's how I've been thinking of it! I remember when I saw Donna's pictures, all the steps, and
this process that I really wasn't familiar with... I was intimidated. But thanks to that sudden burst of kitchen confidence, I decided to try it.

and here it is!

The Stuffed Flank Steak Debut.





I did it!!

There was lots of jumping up and down, clapping... I asked Matt about 100 times if he liked it...

but more than anything, it was fun. It was fun to finish a recipe that I thought looked difficult. It was fun to create something that required carefully slicing the meat (and I didn't cut myself!), yummy ingredients and, of course, butcher's twine. And, as always, it was fun to learn one more thing about cooking :)

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Blog Awards:

Thanks so much, ACE!


Rules:
1. Thank the award giver
2. Copy the Logo and place on your blog
3. Link back to the award giver/s
4. Name 10 things about you that people may find interesting
5. Nominate and link 10 other blogs for this award
6. Comment on each blog to tell them about the award!

Phew! ok. So, even though it's out of order, here's 10 blogs:
1. Fidgeting Gidget
2. Vicki
3. Amy
4. Mary
5. Iva
6. Katie
7. Shawna
8. Ali
9. Brilliant Farmgirl
10. Kristina

10 Interesting Things... hmm... hopefully these qualify.
1. I read really fast, sometimes too fast.
2. I like things clean and neat; but sometimes it's physically impossible for me to put away my laundry.
3. I have my bank card number, drivers license number and student ID number easily memorized, but I lose my phone 10 times a day.
4. I dye my hair a lot; I think it's fun.
5. My favorite type of wine is cabernet sauvignon... it can even be a cheap one, I'm not too picky.
6. My high school lacrosse team won the state championship my senior year; for me, the best part was that my little sister was a freshman on the team so we got to do that together.
7. My first car was a p.o.s. named Will, and I loved him.
8. I'm still a little (a lot) afraid of the dark.
9. I absolutely LOVE airports and hotels.
10. I got hit by a car once while I was on my bike! It was just a little hit, I was fine, and the girl paid to fix my bike... but if you're in a college town and on your cell phone, pay attention to bikes! It could be me!

Also...

Thanks so much, Ali!


Rules:
This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

1. Suz
2. Ace
3. Sarah
4. Peggy
5. The Gamer's Wife
6. Samantha

Woo-hoo! Congrats everyone. Awards are fun :)

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I'll save my Duo Dishes' cake post for Friday or Saturday; I'm trying hard to update more than once a week! (And I'm going to need something to distract me while Matt's taking his test...)

Thanks so much for wishing Matt good luck on his exam. He's starting to get nervous (eek! Me too!)... but still doing a great job of studying. We drove to the testing site today, that way he wouldn't worry about driving directions the day of the exam, and we took a break for lunch at Olive Garden! MY FAVORITE! Now he's studying away again... every couple of hours we take a break and play Mario Kart on the 64 :)

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Small P.S.: If you're looking for some jaw-dropping inspiration, just take a quick peek at the insane workout plan my best friend Suz has planned for the next 30 days. She went to Canada in high school but she's still my Suz, and if I know her well enough she'll be a little annoyed and embarrassed that I gave her a shout out like this... but she can just deal because her last couple posts about what she's doing during her 30 days of training are really... insane! She's so motivated! Good luck Suz :) Work out enough for the both of us!

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Your breadsticks-lovin,
new-music-searchin,
History-channel-watchin,
New Girl Blogger