charlotteann

Somewhat ironically, considering yesterday’s blog post written from my environmental soapbox, I had beef for dinner. It wasn’t grass-fed and I bought it from a major chain grocery store. I’m a hypocrite! I know! If it makes you (because it certainly makes me) feel better I eat beef maybe once a month. Having grown up in Montana this is a considerable change from my early years when we ate all kinds of cow on all kinds of days. I think cows are adorable and they taste great, so I have respect for the animal and try not to eat it unless it grew up eating grass like nature intended. Except last night. Last night I made an exception because I am poor and I wanted beef. Are you sick of me justifying my actions yet?

Tasty!

I lifted this recipe from several websites because a google search for “miso marinated steak” resulted in several hits for nearly identical miso-wasabi marinades. “How strange,” thought I, and wondered: Does this mean there is some kind of miso-wasabi standard out there, handed down from the Japanese god of all things that come in paste form? Decide for yourself if this recipe is divine:

Wasabi-Miso Marinated Steak with Soba and Green Onion
adapted from numerous websites/handed down from the paste gods

For the marinade:

Whisk together all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Place the mixture into a plastic bag with the steak and allow to marinate for two hours in the refrigerator, turning it over after an hour.

As it marinates, prepare the soba noodles according to package instructions. After rinsing the noodles in cold water, cover and place the colander over a bowl before placing in the refrigerator. This will allow the noodles to chill and drain further.

After two hours, remove the steak from the bag and save the marinade. Get your broiler going and adjust the rack according to your steak’s thickness. Actually, this is an area I know very little about, so hopefully you know your own broiler and where to put the rack. Technically speaking, I just wing it. I also prefer to use my cast iron skillet in lieu of the broiler pan because it’s about 80 million times easier to clean. As the broiler heats up (with your pan or skillet in place), slice the green onions and remove the soba noodles from the ol’ ice box.

When the broiler is ready and your cooking pan of choice is hot, place the steak on it. You can baste the steak with the reserved marinade if you like. I didn’t because I don’t have a baster. Cooking time will vary on steak thickness and your preference for rareness. I think my steak (about an 1 1/2 ” thick) cooked for about 10 minutes, with a quick flip after 7 minutes, and came out a little too medium for me but still juicy.

Slice the steak thin and place on top of soba noodles and garnish with green onions. I would suggest drizzling some pan juices, but I didn’t have any. Instead I used the juice that collected on the cutting board while I sliced the steak. I also added some soy sauce. Enjoy!

It’s been awhile since my last entry because I was in Boston. I went to Cape Cod, too, but that’s for later. As very few of you probably know, I have never lived anywhere for longer than a year or so (not including my hometown of Billings, Montana). My current residency in the Bay Area will have endured two years this September and I am not quite sure I want to call it home. The truth is I have no idea where I want to end up. New York is too big, San Francisco has a boring climate, states in the mountain time zone are pretty but rural, and Europe is too far away. You can probably see where this is going: I really, really liked Boston. They have a Chinatown, beautiful brick buildings, mass transit, and no shortage of young, straight men. I also miss snow and my family - two things much more likely to visit Boston than San Francisco. This decision has at least a year and half to figure itself out however, so let’s talk about what I ate this weekend.

Pho at Le’s Restaurant in Allston


I went with yelpers on this one. That it was 2 blocks from my friend’s apartment went into consideration as well. Allston seems like a relatively cool neighborhood, although I have only visited twice and I have a very soft spot for Asian restaurants and supermarkets. It reminded me a little of Washington Heights in New York but with smaller buildings and a highway.
The pho was quite tasty and considerably “cleaner” than my go-to spot in San Francisco. The beef was plentiful and lean, but everything was cooked by the time it reached the table. My friend chose a vermicelli dish with impeccably fried imperial rolls. Her veggies were crispy and accompanied by tasty sauce. She mentioned several times after we finished busting our guts that she would be returning. If I lived in Allston I would, too.

Pizza at Pizzeria Regina in Boston’s North End

If I did move to Boston, I would try my hardest to live in the North End. Potentially weak nightlife and difficult parking aside, it’s beautiful and home to Italian stuff, like pizza. Ah, pizza, my one and only love …
Pizzeria Regina is quite popular. I selected it based on an article on Serious Eats from last year. There was a serious line outside when we arrived (around 1 PM on a sunny Sunday) and we waited around a half hour for a table. They serve pizza exclusively which is totally fine with me. We ordered the Capricciosa (prosciutto, mushrooms, ricotta, parmesa, mozzarella, and fresh basil) and our own concoction that wasn’t very good. Theirs was delicious with the crust and the ricotta-to-parmesan-to-mozzarella ratio as notable wins. The decor and paper plates make for an excellent time warp to the 90’s, so if I end up in the North End I’ll definitely be back with a better camera.

I ate some other things, too, but it’s time to stop blogging. I maxed out a memory card between Boston and Cape Cod and there are plenty of stories to be told. Stay tuned!