A Casual Dinner

     Occasionally I like to invite friends over for dinner - it doesn't have to be a special occasion, sometimes you just want to get together and have a few laughs over some good, homemade food. For one, this is much easier on my wallet when the party totals 10+, and second, I enjoy being able to cook all of what I don't normally make (for the most part). It's much easier spending $200 on fresh produce and making it the way I want than meeting at a decent restaurant and shelling out $700 by the end of the night. I call these evenings dinner parties, although they aren't really parties in the traditional sense. Who cares though?!
     To be entirely honest, I usually make similar dishes when I have buddies over for munchies. This is due to the fact that, well, I don't have much more solid, hearty party food in my arsenal that are all-around people pleasers. Nobody, unless you're a veggie, is going to say no to some grilled beef or toasted garlic bread (here my vegan friends stand aside) and it usually comes out pretty good. In fairness, it's usually different people with different food, but all around I make these (with variations) pretty often.
     Last night I made:
Shaanxi Grilled Tri-Tip
Truffled Asparagus
Honey Ginger Wings
Portobello Mushrooms in Red Wine Sauce
Cilantro-Lime and Cumin Corn on the Cob
Roasted Bell Peppers with Caper-Anchovy Dressing
Homemade Garlic Bread with Thyme
*Roasted Herb Potatoes that I completely forgot to do...

     I'll share the "recipes" for the three I found to be the tastiest and most successful out of all of the times I've made em, the beef, the asparagus, and the garlic bread. I wish I had more pictures, but in my struggle with trying to get everything on the table hot and not overcooked, I only had time to snap one photo of everything - even forgot the peppers in the fridge until end of dinner, YES!
     For the beef, I used strips of tri-tip from Costco. The reason behind the name is that in China, particularly in cities part of the Shaanxi province (one of which we visited a couple of years ago), there is a wildly popular street food that consists of grilled beef or lamb skewers seasoned simply with ground cumin, salt, and crushed red chili. Many times the cooks would set up shop on the side of a street or outside of a restaurant with a long charcoal grill, atop which they would quickly and deftly flip rows of skewers. This was perhaps one of my favorite foods out of all of the local cuisine and something I've tried to recreate with moderate success at home. There's the flavor of the atmosphere that can't be done back in the States, but trying sure made me nostalgic.

Shaanxi Grilled Tri-Tip*
 Serves 4

24 oz. tri-tip roast, cut into 2 inch strips, "steaks"
8 tbsp ground cumin, approximately, enough to coat meat thoroughly
2-4 tbsp crushed red chili, depending on preference for spiciness
Salt to taste
Olive or canola oil for brushing

1. Preheat grill.
2. Mix enough oil with the cumin, salt, and chili flakes to form a loose sauce, enough to cover the steaks. Brush mixture onto meat.
3. When grill is heated, place strips on hot part of grill to get a nice sear. Flip as much as you like! This actually promotes faster cooking, since both sides of the steak come into contact frequently with the heat at the bottom, thus keeping internal temperature up.
4. When a nice crust forms, transfer strips to cooler side of grill and cover, cooking until desired doneness, approximately 5 minutes per side for medium rare for a 1 1/2" strip.
5. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately.

*Take measurements with a grain of salt. I don't measure when I cook so I'm approximating in my head. Use your discretion when seasoning. Same goes with all of my recipes.

     For the asparagus, I genuinely believe that this is the easiest, most delicious recipe for asparagus I have ever tried. The credit actually goes to a friend of mine present at this dinner, who made it for my husband and I once at her house, with a few extra ingredients that I decided to leave out. If you're able to get your hands on the thinner, younger, and more tender asparagus, you're much better off; these veggies have a sweet, delicate flavor that really brings out an intense, umami taste when mixed with truffle oil and soy sauce. If truffle oil is hard to come by, or too expensive, go with truffle infused olive oil (which I used) from Bel' Olio. It goes for $8 or so at Costco and it has all of the flavor of truffles.

Truffled Asparagus
 Serves 4

1 lb asparagus, bottom 1-2" trimmed depending on length of shoots
4 tbsp truffle oil/truffle infused olive oil
2 tsp regular soy sauce
2 cloves crushed garlic

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Spread out the asparagus shoots evenly in the pan (make sure they're free of water on the surface).
3. Mix oil, soy sauce, and garlic with a wire whisk until thoroughly blended. Brush mixture onto asparagus, rolling as you brush for an even coating.
4. Roast for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

     While I'm sure garlic bread is a common food in many households, whether homemade or store bought, I've always had a preference for the garlic bread we make. I actually learned from my husband, who I believe took this simple, simple recipe from his parents. Sometimes I add fixings to the butter before spreading it on the bread, such as ground black pepper or parsley, but I found that a generous sprinkle of fresh (not dried) thyme adds a neat, earthy depth of flavor that I enjoy. There were quite a few compliments for this from my guests too.

Homemade Garlic Bread with Thyme
 Serves 4-6

1 loaf fresh baked French bread
1 stick salted butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 cup Kraft grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1. Preheat oven on broiler settings (500° on my oven).
2. Microwave the butter in a bowl for 10-15 seconds, until soft and spreadable. Add crushed garlic and stir until smooth and creamy looking.
3. Slice French loaf in half, lengthwise. Split the butter mixture evenly between the two halves. Sprinkle generously with Kraft Parmesan.
4. Set the halves on a cookie sheet or broiler pan. Broil until tops of the bread is a deep golden brown, and the cheese has turned crusty*. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Slice and serve immediately.

*Cooking time for this varies greatly, depending on the proximity of your rack to the top of the oven, and your oven itself. My old oven would do the job in about a minute, while the ones I have now takes up to 3 minutes or more. Keep an eye out, or it burns quick!

Don't laugh at the burnt wings :). My charcoal grill hates me.

     Overall the night was a success, despite the crazy mix of flavors. I think I almost touched on both sides of the globe in this respect. I had originally planned the meal for 12 people, 2 being children and by 5pm, we had a grand total of 8 due to a variety of emergencies... Most of the food was gone after dinner, the garlic bread having disappeared the fastest, followed by the beef and this roast pepper salad that I was a knucklehead about and left in the fridge through 80% of dinner:

Roasted Bell Peppers with Caper-Anchovy Dressing

     I was pretty beat, was ready to pass out at 9pm, but the night was definitely worth it since it gave me an occasion to get together with so many friends and to catch up with each other. Until next time!