So Scalloped Potatoes Take an Hour?

So the day to grill the flank steak finally came! It marinated for two days and ready. I got home late from work (since I waited out the traffic). Scott invited a neighbor over, so I had 45 minutes to cook the side dishes. I was making scalloped potatoes as well as the parsnips, peas and prosciutto. Again, I looked down to discover making that recipe would take too long. We settled for spicy Parmesan potatoes that only involved slicing potatoes into 8th, tossing them with oil and red pepper flakes before sticking them in the oven. (check!) Then I moved on to chopping parsnips into 1/4 inch pieces. This is difficult because a parsnip is shaped like a large, pointy carrot and the pieces don't want to look like eat other. I chopped as quickly as possible while Scott heated up the grill.

For once, I cooked prosciutto without smoking up the house. Good for me! I just usually have the heat to low - no action or too high - too much action. Smoking up the house is a huge pain as the alarms go off and the cats run for cover. We have to stand under the alarms swinging towels and leaving the front door open (cats try to escape). So that was a bonus.

Our neighbor arrived as the steak cooled for cutting. The potatoes finished in the oven and I threw on a healthy portion of grated Parmesan. The steak was rather rare and bled all over the counter and floors from the cutting board. I couldn't help wonder what our neighbor thought as he stood and watched Scott cutting and me wiping blood from the floor. We are sanitary cooks, I promise! Last, I mixed the prosciutto with the parsnips and peas and we headed for the table.

I wasn't expecting much from the flank steak as it looks very stringy and not at all like your filet mignon. It turned out to be great. It was medium rare to medium and had a great beefy flavor with hints of salt and cracked pepper. I was surprised it didn't taste more like the soy sauce in the recipe, but either way, it was excellent. The potatoes were nice and spicy and I actually really enjoyed the parsnip recipe. It had nice color and I counted it as a healthy vegetable for the day. Best of all, the side dishes were easy and rounded out the steak.

Perhaps you are noticing that I didn't finish the recipe. I totally forgot the horseradish sauce! My mind is leaving me. I might still make some for the left overs, but the whole point of picking that recipe was to use horseradish I bought for the potatoes last week. Oh well, we had great eats and a great time hanging out. :)