It was a chilly damp day here today. The rain finally stopped this morning and the sun peeked out on and off...mostly off. It almost felt like snow and was pretty dismal overall. This afternoon we ran our errands. We made our usual Costco run, our local grocery store visit and also stopped at Whole Foods. Since we shopped at Whole Foods we went to a different Costco that was closer to it. Every time I go to a different Costco, even though they are all in the Atlanta area...I notice they carry some different items and cater more to those that shop there -- this one carried more international foods than the one we usually go to. I noticed they also carried some different cuts of meat, too. I found a cut of beef there that I have never seen before, "Beef Loin Flap Meat Steak". It was cut in long strips and looked similar to their boneless short ribs but not exactly. Anyway...I decided to pick up a package to experiment with. I'm not sure what I will make with it yet..but I'm thinking about marinating them and making Carne Asada with soft tacos or tortillas...or I may use them in a stir-fry or even the crock pot, depending on how my mood strikes when I decide to use it. Has anyone else ever heard of this cut of beef before, and if so, how did you use it? We shopped all afternoon long since we went all over the place...and I started getting a little hungry since I had only had yogurt for breakfast this morning...so when we were in Whole Foods I decided to pick up something I could use for a little snack as we traveled to the next place. I know this is going to sound like a really odd kind of snack...but I really liked it and it didn't take very much to satisfy my hunger. I picked up a small container of Valrhona 70% dark Guanaja chocolate feves (bittersweet oval discs) and then went to the section where you could grind your own nut butters. I ground up a small container of fresh cashew butter (it is unsalted and is warm when it comes out of the grinder). As soon as we got in the car, I proceeded to eat my "chip and dip" or "hummus for chocoholics"...LOL. I dipped 4 or 5 of the little dark chocolate discs into the warm fresh cashew butter...and it was so good. It immediately squelched any hunger I was feeling! Could I have just bought some nuts and eaten them...yes, but I wanted something more creative...LOL. Since we skipped lunch, when we got home from shopping we just reheated pizza left from last night's dinner. I had 2 pieces for dinner last night and the last 2 pieces tonight. I like to reheat my pizza on the stove in a non-stick skillet, covered, and turned on low-medium and use it like a little stove top oven. It re-crisps the crust and doesn't get soggy like it does if you reheat it in the microwave. You also don't have to heat the entire oven up for a couple little pieces of pizza. I snapped a few random pictures to share below. Enjoy!
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| It almost looks like hummus, doesn't it? It's bittersweet chocolate discs dipped into cashew butter...instead of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...it's Valrhona's Cashew Butter Discs |
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| Beef Loin Flap Meat Steak...is anyone familiar with this cut of beef and what did you make with it? |
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| Picked this up at Whole Foods...it's sweetened with stevia and erythritol |
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| I've ground my own before to use as a thickener...but found this at my grocery store! |
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| This is how I like to reheat my pizza slices |
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| Heating it this way keeps the crust crisp so you can still pick it up and eat it...no forks required! |
Not familiar with that cut but it looks like it would make lovely, tender strips for beef stroganoff!
ReplyDeleteThe cashew butter/chocolate dip looks to die for!
I really love your website! I love your beautiful pictures and how creative your recipe ideas are. Thanks for the inspiration to eat better.
ReplyDeleteThanks, GrannyMumantoog! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Cindi! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi GGC,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the *wonderful* tip for reheating pizza!
I'm not familiar with that cut of meat, but it looks lovely. I was thinking about beef stew, but at 6.99 per pound you probably wouldn't want to use it for stew meat ... although it would probably be great! :-)
Love your pick-me-up snack! If I ever make it back over to WF I'll have to look for those "discs"!
In my neck of the woods that cut of meat is called Skirt Steak. Marinating is recommended. They are great on the grill, broiled, pan fried and also in stir fry. When you slice the meat be sure to cut across the grain or it will be tough. I am not sure how it would do in the crockpot.
ReplyDeleteI especially like them grilled but at the moment I would have to shovel my deck to get to the grill. Not gonna happen - LOL!
Hi CyberSis!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I hope you find those discs -- they are good. I found them in the candy section where the hand made treats are. Lucky for me, WF isn't right around the corner! ;-)
Hi Pat! Thanks for the tip about the meat -- I think I will make a marinade this evening and marinate them overnight and let hubby grill them (if it isn't raining) tomorrow. So far, no snow here in my neck of the woods...just lots of rain! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat Pat in Ohio said....
ReplyDeleteFlap Meat Steak is great marinated and then grilled. Cut in thin slices across the grain.
Here's a article about it: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Butchers-best-kept-secret-Seldom-seen-flap-3255048.php
Hi Kath -- thank you! Interesting article. I'm going to go ahead and try marinating it...that seems to be the consensus. Will let you know how it turns out! :-)
ReplyDelete