Steak, not quite well done

I decided I was finally ready to try my hand at making steak. I prefer most meats grilled, but since our apartment and its balcony can't accomodate a grill and since I am still without a Foreman or Cuisinart grill, I'd been avoiding it.

I decided to make a broiled flank steak and prepared the marinade, which I found on Epicurious, the night before. It had chopped shallots, 2 tablespoons of red wine, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, thyme and pepper.

For the wine, we used a Cote de Rhone blend that Sean's parents brought for us.

Mmmmm. Steak.

When I got home last night, I set about immediately making the food. I was weak with hunger, as always, and didn't pay attention much to timing or anything else. I popped the steak in the oven to broil, and even though I prefer my asparagus roasted, I decided to make it on the stovetop. Friends....this works fine if you take it out when it's tender. It doesn't work fine if you forget about it and take it out many minutes later. It was so soft, the pieces flopped and curled. Ugh.

And of course, I overcooked the steak. Medium rare always makes me a little anxious, so I tried to cook just a little bit longer. I failed. It was done and ended up getting cold before I served it because I can never remember to tent it with foil.

So I served up my floppy asparagus and my cold, done flank steak (which wasn't sliced quite right, but that's not totally Sean's fault since I didn't show him what it's supposed to look like) and realized I had left my bread heating up in the oven too long.

So we had burnt bread...almost like croutons. SIGH.

But you know what? It was still a good dinner, at the end of the day. It felt good to be eating what grown-ups eat. It felt like a meal our grandparents would make, and the flavoring of the marinade was delicious. I can only imagine what it would have been like if cooked properly!