Sticked it to me.

So you know how I mentioned my pain-free run/walk earlier today? I took The Stick to my calf not long after I finished writing and made it hurt so good. There was this crazy tight spot that I just couldn't get rid of and now it's pretty tender. Guess I showed it who's boss. Ha.

I got some more cleaning and organizing done before I got to work on prepping dinner, all to this soundtrack. On repeat. A lot. Because I love it:

Gravitas - Little People

Dundadeova - dZihan & Kamien

Alright - Jamiroquai

Dark Blue - Jack's Mannequin

1976 - RJD2

Esta Noche - Frederico Aubele

For You I Will (Confidence) - Teddy Geiger

Viejo Abasto - G-Spliff

Between Us and Them - Ulrich Schnauss

Sleeping to Dream - Jason Mraz

Super chill and perfect for my snowy day of cleaning :)

Not listed, but definitely part of the soundtrack - upstairs neighbor stomping around. WTF? It's been a little out of control the past couple of days. I swear, it's like they're either playing some serious DDR or doing some jumping jacks. No idea, but it's annoying.

Did some research for a project of mine before diving into the kitchen (to be honest, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do with that random leek). I wanted my meat to get some good marinating time in so I got it swimming in some Asian flavors around 4. On the menu - Beef and Leek Roulade with Sesame Citrus Noodles.

Beef and Leek Roulade

1 lb top round steak, pounded to about 1/4" thick

3 slices ginger, julienned

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 c soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp mirin

1 tbsp tempura sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1 leek, separated for roasting

1 shallot, quartered

salt

pepper

olive oil

1/2 tsp jalapeno, coarsely chopped

toothpicks

In a container large enough for your meat, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, tempura sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, mirin and salt. Coat meat with marinade and let sit for 30 minutes. Flip and let marinate for another 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place leek and shallot on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes or until leeks start to show some browning. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Coarsely chop leeks and place in a food processor with jalapeno. Pulse until a paste is formed. If your leeks got too dry during the roasting process, stream in a little bit of olive oil.

Trim steak so you have a fairly even sided rectangle (save scraps for stirfry). Smear leek mixture on top 3/4 of the rectangle and roll toward you. Secure with toothpicks.

Heat oven to 375.

Heat a pan large enough for your roll to medium high heat. Sear roll on all sides before transferring to a piece of foil. Form a loose foil wrap around the roll and place into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Sesame Citrus Noodles

Handful of rice noodles, cooked according to package

edamame

2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp tahini

juice of one clementine

1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp maple syrup

pinch salt

1 slice ginger, minced

Combine tahini, clementine juice, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, salt and ginger in a bowl. Whisk well. Toss noodles with dressing and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Scatter edamame and mushrooms on top.

So the inspiration for this dish came from the japanese dish Negimaki. I enjoy some negimaki here and there, but I'm not really cool with the whole pieces of scallion. Sometimes it's a bit much.

I started daydreaming (again) about making a beef roll with a pureed scallion-y filling awhile ago, but didn't really jump on the chance until I was at the Giant this morning. I was bummed there weren't any scallions, but I figured a leek plus a shallot might fit the bill. I also realized I didn't have any teriyaki sauce on hand so I just went with a random Asian-y marinade…and the roulade was born!

Mine ended up getting overcooked (ech! I need to pay more attention!), so the time on the recipe is what it should have been. The flavor from the leek mixture was definitely more subtle than the traditional scallion, but I really liked the slight kick from the jalapeno. Part of me thinks this would be good with a fattier cut of meat so the filling might get more flavor? I dunno. This might be one of those dishes I try multiple times…

The noodle dish also incorporates an edit after I finished dinner - I thought the noodles would be much better if they sat in the dressing for a little while (hence the 20 minute chilling time). Another variation would be the addition of cucumbers or carrots or any cool, crisp veggies. Since the Gigante was ransacked, I couldn't throw them in mine :\

Tomorrow I'm going with a less adventurous experiment...and maybe back to the tropical...can you tell I'm itching for some beach weather?? ha.