I recently made a wonderful dinner for my family. I had three saute pans sizzling away on the stove top and my pasta pot bubbling, calling for the linguine to dive in! The strainer was in the sink, sheet pans were in the oven holding the warm dishes that were done…you name it! While my guests sat back and watched, I was juggling all my kitchen pots and pans like a three ring circus, somehow taking a chaotic situation and turning it into a fantastic dinner in the end.
Unfortunately, I am one of those chefs who can’t enjoy her own cooking. Typically, once I have finished preparing a meal, I can’t even think of eating my own food. I know it sounds crazy, but the adrenaline rush of cooking interferes. Instead of relaxing and enjoying the meal, I will sit with my guests, trying to gracefully wipe the sweat rolling down the side of my face with my new linen napkins as I watch them savor every bite.
When hosting a dinner party, there is so much more that goes into preparing for the night in addition to cooking a great meal. I love setting a beautiful table, not to mention shopping for the food, tidying up the house, making sure the bar and refreshments are stocked for the night, unloading the dishwasher that morning so that once dinner is done, loading the dirty dishes can easily be done after a couple glasses of wine! As you can see, there is a lot of thought and prep that goes into entertaining.
My goal with this recipe is to plan a meal with more thought placed on the preparation/execution side, so once the time comes to cook the meal, I am able to sit with my guests and enjoy the conversation without hearing the circus music playing in my ear!
On this week’s menu we have a butterflied flank steak stuffed with onions, garlic, spinach, pine nuts, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and italian seasonings, topped with sliced provolone cheese. Along with the roast, I will serve blistered cherry tomatoes topped with a balsamic glaze.
Once the flank steak is stuffed, rolled, and tied, I will use my Bull Rotisserie on my Angus Grill to cook this meal for my upcoming dinner party. After using the rotisserie for the first time, I was sold! The rotisserie allows for hands-free cooking. All I have to do is load the roast onto the spit, turn the grill on the desired temp, close the lid, and let the Bull Grill do all the work! This meal is perfect when it comes time to entertaining. When the roast is ready, you can open the lid and show your dinner guests the finished product spinning in front of their eyes. I guarantee you will have them salivating, anticipating that first bite to come while sitting at your beautifully decorated dinner table!
Chef’s Note: When rolling the flank steak, roll the butterflied steak parallel to the grain. This will have you cutting against the grain when it comes times to serve. Also, if you are not comfortable butterflying your own flank steak, ask one of the butchers at the counter. When I recently asked, it was nice to hear that they would do this for me.
- For the Stuffed Flank Steak:
- 2 pounds flank steak
- 6 slices provolone cheese
- 1 cup yellow onions, small dice
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ cup mushrooms, finely diced
- 1 cup, packed down of package frozen spinach, defrosted, drained well
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers, finely diced
- ½ cup Italian seasoning bread crumbs
- 1 egg, whisked
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- ½ teaspoon oregano, dried
- ½ teaspoon basil, dried
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- For the Blistered Cherry Tomatoes
- 2 pints heirloom cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons evoo
- 1 large shallot, finely sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For the stuffed flank steak: In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Once done, set aside to cool down.
- In a large bowl, place the drained spinach, diced roasted red peppers, pine nuts, and the sauteed mix from above. Mix well.
- Next add the egg, breadcrumbs and seasoning Mix well, incorporating all the ingredients.
- Butterfly the flank steak and season the inside with salt and pepper well.
- Spread the mixture, pressing down the stuffing so that it is about 1 inch from the border all the way around the butterflied steak.
- Lay the provolone cheese down on top of the mixture, leaving about 1 inch from the border.
- Take the edge closest to you, and roll the steak up, rolling away from your body.
- Take the twine and tie the roast every 1 ½ - 2 inches.
- Salt and pepper the outside of the roast and it is ready to place onto the spit.
- On the grill, remove the two center grill grates directly under the roast. Use disposable aluminum tray under to catch the drippings. Place the flank roast on the rotisserie spit and place onto the rotisserie motor. Review this video Bull BBQ Rotisserie if you need to refresh your memory.
- Turn the rotisserie motor on and turn the rotisserie burner knob to low heat.
- For addition heat, turn the two outside burner knobs with the grill grates above to low. Close the lid and get the temperature to set around 350-360 degrees.
- Depending on the size of the roast, check for doneness after 40 minutes of cooking without lifting the lid. The internal temp for medium rare will read 140 degrees.
- Once done, turn the rotisserie motor off, all the burners off, and using the Bull Pit Mitt, carefully remove the spit and roast. Place the roast onto a platter and cover it with foil and allow to sit for another 15 minutes to carry-over cook.
- For the blistered cherry tomatoes: While the roast is resting, place the grill grates back onto the grill and preheat the grill to high heat. Place a cast iron skillet pan on the grill to preheat for 5 minutes. Add the olive oil, garlic, shallots and saute for one minute.
- Add the cherry tomatoes to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes without turning, until they start to blister.
- Lightly stir and cook for another minute or two and they are done.
- To serve, remove the twine, slice the roast into 1 inch slices and serve along with the blistered cherry tomatoes and top with a balsamic glaze.
♥ Chef Amy
Love going to the circus! Always delicious and entertaining! Loved the meal!
Thank you, Pam. I will work on my next act for next Circus de Amy 🙂 Always enjoy you encouraging me from the crowd.