emergence
Recipe: red bell pepper honey vinaigrette
I’m out of the cave. ‘Tis a good thing.
Back when we were in Crested Butte for the wildflower shoot, Jeremy and I got chased off Daisy Pass by thunderstorms. I don’t mind shooting in rainy weather, but high winds are a deal breaker. This stormy weather lasted for a few hours each afternoon, so we’d take the opportunity to roll into the town of Crested Butte and grab a bite. As I’ve mentioned before, we know the backcountry around Crested Butte better than the town itself because we’ve always driven through it rather than walked around in it. It wasn’t until last summer when we met up with my aunt’s family for dinner one evening (we were shooting, they were on vacay) that we had a meal in town.
prayer flags
The first stop was Secret Stash for some pizza and salad. We get this way when we’re spending a lot of time hiking and shooting – we crave fresh vegetables. You know what I love about mountain towns? You can look like complete hell and smell worse and it’s okay. I nearly fell asleep in my salad, but we still had another 5 hours of shooting.
gringo greek salad
they are famous for their pizzas
The second day we moseyed down the main drag to grab a bite and chose a place at random – McGill’s. It’s a nice place for lunch. We both opted for salads. Jeremy ordered a seared ahi tuna salad and I had the blackened grilled skirt steak salad. The dressing was so good that I asked if they shared their recipe and was told that they don’t. Really? Okay… it’s not like they don’t give half of it away in the name of the dressing: red bell pepper honey vinaigrette. As Jeremy settled up the tab, I tasted the dregs and identified the flavors and jotted them down on my iphone. Guess what I did when we got home?
we’ll start with red bell peppers
and some honey
It’s not hard to deconstruct these things, so that’s what I did. I’m not much of a recipe developer. I don’t have that kind of patience. Salad dressings are relatively simple though. I could do this. I used some of the honey I had leftover from a client’s shoot. Have you heard of Grampa’s Gourmet Honey? They are local here in Colorado and the honey products are as gorgeous as they are delightful.
that blender is getting a lot of use this summer
red wine vinegar
There is no hard and fast rule with this dressing. You adjust the ingredients to your liking and you’re done. I didn’t have fresh oregano on hand, so I went with the next best thing: my Mexican oregano from Savory Spice Shop – best spice shop in Boulder.
it really brings out the flavor
the froth dissipates eventually
Whisk in your olive oil and then season to taste with more salt, vinegar, honey, whatever you like. I tend to go light on the oil. I prefer more vegetable matter in my dressing than oil. When the dressing is done, serve it on a salad…
whisk in the oil
You probably wanna know what salad, huh? I tore up some heirloom lettuce and tossed them with tomatoes, red onions, Persian cucumbers, and topped the ensemble with some slices of blackened grilled flank steak. Boy, that is good. I had never blackened anything before aside from my own eye (I simultaneously opened a door and walked straight into it in junior high – nice).
mix the seasoning
coat the beef
It’s perfect for summer. Mix seasonings together, slap it on the beef and chuck it in the refrigerator for a few hours. Then grill it.
i love fire-meat season
Let the beef rest under a foil tent for five minutes. Slice the flank or skirt steak thin against the grain and set a few pieces on the salad. Serve with the red bell pepper honey vinaigrette. This is a pretty happy salad. It rocked my little world.
yes and yes
Red Bell Pepper Honey Vinaigrette
[print recipe]
inspired by McGill’s at Crested Butte
1 red bell pepper
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsps honey
1/4 tsp oregano
pinch salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil
Wash, core, and de-seed the pepper. Slice into quarters or eighths and place in a blender with the red wine vinegar, honey, oregano and salt. Purée until smooth. It will look a little frothy. Don’t worry – it settles out. Pour the contents into a bowl and whisk a thin and steady stream of the olive oil into the purée until desired consistency/taste is reached. Tweek the dressing to your liking. Serve on something awesome… like a bed of greens and a few thin slices of blackened grilled flank steak.
Since you asked…
Blackened Grilled Flank Steak
from here
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsps ground cumin
2 tsps hot paprika
2 tsps dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1.5 -2 lbs flank steak
Mix all of the spices together in a bowl. Rub the mix over the steak and let it sit in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Grill that sucker to desired doneness (I prefer rare). Let rest under a foil tent for five minutes then slice and serve on a bed of greens with red bell pepper honey vinaigrette.
July 30th, 2010 at 12:48 am
I don’t know when I’ve seen a more perfect food post. Sincerely — breathtaking.
July 30th, 2010 at 2:16 am
Gorgeous food! I really like that bell pepper vinaigrette.
Cheers,
Rosa
July 30th, 2010 at 7:05 am
Looks yummy. Cool idea.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:10 am
That is one beautiful salad! I bet it was better than McGill’s! Thanks for figuring out the vinaigrette.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Wow, that looks cool & spicy,awesome for this sweltering heat we are experiecing here in OK, thanks! We love the Stash ( the name always makes me giggle), we were there over the 4th & I ran the 1/3 marathon from gothic to crested butte & actually took the time in this race to take in my breath-taking (On more than 1 level since we drove in from the ultimate flat lands the day before!) surroundings & scenery….didn’t try mcgills but will next time for a bite of lunch for the salads, thanks! And this will be n our dinner menu next week!
July 30th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Lacking words to better articulate the feeling: I echo Serene’s statement. Absolutely perfect! Thank you.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:28 am
This looks great! It satisfies my need for a veggie and my honey’s need for all things beef at the same time! Thanks for sharin’ :)
July 30th, 2010 at 9:01 am
I am making that dressing TONIGHT! Many thanks.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:20 am
I love everything about this (except the red onions, but that’s no problem). And I especially love that when the restaurant said no, you were all, “suck it, whigs!” Good for you. And for us!
July 30th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I’m a once or twice a year beef eater, but I think this just might be the moment. Looks delish!
July 30th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Sounds like a perfect summer meal! We can’t have a grill at the apartment we live in. Sad, I know. Do you think it would be best to cook the flank steak in a cast iron pan or a grill pan?
Thanks for the recipe and pics!
July 30th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
Amazing. I love that you were able to know what was in the dressing by just tasting it. Great dressing detectiveness going on right there! Your salad looks incredibly yummy with that blackened steak. :D
Wei Wei
July 30th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
I admire your dressing determination. Glad it turned out. I have some flank steak in the freezer just begging to go in this salad. Thanks!
July 30th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Yum! I am going to have to make this one!
July 30th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I want to eat that,right now!
July 31st, 2010 at 1:07 am
I’ll bet the dressing would be even better – with deeper flavour – if you chargrilled the capsicum (red pepper) first! it becomes so much sweeter, richer and rounder. Just a thought. As always, exquisite photos.
July 31st, 2010 at 10:26 am
My brain just said – Beef, It’s What’s For Dinner – in a big, booming voice. This is what your posts do to me!
July 31st, 2010 at 4:30 pm
I just stumbled on your site. Love your blog and your photography is awesome!
July 31st, 2010 at 6:13 pm
I’ll be making this salad dressing. I normally use roasted red peppers, this is a nice change.
July 31st, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Oooooooh, that beef shot is incroyable. MMM
August 1st, 2010 at 7:54 am
Ah, my resourceful friend! Of course you came up with the recipe–I’d expect nothing less of you! Can’t wait to see the pics from Butte!
August 1st, 2010 at 11:51 am
Wow–this looks like a perfect dressing! I’ve never thought of using red bell peppers in dressing, but just imagining it paired with the honey is making me hungry!
August 1st, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Love, love that vinaigrette. It looks so lovely on that salad. I can’t wait to try this.
August 2nd, 2010 at 10:58 am
Fiona – I’m also not a fan of the red onion, but it makes the salad pretty and if I slice it thin enough, I don’t notice it as much (Jeremy picks them out and puts them on my plate).
Steve – oh yes! Just oil the grill pan or cast iron pan (both work) and pan fry the steak. Should be lovely :) Also – congrats! You guys must be married now, right? :)
Nicola – great suggestion. I haven’t tried that, but I actually like the fresh taste of the raw red bell (even though I love roasted red bells too). It’s bright and really refreshing.
August 2nd, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Wow that steak looks good. You just don’t see flank steak being used enough. I can’t speak for the rest of my family, but I love steak on salad…yum!
August 11th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Hey Jen! Yep, happily married for two months tomorrow. :-) Thanks for the congrats! I didn’t get a chance to make this awesome dish yet, but I’ll be whipping it up this weekend.
August 12th, 2010 at 9:21 am
[…] is also the official photographer for Grampa’s Gourmet Honeys) recently posted a recipe for a Red Bell Pepper Honey Vinaigrette. She used our Clover Honey in the recipe, and as always took lots of gorgeous […]
March 19th, 2011 at 7:35 am
Beautiful recipe! Don’t forget to cook it in a big beautiful cast-iron skillet to give it more character and to double the healthy iron content of the meal!
June 3rd, 2011 at 6:35 am
[…] some flank steak from the freezer. I typed in “flank steak” and found a picture for a grilled flank steak salad with red bell pepper honey vinaigrette. I knew I had all the ingredients at home already, so I was sold. The only differences was […]