Flank Steak with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Glaze and more-CL-4/05

[Terrytx]

Other than grilling the flank steak, I followed the recipe for this. It was excellent. The combo of the onions, meat and the reduced vinegar was so simple but the flavors were wonderful. I wanted to lick the plate clean

With this we had Walnut-Crusted Potato and Blue Cheese Cakes and Roasted Sesame Asparagus, both from 4/05, and they were fantastic also. My potato cakes didn't want to hold on to the breading very well, so I sprayed them with cooking spray before dredging. This was one of the best meals we have had in a while.

[LLR]

Thanks for the review, I have this flagged in my magazine to try, it sounds wonderful!

[burleydee]

I made this on Monday and it was REALLY good. One caveat, though. My balsamic was syrupy to begin with - I think it's aged 20 years or something. Anyway, once it was reduced it turned gummy. So don't try this with the thicker balsamic vinegars! Otherwise, dinner was fabulous. I served the steak and onions with the potato-bleu cheese cakes and steamed broccoli. Mmmmmmmmmm.

[charliecat]

This is on the menu for tonight!! I searched earlier and didn't see any reviews. Now I'm really looking forward to it!

[Hammster]

I'm gonna make the caramelized onions and the balsamic to go on some ribeyes I'm cooking on my charcoal grill tonight. So slight variation in the recipe in that I'm using ribeyes.
I'll make some rosemary roasted potatoes on the grill too and have it with a good salad.

[ginny177]

This sounds great. Can someone please post the recipe?
TIA

[LLR]

Here you go, enjoy!

Flank Steak with Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Glaze
From Cooking Light

A sauce made from reduced balsamic vinegar gives this steak unique flavor. Both the steak and onions contribute a hefty dose of potassium to this entrée--766 milligrams in each serving. Serve with steamed broccoli or asparagus, and drizzle some of the glaze over the vegetable.

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Cooking spray

Bring balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small, heavy saucepan. Reduce heat to medium; cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt; sauté 18 minutes or until onions are golden brown. Remove from heat.

Preheat broiler.

Sprinkle steak with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, and thyme. Place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cutsteak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Serve steak over onions; drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Wine note: Steak and caramelized onions are fabulous partners for numerous red wines. But the balsamic vinegar glaze presents a bit of a challenge since vinegar can make wine taste sharp. One variety stands up especially well to vinegar: syrah (also known as shiraz). There are many great syrah/shirazes available. Try Geyser Peak Winery's shiraz from California, which is dense and lipsmacking--a steal at $18. -Karen MacNeil


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces steak, about 1/4 cup onions, and about 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 317(28% from fat); FAT 9.9g(sat 2.8g,mono 4.8g,poly 0.7g); PROTEIN 26.9g; CHOLESTEROL 37mg; CALCIUM 95mg; SODIUM 375mg; FIBER 3.4g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.6g

Maureen Callahan
Cooking Light, APRIL 2005

[ginny177]

Thanks LLR. This is going on my menu next week. Looks fabulous !

[oceanjasper]

Thanks, Terrytx! I picked up a tenderloin steak, so that I could make this tonight. It sounds wonderful!

[Hammster]

Originally posted by Hammster
I'm gonna make the caramelized onions and the balsamic to go on some ribeyes I'm cooking on my charcoal grill tonight. So slight variation in the recipe in that I'm using ribeyes.
I'll make some rosemary roasted potatoes on the grill too and have it with a good salad.

That is a delicious recipe. I embellished it a bit further. After I made the caramelized onions, I put them in a foil packet with some sliced red and orange bell peppers and put them on my bbq for 30 minutes to further caramelize the onions and soften the peppers. That combo along with the balsamic glaze was so yummy. Plus it was nice and colorful on top of the steaks.

[erinsue]

Made this on Friday and it got a thumbs-up from us, too. Another "more than the sum of its parts" recipe - but how can you go wrong with caramelized onions in any form?

I served this with baked potatoes and the zucchini boats (also in the April issue) which were supposed to be stuffed with basil mousse, but as the store didn't have any fresh basil I subbed dill and a good handful of chopped parsley. Still turned out great.

Erin

[MnSnow]

I made this recipe with the potato cakes for supper tonight. We grilled the flank steak instead of broiling it. It was a big hit with my DH and I liked it too.

I had the same problem as burleydee with the balsamic thickening up too much. It seemed fairly liquid until the last bit of reducing and that really thickened it up. I added some warm water to make it pourable but I imagine it would have a richer flavor without the water. I think I'll stop the reduction sooner next time.

We also grilled some red pepper, asparagus and red onion in our grill wok and that made a nice side to the dish.

Although it took some time to grill everything, nothing was difficult to make and I'm sure we'll make it again this summer.

Jody

[Goin' Coastal]

I always thought of flank steak needing marinated - is the steak tender?

[Peggy]

Very tender!! Just got finished eating dinner and this was our main course. I was a bit worried that the recipe would be on the dull side because of the minimal ingredients but it was great. Like Terry, we grilled the flank steak instead of broiling it. I also made the Roasted Asparagus as a side dish and it was very good too.

Peggy

[SLFlyt]

Terry - I made the exact same meal that you did and I agree, it was terrific! But then, Spenser fans know what's good!

[Terrytx]

Originally posted by SLFlyt
Terry - I made the exact same meal that you did and I agree, it was terrific! But then, Spenser fans know what's good!

like minds and all that stuff

[Kingwell]

I made this tonight with excellent results.
It helped that I had a great quality flank steak (from a local organic producer), so starting with good ingredients couldn't hurt. I also grilled my steak. I served this with tiny roasted red potatoes sprinkled with Penzey's Chicago steak seasoning and arugula, over which I drizzled what was left of the balsamic syrup.

I echo everyone's sentiments on the balsamic--CL means cook for five minutes! Mine was still happily boiling away after more like 10 minutes and still appeared thin, but then when it cooled it was super sticky and there wasn't enough of it. That's what I get for not following directions!

I will make this again and watch the time more closely. Other than my goof up, no complaints in this household.

And, just in case there are any other WW people reading, I figured a total of 10 points for my entire meal.