Mocha Eclairs and Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

How can you not like something named "chimichurri"? It's so fun to say!

chimichurri
chimichurri
chimichurri

If I didn't know it was an awesome sauce I would think it was the sound a train makes when it goes up a hill.



Chimichurri sauce is one of those easy herb/garlic/oil/vinegar sauces that should be a part of your kitchen repertoire, just like pesto. And Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce is a fine way to use it up. This recipe was so darn easy--all you need is a food processor and a broiler--it's done in under 20 minutes. And if you can't find flank steak (I couldn't, at our local IGA) any beef will do. I happened to find a slab of "steak tip", which was not cut into steak tips and that worked brilliantly.

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I made eclairs!!

There is something thrilling about that to me, I'm not sure why. Probably because it's one of those pastry case items that looks like it would be impossible to make at home.

Actually the separate components are pretty easy to make--the casing is profiterole dough, which is made, no lie, like this: boil water and butter, dump in flour, stir, then beat in a few eggs. It's the least fussy thing I've ever done. Then you pipe it onto a buttered baking sheet (I always use zip-lock bags with the corner snipped off) and bake for somewhere around 25 minutes. Voila! You've got a hollow casing for your eclair filling.

The fussiest thing is probably the filling, but cornstarch makes that pretty easy, and the only thing left is the chocolate glaze (ch. chips + heavy cream). All in all, it's a lot of bang for the buck.

And here is my inaugural photo from my new digital camera:!



Thank you Maddi and Don, for such a wonderful gift--next time you're up I'll make you eclairs. :-)