Checkout with Food Editor Laurin Stamm|Chuck steak good substitute when sirloin’s not in budget

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, May 20, 2009

From The Kitchen of The Cypress House, May 23, 1979:

 With a long weekend ahead — Memorial Day is Monday, — most of us will be cooking the typical holiday menus: barbecued chicken or burgers, steak and potatoes, boiled corn and baked beans.

We have a recipe that might fit in perfectly. It’s for Florentine Chuck Steak (you might call it a roast), and if sirloin or T-bone is not in your budget, this is a great substitute.

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Florentine Chuck Steak

 4 1/2 to 5-pound roundbone chuck (or shoulder), about 2 inches thick

Instant meat tenderizer

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

 Wipe steak with damp paper towels. Sprinkle with meat tenderizer as the label directs. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and black pepper, and mix well.

Brush the meat with half oil mixture and place on a rack in a broiler pan. Broil 5 inches from the heat, for 15 to 20 minutes.

Turn the steak and brush with the rest of the oil mixture. Broil the steak 20 minutes longer for medium rare.

To serve: Slice the meat thinly on the diagonal. Drizzle with any remaining oil mixture. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Here’s a recipe for a carrot dip I think you might enjoy for the upcoming summer months. And as I wrote in a 1979 column: “Some people call the marinated carrots Copper Pennies, and they are really a treat for summer dining. If you like carrots, you’ll love this.”

Marinated Carrots

2 pounds fresh carrots

1 bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 small onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup

3/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup salad oil

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 can tomato soup, not diluted

Peel and slice the carrots. Boil in salted water until barely tender. Drain and cool immediately.

Mix together salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar, oil, soup, mustard, and Worcestershire.

Alternate layers of the carrots, bell pepper and onion. Pour the sauce over the carrot mixture and let sit overnight. This will keep for three weeks.

 The original recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, but we think that’s too sweet, so we cut it to 1/2 cup. Also there is a variation that calls for 2 cans of sliced carrots, drained, instead of the fresh.