Salad days....Smoky grilled flank steak with roasted tomatoes and blue cheese buttermilk dressing

Dontcha hate skinny b*tches like this that have the gall to think they have a tummy and even worse, complain to YOU about it?! If they think THEY ARE FAT what do they think about you? Best to just slap them, just in case!

Darlings, with summer comes salads. And also with three holidays taken within ten weeks comes extra pounds. Sigh... Yes, darlings, its a sad fact of life that even La Diva succumbs to over-indulging while traveling and needs to "reign it in" every once in a while!

Hence, the next few weeks La Diva and her ever-supportin' sidekick DJ Nevah L8 (for dinnah!) have decided to cut down on carbs and cocktails to curb some extra calories! (The big fella took to the idea like a rusty nail to the foot!)

The problem with living in South Florida for La Diva is that summer is like winter. Huh? I mean according to my body and what it thinks it craves. Summer in Miami is so constant-sweat-dripping-down-your-back-hot 'n' steamy that everywhere you go here the air con is pumpin' like queens at a South Beach gym and I'm always freezing my ta ta's off. Hence, I'm not hot. Therefore, I don't crave light foods like salad. If I've been inside freezing all day it's no surprise that I could easily down a hot roast beef dinner with fixin's in the middle of July. Weird huh?

Alas, I am eating salads anyway but they must be robust and filling. And for my diligence I've been rewarded with already losing 3 lbs. since Memorial Day! Here's what I did for a hearty but satisfying weeknight dinner:

C'mon now, tell me that DOESN'T LOOK satisfyin' for a salad? Click on the photo to see all it's steaky flavors!

La Diva's Smokey Grilled Flank Steak with Slow Roasted Tomatoes and Blue Cheese Buttermilk dressing:

Dinner for two

Slow roasted tomatoes:

2 hours before dinner or the day before:

Preheat an oven to 250 degrees.

In a small roasting pan add a 1/2 pint of grape tomatoes, a few cloves of peeled garlic and a quick swirl of extra virgin olive oil. Add a bit of salt. Slowly roast tomatoes until shriveled and caramelized, about two hours, checking every half hour. When cooked, set aside.

IMPORTANT: Don't try to rush this process by putting up the heat on the oven. If you do, you will burn the bottom of the tomatoes and it turns to a napalm-like glue on the bottom of your pan! Good things can't be rushed!

Flank Steak:

At least a few hours before make a rub of:

garlic salt
chili powder
smoky paprika
ground ancho chile
dried oregano
salt
black pepper

Take one small steak or half of a large one (about 1 lb. piece) and rub with a bit of olive oil. Add rub and marinate in refrigerator for a few hours. Heat griller to sear and when hot, quickly cook the meat until medium rare. Take off and put on cutting board to rest for 5-10 minutes, then cut on a bias.

Blue cheese buttermilk dressing:

In a long cylinder container blend:

2-3 ounces crumbled blue cheese*
2 T buttermilk
1 green onion cut into pieces
3 T good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Use an immersion blender to mix dressing until texture is smooth, it will still be a bit lumpy. This is a light, lower fat blue cheese dressing but you can always make it creamier with a dollop of mayo. Tonight, we sacrificed creaminess for low cal!

*Note: the creamier and better quality the blue cheese, the creamier and tastier the dressing. I used pre-crumbled blue cheese so the dressing was a bit dry. I would prefer to use a better quality cheese next time like Maytag.

Puttin' it together:

Take 4 cups of cleaned mixed salad greens of spring mix, baby spinach, baby arugula or a mixture of all and place on two large dinner plates. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Add about 1/8 of one red onion, sliced paper thin. Then, divide the sliced beef between the two plates and fan out over the lettuce. Add roasted tomatoes and garlic and then dress with the blue cheese dressing. Add more salt and freshly ground black pepper! EAT!

Result: Tasty, filling and satisfying. Livin' with the big fella, La Diva has to always be sure that no matter how healthy, the meals are always gratifying for my big man. I served the salad with a small side of black bean, corn and jicama that I had left over but it certainly doesn't need it! The roasted tomatoes are so sweet cooked like this and the blue cheese is such a nice foil for the smoky chili flavor of the steak. Nevah L8 never even missed his mash!

Ok, this fat little cat cracked me up. I've never seen such a corpulent kitten!! This is your reward for eating salad for dinner tonight, darlings, a nice little chuckle! hehe!

La Diva will be back soon with more tasty and satisfyin' summer salad dinner ideas. What about you, darlings? Any ideas for La Diva? DO TELL!!! Ciao!cooking class, cocktails, parties, cocktail party, Miami, coral gables, events, bartending class, cocktail class, Laura Lafata, Miami Beach, miami cooking classes, bachelorette parties, bachelorette party