perfect steak salad with grilled onions

sometimes the best weekday meal is a perfectly cooked steak, grilled onions and cherry tomatoes over a bed of mixed greens.  it's hearty and flavorful but nice and light, and it's great because rob loves it too!  as you can imagine, it's very simple to make...it literally takes about 10 minutes to put together!  plus, you can save the dressing in the fridge for a couple days.  this recipe is for two.  enjoy!

ingredients:

- bag of mixed greens

- ribeye steak (a pound or so), 1 inch thick

- 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch slices

- handful of cherry tomatoes

- s&p

dressing:

- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced

- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

- 1 teaspoon sesame oil

- 1 tablespoon soy sauce

- 1 teaspoon brown sugar

- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

- 1/2 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger, optional

directions:

- heat a frying pan over high heat with some olive oil

- season the steak with generous amounts of s&p

- cook the steak on the frying pan for 4 minutes on each side for medium to medium rare

- meanwhile, mix all the dressing ingredients with a whisk; set aside

- remove the steak from the pan and let it rest; add onions to the same pan and cook until softened

- add cherry tomatoes to the pan to warm through

- slice the steak; add on top of mixed greens with onions and tomatoes

- finish with a drizzle of the dressing and some freshly cracked pepper

xoxo,

kara

amazing spicy tuna (for crispy rice, rolls and bowls!)

i'm a fan of good spicy tuna...sushi gen's spicy tuna, crispy rice at katsuya and definitely the spicy tuna bowl at teriyaki me in glendale (i miss teriyaki me!).  i feel like a lot of places make their spicy tuna too spicy so you can't taste the tuna or it's just really bland.  after experimenting and trying all sorts of variations of spicy tuna at home, here is a tried and true recipe for the best spicy tuna you'll ever have!

ingredients:

- 1 pound sashimi grade tuna

- 2 teaspoon mayo

- 2-3 teaspoon asian chili paste/sauce (ie: sriracha. i recommend the chili garlic sauce with the green cap and rooster)

- 1/2 teaspoon chili oil (ie: japanese rayu)

- dash of soy sauce

- 4 stalks of green onion, finely sliced

- 1 tablespoon smelt roe *optional

- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil *optional

-  lemon *optional

- rice and nori (for rolls or handrolls; see below)

- 4 tablespoons of butter and rice (for crispy rice; see below)

directions:

- mix the mayo, 2 teaspoon chili paste, chili oil, soy sauce, sliced green onion and sesame oil in a bowl.  taste the sauce.  if you want it spicier, add another teaspoon of chili paste

- dice the tuna into small pieces; add the tuna to the bowl with the sauce

- mix carefully. add a spritz of lemon if you want to add some acidity to the taste.  refrigerate immediately

- use the spicy tuna mixture in a handroll (rice and tuna rolled up in nori), in a roll (you know...a sushi roll!), over a bowl of rice or over some crispy rice!

crispy rice directions:

- create rectangular blocks of rice (approximately 4"x1"x1")

- over a hot skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and a couple dashes of soy sauce

- when the butter starts to bubble, add the rice blocks and cook on each side until the rice gets crispy; remove

- let it cool a tad then spoon some of the spicy tuna mixture on top (garnish with a slice of jalapeno if you'd like!)

xoxo,

kara

moroccan style curried couscous salad with dried cranberries and apricots

growing up my dad would make a big batch of couscous salad every sunday night for me and arthur to snack on during the week.  i always thought the salad was super difficult to make until recently, when i asked my dad for the recipe.  not only is this recipe easy to follow, there is literally no cooking involved!  so if the only thing you know how to do in the kitchen is boil water (or chicken broth), this is the recipe for you!

ingredients:

- 1 17-ounce box of instant couscous (trader joe's whole wheat couscous)

- 2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

- 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

- 3 tablespoon curry powder

- 3 teaspoon salt

- 3 teaspoon sugar

- 3 cup low sodium chicken broth

- 2 oranges, juiced

- 8 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

- 4 green onion, thinly sliced

- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 2 1/4 cup dry roasted almond slivers

- pepper

directions:

- in a very large heatproof bowl, stir couscous, cranberries, apricots, curry powder, salt and sugar

- bring chicken broth to a boil then pour over couscous mixture then add orange juice

- stir quickly then tightly cover bowl with plastic wrap

- let it stand for about 5 minutes until the broth is absorbed

- using a fork, fluff up the couscous

- add olive oil, green onion slices, parsley, lemon juice and almonds

- mix ingredients and season with salt and peper if needed...enjoy!

xoxo,

kara

spicy grilled chicken, korean style

i'm overly obsessed with my grill, and throughout the year (since it's always sunny in LA), i get to create fun recipes and grill all the time!  here is an easy and delish spicy grilled chicken recipe korean style...plus, it's perfect with tacos too, like kogi truck!

ingredients:

- 1 cup soy sauce

- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

- 2 tablespoons honey

- 1 tablespoon korean chili paste (kochuchang)

- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

- 6 cloves garlic, chopped

- 1 green onion, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

- 1 teaspoon sesame oil

- 1.5 teaspoon sesame seeds, optional

- 1-1.5 pound chicken, i recommend chicken breast

directions:

- cut the chicken in half and pound slightly to flatten a tad

- mix the rest of the ingredients together

- marinate the chicken for 4-8 hours or overnight in the fridge

- grill the chicken for 10 minutes on one side on medium heat

- grill the other side of the chicken until done...and enjoy in a taco, sandwich, with rice, anything!

xoxo,

kara