Hello, World

Isn't that what you're supposed to put on a new website?  Hello, world?  In any case, it's sincere.  Hi, Earth.  Pull a chair up.  Stick your toes in the grass.  Want a beer?  It's a sultry-hot Friday the Thirteenth in Denver, Colorado, the July sun ​dipping towards the crest of the Mt. Evans massif.   In my sheltered backyard, it's cooling just a bit, but by the grill, it's still hot as Hell - just the way I like it. I've got my version of a Paloma on my work table: grapefruit juice mixed with clean, dry Brazilian cachaça rather than the traditional tequila.  That's just enough to take the edge off the heat radiating off the heap of charcoal under the grate.  

The grate's hot as hell by now, so it's time to throw on the steak.  It's a mysterious cut from my favorite meat market called the Pedro Steak.  It's got the texture of a flank steak, but it's L-shaped, and as thin as a skirt steak but not as chewy. I doused it in a puree of garlic, Sriracha sauce, bitter orange juice, and olive oil a few hours ago, then dressed it with a bit of salt and pepper while the charcoal was getting hot.  It lets out a hiss like a steam valve as it hits the grill.   I've also got some fresh zucchini, halved and oiled and sprinkled with pepper.  Nothing fancy, just good.
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I'm an active griller; I've got no patience for waiting nor for received wisdom.  As such, I flip my steaks often, every minute or so, dousing them with a simple baste of oil and orange juice as I do.  I find this, more so than the time-honored method of only flipping meat once, encourages the development of a deep, caramelized, browned crust on the surface while managing the migration of heat towards the core of the steak.   The baste, too, keeps the surface of the meat from drying and toughening as the rest of the steak cooks.  

I love this, you see.  Cooking is one of the joys of my life, and cooking over a live fire is one of the purest and most immediate expressions of that craft.  Done well, grilling is almost transcendent, both primal and refined.   I've only been grilling a couple of years, but I suspect that I will continue learning something new every time I fire up the grill for decades to come.   And that's what motivated me to start this blog, world - to pass on what I've learned about this old art, and to learn from you in turn.   So thanks for checking it out, world.   Looking forward to more.
​Expect daily updates! 

​Cuban Palomilla Steaks: 

• 1lb skirt steak, flatiron steak, or thin-sliced sirloin, no more than 1/2 inch thick

Marinade​

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup bitter orange or lime juice

• 1 shallot or 1/2 small red onion

• 8 cloves garlic

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp Sriracha chile sauce or crushed red pepper flakes

Baste

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 3 tablespoons lime or bitter orange juice

Puree all marinade ingredients in blender until smooth.  Pour over steaks in flat pan or ziploc bag.  Marinate at least 30 minutes up to two hours.  Remove steaks from marinade and, using paper towels, pat steaks dry so no marinade remains.  Salt and pepper generously. Arrange coals for high heat, or preheat gas grill to high.  Allow grill grate to preheat, then ​grill, turning every minute or so for a total of 6-8 minutes until browned and nicely crusty.  Baste the hot side of the meat after every flip.  Allow the meat to rest 5 minutes before slicing thinly and serving.   Optionally, makes badass steak sandwiches on a ciabatta or telera roll.