Portobello Marsala Strip Steaks

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We don't do a lot of sauces for steak. Dragging fresh slices of steak through the juices, seasonings, and melted butter on the cutting board is my standard MO. But every now and then, I like to shake things up and get a little saucy like I did with this Portobello Marsala Strip Steak.

The salty sweet flavor of the sauce and mushrooms pairs excellently with the steak.

Slight confession, we typically split a steak between the two of us for dinner because our appetites have slowed down as we have gotten older. The good news is that means we get to have steaks for dinner two nights in a row. 

The full recipe is at the bottom of the post. Here are a few pictures and tips from the cooks.

Grilled Chicken Piccata

I love the intense flavor of chicken piccata - the briny taste of capers and the bright pop of citrus makes my taste buds dance.

Alexis and I went to dinner with our neighbors at Cappucino's here in Knoxville a few weeks ago.  I got Chef Frank Aloise's piccata, and it inspired me to fire up a batch at home.

The problem with grilled chicken piccata is that grilling doesn't give you the sucs (brown bits left if the pan) to make a good pan sauce, which is the base of piccata.  Here are a few workarounds for that.

Fire Roasted Buffalo Chicken Sausage Mac and Cheese

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We were shopping for supplies for a project and found some Buffalo Chicken Sausages at Fresh Market.  We didn't need the sausages for the project, but I couldn't just pass them up once I saw them, right?  

When we were brainstorming how to use the sausage, I thought of the Buffalo Mac and Cheese that we used to get at Rafferty's (before they closed our local one....boooo).   So we made mac and cheese with the Buffalo chicken sausage instead of fried Buffalo chicken.

Of course, we made ours over live fire on a kamado grill - a Big Green Egg to be specific.  But you could do this inside as well.  Make the sausage and sauce on the stove top and then roast the mac and cheese in the oven. 

I love this small Lodge cast iron skillet because it is grill safe and the wok-like sloped walls make it easy to toss and flip food while cooking.  I bought one for my mom a few Christmases ago and was so envious I purchased one for myself!