Ali Rosen loves potluck entertaining. Not the seat-of-the-pants “bring whatever” variety that can result in a 12-desserts-no-entrees spread, but a casually organized affair with good friends and good food.
Rosen, the creator and host of the Emmy-nominated TV series and website “Potluck with Ali Rosen,” says one key ingredient is having a repertoire of recipes that can be made ahead and served at room temperature. Her new cookbook, “Bring It!” (Running Press, $25), includes this sensational Ginger Beef recipe, complete with “how to bring it” tips for transporting and serving.
“Any time you serve meat at room temperature, you need a sauce that makes people forget they could’ve eaten something right out of the oven,” Rosen says. “You can use this sauce on a lot of different proteins — I’ve yet to find something that doesn’t go with it — but it marries particularly well with steak. The bold, bright sauce perfectly complements the robust nature of beef.”
Headed for a tailgate or picnic?
“Trying to cut a steak with plastic cutlery is my greatest pet peeve!” Rosen says. Her simple fix: Serve the steak in bite-size slices.
Ali Rosen’s Ginger Beef
Serves 4 to 8
Ingredients:
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh ginger
2 cups finely chopped scallions
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of salt
4 pounds sirloin steak
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
Directions:
- Make the sauce: Combine the ginger, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar and olive oil. Set it aside. (I think the sauce gets better the longer it sits, but at least let it sit while you cook the steak so it has time to settle together.)
- Then make the steaks: Generously salt the steaks on both sides. Place a cast-iron or nonstick pan on very high heat and add the oil (only use half if you are making the steaks in two batches to keep from crowding the pan). Let the oil get hot. Cook each steak for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of your steaks and the desired level of doneness. You will want to flip each steak every 30 seconds or so to ensure that it cooks evenly: It will cook better this way rather than flipping it only once — I promise.
- Remove the steaks and let them rest for at least 5 minutes. Slice off the fat and cut the steaks lengthwise into ¼-inch-wide strips. Add the sauce on top and serve.
How to bring it:
This dish is great hot or cold. If you are serving it cold, you can keep both the sauce and the cooked meat in the fridge for a day before serving (the sauce can keep for 3 days). If you are going to refrigerate the meat for later, don’t slice it after cooking: Wait until you are about to serve it so the moisture in the meat stays intact. If you want to serve the meat hot, undercook it a bit and then reheat it in an oven at 350 degrees. You can microwave the sauce to get it hot if you like.
— Reprinted with permission from BRING IT! © 2018 by Ali Rosen, Running Press
