One of the greatest things about July 4th weekend is that ALL THE MEAT IS ON SALE!!! Beautifully marbled Angus ribeye steaks for $5.99 a pound. By the way that I cooked tonight, you would have thought we were celebrating the holiday early!

I have a dilemma. I have about 42 posts that are sitting in the “Drafts” folder. They must have hired someone over at WordPress to do nothing but wait for the moment that I log in. I get a pop-up message that nobody else that I know gets: “ALERT! Steamy Kitchen! You have 42 drafts waiting. Most of them full with incoherent thoughts and incomplete sentences. Are you planning on finishing them?”

I swear, my husband must have said something to WordPress….he’s always complaining that I’m a good starter, but a lousy finisher. Especially when it comes to painting a room. About once every 3 months, I get bored of a room’s color and shop for a new palette. I start eye-level and methodically paint a perfect 3 foot x 3 foot area on each wall. Because any higher or lower than than would require straining, reaching and grunting. And that’s just not lady-like (because….cough….telling the world about my Pocket Rocket is).

Well, good thing husband is a great finisher, and he is so patient too!

Back to the whole subject of 42 drafts….I have A LOT of recipes to share with you. All of them have gorgeous photos ready and waiting. Most of them have the recipes already written out in short-hand that only mutt wearing a pink tutu would understand. They are all realllllly goooood eating and recipes that are either family secrets taught by my Mom or ones that I have been refining over the years. But every time that I want to finish a draft….a shiny, new recipe (usually found on one of your blogs!) comes along and distracts my attention. Off to go experiment and cook something new! Dang….the life of a Flogger is really tough.

As previously mentioned in my post titled How to Top a Steak Just Like Fancy Restaurants, I am not allowed to go anywhere near the BBQ grill outside. Its just not my area of expertise and my husband is such a pro at grilling that I have given up even trying. Me messing with his grill is like husband coming into my kitchen and messing up my knife drawer. Grounds for divorce. So, in the spirit of a happy, peaceful marriage, I learned to kick-ass in marinating steaks and making steak sauces. The aroma of rosemary, garlic and steak-on-sale grilling outside just makes me giddy warm and happy inside (I’m just not a giddy kind of gal…is that ok?)

Grilled Garlic & Rosemary Ribeye Steak

Your favorite steaks Rosemary sprigs + any other fresh herb (I used Parsley) Lemon slices Garlic cloves, chopped, smashed or use garlic press Glug of olive oil Salt & Pepper 1. Season each steak, both sides with salt and pepper. I usually use 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per side on a large steak. I love salt. 2. In a bag, add all ingredients. Smish and smush a bit.

Get all the air out of the bag so that the herbs are hugging the steak.

Marinate. 1 hour on the countertop worked beautifully, but the longer you marinate, the more flavor you infuse.

Ideally, 4 hours (3 hrs in the refrig, 1 hr on countertop).

Make sure you bring steak to room temperature before you grill. 3. When grill is super-duper hot, Husband usually just takes the steaks out, lets the olive oil drip off and throws the steak on grill with the herbs, lemon and garlic still clinging to it.

Grill.

Serve with the herb/lemon/garlic cling-ons.

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Here’s the rest of our dinner….sitting in Draft mode: two down, 40 to go

Honey Ginger Carrots with Citrus Salt

Garlic Truffle Fries

One of the easiest ways to elevate your cooking to another level is to use flavored salts, or finishing salts. No recipe needed, really. Flavor + Salt = Flavored Salt. REALLY!!! I know you just had a V-8 moment just now (wow. that sure dates me. does anyone know what i’m talking about?!) My latest crush, Eric Gower the Breakaway Cook, writes extensively about finishing salts on his website and even gives you several flavors to try. I like to use these salts in place of regular salt - the flavor I use is dependent on either the type of dish I’m cooking, the ethnic cuisine or a flavor I would like to infuse in the dish. I call these Finishing Salts because most of the time, its exactly what I use them for.

Sometimes a dish just needs a little color after plating and a finishing salt is the perfect compliment flavor-wise and eye-candy-deliciousness-wise. Learn from professional cooks - who often serve food on white dinnerware - and sprinkle a little of your Finishing Salt directly on the food AND the plate. The vibrant colors are shown off against the white and your dinner guests can dab as much as or as little of the salt as they wish. You can make a batch for less than $1….or you could go to a gourmet shop and spend $12 for an itty bitty jar.

Szechuan Peppercorn Salt

Dry-roasted Szechuan or Sichuan Peppercorn + food processor to grind the peppercorn + sea salt. It’s spelled Sichuan nowadays, but for some reason I’ve always spelled it Szechuan. Anyways, spell how you like.

>>Edit: more detailed instructions: I roasted SZP in a hot, dry skillet until smoking but not burnt. Let that cool a little bit. Dump in food processor to grind to same size as your salt. Then you add your salt and pulse a just couple of times to fully incorporate the flavors together. I like my S&P a little chunky and not like a fine powder. I used equal amts of SZP and sea salt. You can adjust based on your tastes. If you are using a very fine sea salt or just regular table salt, decrease the amt of salt.

Szechuan Peppercorn is really not a peppercorn at all - its a berry from a bush that will make your tongue and lips tingle and numb when you eat them. Yes, its legal. No, you can’t snort it. When you dry-roast the peppercorns, your entire house will smell heavenly…woodsy, citrusy, earthy…so incredibly aromatic that Chef Kylie Kwong perfumes her restaurant daily with a hot, smoking, dry wok of roasted peppercorns. Add to any dish that needs a little kick in the pants. Cooking Chinese? Sprinkle some Szechuan Peppercorn Salt to finish any dish. I also love seasoning my steaks with this instead of the standard salt & pepper prior to grilling. This can also serve as a dipping salt for fried shrimp.

Fushia Dunlop even recommends using this combination on potato chips! Make them yourself (its very simple with a mandoline) and flavor with SZP Salt while they are hot. Or, dump a bag of your favorite plain chips onto a baking sheet + 375 F for 5 minutes, remove and sprinkle with SZP Salt. Ohhh…how about french fries with SZP Salt at your next dinner party? Nothing like watching the reaction of your guests as their lips tingle and they discover a new taste. You can buy Szechuan peppercorn at your local Chinese market or at Whole Spice, iGourmet, GetSpice (UK), Spice Barn and Spicehouse

When you get your SZP, take a couple of pods and chew - the tip of your tongue will go tingly! Cooking the SZP tames the pepperyness and the numbing quality.

Citrus Salt

Grated orange peel + grated lemon peel + let the citrus peels dry a little bit on a paper towel + sea salt Think bright, cheery and light. Finish your shrimp skewers, any vegetables, grilled chicken breasts, grilled salmon with Citrus Salt. Lighten your risotto or steamed rice with Citrus Salt. I’ll be posting soon on a recipe I created, Panko-Crusted Grouper Cheeks with Japanese-Style Risotto and Citrus Salt. Long, fancy name for fish ‘n rice, I know. I need to shorten the name…just sounds too restaurant-y.

Matcha Salt

Matcha is Japanese green tea powder made from the highest quality of green tea leaves. Its a stunning and lovely mossy color which makes such a pretty finishing salt, especially if you use a white plate and also sprinkle some directly on the plate. Matcha powder + sea salt + couple pulses in food processor if you are using course sea salt You know what is so totally divine? Your favorite chocolate truffle or chocolate bar + dip in Matcha Salt. So very different! Eric Gower pairs it with eggs and tofu. Use with dishes that are light in texture and flavor, since this salt’s flavor is more delicate and subtle. It gives a beautiful floral, grassy, sweet and soothing aroma. You can buy Matcha powder at your local Asian market. Sometimes coffee/tea shops will carry as well. This is not the same as green tea leaves. Ask specifically for Matcha powder. Its a little expensive. I paid $7.50 for 1.4 oz jar at a Japanese market in Los Angeles (which will last me a long time as I only used about� 1 teaspoon in my mixture). Don’t get the super-premium stuff, it would be a waste to use the expensive powder for the salts. Buy online at Amazon (this is the brand I got). Use your leftover powder to make green tea ice cream. I have all three sitting patiently waiting for my next cooking adventure….you guys have any ideas for other flavors? What would you do with Chocolate Salt?