Thanks to facebook, I’ve reconnected with old school friends. One is Danielle, both my brother and I took an after-school Chinese class with her. She’s back in town, slowly developing a confectionery business.
With my brother also visiting this weekend, we all got together for a Sunday lunch. The weather, while a little blustery, was still sunny. Just fine for some outdoor grilling and indoor eating.
The tri-tip came from Whitefoot, initially unseasoned and the butcher seasoned it for me with a dry rub. The grilled winter squash came from the garden, a sort of hybrid between a butternut and a kabocha. I only seasoned it with olive oil, salt and pepper and let the flavor of the squash do the rest. My mother prepared some homemade salsa to spoon on the tri-tip, which we ate with warm toasted tortillas.
My secret to the tri-tip is initially searing the fatty side on medium high heat on the grill for about 5 minutes, then turning it over, and turning the grill down to medium-low for a combination of even heating and indirect heat. It doesn’t burn, and the fat on top now starts rendering into the meat.
I grill it for an additional 30 minutes, then leave it to sit and rest for another 10 minutes. This results in a medium tri-tip. Well-done on the outside and edges, and pink in the middle.
Finally, I slice it very thin against the grain, pile it into a wide shallow bowl or a deep platter and pour over any remaining juices that may have escaped during slicing.
The beans are Santa Maria style pinquitos, with the pink beans coming from Shepherd Farms at the Saturday morning farmers market. Although I made them beforehand in my pressure cooker, I poured the beans into a heat-proof casserole and set them on a high rack in the grill so any smoke from the grilling would seep into the beans. Plus, it kept them warm. I added a couple tablespoons of water to the casserole to keep the top of the beans from drying out.
Finally, dessert was my homemade strawberry and orange marmalade frozen yoghurt, topped with Danielle’s homemade chocolate caramel sauce and a little whipped cream.
We spent the lunch catching up on our lives and reminiscing a few high school memories. Good times!