Sweet Suppertime

heavy on the butter and sugar...

Disneyland Bengal BBQ (copycat)

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If you hang around our family, or this blog, long enough you will have no trouble figuring out that we are Disneyland fans.  Let me think of a stronger term…fanatics.  We love Disneyland.  We have often talked about how Disneyland takes us to another land and it’s the land of our childhood.  Raising six kids with Disney movies and trips to sunny California (thank you soccer and baseball trips), we have created more than a few memories inside the park. 

I remember on one trip, we had been inside the park so often and had completely satiated our need to ride the rides.  One morning at the hotel my oldest pulled out a map of Disneyland.  He tore the map into “lands”.  The family brainstormed a game we could play together.  In the end, we all put our names in a hat and drew out teams.  Two people per team.  The rules were a simple game of hide-and-seek.  Once we had our teams, each team drew a folded “land” from the torn-up map.  Each team had to start in their land, ride one ride and then they could move about the park in any manner they chose.  If you found another team you took a photo of the team and sent it to the group.  That team was then “out”. The last team standing received some prize and I don’t think any of us could tell you what the prize was. 

I’ll never forget hiding behind a large tree near The Haunted Mansion with Michael and us both looking at our phones only to see a photo of our backsides as we hid behind the tree.  We had come out of hiding long enough to stand in a line to get a pass of all passes during the year of a million dreams.  We knew the risks.  We accepted them and we paid the price. If I’m not mistaken, Tod and Keven won The Game that day.  In all fairness, Tod had his wallet and he and Keven got new shirts and hats to go full incognito.

I don’t know when our tradition of stopping at The Bengal Barbeque started, but it was around this time.   Often, now, you will hear one of us say “hey, I am stopping at The Bengal BBQ for a banyan, I will catch up to you”.  Just as often that person is followed by several others to grab a skewer of meaty and saucy deliciousness.  We all have our favorites.  So much so that Lacey stopped at Town Hall and requested the recipe.

Earlier this week we celebrated Katey’s birthday.  For a family who is on a Disneyland Diet (due to Covid-19), it seemed appropriate to celebrate in Bengal Barbeque style.  Lacey has made a few adjustments to the recipe because that is what we do. It was delicious! As we reminisced about Disneyland and Katey we played music from the Tiki Room and Indiana Jones and hoped that some of those present would be able to use their season passes soon.

Here’s to family memories, holding out hope, great memories still to be had, season passes, and a family who is always game to be a child again.  Oh—and to the creation of The Game which will stand in Balser history forever.

Hope you have fun whipping up these magical skewers and don’t forget to turn on the tiki music.

Chieftain Chicken Skewers

Serving Size:
6-8
Time:
15 minutes
Difficulty:
easy

Ingredients

  • 6 whole cloves
  • 2 T. red wine vinegar
  • 1 C. ketchup
  • 1/2 C. crushed pineapple
  • 1/2 C. brown sugar
  • 1/2 C. soy sauce
  • 1/4 C. orange juice concentrate
  • 3 T. water

Directions

  1. Simmer cloves in red wine vinegar for 5-10 minutes
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes
  3. Brush on grilled or baked chicken skewers

Bengal Beef Skewers

Serving Size:
6-8
Time:
15 minutes
Difficulty:
easy

Ingredients

  • 1 C. teriyaki sauce
  • 1 C. soy sauce
  • 1 T. red wine vinegar
  • 1 C. brown sugar
  • 1/2 C. sherry cooking wine
  • 2 whole bay leaves
  • 1 T. ground black pepper
  • 2 T. fresh ginger
  • 1 T. fresh garlic

Directions

  1. Add all ingredients to a sauce pot and simmer 5-8 minutes
  2. Brush over sirloin steak skewers

Banyan Beef Skewers

Serving Size:
6-8
Time:
15 minutes
Difficulty:
easy

Ingredients

  • 1 C. soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 C. water
  • 1 T. ground black pepper
  • 3 T. sesame oil
  • 1 t. ground red pepper
  • 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
  • 1 t. fresh garlic
  • 1 T. corn starch

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients except corn starch, and bring to a boil
  2. Add enough water to the corn starch to make a bit of a paste, add it to the boiling mixture and remove from the heat once it is thickened.
  3. Brush over sirloin baked or grilled steak skewers

Steak with Rosemary and Garlic

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steak, steak marinade, steak sauce, steakhouse steaks

There are times when you want to make something really special for dinner.  You want a restaurant-style experience without the price and without hiring a babysitter.  I have six kids.  Most of them are grown and gone but I remember those early years of motherhood with fondness and sometimes fatigue and frustration.   We didn’t always have the budget for a nice evening out and we didn’t always have a babysitter available.  Enter the rosemary and garlic marinated steak. This meal has been served on many special occasions at our house.  Events like anniversaries, birthdays and New Years Eve are ones that quickly come to mind.  Sometimes we would put the kids to bed and make dinner and other times we put out our best dinnerware and had a beautiful etiquette-teaching meal.   My favorite steak to use is a 2-inch thick porterhouse steak but the process for any steak is the same and it always packs big flavor.  Use whatever steak you have available to you or splurge and ask the butcher to cut you a nice thick porterhouse.

Start by placing sprigs of fresh rosemary on both sides of the steak along with several slices of fresh garlic.  Wrap the steak and refrigerate for about 8 hours.

steak and herbs About 20 minutes before you are ready to start cooking the steak remove it from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.  Heat a heavy (cast iron if possible) to medium heat and drizzle about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet.  Sear the steak on both sides WITH the rosemary and garlic.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Steak and Rosemary Reduce heat and add 1/2 cup red wine, apple juice or bouillon.  I found this nice little cooking wine that I used because I don’t have alcohol in the house.  🙂  Preheat your oven to 375°.

cooking wine Simmer 2 minutes while the oven is heating.  Place the steak, uncovered, in the oven for about 25 minutes.  Turn the steak every 10 minutes.   Cook to your desired doneness.  During the last 5 minutes of cooking place a tablespoon of butter on top of the steak.  That’s just a delicious idea.

Remove the steak from the oven and allow it to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.  This is where I add a bit of salt to the steak.  Cover with a piece of foil to keep the heat in.   (The steaks I made today were plated as individuals, not sliced.)  While the steak (or steaks) are resting,  we will work on the sauce that is poured over the steak for serving.

Remove the large sprigs of rosemary from the pan.  To the drippings add 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 2 green onions chopped, 1 rounded tablespoon of jalapeno jelly and 1/4 cup additional red wine or your substitute.  If I don’t have jalapeno jelly handy I use 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes with about a tablespoon of brown sugar.  Look at us making rational substitutions!   Whisk together until well incorporated over a low simmer.

sauce for sliced steak Pour warm sauce over steak and serve immediately.  You know what is a great side dish for this steak?  Loaded Red Potatoes!  Garnish with fresh rosemary.

Look at your calendar and see what special occasions you have coming up in your life.  My kids still remember feeling so important when I cooked this for them as young children.  Something I couldn’t afford to do with them at a fancy restaurant became a happy memory.

Steak with Rosemary and Garlic

 

Steak with Rosemary and Garlic
 
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With just a little preparation you will end up with a delicious restaurant quality steak. Make it for a special occasion in your family.
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Ingredients
  • Steak, your choice. I love to have a butcher cut me a 2-inch thick porterhouse steak. For this post I used 4 rib eye steaks because I was feeding a crowd.
    For The Marinade
  • 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • olive oil
  • butter
  • ½ cup red wine or use apple juice or sweetened broth
    For The Sauce
  • drippings from pan
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 green onions chopped
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • ¼ cup addition red wine, apple juice or broth
  • 1 rounded tablespoon of jalapeno jelly or ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
  1. Layer steak or steaks with sprigs of fresh rosemary and garlic slices.
  2. Wrap and refrigerate for about 8 hours.
  3. Remove the steak from the fridge 20 minutes before you are ready to start cooking.
  4. Preheat oven to 375°
  5. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet and bring to medium heat.
  6. Brown steak, with rosemary and garlic, on each side for about 2-3 minutes or until it develops nice color.
  7. Reduce the heat under the skillet and add red wine.
  8. Simmer 2 minutes.
  9. Put the skillet with the steak/steaks in the oven for approximately 25 minutes; turning them every 10 minutes.
  10. During the last 5 minutes of cooking place 1 pat of butter on each steak.
  11. Remove from the oven and place on a plate.
  12. Lightly salt the steak and cover with foil.
  13. To the drippings in the pan add tablespoons butter, soy sauce, green onions chopped, jalapeno jelly and ¼ cup additional red wine.
  14. Over low heat whisk together until completely incorporated.
  15. Slice the steak, especially if you are using the thicker porterhouse cut. Or plate the steaks you have cooked an individual steak for your guests.
  16. Pour sauce over the cooked steak.
  17. Garnish with fresh rosemary.
  18. Serve.
  19. Great with Loaded Red Potatoes.