{"id":34629,"date":"2026-10-24T20:02:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T20:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/?p=34629"},"modified":"2026-10-31T20:05:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T20:05:15","slug":"rockets-easy-steak-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/rockets-easy-steak-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket’s eASY STEAK SALAD"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Morning! Deirdre here, attempting to capture the opening of a football-cooking Saturday.<\/p>\n

Vic and Holly\u2019s Michigan Wolverines face the sixth-ranked Indiana Hoosiers at noon in Ann Arbor. That should supply sufficient excitement for one Conference Room.<\/p>\n

Representative Ilhan Omar is also facing a federal investigation concerning her immigration history. She denies wrongdoing. The claims about her identity and former marriage remain disputed; we cannot serve them up as established facts just because somebody on television sounds certain.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n(Rep. Ilan Omar, alleged to be AKA Ilhan Nur Said Elmi. Accusations are not truth, but this a complex and brazen matter with elements of the whole human experience).<\/p>\n

The Conference Table can debate the extraordinary distance between a childhood in war-torn Somalia and
\na seat in Congress. The investigators will have to establish what happened along the way. Meanwhile, I have a more immediate jurisdiction: the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

The Zingerman\u2019s special order arrived yesterday. It is part of the annual replenishment I usually arrange as the holidays approach and our reliable bottle of balsamic vinegar runs nearly dry. A little goes into dressings, over vegetables, or even into tomato juice for a quick culinary pick-me-up.<\/p>\n

Yesterday\u2019s discussion concerned the awning. Today we are getting under it, figuratively speaking, and opening the groceries.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n](FriIday ZIngerman’s speciality deliver! Next big buy will be the Reuben Sandwich bar for Spring).<\/p>\n

There is also the tail end of a roast to deal with. Our periodic bulk buys from the protein suppliers in Wyoming, the Shenandoah Valley and Leesburg produce wonderful meals, followed by the equally important question of what to do with the remaining pieces.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s deliveries need room. Today\u2019s football fans need lunch. Rocket\u2019s steak salad brings those requirements into comfortable alignment.<\/p>\n

We are using beef still within its refrigerated storage window. Cooked beef should be used within three to four days when kept at 40\u00b0F or below; making it into a salad does not restart the clock.<\/p>\n

Thin slices of roast, crisp greens, tomatoes, avocado and a tangy balsamic dressing make a substantial lunch without requiring another substantial roast. There isn\u2019t enough left to pretend we are serving a full steak dinner. There is plenty to make everybody happy with a fork.<\/p>\n

ROCKET\u2019S EASY STEAK SALAD
\nServes 4 in the watch section, triple ingredients for a shift turnover or Creative Section Planning Meeting:<\/p>\n

For the salad<\/p>\n

1 pound cooked leftover roast beef or steak, thinly sliced against the grain
\n4 cups mixed greens: arugula, spinach, romaine or a combination
\n1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
\n\u00bd red onion, thinly sliced
\n\u00bd cucumber, sliced
\n\u00bc cup crumbled feta cheese
\n\u00bc cup sliced almonds or chopped walnuts, optional
\n1 avocado, sliced
\nSalt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
\nFor the Galley balsamic dressing:<\/p>\n

Made with balsamic vinegar ordered from Zingerman\u2019s La Veccia Dispensa vinegar from the old town of
\nCastlevetro ;near moderna, Italy. This is our dressing, not a claimed Zingerman\u2019s house recipe:
\n.
\n\u00bc cup balsamic vinegar
\n\u00bd cup olive oil
\n1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
\nUp to 1 tablespoon honey, to taste
\n1 garlic clove, finely minced
\nSalt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.<\/p>\n

Directions:<\/p>\n

1. Make the dressing.
\nWhisk together the vinegar, Dijon and garlic. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Taste before adding the honey: a sweet, rich balsamic may need very little. Season with salt and pepper.
\n2. Prepare the beef.
\nSlice the chilled cooked beef thinly against the grain. Properly handled leftover beef can be served cold, which keeps this lunch particularly easy.
\n3. Build the salad.
\nDivide the greens among four plates. Add the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, feta and optional nuts. Arrange the beef and avocado on top.
\n4. Dress and serve.
\nDrizzle lightly with dressing just before serving. Pass the remainder at the table. The batch makes about a cup, so there is no requirement to drown the first four plates..<\/p>\n

Starting with fresh steak instead?<\/p>\n

Use approximately 1\u00bc pounds raw flank steak or ribeye to allow for cooking loss. Season with salt and pepper, then cook in a hot skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cooking time depends on thickness; use a thermometer rather than a fixed number of minutes.<\/p>\n

Socotra Galley Variations:<\/p>\n

Roasted peppers, leftover grilled vegetables or a few shavings of Parmesan fit comfortably here. For eight diners, double the salad and beef; make another batch of dressing only as needed.<\/p>\n

Keep the salad chilled until serving and put out smaller batches if lunch stretches through the game. Refrigerate perishables within two hours.<\/p>\n

That gets lunch and the afternoon onto the plates and clears a little room for Monday.<\/p>\n

There are ten days until the November 3 election, which means the television is unlikely to become quieter. We wish the congresswoman a fair hearing and the Conference Table enough restraint to distinguish an allegation from a verdict.<\/p>\n

As for Michigan and Indiana, the verdict should arrive this afternoon. Holly will have commentary.<\/p>\n

Rocket can pass the dressing.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
\nwww.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morning! Deirdre here, attempting to capture the opening of a football-cooking Saturday. Vic and Holly\u2019s Michigan Wolverines face the sixth-ranked Indiana Hoosiers at noon in Ann Arbor. That should supply sufficient excitement for one Conference Room. Representative Ilhan Omar is also facing a federal investigation concerning her immigration history. She denies wrongdoing. The claims about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-socotra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34629"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34634,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34629\/revisions\/34634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}