We give this dish local flair by sourcing Florida seafood. The surf portion is baked local Gulf shrimp stuffed with Florida blue crab. Instead of a plain grilled steak, the turf side of the plate is marinated chimichurri beef.


Ingredients

Chimichurri steak marinade
1 cup olive oil
2 bunches fresh cilantro
6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
10 (6-oz). chuck tender steaks

Sherry bottom sauce
2 tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large shallot, minced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sherry, to taste

Crab stuffing
1 lb. lump crab meat
3 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. yellow mustard
1 cup cracker crumbs
2 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 cup diced roasted red peppers
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

20 shrimp, 13/15, peeled and deveined
Grilled red cabbage wedges
Duck-fat cooked potatoes

Steps

  1. Prepare chimichurri steak marinade: In blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except steaks for marinade; puree until well blended. Pour marinade over steaks; marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours.
  2. Prepare sherry bottom sauce: In saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic and shallot; saute lightly. Add remaining ingredients to pan and reduce by half so as to coat the back of a spoon.
  3. Prepare crab stuffing: In bowl, mix all stuffing ingredients until thoroughly blended. Stuff each shrimp with a heaping tablespoon of crab mixture; bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.
  4. Grill steaks to medium rare; let rest at least 15 minutes, then slice on bias.
  5. For service: Apply 1 tablespoon of sherry sauce to bottom of plate; top with 2 pieces stuffed shrimp and sliced steak. Serve with red cabbage wedges and potatoes.

Yield: 10 servings