Skirt Steak, Steamed Artichokes and Tomato Salad (for one!)

I had a couple of artichokes I kept meaning to cook, and tonight was the night. Trim the pointy leaves with kitchen shears and cut the stem to 1". Wash thoroughly. In a few inches (just enough for the artichokes to stand up) of boiling water, toss in artichokes. Cover tightly for 35 minutes. Take off heat and drain. For super easy hollandaise, place three egg yolks in a small bowl. Add a heaping teaspoon of yellow mustard and some fresh ground black pepper.

In a measuring cup, melt a stick of butter until boiling and completely melted. With a hand mixer or in a blender, blend the egg yolk and mustard and then add the boiling butter very slowly while blending. Squeeze in the juice of 1/4 a lemon and keep blending. The sauce is done when it thickens.

Marinate a skirt steak in any Italian dressing for at least 3 hours. These are really tasty grilled, but it was raining, so I used my panini press.

I made a quick cherry tomato salad by halving the tomatoes and adding olive oil, seasoned rice wine vineger, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Everything was wonderful- the artichoke was cooked perfectly, and the hollandaise was buttery and lemony. This was so good, I'll be eating the leftovers tomorrow night...and the eggs.