Well actually now that I think about it, pretty much anything can inspire me, but I really draw inspiration from the people I am surrounded by. I think that this is mostly due to the fact that I really love pleasing people. Specifically, I love to please people through their stomachs because, let’s be honest, food makes everyone happy . The main reason I fell in love with cooking was because of the reactions I received when I made a dish that someone loved. That feeling of making someone happy is my favorite. That feeling makes me thrive. It boosts my confidence and pushes me to keep creating, even when I have five failures in a row (and probably a handful of bad photo days too) and all I really want to do is go hide under the covers and forget the day happened.
Anyway, this Indian dish was inspired by my brother Brendan. He loves any and all ethnic food, which is pretty fun for me since I love exploring new and different foods. It’s keeps things from getting boring, which I hate…which is kind of funny since I feel like I am the most boring twenty year old ever. My idea of a fun time is taking photos of summer berries or making melty chocolate things with my favorite little sister. Weirdo.
But this Indian beef satay? It is safe to say it was a huge hit. In fact it even got the “this is better than a high-end Indian place”. Meaning – this satay is so freaking good. No really, it’s amazing. I personally think this meal is all about the curried cashew sauce. The sauce makes this dish. And the marinade for the steak is one of the the best I have made yet. I am not the biggest fan of steak, but this meal was pretty close to perfection. I served it with a simple side of Israel couscous that I tossed with olive oil, cilantro, chopped dates, chopped pistachios, salt and pepper (simple but so good!). Oh and of course, Naan. I cannot do any kind of middle eastern dinner without a side of Naan. It’s my favorite. It’s kind of everyone’s favorite.
This dish is also a great substitution for the “it’s getting to be the end of summer and I am kind of sick of BBQ chicken and burgers” funk. I went through that funk, and these skewers took me right out of it. They are super easy to make and are perfect for any weeknight or even a fun weekend dinner. Oh and Labor day too!! I know it seems like there’s a lot of ingredients down there, but I promise, this is as simple as it gets. Just whisk the marinade together (it literally takes a minute) and pour it over the steak. Let that hang in the fridge for an hour. Meanwhile make the cashew sauce (don’t worry, takes like five minutes – tops). Throw all the ingredients into a food processor and let it run until smooth and creamy. Then just grill and serve. Done. See, so easy.
See, lookin pretty delish!
