1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 cup corn kernels
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces mild cheese, grated
salt

1. Combine flour, baking powder, paprika, oregano, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and gradually incorporate into the dry ingredients, making sure the batter is free of lumps.
3. Fold corn, scallions and red pepper flakes into the batter and refrigerate for a couple of minutes.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil and drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Repeat 3 or 4 more times, leaving space between each fritter.
5. When the underside begins to brown and the top has set, flip the fritter and continue to fry the other side. Transfer to a warmed plate and top with cheese when finished cooking.
6. Repeat with additional batter and cheese, adding more oil as necessary.

Makes 4 servings

1 pound flank steak
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard
black pepper

1. Marinate flank steak in soy sauce, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, oil, lemon juice, garlic and mustard overnight.
2. Remove meat from the marinade. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and dry fry the flank steak. Allow to rest for a few minutes, then thinly slice to serve with freshly grated black pepper.

Makes 4 servings

I've had a thing for flank steak lately. It's now on my list along with rib-end pork chops as greatest bargain meat ever at like a buck a serving. I picked up another one without being really sure of what to do with it. I thought maybe I'd do a Southwestern kind of meal since I had a recipe for Corn Fritters kicking around. I made the corn fritters and thought they were missing something. I omitted the fresh herbs and chilies in the recipe because I was out of both, which may have added just enough pizazz to give it that bit of oomph. That and some flavored sour cream!

Anyhow, back to the steak. I settled on a simple recipe I'll just call Marinated Flank Steak. The flavor of Worcestershire sauce completely dominated the palette. Shannon really liked it. I'm not really sure what I expected, but the flavor was too intense for me, and not in a good way. Perhaps this would have been less noticeable if it weren't sort of cooking in its own juices in a frying pan. If it were grilled, that might have done wonders for this dish.

To skip back to the fritters, I'd just like to say that paprika is a cool thing. When I mixed it into the flour, it quickly disappeared into a sea of white. As soon as I added the milk (note: also white!) the whole thing turned a deep red color (from the paprika!) This is the kind of thing I think I would totally get a kick out of as a kid. Why isn't paprika incorporated into baking, I wonder?