A Dish to End The World On

We live in cryptic times. Every day I run headlong into a new tale of total human destruction: financial crisis and terrorist attacks threaten our economic stability; global warming, pollution, and the vanishing of the bees clearly signify the final reckoning; and current authors from Suzanne Collins to JK Rowling profess the darkness of our era.

I recently read a book, called The Age of Miracles, that was highly reviewed on NPR. It is supposedly a new coming of age novel that is so well acclaimed that movie contracts are already being negotiated. However, 269 pages of the Earth's dysfunctional planetary rotations coupled with ensuing famine and cancer causing solar radiation left me, well, jarred, and, quite frankly, depressed. Not even a week later, I saw a preview for a new blockbuster; you know the one: the comedy with Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, and the asteroid imminently hurtling towards Earth.

Suffice it to say, I find myself wondering these days about the end of the world. And I realize I cannot be alone. People have been worrying about the apocalypse for thousands of years. Think of Nostradamus and Revelations; think of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah; think of Dr. Strangelove and How I Learned to Love the Bomb! For whatever reason,  apocalyptic anxiety seems to be biologically ingrained into humanity, so much so that it has transcended cultures, times, and places to become one of the few recurrent motifs of our species. Like love and war, Armageddon is a universal truth of humanity.

And then I had to ask, what would you do if it really was the end of the world? One of my friends said she would sleep; the other said she would spend all her money, although she is not sure on what exactly; another said she would simply hold her baby, gazing at her until the very last moment. And strangely, I honestly think that I would be doing this: making dinner, uncorking a bottle of wine and
sitting down, candle light flickering and music softly playing, with my husband- just like we do every night.

Now of course, if it were the end of the world, I would have to make something quick and delicious (no time for slow and laborious meals when aliens are invading the planet), and of course it would have to include the most satisfying combination of foods: bacon and steak (more to come on my obsession with bacon later). So here it is, the dish to end the world on: bacon wrapped skirt steak (a.k.a killer comfort food). Feel free to write in and let me know what your doom's day agenda would entail!

Bacon Wrapped Skirt Steak: Serves 2
-1/2 pound of skirt steak (I buy this in a long strip from the farmer's market)
-2 slices of thick cut bacon (I also buy this at the farmer's market)
-Olive Oil for searing (about 1 TBP)
-1 TBP coconut aminos (or gluten free soy sauce)
-Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Wash skirt steak and pat dry. Cut in half length wise so that you have two long strips of skirt steak. Roll each strip into a spiral. Wrap each spiral in a slice of bacon and secure with a tooth pick. Season both sides with salt and pepper and drizzle coconut aminos over. Let marinate at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
3. Heat olive oil in an oven proof skillet until shimmering. Sear steaks for two minutes on each side.
4. Bake in the oven (right in the skillet; no need to move it to another dish) for 9 minutes. Allow steaks to rest for 1-2 minutes and serve along with some yummy veg. You will not believe how buttery and flavorful this dish is!