Luckily I had jut bought some mako shark (on sale for less than half of the swordfish and it looked & tasted almost exactly the same!) in the afternoon so his part of dinner was all set but there wasn't really enough fish for all of us. I decided on a surf and turf dinner as it was fast to prepare after I got home from pilates and who would say no to surf and turf. My only issue.....the steaks were still frozen solid! Yikes I only had few hours so I needed them thawed out and fast. Luckily I had recently seen Alton Brown's Good Eats episode on duck and he explained some different thawing methods. While thawing in the fridge is definitely the safest (especially for larger cuts) you can also use cold running water to quickly defrost meats. Place the steaks (sealed in a zip top bag) in a bowl filled with cold water and allow the faucet to slowly drip into the bowl (to keep the water moving) and before you know it they are ready to cook (for the record I don't recommend using this method usually as the steaks seemed to taste a bit less juicy and tender but in a pinch it works!)
While I was at pilates the guys hung out and were kind enough to switch the rice maker on (a basmati medley from trader joes) and even noticed that I hadn't plugged it in. When I got home the steaks (beef and shark) went into a hot pan and were seared, while the green beans went into some boiling water. Just moments later the table was set and the meat rested and topped with some chimichuri sauce.... dinner is served!
