This year’s Eat Write Retreat is coming to D.C. in May.  It’s been a retreat I’ve admired from afar.  The weekend is packed with workshops on everything from food styling to adventures to some of D.C. best restaurants.  Happily, Feastie is holding a photo potluck of sorts with the winner being treated to a trip to EWR.  Feastie is a recipe search engine that has the sleek feel Pinterest, but the added capacity to write your grocery list for all those recipes.  It’s kind of genius.

Since it’s a potluck, I decided to throw my hat in with this post that’s long been a favorite of mine.  The post is short and to the point, capturing a moment in family life with a slightly messy, but welcoming meal at the center of it all.  Which is to say, it’s quintessentially me.

Juniper Rubbed Sirloin with Balsamic Dressed Potatoes

Weeknight meals aren’t super complicated around here.  That doesn’t mean they have to be the same old boring flavors that make you want to tear your hair out.  Ok, maybe that’s just me that gets worked up like that.  But I digress.  Today I’m not going to give you so much of a recipe as an idea of how to flavor your next steak and potato meal.

Juniper berries, long used to flavor game in Europe, work perfectly with grass-fed, slightly wild-tasting beef.  Crush a half tablespoon of berries along with equal parts peppercorns for a lovely spicy and fresh fall rub.  Mix in a bit of salt and drizzle the steak with olive oil and let it sit for as long as you have time.   Perhaps you’ll mix yourself a gin martini, since you’re going with the juniper berries on the steak.  Not a bad idea, you clever thing.

For the potatoes, treat them as you would a salad.  Make a mustard balsamic dressing, perhaps chop up some tarragon for good measure and a single green onion.  Dress them after you’ve either roasted them or boiled them as you would for a potato salad.

Since we grilled the steak, Cherub asked if we could eat outside.  It was a perfect night for it and who are we to say no?  As the cool front blew in we realized that fall is probably our favorite time to grill and enjoy a dinner outdoors.  No being too hot or swatting away bugs.  Just lovely weather, the turning of the seasons and our little family enjoying a meal that celebrates it all.

The grass fed-sirloin was from Flying J Farm and the potatoes from Northridge Organic Farm.

The playlist included Velcro Shoes, by Pete Yorn.