Beef is graded prime, choice, select and good and there are levels within each grade. Costco beef is at the upper level of choice and that is the highest grade available to home cooks. Most prime beef goes to restaurants. The problem with buying beef at Costco is the huge size of the packages. However, I have found that these large cuts of beef will keep fresh and even improve in taste if they are stored in freezer weight plastic bags in the coldest part of the refrigerator. I have kept rib-eye steaks this way for nearly a month and they just kept getting better and better.

One cut of beef that I do buy locally is skirt steak because it varies less in quality from grade to grade than other cuts. Skirt steak is the diaphragm muscle located between the lungs and the abdomen. Because it is not a muscle that supports great weight, it will still be relatively tender even if it is the “Cowboy Cutlets” brand.

Sue Kleber

Cut skirt steak into pieces about 4 inches longand liberally season with Pappy’s and black pepper and allow to marinate for at least one half hour. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to very hot and quickly sear the meat, cooking about 4 minutes on one side and three minutes on the other. Remove meat to a plate and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Slice into thin strips, against the grain, replate and drizzle with the herb sauce.

Herb Sauce
Zest of one lemon (Use half for this sauce and reserve half for the penne)
Juice of one lemon
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TB red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup shallot, minced very finely
1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
4 fresh basil leaves, rolled and thinly sliced
kosher salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil until sauce thickens.

Three Pepper Penne
3 cups dried mini penne, cooked until just barely tender, drained
3 TB olive oil
1 medium red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 zucchini
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB lemon juice
zest of one half lemon
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup minced Italian parsley
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp kosher salt and ground pepper
6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, rolled and finely sliced, for garnish
grated parmesan or romano cheese

Cut onion in half and then slice each half into semi-lunes. Cut red and green peppers and zucchini into sticks about the same size as the cooked penne. Heat olive oil in a skillet until hot and sauté the onion for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the peppers, zucchini, jalapenos, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté until crisp tender. Combine the lemon juice, zest, broth, parsley and oregano and add to the skillet. Add the penne and cook until the penne is heated through and absorbs the sauce. Serve in a large, flat pasta bowl with the cheese and basil garnish.