Newfoundland Listings Are Now Well Underway and an Awesome Recipe for Steak

This week I have been trying frantically to finish listing all my Queen Victoria material for Canada. At last, I have started to list the material for Newfoundland - the last of the Canadian pre-confederation provinces. So far I am complete up to the 1880-1897 Cents issues. A long day of lotting until midnight tonight and a good, full day tomorrow should hopefully get me through all of it.

Below are some images of some of the nicer stamps I have listed:

The man shown on the second and last stamps is King Edward VII when he was in his twenties as Prince of Wales. 

Awesome Steak

Now, I just have to share with you an awesome recipe for steak that will have you deep-sixing barbecue sauce and off the shelf marinades for good. 

The secret is a three-stage process involving:

1. soaking in a marinade for 1-3 hours.

2. Seasoning with a spice rub and coating with vegetable oil prior to grilling

3. Soaking in a butter sauce halfway through grilling and then placing back on the grill for the remaining time before serving in the butter sauce. 

The first step is the marinade, for which you need:

1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes hydrated in 2 tablespoons of boiling water. 

1 cup of orange juice

1/2 cup of fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons of honey

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1/2 cup of coarsely chopped onion (1 small onion)

10 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 tablespoon of salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

Mix all these ingredients together, and place in a large ziploc bag along with your steaks. If you are using a more expensive cut like t-bone or fillet, 1 hour should be fine, but if you are using cheaper cuts like chuck, blade or skirt, you should marinade for the full three hours. 

Once the steaks have marinated, it is time to season them. Combine in another ziploc bag:

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

1 tablespoon of black pepper.

Remove the steaks from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. Place them in the spice bag, seal shut and shake violently to coat the steaks on all sides. Carefully, using a grilling brush, coat the steaks in a light coating of vegetable oil, being careful not to remove the spice coating. 

Next, you need to prepare the butter sauce from:

8 tablespoons of butter - this is 1/2 a cup.

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all the above in a saucepan, stirring as the butter melts. Once combined, pour into a shallow baking dish. 

Heat your barbecue to the highest setting, and with the lid open, place the steaks on the grill and leave for 2 min. The spices will caramelize nicely. Then turn them over and leave them for another two minutes. 

At this point, take the steaks off the grill and dredge them in the butter sauce, letting the excess butter sauce drip back into the baking dish. Place them back on the grill, close the lid and leave them:

2 minutes for rare

3 minutes for medium and 

4 minutes for well done

Take them off the grill and place them back into the butter sauce to rest for 5 min. Then serve with your favourite vegetables and mashed or baked potatoes.