Cinder Beach Steak Kebabs, Roasted Vegetable Medley, Brown Rice-Lentil Pilaf (for 1)

For Jay’s Cinder Beach Steak Kebabs (also known as shish kebabs), cubed flank steaks are skewered, marinated in garlic, herbs, and olive oil, and grilled over open flames. The kebabs are served with a roasted vegetable medley (mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini) over brown rice pilaf with French lentils (cooked with caramelized onion and celery.) 

There are mighty waves and adventurous boardwalks on the East and West Coasts, there are the surprisingly expansive waterfronts of the Great Lakes, but just as memorable are the cinder beaches of the Finger Lakes. Unlike an ocean beach, where your toes sink into the squishy sand (like quicksand), cinder beaches are made of tiny, tingly mottled rocks (smaller than pebbles) that shock your feet and prepare you — as you shiver and shudder — for a dip into the frigid, seaweed-laden waters. A highlight of growing up was my father grilling long skewers of steak kebabs on an old hibachi grill on the lake. We’d wipe our plates clean, wait the required 30 minutes, and dive back into the lake, searing our feet (and tiptoeing) on the cinder beach on the way.