Steak Fajitas

In a resealable storage bag, we combine lime juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin, tequila, and vegetable oil. We put the scored (shallow slices in a criss-cross pattern) flank steak in the marinade and turn it several times to coat. We place the entire bag in refrigerator for about 4 hours (anywhere between 4 and 24 hours is good, much longer and the acid in the lime juice will change the texture of the meat).

We remove the bag from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking it on grill. When we are ready to slap it on the grill, we pat it dry with paper towels and sprinkle salt and pepper on it.

We heat the grill for a few minutes on medium heat. Prior to putting the flank steak on the grill, we put some vegetables (scallions, onions, peppers, and mushrooms) on the grill. We blacken the peppers and immediately seal them in a ziplock bag (five minutes later, we will peel the blackened skin and chop them). The other items are grilled until just softened.

We cook the steak for about 6 minutes on each side. After that, we remove the steak from the grill and check the temperature with our digital meat thermometer. It reads 140 degrees F, which corresponds to medium - perfect for fajitas.

We let the steak rest for a few minutes to seal in the juices. While we wait, we cut up the vegetables into good sized pieces. Too small and the texture of the veggies will be lost. Too big and we'll pull out large chunks when we bite into our fajitas.

Rather than cutting the steak vertically, we make the cuts on a diagonal (closer to horizontal than straight up and down). This makes the strips fuller and really adds to the experience of fajitas.

The steak is served on the cutting board with the hot and cold sides also on the table. Everyone helps themselves, placing steak, cheese, and veggies on the tortillas. Wonderful!