Grilled Flank Steak with Smoky Arrabiata Sauce

I'm still cooking my way through Giada de Laurentiis's 'Weeknights with Giada'.
I'm a big fan of flavorful and spicy sauces, so I thought that the Smoky Arrabiata would work well with a flank steak, since we didn't have any rib-eye steaks in the house. I bought this gorgeous flank steak at Dick Howard's Meats-a local butcher shop- a week ago, and froze it.

Howard's carries 'Prather Ranch' beef, which is 100% free range, grass fed beef from Coburg, Oregon. You can really taste the difference! I buy most of my meat at either Howard's or Diamond S Meats, the other nearby butcher shop. One funny note about Diamond S Meats- today is a 'cash mob' event at Diamond S. These are 'word of mouth' advertised events where as many people as possible go to a pre-arranged local shop and spend money there. It brings much needed business to local places and is usually a lot of fun! I'm heading over later today to get a couple of heart shaped steaks for Valentine's Day...more on that later.
The recipe for the Arrabiata sauce couldn't be easier...toss everything into a blender, and cook it down for 25 minutes or so. It was just long enough to put the flank steak on the grill.
Here's the original recipe... Rib-eye Steaks with Smoky Arrabiata Sauce
And here's the sauce, bubbling away...

Of course, I used roma tomatoes from my garden that I canned back in September.
I also made warm farro salad for me and farro with butter and parmesan for Kevin. He's not a big fan of grain-type salads, so it was easy to just portion it out. I dressed my salad while I added the butter and fresh grated parmesan to the piping hot farro for Kevin. If you don't know what farro is, it is a delicious, easy-to-cook ancient grain. It's similar in texture to barley. It's very versatile to use. I've used it in soup, as a side dish and as a cold or warm salad. It has a tender texture with a tiny bit of bite, and does not turn 'mushy' like some grains if you forget it while it's cooking. I bought this pack from Trader Joe's when we were in Eugene, Oregon a couple of weeks ago, but you can find it in most grocery stores.
I tossed my portion with 1 freshly squeezed Meyer lemon (from my tree!) and a couple of glugs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I added some fresh cracked Applewood Smoked Peppercorns (thanks, Gene and Carla!) and a little of my homemade Basil salt. Yum.
A handful of steamed haricot verts rounded out dinner.

Oh, and a lovely glass of M. Cosentino Ol' Red. (Napa)