Fran Lebowitz, the writer and humorist, mused, "My favorite animal is steak."

A particular summer favorite of mine is grilled flank steak. For those of you who don't have access to the USDA charts of a side of beef, with the choice cuts outlined with dotted lines, a flank steak is labeled "Miscellaneous."

A flank steak functions in cattle like a radial tire does on a car. So the challenge, actually an ancient one, is how to make this fibrous piece of meat edible. Enter the concept of a "marinade".

The function of a marinade, according to the cooking manuals, is to provide flavor to the meat, tenderization, and according to one source, to "denature the substrate's proteins." Properly done, the recipe below will work equally well for tenderizing a flank steak or a piece of driftwood.

A key ingredient of the marinade is wine. My husband chooses wines by reading Wine Spectator. I choose wines with "cute" labels. This can cause considerable marital conflicts when it comes to choosing a bottle of wine to pour over a slab of deceased bovine.

One day my husband sprang into the kitchen while I was preparing a marinade, and screamed "That's is a $40 bottle of Cabernet!" After several minutes of hard gasping for breath he gave me one of his mini-lectures on bottles with the word "Reserve" on the label. He also limited my cooking wine selections to less than $5 a bottle. This understanding lasted for several months, until I found a bottle of "Reserve", of a good brand, on a sale rack for $3.99.

This prompted him to impose a second rule: next time, buy every bottle from the $3.99 sale rack. Raising my newly acquired bottle of Reserve over his head, in the posture of christening a ship, he quickly backed out of the kitchen.

FLANK STEAK Cheap Wine Marinade

1 flank steak (2 pounds)

Marinade:
3/4 cup red wine (cheap less than $5)
3/4 cup oil olive
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Mix together and place in a plastic container with the fitted lid.

Prepare the flank steak by placing it on a cutting board and piecing it every inch with a fork.

Place steak in the container with the marinade and refrigerate at least 6 hours. Shake container twice and turn meat over to other side.

Remove the steak from the marinade, and grill it over high heat, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Slice the steak thinly on the diagonal. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8