Steak Supper

I was at my dear friends Rachel & Lydia's parents house last night planning an upcoming bridal shower. We discussed bridal details, and shortly after their Dad mentioned he was cooking steak for dinner. He asked if I'd like to join, but I needed to head home so I declined the lovely offer. Though I couldn't join, his idea inspired me to try a Steak Supper por uno. I stopped by my local grocery, Fresh Plus, to check out the goods. Fresh Plus isn't exactly the deal spot of the century, but I'm usually impressed by their meats. I decided to go big or go home, and well that would have just let me hungry. I chose a beautiful Rib Eye from the meat counter. It was pricey, but a hunk of a piece of meat. About a pound. I picked up some red potatoes, green beans, and the pièce de résistance, blue cheese. I jumped in my car with great excitement to get my Julia on and make a meal. I walked in the door, greeted by a very sleepy puppy (thanks to his doggy play date with the girl's pups earlier), and began my feast. I'm a big fan of googling recipes if I don't feel like flipping through cookbooks. I found a Pan Seared Rib Eye from Alton Brown. He's not one of my favorite Food Network personalities, but I went for it. I left the meat out in order to get to room temperature, and pre-heated my oven to 500 degrees. A hot one, but a must. I washed the gorgeous red potatoes and sliced into even-sized chunks. I boiled and salted water and threw them in. I then got my oven-safe pan and popped it in the oven for about 5 min. While that was heating up for my pound of pleasure, I ran outside to grab some rosemary. I'm lucky to have an apartment complex with rosemary bushes in front. Once inside I coated my steak with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I took out my pan and immediately put it on high heat. I put the seasoned steak in the pan and cooked on each side for 30 seconds. After it was seared, I placed the pan in the oven and cooked on each side for about 3 min. That temp allowed the steak to be medium. If you prefer medium rare, try 2 min. each side. Once my steak was finished, I took it out of the oven and placed on a plate covered in foil to rest. Many of you know that resting meat is so important, it allows the juices to redistribute. If not, you'll have one juicy bite and that's it. No bueno. With my meat resting, I drained my potatoes (they boiled for about 10-15 min) and placed them on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and rosemary. Mmmmmmm. I turned my oven down to 400 and let them roast for about 15 min. I'm not a patient in the kitchen, so I'm sure longer would get a bit more crisp, but they were great. I chopped up my green beans and boiled them for about 10 min. I topped a portion of my steak with blue cheese crumbles and got myself some vino. Everything was so so so so so so good. I was impressed. I've always been hesitant with meats, and thanks to an easy recipe, it was fool proof. The simple seasoning of the meat and natural juices were excellent. The blue cheese added a boost to the steak. Creamy, soft and a burst of tangy flavor. The potatoes, with their classic garlic and rosemary, were tender and divine. The green beans still had a bit of crunch to them. Tossed with a little olive oil and salt, they were excellent. Try it for yourself, date night, or a good meat eating friend. They will definitely appreciate your steakhouse supper at home.

Alton Brown's Recipe

Here Piggy Piggy

My dear friend Mike made roasted squash the other night with dinner, and I had the pleasure of eating it. He inspired me as I wandered the produce aisles looking for my next meal. I decided on roasted acorn squash with brown sugar and butter, mustard crusted pork chop, steamed green greens, and sauteed apples with brown sugar and butter. This was all topped off with a bottle of vino on sale. Luckily my little neigborhood grocery (Fresh Plus) allowed me to get in and out quickly and inexpensively. My center cut pork chop was a mere $2.00! I nearly skipped home anticipating the sound of sizzle. I pre-heated the oven to 375, and got to work on slathering my chop with ground spicy mustard with horseradish. I steamed my green beans, sauteed my apples, and popped the squash in the oven for about 20 min. I must say, the best part of the dish were the apples. I used Gala, which I've always adored. They were perfectly tender with hint of tart. The rest was delsih, and I of course cleaned my plate. An easy meal for one, or two if you care to cook for someone you adore.