The Perfect Steak

Wow! What a Sunset!

Perfection

We will be heading to the land of no steaks. I wanted to have one more perfect steak before we left. We picked up an incredible piece Dry-Aged Rib Eye from McCall’s Meat and Fish. I told them I wanted a large steak for 2 and have leftovers. This sucker was 3 inches thick!

We marinated it in the dry Rub from the Babbo Cookbook my Mario Batali. This imparts an incredible flavor on the meat, although I am sure Nate would say why use a dry rub, if you are buying dry aged. The trick was to figure out when the sucker was done it was so thick. I had a hot fire on the grill, but only had coals on one side. After charring the meat on all sides, I moved it to the side of the grill that had no coals under it. I covered the grill and flipped the meat ever 6 minutes. Even with a meat thermometer it was difficult to get a consistent reading, but we took it off when we felt it was done. We were on the money, it was cooked to perfection! You can get the recipe from our blog of March 20, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

While the meat was cooking we were treated to a spectacular sunset. We drank and watched the sky, which was on fire for probably 20 minutes.

The New York Times had a recipe for a Greek Tomato Salad that I thought would go great with the steak. I liked the salad, and will make it again. We also decided on sides of corn and crispy potatoes. We buttered and salted the cobs, then squeezed lime juice over them. We wrapped them in aluminum foil and placed them on the grill, rotating them every few minutes. The corn was great, very sweet.

Finally Cathy made Crispy Potatoes from another New York Times recipe.

What a great dinner, and I left over steak!

Greek Tomato Salad

================

The Greek approach to a good tomato salad, whether it has cucumbers and lettuce or not (this one doesn’t), is all about keeping it simple. Sweet, ripe summer tomatoes, salt and olive oil are all you need. The flourishes here — green pepper, red onion, chopped mint and pinch of oregano — are optional, but they add brightness. Good Greek feta cheese takes it over the top.

TOTAL TIME

20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

                  3 to 4 pounds ripe tomatoes, preferably heirloom

                  1 small red onion, sliced thinly crosswise

                  1 or 2 small sweet peppers, such as bell or corno di toro, sliced into thin rings

                  Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

                  4 ounces Greek feta cheese

                  2 tablespoons roughly chopped mint

                  1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

                  Fruity extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

PREPARATION

1.

Wash, core and slice tomatoes 1/2-inch thick. Arrange slices on a platter or in a shallow wide bowl.

2.

Scatter onion and pepper slices over tomatoes and season everything with sea salt. Let sit 10 minutes to draw out juices.

3.

Break feta into rough chunks and scatter over salad. Sprinkle mint and oregano over top, drizzle generously with olive oil and serve.

YIELD

4 to 6 servings

Steak Mock Frites

New York TImes

By SAM SIFTON

SUMMARY

There is no better, more reliable restaurant dish than steak frites. It is perhaps America's favorite French food, a cheeseburger deluxe recast for date nights, celebrations, feasts. Few make the dish at home, though: The frites are too labor-intensive for all but the most project-oriented cooks. Here, then, is a recipe to fake out the fries, one that will take even a relatively neophyte home cook little more than an hour to make. The aim is great steak, a delicious sauce of maître d'hôtel butter, and potatoes with a terrific quality of French fry-ness, supreme crispness, with soft and creamy flesh within. (Here's a video to get you started on how to cook the perfect steak at home.)

TOTAL TIME

1 hour

FOR THE MOCK FRITES

                  Kosher salt

                  8-12 new, baby or C-grade potatoes

                  3 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola

FOR THE MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL BUTTER

                  6 tablespoons unsalted butter

                  2 teaspoons thyme leaves, minced

                  1 small shallot, peeled and minced

                  1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

                  Splash Champagne or white-wine vinegar

FOR THE STEAK

                  2 pounds beef steak, like boneless rib-eye, approximately 1 inch thick

                  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

                  1 tablespoon neutral oil, like canola.

PREPARATION

1.

Preheat oven to 450. Set a large pot filled with salted water on the stove. Add potatoes, turn heat to high and cook, gently boiling, until they are softened, approximately 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, and dry them well.

2.

Grease a sheet pan with half the oil, and put the potatoes on the pan. Using a potato masher or the bottom of a heavy glass, gently smash each potato, pressing it down to a thickness of less than an inch. Drizzle the rest of the oil over the smashed potatoes, place on top rack in the oven and allow to roast until the exteriors are golden and crunchy, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Add salt to taste.

3.

Make the maître d’hôtel butter. Put the butter on a cutting board and, using a fork, cut the other ingredients into it until the butter is creamy and smooth. Scrape the butter together with a chef’s knife, and form it into a rough log. If making it ahead of time, you can roll it tight in a sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

4.

As the potatoes finish crisping, make the steaks. Set a heavy-bottomed skillet — or 2 if your steaks are large and you are cooking them in 4 pieces — over high heat, and let it sit for a few minutes. Shower the steaks with an aggressive amount of salt and pepper. Add the oil to the pan, and shake to distribute. It will almost immediately begin to smoke. Place the steaks in the pan, and allow to sear, unattended, for 4 minutes, until they have developed a serious crust. Turn the steaks over, and cook for an additional 3 to 6 minutes for medium-rare. Remove steaks to a warm platter to rest. Top each steak with a tablespoon of the butter.

5.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, and season them with salt and a grind of pepper. Place 2 or 3 crunchy potatoes on each plate, then nestle a steak up beside them. Top each steak with pats of the remaining butter.

YIELD

4 servings.