i don’t know how i ever lucked out to get such a fab husband. i know, there’s been a lot of hubby bragging as of late, but it’s just going to continue on. tonight the honors are bestowed because of a delish dish he *insisted* upon trying from our exceptionally old issue of bon appetit. he loves himself a steak and will find any excuse to consume one… he happened upon a recipe and “needed” to try it. i was slightly less than excited.
but, when i’m wrong i’ll say it – and i was wrong. it was mostly a fear about so many strong flavors coming together on a singular slab of meat. i’m a person who likes to let one thing shine. jj, on the other hand, firmly believes that if you have 2 good things, if you add them both, it equals “better.” it’s good to know that neither of us is correct 100% of the time.
so our dish: steak with parmesan butter, balsamic glaze and arugula (we served it sans arugula).
“simple and sophisiticated” BA says (october, 2008 issue, page 53)
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (if you use it from a green can and then claim this recipe sucks, i’ll personally slice off your 4th toe)
1.5 tbsp butter
1 12-oz rib eye steak (we did 2 steaks that equaled 16 oz)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (thanks to google, i found that you can do a 2-part onion // 1 part garlic substitute because we do not possess a shallot)
1/2 tsp brown sugar
Mix grated cheese and butter i small owl. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside. Sprinkle steak generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer to plate. Add vinegar, shallots and sugar to skillet; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. [the directions say to plate your 4 cups arugula and squeeze a lemon wedge over each plate. we omitted.] Top steak with parmesean butter. Drizzle slightly with glaze.
We served with my classy contribution of a twice baked potatoes. clearly arugula would be the bon appetit vegetable of choice.
what i loved was that the steak took no more than 20 minutes to prepare, and other than the shallots, which we substituted, we had everything on hand. we scratched the arugula because we’re newer to the good food thing and just can’t handle steak on a salad yet. someday… maybe that will make The List for 2011.
this evening’s dinner prompted me to consider to ponder the idea that good stuff is made of good stuff. i’m positive parm cheese from a green can would ruin the dish. i read a wonderful book, a homemade life (previously mentioned) and i frequently read her suggestions of best products to use in particular recipes. she always went for a real chocolate – not nestles. her husband was a connesseaur of vingear. vinegar!?! who knew there were people who had vinegarian preferences? but when they wanted something to be a class act, they didn’t use the meijer generic.
now, i’m a huge proponent of generic in many different things… but i have decided that cheapest is not always best, and there may be areas of my culinary life where i can begin to upgrade. i’m going to start with cheese (thus us having real parm on hand). wizenburg (author, above) is always adding a cheese here or there and it’s rarely “mild cheddar”. so each week my eyes have grazed the cheese counter of meijer, hoping a new gouda will be on sale. then i just need to find a way to consume it… perhaps these old issues of bon appetit will come to my rescue again.