eleven

There is something about me that I am embarrassed to admit.  I feel like I need to get past this in order to be anywhere near "good" at this whole blogging thing.  *deep breath* Okay.  So...  I was raised vegetarian.  I ate disgusting Nasoya veggie dogs, spaghetti and wheat balls (to this day I still have no idea from which form of wheat the balls were made), barbecued tofu and lots and lots of lentils. My classmates dined on Dunkaroos and those weird crackers with cheese spread while I  ate sandwiches of peanut butter that had to be stirred before use and bread so grain-laden that it fell apart when it hit your mouth.  From what I understand, this isn't so abnormal these days, but when I was in school, it was downright weird.

You'd think that growing up eating such healthful food, I would've developed a taste for it and a dislike of meat.  Au contraire, mes aimes!  Now that I get to choose my own food, I love steak tartare, goat curries and duck breast.  Nothing delights me more than eating the crispy skin from a fresh-from-the-oven chicken.  Nothing, that is, except for the supremely delicious, horrendously bad for you, recipe that is about to follow...

Perfect Rare Steak with Herbed Butter

1-16 oz. thick cut ribeye steak

1 stick butter, softened and divided

salt and pepper, to taste

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

Dry the steak using paper towels.  Season with salt, but don't pepper until after it cooks.

Preheat a heavy skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat (The pan I use is nonstick but still allows you to sear; if you don't have one, a cast iron skillet works well).  Melt two tablespoons of butter in the pan and allow them to melt, then brown.  Once the butter smells and looks nutty, place the steak in the pan, wiggle it a tiny bit to prevent it from sticking and then DON'T TOUCH IT for 3 minutes.  Flip the steak, wiggle, DON'T TOUCH for an additional three minutes.  Remove the steak from the pan, grind some pepper over it, then tent it with tin foil and allow it to rest for about ten minutes while you make the...

 Herbed Butter

Mix the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter with the garlic powder, rosemary and additional pepper, to taste.  Refrigerate any leftovers and use on bread or bagels.

 

Cut the rested steak into two servings.  Top each steak with 1/2 to 1 tbsp of the butter.  Serve with salad.