Ah, it is football season, my favorite time of the year. If it were cooler out it would be perfect. But our Titans beat the Raiders and all is good in the world. To celebrate we grilled. For us, the steak of choice on the barbecue is a ribeye - especially one that is nicely marbled. We selected one a bit over a pound to share.
In my opinion a good steak needs nothing more than to be liberally sprinkled with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. If it needs more than that, well, it's not my thing....
To accompany tonight's hunk of cow I decided upon twice baked potatoes. I love them and hardly ever make them. I don't know why I don't so I decided today is time to remedy the situation. I took two large baking potatoes, rubbed them with olive oil, sprinkled a generous amount of coarse salt on them and introduced them to a 400 degree oven for an hour.
The recipe we followed was from September's
"Bon Appetit" in an article that featured a recipe from Portland,Oregon's
Laurelhurst Market. It is below....
1 pound ribeye (1 - 1 1/2 inches thick) sprinkled with on both sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Grill to medium rare then remove and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.
Bleu Cheese butter
3 tbls softened butter
3 tbls crumbled bleu cheese
1 1/2 tsps grated lemon peel
1 1/2 tsps chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 1/2 tsps freshly ground pepper
That was the original bleu cheese butter recipe. Being the cheese and butter fiends we are, I manipulated it a bit. I use 4 tbls each butter and bleu cheese. The peel of one large lemon (I did not measure), a hefty pinch of ground Italian seasoning and about 2 1/2 tsps of freshly ground pepper.
Using a fork, mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Season and let stand an hour before serving. Can be made 24 hours in advance.
Walla Wally Onion Rings
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup beer
2 tbls vodka
Canola oil
1 large sweet onion thickly sliced
I changed this one too..... I added no vodka and almost an entire bottle of beer instead. It is thick batter. I might add a smidgen of sugar next time although it was very tasty as it was. I started these when the steaks began the resting stage.
Whisk flour, salt and baking powder. Add beer and whisk until blended. Pour two inchs of oil into a large, heavy skillet and heat to 350 degrees. Working with two to three rings at a time, dip into batter, shake off excess and gently drop into hot oil Fry until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels and salt.
Twice Baked Potatoes
2 large baking potatoes
olive oil
coarse salt
foil
sour cream
shredded cheese
ground pepper
Rub potato skins with olive oil and sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Wrap in foil and bake for an hour in 400 degree oven.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Slice in half and scoop out leaving skins intact. Add a generous amount of sour cream, cheese and pepper and mash. Place back into skins and top with more cheese and put back in 400 degree oven until cheese is melty and slightly browned.
We plated it with the onion rings as a garnish although I polished them all off without a second thought.
We enjoyed it completely; however, next time I can do without the compound butter. I found it better suited for fish. We think we are going to try it that way. We'll keep you posted.
It was all in all a great meal. Our view wasn't too shabby either....
