rave and slave

How can people file grocery shopping away as a chore? Especially when there is a Whole Foods popping up every 5 blocks in the city? To me, it’s a privilege to stroll thru the aisles, sniffing dragonfruits and squeezing heirloom tomatoes. My imagination just goes wild! I imagine strawberry and spinach salad to start, roasted fish stuffed with wild veggies and herbs, homemade cream cheese custard with blueberry compote, and then I imagine myself chomping on all those food, and oh! Maybe a nice artichoke salad in between courses, plus a pureed squash soup, and maybe …. Then of course, the thought of dish washing and cleaning usually gets to me, so I give up and head to the butcher counter.

Whole Foods is great for so many wonderful things (artisanal cheeses, fresh veggies, great seafood), but I love them for their steaks. Yeah, Whole Foods steaks are pricey, but damn are they delicious. I’m partial to the rib-eye cut. It’s juicy and flavorful on its own. No need for fancy sauces or marinates.

Steak is also the easiest thing to make. Here’s how: Buy your favorite cut of meat, depending on your preference. Make sure you take it out of the fridge 30 min prior to cooking to let it stand at room temperature. Pat it dry and then season with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. You need quite a bit of salt and a whole lot of ground pepper since the steaks are pretty thick (oh, did I mention you should get a thick steak rather than a thin and wide steak? Well, you should, it retains more moisture).

Heat up your heaviest pan to really really really really hot. Melt some butter (maybe 2 tablespoons) with olive oil. Once your fats start smoking, lay down the steak. DO NOT move or touch or jiggle or poke your steak for 3-4 minutes, no matter how tempted you are to stick a fork in it. Your patience will pay off in the form of a nice flavorful crust and sealed in juices. Then you flip the steak over and cook for another 2 min or so. That’s it! A perfect medium rare steak.
Me secret to a delicious compete meal? Buy some greens, I love swiss chard or spinach. Mince some garlic. Throw the garlic and the greens into the steak pan – you know, the one with butter, olive oil, and rendered steak fat. Sautee and serve with the steak.

Simple, elegant, and your boyfriend will rave and be your slave for the night. Oh yeah, and there are 3 dishes to wash later.