Introduction:pan seared steak in my previous post. It goes with most anything. I would recommend cooking with a main dish that also includes garlic, so the theme of garlic carries through more than one of your dishes.

This is a recipe that was passed to me by my mom. I’ve used it for a long time. It is so easy and flavorful and goes with most any main dish, my favorites being a nice steak or pork chops.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter (you can substitute margarine, but why?)
2 cans of whole new potatoes, drained well
garlic powder or garlic salt (my preference is powder, but both will work)
dried parsley

Instructions:

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Put the stick of butter into the skillet, melting slowly. Once melted, pour both cans of new potatoes into the pan, turning to coat in the butter. Sprinkle an even, light coat of garlic powder over the potatoes, and do the same with the parsley. Turn the potatoes over, repeating the garlic powder and parsley coating. Cook over medium heat until a nice, crisp and brown coating develops on the outside of the potatoes. Turn over and cook on the other side until done. This whole process should take approximately 20-30 minutes at a maximum.

What I serve this with: A nice pairing would be with the

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown

Introduction:

Coming from the Midwest, steak is virtually a staple in our household (we’re in "beef country!"). While this recipe of Alton Brown’s calls for Rib Eye steaks, we have used different cuts such as New York Strip or Filet.

Ingredients:

1-2 boneless rib eye steaks, 1-1/2 inch thick (I typically stick with an inch in thickness)
Canola oil to coat
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Instructions:

Place 10 to 12 inch cast iron skillet in oven and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring steak(s) to room temperature (this is very important!).

When oven reaches temperature, remove pan and place on range over high heat. Coat steak lightly with oil and season both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper to taste.

Immediately place steak in the middle of hot, dry pan. Cook 30-45 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30-45 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes (the thicker the steak, the longer this time may need to be). Flip steak and cook for another 2 minutes (This time is for medium rare steak. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns).

Remove steak from pan, cover losely with foil, and rest for 2 minutes (this allows juices to redistribute so they don’t all flow out with the first cut of your steak).

What I serve this with: Of course this would work with a nice baked potato and a salad or other veggie (corn on the cob…yum!). I also like to serve it with garlic parsley new potatoes, whose recipe I will post in my next blog.

My 2 Cents: I love Alton Brown, mostly because of this recipe! He helped me appreciate the finer side of cast iron! I can’t describe the difference between this steak preparation versus others, other than to say it is a step up from most! I will say that we’ve never been able to get a medium rare steak by cooking 2 minutes on each side, as the recipe calls for. We are typically cooking closer to 3-4 minutes per side, and for thicker steaks, closer to 5-6 minutes. This could be due to a variance in our oven temperature, or my impatience while bringing the steak up to room temperature. You will want to experiment to get the right "doneness" for you. It comes highly recommended, though!