The alternate title to this post is: Treat Yo Self.
I woke up the other day and realized that January was out and it was officially February. I don’t know how things have been for you, but over here January was a beast. Perhaps I should’ve known given that I rang in the New Year on the other side of the world in Ghana on a bizarro but oh so fun night, that Janaury was going to be a doozy. And a doozy it was.
Between the coldest temperatures I have ever experienced thanks to the Polar Vortex, to piles of snow being dumped on Evanston, having make up days for school resulting in 3 weeks of a 5 day a week classes (oh, the horror), so much school work all of a sudden, a lot of besties doing study abroad and the usual oddities of life… I was pretty much ready to be done with January. And while I realize that it’s winter in the Midwest and that cold and snow are part of the landscape I’m really hoping that things lighten up a little. I guess the point of all this is that I don’t quite feel like I’ve fallen into my groove for 2014 quite. A lot of things feel unsettled and if I had to title my life right now it would be “Young & the Restless” or possibly “Dazed & Confused”. True story.
So when I woke up on February 1st, I decided it was time to come get my life. That mean doing the laundry that I had been neglecting since… mid-December. Thankfully I have enough clothing to be able to make it that long without doing laundry. I also decided to do some things like clean, start the bacon making process and make a leaven to get a loaf of country bread started. With all that under my belt I decided I wanted a great dinner. A large part of me was craving Chinese food in honour of Chinese New Year but then the dude in me said steak. So steak it was.
As you may recall, one of my food goals for this year was to be a bit more luxurious in my eating. So I obviously didn’t blink when I dropped $17 on a NY Strip Steak from Whole Foods. Well, maybe a tiny blink. A baby blink really.
Given that grilling wasn’t an option, I resorted to my favourite method for making steak. You basically heat a cast iron skillet in the oven at a high temperature to get it super hot. You then very carefully move it to the stove and heat it up some more. You coat the steak in some oil and season it with salt and pepper. Throw the thing in the hot skillet and let it sear on both sides before putting it in the oven for another 6 or so minutes. You then let the steak rest to allow the juices to redistribute. The steak ends up perfectly browned on the outside and juicy and to your desired doneness on the inside. And at a fraction of the cost of going to a steakhouse.
And since I’m just one lady and this steak was nearly a pound I had leftover steak. That leftover steak became pretty much the best steak tacos ever. I got some fresh corn tortillas, made a batch of pico de gallo, pickled some red onions, bought an avocado and hooked that ish up. Then I wondered why I never make steak tacos. Seriously.
February, I’m ready for you.
Best Ever Steak (Indoors)
Ingredients
Steak (ideally at least an inch thick)
Oil (vegetable, canola, maybe olive)
Salt
Pepper
Tools
Cast iron skillet
Tongs
Oven mitts
Directions
1. Place the cast iron skillet in the oven and heat it to 500F. While the skillet heats, brush your steak on both sides with some oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. After allowing your cast iron skillet heat up in the oven (15-30mins), remove it from the oven (don’t forget your oven mitts) and place over high heat on the stove top. Place the steak in the hot pan and sear each side for 30 seconds.
3. Put the skillet with the steak in it back in the oven. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, flipping with tongs, if you like your steak medium-rare. I’m more of a just past medium girl so I do this for 3 minutes on each side. If you have a meat thermometer use it to achieve your preferred temperature.
4. Remove the skillet and the steak from the oven and put the steak on a plate, covered with foil to rest for about 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy.
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Made it, loved it, posted it! Thanks for the inspiration. It was just the solution for these cold winter days. http://www.fransfavs.com/2014/02/best-ever-steak-indoors/#more-7496
Gave this a try
My version was definitely so-so. Will try again!