why so blue….

There is something unmistakeably irresistible about the pairing of blue cheese and a good steak.

I used to be the crazy person girl that ordered her steaks well done. Gray. Colorless. As well as tasteless. (as I was about to discover) Working in the kitchen at a 5 star bed and breakfast, I ordered a steak one night and the Chef asked how I wanted it cooked, I replied with the usual, very well done. He looked at me as if I had three heads. He responded with a resounding “no!”. He then informed me that the only way to eat steak, especially a top cut of beef, was medium rare to medium. I reluctantly gave in. It tasted amazing. The flavors were so much richer then anything I had tasted before when chewing on my version of “shoe leather”. I was convinced. I instantly became a convert and I will never go back!

Over the years I have marinated, sauced, and added many different ingredients to steak. My absolute favorite is blue cheese with a simple grilled or pan seared steak. The tangy, creaminess of the cheese combined with the warm salty richness of the meat is truly unmatched. I know there are other more traditional flavor fusions, like béarnaise, horse radish, even steak sauce, but I will gladly stand by the “blue”, because it makes me anything but!

Tonight I made pan seared strip steaks, with blue cheese butter, and lemon, rosemary roasted potatoes. Here are the recipes for each:

Blue Cheese Butter – make ahead

Ingredients

1 Stick unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 wedge of blue cheese (small)

1 tsp dried thyme

Crumble Blue Cheese

Add thyme and blue cheese to butter and mix until all ingredients are combined

Scoop mixture onto 1/2 sheet of parchment paper and roll to form a cylinder, twisting the ends of the parchment to seal:

Place in fridge until ready to serve. (This will keep in the fridge for about 1 week, or in the freezer for 3 months)

Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes – 3 servings

Ingredients

2 lbs red potatoes

zest of one lemon, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 TBS minced fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

3 TBS olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Wash and cut potatoes, cut into quarters and then slice about 1/2 inch thick. Combine all ingredients and place in baking dish. (I use a 13×9). Make sure all of the potatoes are coated with oil.Bake for 1 hour or until golden on the outside and soft inside, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When potatoes are about half way done begin preparing steaks.

Pan Seared Steaks – 2 Servings

2 Strip Steaks – about 3/4 of a pound each

Course Salt

1 TBS Butter

Generously salt both sides of steaks. Let sit at room temp 20 – 30 mins before cooking.

On high heat, preheat frying pan. Add butter, when melted, add steaks. Cook 6 mins and flip cooking an additional 6 mins. Transfer steaks onto a plate and let sit for 5 mins before serving. This allows all the juices to settle into the meat.

Plate steaks, and potatoes. Top steaks with a thick slice of blue cheese butter.

suggested sides, warm honey walnut mesculin salad, greens with balsamic vinaigrette, or asparagus.