So, it’s been established that I love steak. And if you’re reading this you probably love it, too.

But what do you like to eat with it?

Certainly you can’t just have a steak and call it a night.

I’ve given you some of my faves, like Bonita’s Potatoes, Oven Sweet Potato Fries, and even the tried-and-true baked potato loaded the way you like it.

Then there are the veggie goodies like asparagus and carrots. I’ve been served steak with a huge cooked carrot on top. That was a new one to me. But it was colorful and quite ingenious, I thought.

Got any other ideas?

What do YOU like with your steak? Let me know!

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Grilling this weekend? Try this KC Strip recipe with these special mashed potatoes. They’re extra-specially creamy and they melt in your mouth.

Grilled K.C. Strip with Blue Cheese Mashers
(Serves 4)

4 10 oz. K.C. Strip Steaks
Salt and Pepper

4 large Russet (Idaho) Potatoes
4 Tbsp. Cold Butter cut into pieces
1 to 1½ Cups Heavy Cream, boiling
2 oz. Blue Cheese
Salt and Pepper

Sometimes, when you have a beautiful steak like this, the best thing to do is nothing at all.  Salt and pepper both sides and grill to medium, about six minutes per side, rotating a quarter turn every three minutes to create the cross hatch grill marks.  Serve with mashed potatoes and enjoy.

Peel the potatoes and cut into thirds. Each piece should be roughly the same size and shape, to cook evenly.  Place in a pot with enough water to cover and add a Tbsp. of salt and bring to a boil.  When the potatoes are tender, drain and place on a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven for five minutes to remove any residual moisture. Start cooking the steaks at this point.  Rice the potatoes in a ricer or food mill (you can do this with a hand masher or in a mixer but the consistency is not as fine).  Add the butter and stir until the butter is melted, add the cream and blue cheese mix to combine. You may need to add a little more cream depending on the size of the potatoes.

Voila! A beautiful meal is born!

Let me know how you like it. 

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Okay, folks. It’s time to play everyone’s favorite game — “What’s In My Freezer?”

That’s right. What’s in your freezer says a lot about you. And mine is probably as chaotic (yet organized) and eclectic (yet mundane) as my life.

So here we go . . .

We’ll start at the top. Note the sugar-free Blue Bell popsicles for the kids next to the Bacardi Daquiri mix.

Draw your own conclusion there.

Next, sugar, Kansas City Steaks box and Eggos. Why the heck is my sugar in the freezer?

I’m glad you asked. Someone once told me it keeps it fresh and free from creepy-crawlies. I don’t know about that. All I know is it’s always very cold.

The KC Steaks box contains a mixture of my last two orders: 2 sirloin steaks and some classic steakburgers.

The Eggos speak for themselves.

Then we have chicken nuggets, shrimp, a frozen pizza, burger buns, more chicken nuggets and some Vodka.

Those buns have been in there since 2005. I don’t know why they’re in there cuz I always buy fresh buns on the day I serve steakburgers. So I never break these open. (Note to self: Throw buns away.)

Next, we have coffee and the rest of my Vidalia onion steakburgers. Not many left, but I could make a meal of these and that other KC Steaks box.

What you don’t see are two more Starbucks coffee bags in the bottom door of the freezer.

My husband and I don’t even drink coffee. That’s for the in-laws.

The rest of the freezer includes mini-tacos and some more popsicles shaped like Spider-Man.

Hmmm, you may say. A small freezer for a family of four.

You are correct.

There’s another one in the garage. It’s full of more frozen pizzas and chicken breasts.

We’re a classy bunch.

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Since we are now officially in grilling season (hallelujah!) I think it’s best to review some of the basics of grilling a great steak.

From choosing your cut of meat to making sure that yummy steak is actually cooked inside (hello, meat thermometer) this article  from fabulousfoods.com makes it all clear.

Catch up on your techniques with this article, then click here to begin your own fabulous, meaty adventure!

Here’s that article link again:

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/school/cstech/steaks.html

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I am an Italian food junkie. Are you?

If so, you’ll like this recipe using Kansas City Strips, extra virgin olive oil and rustic Italian bread.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Mangia!

Steak Florentine
(Serves 4)

4 10 oz. K.C. Strip Steaks
4 Lemons
Four slices rustic Italian bread
Extra Virgin Olive Oil of excellent quality
Sea Salt of excellent quality
Ground Black Pepper

Season both sides of the strips with salt and pepper and grill over high heat, to medium.  About six minutes per side, rotating a quarter turn every three minutes to create the cross-hatch grill marks.  While the steaks are cooking, grill the bread until toasted on both sides and set aside.  Slice the lemons, discarding the ends, leaving three thick slices per steak, grill these these until you get nice grill marks on each side, about two minutes.  Remove the steaks from the grill and let rest five minutes.  Slice each steak with your knife at a 45 degree angle from the cutting board and fan the steak on top of the crusty bread.  Sprinkle the sea salt onto the meat and drizzle with the olive oil.  Squeeze three lemon slices on top of each steak and place the lemon on top as garnish and serve.

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Did the Easter Bunny come to your house?

He came to mine. Well, sorta.

We went to visit family and Bunny came to our hotel room.

Try selling that one to your kids. They did somehow buy that the Easter Bunny knocked on our door in the middle of the night and my husband and I let him in carrying baskets full of Star Wars and Spider-Man stuff.

It’s believable, right?

Anyway, it was a lovely weekend with egg hunts, nice weather, pleasant conversation and great food.

Over the span of two days we managed to feast on hickory-smoked ribs, steakburgers and a prime rib roast.

I think our get-together was just an excuse for my brother-in-law to do some big-time cooking. He’s fantastic! He had the grill, the oven AND the smoker going the whole time.

They have a new baby who got lots of kisses and did lots of sleeping.

Hey, that’s what the holidays are all about.

Hope your weekend was fabulous, too!

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The weather brightened up just a bit yesterday and I took my kids on a walk around the neighborhood.

It may not be perfectly sunshiny and wonderful yet but we took this tiny break in the dreary weather and we ran with it. Literally.

As we walked, trotted and scooted along I came to a dead stop in front of our friends’ house at the end of the street. It was 6:30 pm and they were . . . grilling!

The aroma was amazing.

My oldest son turned around and said, “Mommy, what are you doing?”

I had my nose in the air. Sniffing.

I motioned for them to come back where I was and when they reached me I said, “Do you smell that?”

“Meat,” they said.

Yes. Meat.

This was our friends’ house. They moved here from New Orleans a couple of years ago. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what they were grilling, but I imagined it to be Cajuny. Something like this with a Cajun seasoning . . .

Oh, yeah. Looks like some other folks have the same thoughts I do. They cannot wait for it to be grilling season. So they force the issue.

We walked down the next street. I was carrying the scooter and plastic ride-on truck by now. Lucky me.

That’s when I smelled another one. Someone else was cooking something really garlicky outdoors. Something like this, perhaps . . .

Oh, man. I’ll bet this scene was repeated all over America wherever it wasn’t 30 below. The calendar says spring is officially here and whether it’s warm or not we’re going to grill, darn it!

We rounded the curve back to our house and ran into our neighbor across the street. You know, the one who doesn’t eat meat. He was mowing his lawn. Mowing, man!

He stopped and waved furiously. “Happy spring!” he called.

We yelled, “Happy spring!” back. It was so very Pleasantville-ish.

I loved it. But I couldn’t help but think, You’d have a better spring if you’d throw a few steaks on the barbie, neighbor.

For all I know he was preparing his dinner with that lawn mower.

As for the rest of us, let the grilling commence!

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Our mid-week treat was a couple of juicy KC Strips.

These were so yummy (and large), they hung off the plate.

What better way is there to celebrate a Wednesday? Sometimes you just have to give yourself a boost in the middle of the week.

Check out what happened when my husband cut into his . . .

Now that’s juicy! (Note the A1 sauce over to the side. Not necessary, in my opinion. But to each his own.)

This treat ought to last us at least until Saturday, right? Then we’ll start feeling the urge to grill again.

And, yes, this meal happened to be prepared outside on the grill in a driving rainstorm in 22-degree weather. At night. In the dark.

We like our grill. And our steak. 

Can you blame us?

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I love this recipe.

The coffee beans bring out the richness of the KC Strips. And you can either rub them on the steaks or mix them in to create a fantastic steak sauce.

And . . . you have the choice of either grilling those babies or cooking them in a pan. Yes, that’s right, indoors.

I’m always thinking of you.

Enjoy this one! 

Black Pepper Coffee Strip
(Serves 4)

4 10 oz. K.C. Strip Steaks
2 Tbsp. Black Peppercorns
2 Tbsp. Coffee Beans
Salt

In a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle, grind the coffee and pepper together to an even coarse consistency.  Rub on both sides of each steak and let rest for one hour.  Season both sides with salt, cook to medium on a hot grill, about six minutes per side, rotating a quarter turn every three minutes to create the cross hatch grill marks.  The smoke gives an added depth to the coffee and pepper aromas.

Alternate cooking method:
In a hot pan, sear the strips about six minutes on each side, or until medium.  Remove from pan and deglaze the pan with 1 cup of cold coffee.  Reduce the coffee to about ¼ cup and whisk in 1 Tbsp. cold butter and 1 dash Worcestershire sauce, serve with the steaks.

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The December 2007 issue of Texas Monthly magazine featured a huge photo of a raw cut of meat with only the word “Steak.”

Its feature story was on just that. Steak.

How to choose the right cut for you, what dry aging is, etc., etc. Very informative.

It has some suggestions on Texas steakhouses to visit. But I don’t recommend traveling all the way to Texas for a steak. Since you have all the tools to choose the steak that will suit you best, just pick one here and grill it up at home.

It’s the only way I’ve found to truly enjoy the steak experience from top to bottom. Do it yourself.

Here’s the link to that article again. Enjoy all its information — without having to book a flight on Southwest Airlines!

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2007-12-01/feature-7.php

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Looking for a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Try this mouth-watering recipe for Misty Irish Steak from our friends at hungrymonster.com.

It calls for sirloin steaks and Irish Mist Liqueur.

Once again, it’s an inside-prepared dish so you don’t even have to venture outside. Who loves ya?

Have a jolly good St. Patrick’s Day! And let me know how your Misty Irish Steaks turn out.

Here’s that link again.

http://www.hungrymonster.com/recipe/recipe-search.cfm?Course_vch=Beef%20Steak&ttl=1&Recipe_id_int=25791

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I gave some of my coveted order of steakburgers to my mother. She took a mix of sweet Vidalia onion steakburgers and some classic steakburgers home with her.

She called me the next day to tell me what she did with them. It was fast and simple and I’m going to try it myself.

She pan fried those steakburgers with a bit of salt and pepper. Then, she removed the burgers for a minute, poured in a can of cream of mushroom soup and half a can of water. She mixed that up with some more salt and pepper (sea salt works best!) and thickened up that gravy.

She then put the burgers back into the gravy mix to thoroughly cook them. After just a few minutes, she served these with some scrumptious mashed potatoes, a vegetable and some dinner rolls.

I think my father fainted over the heavenly smell alone. 

The fun part about this (besides the fact that it doesn’t take much time) is trying out the onion steakburgers versus the classic ones. They both have a slightly different taste.

You decide which one you like best. Or, pick a different flavor all together.

This is just another great way to stay inside and cook until it’s warm enough to fire up the grill!

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This link is to an article about making your own steaks at home the best they can be. It’s a topic that’s near and dear to my heart.

John Lee, the author, is a chef who used to work at some great steakhouses. So he should know.

Check it out and try some of his ideas. They’re easy and these simple steps can make a big difference in how your steaks turn out.

Let me know what you think!

Here’s that link again:  http://hubpages.com/hub/Steak_house_secrets_Make_great_steak_at_home_every_time

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This is a family blog, so don’t get too excited. 

People Magazine’s 2007 Sexiest Man Alive issue featured Bravo TV’s Tom Colicchio from their reality show “Top Chef.”

He has some funky ideas about what is sexy. But I will have to agree with his number one pick.

Check out this link and decide for yourself!

http://edibletv.net/?p=494

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Do you like a touch of mustard? Do you like wine? You’ll love this one then.

Stay inside with this recipe. And impress your guests by cooking with red wine!

Pan Seared Filet with Red Wine Mustard Sauce
(serves four)
4 6oz. Filet Mignon
1 Tablespoon neutral Oil such as Canola or Safflower
1 Cup Red Wine
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 Tablespoons cold butter cut into six pieces
Salt and Pepper

Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper and sear filet in a hot pan with the oil to desired doneness.  Remove steaks and set to rest.  To the pan add the red wine and reduce until about 1 tablespoon remains or the pan is almost dry.  Remove the pan from heat and whisk in mustard and Worcestershire until creamy.  Whisk in the cold butter one piece at a time until melted and the sauce has a smooth consistency.  Serve steaks with a teaspoon of sauce on each plate.

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