They’re bite-sized, they’re tasty, they’re perfect.

Get your beef here if you want to guarantee it’ll be top quality. Then try this fantastic kabob recipe the next time you’ve got a hankerin’ for this simple, yet delicious meal.

Recipe: Beef Kabobs

This just simply rocks.

If you’ve ever been baffled by what cut is what, this guide is for you.

Our friends at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Cattlemen’s Beef Board put this together to make life easier for us. Wasn’t that nice?

Keep it bookmarked so you can refer to it again and again.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Guide courtesy of BBQGuide.com.

So apparently people have loved steak for such a long time that poetry about our beloved exists from as far back as the 1800s. Maybe even longer.

Here, a very wise writer waxes poetic about a luscious steak stew. Mmmmm. . .

A Steak

I surely never hope to view

A steak as luscious as a stew.

The latter is the tasty goal

Of elements in perfect whole,

A mad assemblage of legumes

Exuding warm ambrosial fumes,

Each seasoning of proper length,

Proving in Union there’s strength.

A steak is grander, it is true,

Yet needs no special skill to brew.

It is an art a stew to make,

But anyone can broil a steak.

unknown, 1880

Poetry courtesy of foodreference.com.

Photo courtesy of hubpages.com.

Did you know that it’s not only important to make good choices in what you eat, but the combination of foods you choose is important as well?

I didn’t. But Parade’s Healthy Style magazine set me straight.

An article by Nancy Kalish says this:  Drinking a glass of red wine with your steak can cut down on your body’s absorption of toxins that can lead to heart disease. But don’t overindulge: Seven ounces is all you need to benefit.

I LOVE that red wine with my steak is good for me! In fact, I’ll raise my glass to that fact the next time I, er hmmm, take care of myself.

I’m feeling the need to take care of myself this weekend. It’s been a long week!

Read the entire article here.

Photo courtesy of recipes.certifiedangusbeef.com.

I just read this article that claims humans have been eating steak for dinner ever since homo sapiens began roaming the earth.

That’s a long time.

So I’m thinking, Who am I to buck tradition?

I’ll have a steak, please. It’s in my DNA to do so.

Read the full article here and find out all the fascinating details about a scientific discovery that proves this carnivorous theory.

Then, go have a steak of your own. It’s only natural.

Photo courtesy of news.discovery.com.

Wow.  These hearty baked beans can be a meal all on their own.

They’re a meaty mix of ground beef (try this — it’s my fave), sausage, bacon and lots of other good stuff.

You can use them as a dip . . .

. . . or as a side dish with steaks, pork chops, burgers, brisket — anything!

So what are you waiting for? Check out this recipe from awesome Paula at Salad-In-A-Jar.com.

She rocks. And so will you if you bring this to the next neighborhood party.

Photos courtesy of Salad-In-A-Jar.com.

When you’re at the beach you don’t realize you’re hungry until you’ve stripped off your wet, sandy bathing suit, taken a shower and then sat down.

And then by that time, it’s too late . . . you’re RAVENOUS.

For us, the grumpies start to appear and nobody’s happy until they’ve eaten.

That’s why we like to cook in our little condo. I usually leave the beach early to get the meal rolling and then head off the “grumpies” before they appear.

See how that works?

This gorgeous photo is a steakburger meal we prepared one night. But it’s not just ANY steakburger. It’s got Vidalia (sweet) onions in the beef. And boy do they flavor that beef!

Some of us like to make them into cheese steakburgers (like the one above), but that night I preferred to make mine an onion steakburger with no bun marinaded in Teriyaki sauce. I’m crazy about the stuff. Those yummy onions mixed with the marinade brought out the amazing flavor of the burger. I just plain didn’t need a bun.

Everybody was happy because they got to make theirs however they wanted it.

And those grumpies I mentioned? They stayed far away that night. Well played, if I do say so myself.

So, we’re back in the real world after a wonderful visit to Florida’s Gulf coast. It was well worth all of the wondering and worrying and ultimately the decision to keep our plans.

The area was beautiful and people seemed genuinely happy to have us there. That’s always nice, right? To have people happy you’re there?

We always like to cook in our little rental when we travel there because we like what we like and — well — we’re kind of picky.

As I’ve done for the past few years, I had an order of some of my faves sent to me there and let me tell you we were not disappointed.

Isn’t it beautiful?

The first meal we cooked was an all-beef franks extravaganza. Can’t go wrong with that, I say.

We were like Burger King — you could totally have it your way. Plain, ketchup, mustard, spicy mustard, relish, cheese . . . anything.

We cooked these babies on our trusty George Foreman grills indoors. The place smelled so good!

Cooking for a bunch of hungry vacationers sort of makes you well-liked. And I liked earning my place at the top of the food chain (so to speak) every night. It makes everyone happy when Mama’s happy.

More scrumptious meals from our week later!

Would ya look at that gorgeous egg on top of that dreamy, juicy steak?

Amelia Levin over at the LA Times gives us the head’s up on some “unusual” cuts of steak you could try this 4th of July.

Now, you love steak, so you may be familiar with most of these already. Us aficianados usually are in the know. But there may be one or two you don’t know much about.

So, check out her list here.

And let me know if you’ve found a new favorite!

Photo courtesy of Bill Hogan/LA Times.

8 of the Most Expensive Cuts of Beef You Never Knew You HAD to Have!

You love steak, and even in a recession you want the best that money can buy.  But how much money are you really willing to drop to buy the “perfect” steak?

Let’s say you have an unlimited budget…what would be the best steak that your money could buy?  Here’s a list of the 8 most expensive types of beef.  The prices listed below are based on USDA Prime quality beef, but prices will vary according to your geographic location, the portion size, and grade of beef selected.

Not all beef is created equal.  If you want to eat the best steak of your life, it’s gonna cost you…and it’ll be worth every penny.

The Best of the Best

1)    Kobe Beef

This beef comes only from Kobe, Japan; therefore, costs more the further you travel from Japan.  What makes it so special?  Well, it comes from Wagyu cows that have been massaged with sake-fed grain fodder and given one beer a day.  This makes the beef tender, flavorful and wonderfully marbled.  You can find this in most of the top, high-end steakhouses in the U.S. like Japonais in Chicago.

At the Renga-tei Restaurant in Kobe, a cut of Wagyu, wrapped in rice paper and seared on an iron grill, then served with salmon and salad is $206.  Chef Varley’s “Triple Seared” Japanese Kobe in Las Vegas costs $33 an ounce.  So, an eight-ounce serving is $264.

www.jenius.com.au

2)    American Wagyu

This type of beef comes from Wagyu cows imported from Japan but raised here in the U.S.  They are rare (there aren’t very many of them) so they are expensive.  They, too, are tender and very flavorful.  You can find this type of beef at BLT Steak in New York City.  There, an American Wagyu 12-oz. ribeye runs $92.

3)    Tenderloin

Typically, the most expensive cuts of beef are taken from the most tender parts of the cow.  These are the parts that don’t get “overworked” in the animal’s lifetime.  Therefore, they’re tender.  Tenderloin is an amazing example of this.  Try The Tenderloin Room in St. Louis.

The “Pepperloin a la Tenderloin” dish at the Tenderloin Room (which consists of slices of specially seasoned, marinated tenderloin) costs $38.

4)    Filet Mignon

Now, this is exquisite.  Filet mignon is taken from the small end of the tenderloin (called the short loin) and is known as the “king of steaks.”  It can often be cut with a fork, it’s so tender.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  You can find delectable filet mignon at most any upscale steakhouse, but I prefer an at-home version delivered by the Kansas City Steak Company.  They’re widely known for their corn-fed beef – especially the filet mignon.

A 12-oz. filet at BLT Steak in NYC is $42.  Six 6-oz. filets from Kansas City Steak Company run $64.95.  Definitely a better buy.

www.kansascitysteaks.com

5)    Kansas City Strip

Strip steaks, taken from the short loin, are particularly tender, but not as tender as the tenderloin.  They can, however, but cut into thicker portions which is appealing to lovers of more rare beef.

Sometimes called New York Strip or Delmonico, you can find strip steaks just about everywhere!

www.ruthschris.com

6)    Porterhouse

Ahhh, the Porterhouse!  Part tenderloin and part strip steak, this hefty favorite divides the two with a bone that helps provide amazing flavor.  The Porterhouse has a larger side of tenderloin than the strip.  A T-bone is just the opposite.  Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn, NY, is famous for its 2-person Porterhouse.  Newsday describes it as “Fibrous, mineral-sweet beef, crusty and tender.”  Yum!

A single Porterhouse at the Tenderloin Room in St. Louis runs $39.

www.peterluger.com

7)    T-Bone

The yin to the Porterhouse’s yang, the T-bone is a more conventional favorite, yet still pricey in upscale restaurants.  The fact that this type of steak comes from the short loin section of the cow (and, thus, the most tender) makes it expensive.  Find a great T-bone at Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses across the country.  A good bet.

8)    Bone-in Ribeye (Cote de Boeuf)

It’s the bone that gives this cut its flavor.  Leave the bone in and you leave the rich flavor intact.  The ribeye comes from the rib section of the cow, which gives it its hearty flavor.  Bob’s Steak and Chop House in Dallas, TX, has a bone-in beauty to die for!

www.tenderloinroom.com