It’s the first day of spring! This day makes me so happy every year.

It signals warmer weather ahead and that makes me utterly giddy.

And in honor of the spring season, just last week, we took a spring break trip with the kids to the Bahamas. They were off school for a week.  We’ve never done such a thing before and we didn’t know what to expect.

We usually travel to such exotic locales as:  Oklahoma City, Houston and Pearl, Mississippi. Don’t get me wrong, we have mad love for all those places – but let’s just say they aren’t featured on the Travel Channel very often.

We had been saving up for quite a while and when the day finally came for us to leave on our big trip, we were anxious, excited and thrilled.

While there, my husband and I decided we couldn’t leave without sampling a Bahamian steak. It had to happen.

What you see above is a Bahamian Kansas City strip steak. Medium.

Exquisite.

THIS made the trip even more memorable. And it proved to us that a quality steak is a quality steak no matter where you go in the world.

It all starts with a great cut of beef. If you don’t have that, it’s over.

Thank goodness this was incredible. They know how to do steak right on the island!

What an amazing way to welcome spring!!!

I love it when this . . .

…and this…

…is the evening’s entertainment.

Seriously, give us a ribeye and a Kansas City strip steak and my hubby and I are occupied for hours.

Preparing a marinade, letting them sit, grilling and anticipating, eating and THEN talking about how good the steaks were.

That takes, what, all day long?

Oh, the joy of eating a beautiful meal! It’s one of life’s best gifts. And when I can enjoy it at home – it’s even better.

Here’s to simple pleasures!

P.S. Do you like the blue lights on the grill? They don’t do anything but they sure are cool at night!

Get ready to welcome 2012!

To me, the best way to celebrate ANYTHING is with a steak. In fact, that’s what I will be doing Saturday night.

In this great article by the great Wolfgang Puck he refers to the strip steak as “beef’s equivalent to the tuxedo, clean-lined and elegant.”

THAT, he says, is the way to ring in the new year.

And I couldn’t agree more.

Click here to read Puck’s descriptive tale of the beautiful strip and take special note of his recipe for roasted strip steak with port wine mustard sauce.

Any time you can get your hands on a Wolfgang Puck recipe, you know it’s going to be good!

Have a wonderful new year celebration and I’ll catch you again in 2012 — after you’ve enjoyed an AMAZING strip steak!

Excerpt courtesy of Wolfgang Puck via ArkansasOnline.com.

Photo courtesy of KansasCitySteaks.com.

America’s retailers have compiled a list of the country’s most shoplifted items. Want to know what was number one?

Filet mignon.

Writer John Kass questioned his friends on this topic and got this in response . . .

“Really?” asked a hard-boiled journalist who knows steak. “Filet mignon? Don’t these thieves have any taste buds? You’d think they’d steal something with flavor, like a nice Kansas City strip.”

(There they are together in the photo above. You decide. Which one is better?)

Kass then goes on to share his favorite steak sauce recipe just in case the thieves find those tender filets delicious, yet lacking in taste.

Click here to get that recipe and to read about some other steak-related mishaps from Kass’ childhood.

It’s a Steakapalooza of stories!

Have a great weekend – and if you’ve got a hankering for a steak, my advice is to BUY some!

Excerpt courtesy of John Kass via ChicagoTribune.com.

Photo courtesy of KansasCitySteaks.com.

Love steak?

Who doesn’t?  (Don’t answer that.)

Like being healthy?

Who wouldn’t?

Oprah, over at Oprah.com (via Dr. Katz), gives us tips on cooking a healthier steak.

I like that. I think we’re all trying to find ways to stay healthy and cook healthier.

Hint:  Use beer for your marinade.

Hey, if cooking with beer makes my steak healthier – sign me up!

Check out the recipe and special tips here.

And then go cook that healthy steak!

Photo courtesy of Oprah.com.

Okay, an important steak-related holiday is coming up (quicker than some of us realize). We’ve got to get ready – but who wants to spend a bunch of time preparing? We’ve got celebrating to do!

Here’s a 30-minute steak dinner planned out for you . . . just for the July 4th holiday!

It includes:

sprout salad

marinated strip steaks with garlic mushrooms

patriotic berries with angel food cake

It’s a visual, flavorful meal for the 4th! Click here for all the details!

P.S. It’s coming up on Monday – where has this year gone???

Photos courtesy of TastyPlanner.com.

If you’re here, you love a good steak.

But we all have our own ideas about what makes a steak great. I like a ribeye, thinly cut, medium well with Teriyaki sauce. Don’t judge.

Some people like A-1 sauce on a thick, very pink Kansas City strip.

I don’t mock them – just like I hope they don’t mock me. There’s room for all of us, right?

Check out this list of “Top 10 Steak Recipes.” This list includes greatness like herb-crusted filet mignon, carne asada and marinated London Broil. My mouth is watering right now.

Now, I’m not sure what qualifies these particular ones as THE top 10, but it’s a good place to start.

And if you want really good meat, get it here.

What are YOUR top 10 steak recipe favorites???

This weekend, the sun teased us where we live and gave us some gorgeous, spring-like weather.

Here’s what we chose to do with it. . .

Uh, huh. We grilled out. It turned into this. . .

And soon after, the weather yelled, “Psyche! Just kidding!” Then it turned back into nasty winter.

I’m SO glad we took advantage of it when we had the chance. I just hate sending my hubby out to grill in the snow. I’ll do it, but I just hate it.

Here’s to more springy weather. It puts me in a fabulous mood – and keeps me well fed!

This is how I spent the weekend before Thanksgiving. I was pampered by my husband with boneless ribeyes and strip steaks.

Hey, that’s our idea of romance so just go with it.

It was chilly, but he braved the backyard and grilled up his love in the form of some tender, juicy beef. All for me. I’m a lucky girl.

I equate so many things with steak that I’m afraid I’d be lost for symbolism without it. When my husband got a new job we celebrated with a steak dinner. Anniversaries – every year? Steaks. Birthday dinners? Steak.

Where would I be if not for steak? What would we reach for?

I shudder to think.

Good thing I don’t have to. There’s enough bad news in the world right now. Let me have my steak!

Hey, the weekend is here. . . think I’ll celebrate . . .

You know you want it.

It’s calling out to you.

“It’s the weekend,” the steak says. “You can’t get through it without me.”

“But it’s cold outside and it’s November and I’m tired and football will be on,” you say.

“Exactly,” says the steak. “You need me. Just put me in the broiler. Piece of cake.”

“All right,” you say. “But if you’re high maintenance, so help me…”

“You won’t regret it. Seriously,” steak says. “Have I ever steered you wrong?”

As if in a trance, you walk to the freezer to defrost some strip steaks.

Now that the steak has convinced you to give it a try and you’ve gotten over the fact that you just had a conversation with a steak and it used the word “steer,” you might need some instructions.

Here’s an amazing recipe for broiled steak with garlic and mustard. Mmmmmm.

It calls for Kansas City strips, so give your taste buds a Kansas City treat this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Food52.com.

We welcomed the brisk fall air this weekend with a sizzle . . .

. . . and it turned into this . . .

Pure greatness.

We grilled up some thin-cut ribeyes and this beauty above is a thick Kansas City strip steak. Oh, the joy.

The smells of the grill, the steaks and the fall air were absolutely divine.

Welcome, autumn. You can stop by my house any time.

Good morning, class. Today we’re going to discuss what in heaven’s name a Delmonico is.

You may know it as a bone-in top loin, a boneless ribeye or a New York Strip, Kansas City Strip or strip loin.

Those strip steaks are what I’ve always heard substitute for a Delmonico, but there seems to be some difference in opinion.

Delmonico’s Restaurant in NYC is credited with making this steak meal world famous with a baked mashed potato dish topped with grated cheese and buttered bread crumbs. Oh. Yum.

History is always being rewritten, so we may never know which exact cut was the REAL Delmonico. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s a strip.

Read more about Delmonico steaks at Wikipedia here. Then, let me know what YOU believe a Delmonico is!

Illustration courtesy of Wikipedia.org.

Fatima cooks steaks that are tough and overdone.

Emeril can help with that.

Here are his tips for steaks that are just right:

Emeril’s Tips for Cooking the Perfect Steak:

1) Steaks must be cooked so that the entire surface caramelizes to form a rich thick crust.

2) Grill Pan: Bone in Steaks should be grilled outdoors or on an indoor grill pan to achieve maximum contact between heat source and meat

3) Cast Iron Skillet: Boneless Rib Eye and Strip steaks are the best for pan searing

Emeril talks more about this in his episode about steak mistakes on “Emeril Green” — his show on Planet Green, a Discovery company. Hey, I’d take advice from him. The man knows his way around a kitchen, grill, smoker, wok, convection oven, fryer…

For more insight from Chef Emeril Lagasse on this subject, check out PlanetGreen.com.

Photo and tips courtesy of PlanetGreen.com.

It’s Halloween time!

So how do I celebrate?

Why, with a steak, of course. A Halloween steak.

It’s been a particularly challenging week here at the Steak Enthusiast casa, so it was time to stop, give ourselves a break and enjoy something we know always brings our spirits up.

This Kansas City strip was absolutely divine. And enjoying it on a Tuesday night was awesome. No special occasion — we just needed it.

The kids are looking forward to Saturday night when they will run around the neighborhood in their costumes, giggling and spilling candy with us trotting after them, lamenting how we’re too old for this.

You know, Halloween traditions.

Having this steak got us ready to take it all on.

So, really, what makes this a “Halloween steak?”

I put it on a plate next to a plastic pumpkin.

Any other questions?

That, my friends, is but a sampling of the amazing steaks we grilled over the Labor Day weekend.

Strips, filets and ribeyes graced my grill — and only one lonely steak was left after our group scarfed the whole lot.

That steak is coveted by my husband and he eyes me suspiciously every time I go near the fridge.

“Just getting milk for YOUR CHILDREN,” I have to say.

I won’t eat his precious steak. I promise.

Maybe.

In my alone time (which is rare) I debate whether it’s worth it to eat that steak myself and blame it on some apparition . . . or a zombie . . . or a steak burglar.

But in the end, it’s much easier for me to get another steak than to get another husband.

The one I have is one of a kind. And I’d like to keep him, thank you.