I absolutely love peppercorn on steak. It’s so, so tasty and it brings out the steak’s natural flavor.

And I really love when you get to crack it with a mallet. Hi-yahhhhh!!! (That’s my fake karate chop sound.)

This recipe has it all!

Pepper-Crusted Steaks with Worcestershire-Glazed Portobellos

Ingredients

4 14- to 16-ounce New York strip steaks (each about 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick)

3 tablespoons black peppercorns, cracked with mallet

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 pound portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices

Preparation

Sprinkle steaks with cracked peppercorns and coarse salt. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. Stir in mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt. Remove from heat.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill steaks until cooked to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to plates. Top each steak with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Tent with foil to keep warm. Grill mushrooms until soft and beginning to release juices, about 3 minutes per side. Divide mushrooms among steaks and serve.

Test-kitchen tip:

To make crisscross grill marks, place steaks on the grill pointing to ten o’clock. Halfway through cooking on one side, turn steaks to point to 2 o’clock. Turn steaks over and repeat.

Photo and recipe courtesy of epicurious.com.

Looking for that perfect gift for Grampa’s birthday? A bar mitzvah? Arbor Day?

THIS is a classic . . .

Yup, those are steaks on that there tie. Trillions and trillions of ’em.

He’ll NEVER have to worry about getting steak on his tie, ’cause guess what? He’s already got steaks on his tie!

I’m just doing a public service here. You needed to know about this.

Good day.

Photo courtesy of zazzle.com.

Sometimes I’m feeling saucy and I want to experiment with flavors and sauces and techniques. I want to try a new recipe or perfect an old one.

Other times, I just want a great steak, but I don’t want to spend a whole lotta time on it.

For those times, I like a preseasoned steak. You know, where someone has done all the heavy lifting for me.

I just put it over a flame and suddenly I’m a brilliant chef!

This baby is an already seasoned garlic and herb ribeye. I can totally see the flavor spilling out on top of it.

Okay, I’m hungry.

I’m thinking this weekend might be a preseasoned weekend. How about you???

Photo courtesy of KansasCitySteaks.com.