‘Twas the night before Christmas . . . and we were starving.

Can you guess — in a house full of carnivores — what we ate?

Wait for it.

Yes, my friends, steak.

Like many other families across this great land, we decided to dine on a Christmas Eve meal of strip steaks, baked potatoes, and all the wine related people can indulge in without looking like we have some problems we need to talk about.

We prefer to keep it light around the holidays. No talk of the sagging economy, world destruction or personal issues. Just Santa, anything positive and the kids in our lives.

This Christmas we found ourselves with a lot to be thankful for — despite what the news shows have been telling us. And the steak? Well, the steak set the tone for a Christmas Eve full of corny holiday classics, thick anticipation and pure excitement.

We decided to try a new seasoning this time. It was Christmas Eve, so we thought, What the heck, let’s go for it.

This steak seasoning, made by SuckleBusters, was just the right amount of spicy hot and flavorful.

We put it on the steaks before my hubby braved the Blizzard of ’09 and ventured outside to grill the steaks IN THE SNOW.

As he said, “You gotta want it.”

And we did.

That is real, actual, honest-to-goodness snow coming down behind the grill there.

Sure, we could have pan fried them inside or put them on the George Foreman in the comfort of our warm kitchen. But what would be the fun in that?

The kids wrote their names in the snow on the patio table while Dad flipped the steaks sans gloves. It was all part of his “get tough” theme for the evening. Very Christmasy.

But, I gotta tell you, this Christmas Eve was one to remember for us. Family with only a minimum of dysfunctional issues, great steaks from my favorite place, a new seasoning and the Christmas night countdown. What could be better than that?

I hope your holidays were just as special!

Is that not a gorgeous cut of beef?

Oh, the colors! The marbling! The thickness!

But all steaks are not created equal. Just because a steak is a steak does not mean it’s a GREAT steak.

Our friend-in-beef Greg Henry over at SippitySup.com gives us a nice, solid primer on what makes a tasty steak — and what does not.

Oh, and that photo you see here? It’s his. I’m jealous because that means he probably got to eat it after he took the picture.

And since he loves us so much, he gives us his recipe for Pan-Seared Ribeye with Glazed Shallots.

My mouth is watering.

Just go here to check it all out!

Photo courtesy of SippitySup.com.

The L.A. Times had a great article recently about choosing less-expensive cuts of beef and cooking them to the point where they’re absolutely fabulous.

And in these tough economic times, it seems we’re all looking to save ourselves some dough — while still enjoying our favorite meals.

Check out the article here — and let me know what you think! If there’s one thing I just can’t sacrifice it’s my steak, man.

A girl’s gotta eat, right?

Photo courtesy of the L.A. Times.