Ribeye w/ Asparagus

Okay, remember that whole statement from Thursday of me saying that I was going to be getting into some debauchery, but not 'really'?  Well, 'really' happened.  Hehe.  I've been a bit behind (obviously, since there was no post yesterday), so I couldn't just leave you guys empty handed.  And hopefully I'll be up to speed Monday!

So let's talk Ribeye.  A lot of people kind of stray away from ribeye cuts.  Too much marble to work around, and all that jazz.  But me.  I love a good ribeye.  I actually LOVE the marbling (am I sick?  I don't care!)  And the beauty of a ribeye to me, is it's simplicity.  You don't have to jazz it up, you can just let the good grass-fed beef (assuming that you bought a grass-fed beef product) speak for itself.  And to pair it with some simply sauteed asparagus and squirt of lemon juice?  And you have yourself dinner in seriously less than 20 minutes. 

Think I'm crazy?  Think I'm lying?  Try it for yourself.  I'll show ya! =)

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless ribeye steak
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for rubbing
about 15-20 asparagus spears
juice from 1 lemon
lemon slices, optional
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, optional

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Heat a large oven-proof skillet under high heat. 

Rub ribeye with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper on both sides. 

Place ribeye in dry skillet and cook for about 30 seconds.  Using tongs, flip over and cook an additional 30 seconds.

Carefully place skillet in oven and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, for a medium rare/medium.

Carefully remove skillet from oven and transfer steak to cutting board to rest for about 5 minutes.

While your ribeye is resting, you can prepare your asparagus.  Gently toss the spears with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  Squeeze the juice of half of a lemon onto the asparagus. 

Carefully wipe the skillet used for the steak clean with a paper towel (it'll still be hot, so make sure you're careful!) and heat under high heat.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and add asparagus.  Saute for about 2-3 minutes or until starting to soften, but still crisp and green.

Cut whole ribeye in half to serve as two steaks.

To plate, arrange about 6-7 spears on a plate and top with one ribeye steak and serve with a lemon wedge.  You can also top your steak with a little pat of butter, if you'd like.

Seriously.  Simplicity.  At. It's Finest.  No joke.  And what did I tell you?  Dinner is ready in 20 minutes!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend guys! 

And I know I've been all about the meat this week, but I promise next week will be a little 'sweeter' and 'lighter'!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I can tell you that this was the closest poll yet.  I think about 25 minutes before it closed on Saturday, I checked, and it was a 4-way tie.  A. FOUR. WAY. TIE!  While, yes, if there was a tie, I would have made all 4, and I'm sure Andy would have been in cheesecake heaven... I don't think my waistline (or Andy's, for that matter) would have enjoyed it.  So I was definitely relieved when there was a definitive winner.

And obviously... that winner was Mint Chocolate Chip.  Now, I've never had a mint chocolate chip cheesecake (and I don't recall Cheesecake Factory having this flavor, so I may be trend-setting here), but there were definitely recipes out there for it.  I used a couple of those recipes as a guideline, but then went with my gut instinct on a couple other things.  The result was this bright "atomic" looking cheesecake.  Trust me, this baby isn't a result of a nuclear spill... but a creative mind explosion (corny, much?)

Ingredients:
Adapted from About-Recipes 

1 & 1/2 cup crushed oreos & Grasshopper cookies (about 10 each)

2 & 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
14 ounces sweetened, fat free condensed milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon neon green food coloring
1 & 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, chopped
1 teaspoon flour
 

Preheat oven to 300 F.

Combine crushed oreo and Grasshopper (these are like the Keebler version of Thin Mints) crumbs along with melted butter in a medium bowl.  Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9" springform pan. 

 

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.  Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth.  Add eggs, peppermint extract, and food coloring.  Mix 3/4 cup of the chopped chocolate chips with flour to coat and stir into cream cheese mixture.  Pour the filling on top of the crust.  Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top. 

 

Wrap the bottom of the springform pan in aluminum foil to catch any leaks.  Bake in oven for about 1 hour, or until filling is set.  

 

Cool cheesecake to room temperature, then place in refrigerator and chill thoroughly, about 3-4 hours. 

 

After dinner last night, I sliced this up (didn't quite let it chill for as long as I recommended, but we REALLY wanted a piece) and after Andy took his first bite, I asked him what he thought.  He said it was "interesting."  I didn't quite take it as good or bad, so I asked him to elaborate on what he thought was "interesting" about it.  He went on to explain that it was really good, that it's definitely full of mint flavor and it was unlike any cheesecake he's ever had.  So, score???  I'll take it as a win!

 

And it was definitely better this morning (I snuck a small piece for breakfast), maybe because it was allowed to set longer.  I'd definitely recommend this for anyone who loves cheesecake, mint, or chocolate... Me?  I love all three, so it was perfect!  Enjoy guys and have a great rest of your Monday!