Ribeyes, Couscous and Carrots

One of the most economical ways to put a steak dinner on your table is to purchase the whole "roast" and have the butcher at your supermarket or meat market cut it into individual steaks. Typically rib eye steaks can cost anywhere from 7-9 dollars a pound and buying the roast will save you a few bucks-I have a supermarket nearby that periodically offers whole rib roasts for about $4.99/lb...nice deal!

I recently purchased a whole rib eye roast, had the butcher cut it into 1 1/2 inch steaks, and today grilled them and served them with a tasty Caramelized Shallot Couscous and quick sauteed Rosemary Carrots.

The creamy pungent flavor of blue cheese makes it a natural to pair with beef. I prepared the grilled rib eyes nice and pink and served it sliced with a creamy blue cheese sauce. No surprise here, but, the Barefoot Contessa has a recipe for a delicious blue cheese sauce that I often make for grilled steak. A word of caution here though...while this is an incredibly simple recipe-DO NOT LEAVE YOUR POT UNATTENDED!! Today I put the cream on the stove as directed and brought it to a boil forgetting about it while I was prepping the steaks until...I heard a "pst..sizzle" sound and saw a ton of steam. I ran to the stove and I watched in horror as a milk white waterfall of cream boiled over coating my glass cook top with a bubbling mess. Oh it will be a few weeks before that burns off or I can scrub it off and get it shiny again(any tips for cleaning glass cook tops would be greatly appreciated!)

Couscous makes a quick simple side and is especially great when you are making other dishes for your meal that may need a bit more of your attention. Tasty all by itself, this couscous can be a meal by itself and is great to use up any leftover steak you may have from a barbecue (just stir in the steak with the beef broth).

There are some days when you need to let your supermarket be your sous chef. A handy product I found recently in the supermarket fits that bill-premium Matchstix carrots. Being a home cook with limited knife skills, cutting carrots this small (and this uniform) would probably take the better part of an afternoon. These carrots saved time and actually had great flavor.

Grilled Ribeyes with Blue Cheese Sauce

Steaks:

4 boneless ribeye steaks

2 tablespoons salt

Blue Cheese Sauce (adapted from Ina Garten's Gorgonzola Sauce from The Barefoot Contessa Parties):

2 cups heavy cream

2 ounces blue cheese (I used a Danish blue cheese)

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Arrange the steaks on a work surface and season both sides with the salt and let rest for 15 minutes.

Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium high heat; let boil (watching!) for about 30 minutes. Stir in the blue cheese Parmesan cheese and the pepper.

Preheat a gas grill to medium high heat. Gently rinse the salt from the steaks and pat dry. Lightly oil the grill rack and grill the steaks for 9-11 minutes for medium rare, turning halfway through cooking. Remove steaks from the grill and let rest on a cutting board for 8-10 minutes. Carve steak into 1/4 inch thick slices and season to tastse with additional salt and pepper.

Caramelized Shallot Couscous

1 tablespoon butter

2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup whole wheat couscous

1 cup beef broth

salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat; stir in the shallots, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Let the shallots cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in the couscous and toast lightly. Add the beef broth, bring just to a boil then remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. To serve, stir to combine the shallots and season lightly to taste with the salt and pepper.

Quick Sauteed Rosemary Carrots

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

8 ounces Matchstix Carrots

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary

Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat; stir in the carrots, salt and rosemary and cook for 3-4 minutes just until tender-crisp.