Grass Fed Ribeye Steak

While the wife was enjoying libations and farewells from her co-workers (my former co-workers) at a Santa Monica watering hole (emphasis on hole) I pondered what to have for a solo dinner at home. I declined the invitation to fight Friday evening traffic into Santa Monica where I would overpay for a drink and try to avoid talking to former co-workers who lower my view of the human race. It's really not that bad, I like most of my former co-workers. They weren't the ones who decided to lay me off. It was a smelly Frenchman and his suspiciously hyper-masculine sidekick, who are both long gone too. Back to dinner. By 6:30 PM something was bothering my stomach. It could have been the sausage sandwich and beer lunch, the absurd "Chantico" drinking chocolate* from Starbucks or the double espresso I downed at 6:25PM. I figured I'd eat something simple and straightforward to spare my giblets any unnecessary strain. A calzone from a neighborhood pizza joint that only takes cash seemed like a good option but I balked with the phone in my hand. Too much meat, cheese and white flour. So I went to Trader Joe's to see if any fish looked good. Sure enough I found something - a ribeye steak. It was small, well-marbled and boasted its grass-fed heritage. At $15/pound it wasn't cheap but I was curious so I bought it along with $20 worth of other stuff I didn't need and headed back home. I remembered I still had a few brussel sprouts left to cook so I braised them in water and cream while I heated the cast iron pan to smoking. I generoulsy coated the steak with salt and coarsely ground pepper and pan-fried it for about 3 minutes per side. While it rested I poured some red wine in the steak pan to deglaze the crusty goodness. I then added about 1/4 cup of my poor-man's demi-glace that I had made a couple weeks prior. I won't bore you with the details but I got the recipe from an old issue of Cook's Illustrated. I really didn't expect anything from the pan sauce but I figured it was worth a shot. After it reduced by about half the steak was fully rested and the sprouts were ready too. The steak turned out to be really good. Cooking perfectly to a solid crimson throughout helped but I could tell the quality was there. It wasn't a 28 day dry-aged beauty from some mafia steakhouse but it was good. The real surprise was the sauce. Whoa! It rivaled any red wine pan sauce I've had from a restaurant...and it was an afterthought! The brussel sprouts tasted great (cream = good) and the glass of $7/ bottle of Columbia Crest Cabernet tasted at least as good as the $20 bottle of Wente I served with the short ribs a few nights ago. I expected little and was richly rewarded. In case you're wondering, the wife had a few chicken strips at the bar and a bowl of cereal when she got home but she had a nice time with co-workers. I'm glad I stayed in. * By the time you read this Starbuck's may have pulled the "Chantico" from their stores. It's basically melted chocolate ice cream. Cloying doesn't begin to describe it. I can't believe I drank the whole thing but at $2.75 I had to. It really is just another shameless Starbuck's gimmick. The name alone is ridiculous. I had to see where they claimed to have come up with it. Per Starbuck's website: "The name 'Chantico' comes from the Aztec goddess of hearth and fire. Chantico was said to provide homes with warm comfort and heat for cooking." I'm embarassed for them. I only tried it for business research reasons (I'm serious - I have a vested interest in what the latest cafe beverage trends are). Soon I'll tell the story of the espresso machine in my garage.