Friday Night Dinner, February 18, 2011, Grilled Rib Eye "Roast"

This week I had a whole other menu planned and then I learned of the 60 degree weather we were going to have on Friday so I completely changed from a... roasty toasty oven baked dish that was all about being cozy inside because its been so cold outside to... full outside grilling summer time food. I thought instead of a regular steak, I would do something crazy and have the butcher cut a 3 inch "roast" of rib eye beef, and I would get a fantastic crust on the charcoal fire then off to the side to finish cooking to medium.

Tri-Color Bell Pepper Salad

I had this idea in my back pocket for a while. I saw a plate of roasted peppers on some show and I thought, that could be a good appetizer for Friday sometime. I roasted red, yellow and orange peppers under the broiler, by just placing them a few inches from the heating element on a sheet pan and turning them every so often until they are completely blackened. Remove them to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 5-10 minutes and the steam from the hot peppers trapped in the bowl allows the skin to release easily. Remove the skins and tear into strips onto a platter. I made a dressing using balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, finely grated fresh garlic, salt and pepper and poured that over the warm peppers. I got some authentic Greek feta cheese and crumbled that over. I toasted slices of French Baguette and served that along side the pepper salad.

Grilled Rib Eye "Roast"

I asked the butcher to cut a 3 inch piece of rib eye so I could do something different with it. Instead of the norm I would cook that one piece and slice it on the bias (against the grain) and serve a few slices per person. This was yummy! First you want to bring the beef to room temperature as much as possible, I did about 1 1/2 hours ahead. Then I made a rub, I put some garlic in a mortar and pestle and pounded it with some salt (about 2-3 tsp), some of Tony's spice rub (a heaped tsp), fresh ground pepper and I rubbed it all over the rib eye... front, back, sides and bottom and really rub it in. Tony got the charcoal grill going and he added some Pecan wood to enhance the flavors even more. We seared the beef on all sides directly over the flame and then off to the cool side to finish cooking. We closed the cover to create an "oven" and it reached an internal temperature of about 135 in about 30 minutes. Rest for 15 minutes and slice into it, it had a great salty crust that I loved.

Hannah Yam Mash

If you ever see Hannah yams in the market, buy them! They have a sweetness to them and it's just our favorite thing. I cooked these like a baked potato, just in the oven until a knife slides in easily. Remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes so you can handle them. I removed the skins and mashed them with salt, pepper and butter. You can't believe that that's all that is added to them. They taste so flavorful, you would sware there are other ingredients to make them taste so good.

Grilled Asparagus

Nothing says summer like grilled asparagus. I had to do these for our "summer supper". I got some that were fat so I cut off the woody ends and peeled off some of the green at the bases to make sure they were tender as can be. Olive oil salt and pepper and onto the grill. I cooked these as the rib eye rested, it only takes 5 minutes or so.

Apple and Ginger Crisp with Ben and Jerry's Vanilla

I thought a crisp with some ice cream sounded like a good explanation point to our dinner. I remembered this Martha Stewart crisp that I loved. I loved the idea of fresh grated ginger mixed in with the apples, kind of a sweet and spicy combination. The name of it, if you want to look it up is...apple, date and ginger crisp. I forgot to buy the Medjool dates when I went shopping so I just left them out. It was good with the Ben and Jerry's vanilla ice cream.