Happy Steak Dinner to Us!

Traditionally an anniversary calls for an extravagant meal cooked at home in our household.
   I find that when we go out to nice restaurants to celebrate we are either
1. disappointed or
B. paying too much for something we can cook at home.
 
   Keeping with our grilling marathon, I looked to my buddy, Bobby Flay, for an over the top, delicious anniversary meal to prepare for my husband.
Oh, I forgot to mention it was our anniversary last week!
   4 years married... that went by fast.
Anywho, so Señior Flay suggested a grilled Rib Eye Steak with a Chipotle Honey Glaze. And to pair with that I made my sour cream and dill mashed potatoes and some grilled asparagus.

Switched the propane on and got the grill nice and hot. Grabbed our seagrass fiesta plates and some tongs and got to prepping.
A little dab of oil brushed on the steaks with some good ol' S&P, snap the asparagus ends off by hand.
   Who cuts those, by the way? Am I the only one who pops each one off individually? How do you know where to cut them when the width of each one varies?
You don't.
   So you bend each one until it breaks in the proper spot. Or else you end up with woody stems that you can't chew.
Sauces.
We had a couple of different sauces to prepare. I like doing mine ahead of time so they can be applied at the proper time. Otherwise I'm panicking cause I'm turning into a kitchen nazi about the timing of everything. So Bobby's sauce for the steaks include:

½ cup honey
1 tablespoon chipotle puree (I used chipotle tabasco)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons canola oil (I used EVOO)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

I didn't measure it all out, because measuring is for baking and if you don't measure it, you're more likely to taste it and adjust the ingredients. (I'm sure Mr. Oliver would agree.) Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my potatoes are boiling with the skin on and I've got the sour cream and milk on standby.

Now, the trick is to cook the steaks first and then apply the sauce. So I throw the steaks on the grill and (are you listening?) Leave Them Alone.
   Secret to a good sear? Leave it on there. When they don't stick to the grill, it means they are seared well and it's time to flip them. I, of course, am no grill master. This is something Bobby Flay told me, well he actually told the people on Worst Cooks in America (which is a great show) and I listened!
  So we cook the steaks about 5-6 minutes on each side for a perfect medium rare (which is the only way to eat steak) If you're eating any more cooked than that you may as well throw it in the microwave and have at it.
   Ancient Chinese Cooking secret #2: Let the meat rest. Really.
Everyone hears this and nobody does it, including myself until recently. If you let the meat rest the juices will redistribute and the meat will be nice and juicy. (This applies to all cooked meats, except maybe seafood. - roasted chicken, pork loin, pork chops in a skillet, steaks, chicken on the barbie... pretty much everything.)
My concern with this "resting" issue was that the food would get cold before we ate it....
  not true.
The meat continues to cook while it's resting. This is why when I worked at a restaurant people would order steaks med-rare and complain that they were well done when they got them home. #1, the meat continues to cook and #2: Who orders a steak to-go?
   Let it rest people!
So as the meat rested on my cutting board on the porch, I ran inside to grab my chipotle-honey glaze (ran, because I was afraid our psychotic grey cat would appear and eat our anniversary dinner.) I brushed the glaze on the steaks and then took my garlic asparagus off the grill. I grabbed some lettuce off the front porch and rinsed it off. Put my asparagus on top of it and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese.
  The steaks went on beside the asparagus and I finished up my mashed potatoes with the sour cream and dill and plopped a helping onto each plate. Poured some sweet tea and we went to town on that stuff.
   This was by far one of the best meals I've ever made. It had a bunch of extra stuff and extra steps to it, but it was really worth it. I usually just roast my asparagus with the crushed up garlic and it's always tasty (Thanks Megan!) but this balsamic and parm really stepped it up for something special. And my fresh from the garden lettuce salad was fantastic! Nothing beats fresh from the farm produce! Grow your own.
 Do it.
   That sauce... this sauce was Amah-Zing! Emphasis on the 'zing' cause the dijon made it pop and then there was sweet and hot all in the same bite. I ended up just dipping my steak in it. This beats A1 and ranch any day.

True story.

Top Notch for sure.

This perfect pairing of flavors assured me that eating at home to celebrate was the right choice.
Otherwise I would've ended up eating an over-cooked steak with not enough seasoning and some overcooked baked potato with not enough sour cream or butter and a wilted salad.

So I will end with a love letter of my own:

Dearest Mr. Flay,
  Thank you. Thank you for assuring me that anyone can cook a great steak, thanks for thinking of a simple sauce that combines sweet and hot, thank you for explaining everything that most cooks assume everyone knows. You made our big day special!
   Sincerely,
   My tummy is aching for another helping

P.S.
My hubby and I have started P90X and it's kicking our butts, the only thing I can't get past is that diet plan, so although we do cook pretty healthy meals at home, I did have a cotton candy at the rodeo last week and some cheese sticks from sonic yesterday. What can I say? The heart wants what it wants. And a happy stomach equals a healthy lifestyle. AmIright?