Oh my goodness! This was a perfect selection for this past week. Of course it was Valentine’s Day, and it was also my mom’s 85th birthday. So a little festive dinner party was in order.
I loved reading the description – I was in total agreement. Rib-eye. Check. Thinner cut so that a nice crust would form. Check. And then, adding a little chipotle powder to give a little smokey flavor. Yum!
The other twist to this is a mustard butter (au beurre de moutarde). I wasn’t sure about that part, but why not?
I seasoned the steaks with salt and the chipotle as instructed. I missed the parsley or cilantro which would have been good. The steaks sit with the seasoning in the refrigerator from 1-8 hours. That worked with making the mustard butter. The softened butter is combined with dry mustard (I used Coleman’s) and some dijon. When I first mixed it together and tasted it – that worried me. It was terrible. I’m not the biggest mustard fan, but thought that I should trust the recipe. So into the refrigerator it went.
Fast forward, and I browned the steaks in a hot, heavy skillet. I have found that this method does work to create a nice medium-rare steak, particularly if they are bone-in.
This produced a nice crust, and perfect temperature. The butter didn’t melt as much initially, since it really was chilled – next time I will take it out of the refrigerator earlier.
I didn’t make the frites. I had one of my guests go on a “run” to pick some up while I was finishing the steaks. They weren’t going to be the most important part as far as I was concerned. What was going to make a great side to this was Dorie Greenspan’s Cauliflower-Bacon Gratin. I’ve been wanting to make it again, it’s amazing! And perfect with the steak.
Paired with 2010 Provenance Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Perfect!
This was a terrific meal! The mustard butter really developed a fabulous flavor in the refrigerator – with a bite, but just a great counterpoint to the steak. The meal worked perfectly. I would absolutely make this again. It’s actually very easy and fast, for such a wonderful great result.
Since it was a special day – we did finish off with a cake. I don’t often make layer cakes anymore, but I really thought it would be fun. So a chocolate cake with a salted caramel frosting rounded out our evening’s festivities. Perfect!
To see what the other members of the Cook the Book Fridays had to say about this recipe, you can check them out here.
dulceshome 
Soooo…where is my invite and plate?! That looks so yummy Candy. I’m going to try the mustard butter. Send me the recipe for the cake.
I will Keisha! You’ll have to come up to Sedona one of these days! I’d love to have you visit!!! I promise I’ll cook for you! 🙂
It’s a date!
Actually you totally need to try the fries. THEY are the revelation in this recipe!!! What a fun celebration ad delicious meal, though!
OK, Mardi. If I’d really read the recipe… (I’m so predictable!). I will try them. Loved this steak preparation, and I’m convinced about the fries. Thank you!
Sounds like a perfect meal. I agree with Mardi – try the fries!
OK, Cher! I’m sold!!
Jeesh, you can’t finish off the post with that gorgeous cake and expect use to remember anything you wrote about this week’s recipe! I find myself suddenly craving chocolate:-)
It really was fun to make. It’s been a long time since I’ve made a layer cake – but every once in a while!
Whoa. Chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting??? That’s like my holy grail cake. Mmmmmm (I think I’m hungry as the commenting on blogs right now has me actually salivating.) What a great meal you had for your mom’s big day!! I loved that photo of her on FB with the flowers. So nice to “see” you again this week, Candy!
Thanks Katie! This was a very fun meal!
Happy Birthday to your mom!!! I loved this meal. I completely missed the part about letting the steak rest with the seasonings. We just cooked it right away. You do need to make the fries. They were amazing. Funny, I recently made the gratin again, though with broccoli. It’s a winner. And that cake looks like something special too. Again congrats to your mom!
Thanks Betsy!!! She had a lot of fun hearing about all of the kind birthday wishes!
I’ll be making this again, so the fries will get another chance!
Oh, my, my, my…the 3-layer chocolate cake with salted caramel frosting is beautiful. Because I made 2 Hummingbird Cakes in the past ten days (practicing for Melissa’s birthday), I’d forgotten how much I like to eat cake. I enjoyed seeing your beautiful mother on Facebook and know that she enjoyed this meal (even though the french fries were not homemade, tsk. tsk.). For some reason I don’t think I have made Dorie’s cauliflower-bacon gratin although I must. Perfect for this meal. My mustard butter also was a little too cold to melt properly so I softened it a bit with heat. You made a beautiful meal for your Mother, Candy. I just know that she is pleased to have you closer. (And, I am kidding about the french fries but please try them sometimes.) So glad to be back cooking with you with this book as well as Hugh’s.
It really is a lot of fun cooking together Mary – gives us all a chance to connect despite our busy lives! I really was thinking about making that same hummingbird cake (love all of the flavors), but ended up with chocolate because I knew everyone would like it.
That cauliflower gratin is really amazing. So light and flavorful! I could eat just that for dinner and be happy! I will try the fries, since I’ll be making this dish again. I really loved the mustard butter. And this is the kind of meal that you can produce so quickly, that I just have to remember to make it!
Thanks for your kind words! And BTW, 2 hummingbird cakes? WOW!
This, indeed, was terrific celebration dinner, ending with a gorgeous layer cake. Happy Belated Birthday Candy’s Mother! Like you, I too need to make the fries, but that gratin looks lovely. Till March!
Thanks Emily!
That cauliflower gratin is a favorite here too and it does go well with the steak. The cake is
gorgeous, I’m sure your Mom really enjoyed this meal. Happy Birthday to her. I’m glad
we are all cooking together again, I really missed it.
Hi Candy, wow! what a great meal you made your mom, the cake too, what a showstopper!
What a lovely birthday celebration! Your steaks looks wonderful and the cake is lovely! I’m so happy to be cooking along with CtBF. Looking forward to other delicious recipes from this fantastic book!
Everything looks so good, especially that cake. I will third (or fourth?) the comments to make the fries. They were delicious!
I LOVE that cauliflower gratin! What a beautiful accompaniment on the steak. I’m glad others have convinced you to try the fries sometime, as they really are terrific and not a lot of trouble. I thought the mustard butter was incredible with the steak and mixed with the jus, on the fries. But, that cake – that cake! Beautiful. I bet it was delicious.
Candy, I love the cake- looks so good and the addition of cauliflower gratin- Yum! I am now double disappointed that I am not coming out to AZ this month as planned!- Oh well, there is always next year
What a feast! I hope your mum had a fantastic day!
Everything looks soooo good!
What a wonderful celebration meal! Good idea to take the butter out a bit ahead of time; I also had trouble with it not melting. Also, thanks for the reminder about the Cauliflower Gratin. I will have to make it again too!
Mardi is right…these fries were quite good! Definitely worth the effort!
Your dinner looks fabulous…love the Cauliflower Gratin, a perfect choice! Happy Birthday to your mom…I am sure she enjoyed her dinner!