Ciabatta Cheese Steaks with the Works

The other day while I was getting some work done, I had Food Network playing in the background as usual. My son Seth came downstairs and sat next to me so we could chat a bit. It seemed like both of us at the same time looked up at the TV and saw the recipe that Rachael was making. Our mouths both began to drool. He looked at me and before he even got the words out of his mouth I said, "I  have GOT to make that"!

It was the show entitled "Sofa Night" and Rachael was making the yummiest looking sandwich I think I have ever seen her make! I immediately grabbed a piece of paper and began writing down the ingredients so I could go to the store. Both of us were so excited. Yes I have created Jr Foodies folks, my kids get just as excited about food as I do I think. My daughter is even taking the culinary program at her school. Isn't she adorable in her chef jacket?

Last night was the night planned for these amazing sandwiches. We were all so excited, I mean if you watch the show these sandwiches are seriously just mouth watering to watch be made. All day yesterday Seth would say, "When are you cooking dinner Mom?" and I would tell him the same thing every time he asked. SO you know as soon as I started cooking he was standing over my shoulder smelling and tasting. All I kept hearing was "OMG Mom that smells so good" "WOW those peppers are awesome" "Ummm when is dinner going to be done?" UGH get out of my kitchen! 

The recipe calls for 2 loaves of ciabatta bread and 4 6 to 8 ounce steaks but I will tell you that I only used one 12 inch loaf and 1pound of steak and it was plenty for 3 people. I have no idea how 4 people would have eaten twice as much! These are very filling. The meat was tender, the cheese sauce was ooooooooh so creamy, and the peppers and onions were the perfect topper to make this seriously the BEST sandwich I have ever eaten. It is kind of a riff on a Philly Cheese Steak but with an Italian flair.

Since we like things spicy here, the next time I make these I am going to add more of the hot pepper rings and juice and probably some crushed red pepper flakes too. The provolone cheese is nice and salty so I think it would hold up well to some extra heat.

Ciabatta Cheese Steaks with the Works

4 flat iron steaks 6 to 8 ounces each

EVOO for coating plus 2 tablespoons

Grill seasoning

3 cubanelle peppers (Italian frying peppers) seeded and thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

1 large onion thinly sliced

1/4 hot pepper rings (sometimes called banana pepper rings), drained, NOT pepperoncini, sliced yellow or red hot peppers in a jar

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Nutmeg, freshly grated

2 cups grated provolone cheese

2 loaves ciabatta bread, 12 inches long

Leave the steaks on the counter, to take the chill off, while the grill or grill pan heats up to medium-high heat. Coat the steaks with EVOO and grill seasoning.

Heat 2 tablespoons of EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cubanelle peppers, onions, and garlic and cook until very tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add a splash of the hot pepper juice and the hot pepper rings, remove from heat.

Heat the oven to 250 degrees F

While the peppers cook put the steaks on the grill or grill pan, and cook for 10 minutes for rare, 2 minutes longer for each level of desired doneness, turning once about midway through cook time. Meanwhile heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter is melted whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Thicken the sauce for a couple of minutes and then reduce the heat to low.

WHen the steaks are cooked to desired doneness, remove to a cutting board and let rest there for 5 minutes. Thinly slice on an angle against the grain. While the meat rests place the bread in the oven to warm and stir the cheese into the sauce.

To serve split the bread lengthwise and spread the steak slices evenly across the bottom of the bread. Top the steak with the sauce and peppers and onions. Cover with bread tops and cut into 4 equal slices.

It's Gettin' Hot In Here!!!

Well I can tell you honestly right now that Rachael was not lying when she named this recipe Fiery Hot! From the meat to the sauteed peppers and the chipotle smashed potatoes there was no room for anymore heat. But it was sooooooo good!


Let me take you on a little journey... Ok I think I mentioned that even though the recipe was for Fiery Hot "T-Bones" I was making Ribeyes. I know, I know, I said I would try to stick close to the recipes but in this case I had to twist it up a bit because Kevin only like Ribeyes, something I am going to remedy him of, but that it why none the less. 


So with that said, I started out on my quest to find the most AWESOME Ribeye steaks I could find in my tiny little town and BINGO I hit the jackpot!!

Are those babies gorgeous or what?!?!? I was so excited to find them that my nerves about cooking them didn't kick in until I was unwrapping them on the prep board so they could warm up while I got working on the rub and prepping the veg. All of a sudden I looked at them and my mind yelled, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" I hate it when I yell at myself! But seriously folks, I have NEVER cook a piece of meat, aside from a roast, that thick so I was a bit nervous. Rachaels recipe calls for 1 1/2" thick steaks not almost 3" ones! But once I took a step back I realized that I could draw on my memories of endless hours of Food Network shows, Man Vs Food, Hells Kitchen, etc, I was able to calm myself.

With my new found confidence I started the rub. Since the steaks were bigger I decided I would make more of the rub and it was a good call. I did have extra but I would rather have too much than not enough. I just double the recipe but looking back I guess I could have just made 50% more. 

I let the steaks rest with their nice warm coating and got the potatoes chopped and in the water. I knew I had to adjust the time a bit to allow for the extra cooking time for the steaks so I opted to get all of my prep done at once instead of doing things along the way like Rachael. So the potatoes are in the pot covered with water and my veggies are prepped. See I even have my garbage bowl ready to go.

           

                      

I decided I would try the whole "restaurant style" of cooking these steaks, so I got my cast iron pan screamin' hot with some oil, and once it started to smoke I put my steaks on. Thank goodness I only bought two because they took up whole whole pan.

I seared them for 6 mins on high heat and then turned them.............

.......and the smell in my kitchen was AMAZING!!! Although my smoke detector was less than happy about the situation and let me know this over and over again...LOUDLY, I could barely contain my excitement. No one was home so I was sad that I didn't have anyone to share this with. It was almost like Christmas! I know I am weird but hey, food does it for me.

I let them sear on the other side for the same (5 to 6 mins per side on high heat) and then popped them into an oven that I had preheated to 350. As soon as I got them in I dropped the temp to 300 and left them in for 15 minutes. Now I started the potatoes and went with the recipe from there. I rendered the bacon and added the onions and chipotle powder and MAN as soon as that all started working together the smell was well, just awesome. 

Kevin was home now and the fist thing he said was, "Where is this bacon going?" and when I told him it was going in the smashed potatoes he got a big smile on his face. I will say though, it may have been the chipotle powder I got, but I think a full tablespoon of it in the smashed poatatoes was borderline too much. Although it was the kind of heat that takes you just to the edge without pushing you over, it was too much for Jessi and Melissa.

Now I pulled the steaks out of the oven and got them on the plate to rest while I did the veg. Everyone's, and I mean EVERYONE'S jaws dropped when they saw the steaks come out. I just prayed they were as good as they looked and smelled.

Those would make a carnivore out of just about anyone! After I gathered myself back together I sauteed the peppers, and I did them a bit longer than the 5 minutes the recipe called for. I used a lid to sweat them a bit and let them get some nice color on them (probably doubled the time). 

Now Jessi wanted me to make sure and tell everyone that she, the girl that doesn't like anything spicy, could not stop eating the steak. I am serious it was a jaw dropper to me guys. She doesn't like too much black pepper on things! But this girl was eating bite after bite. I made a plate for Kevin and he beelined it out of the kitchen, while the rest of us, Seth, Melissa, Jessi, and I, attacked the other steak like a bunch a rabid hyenas!! I am amazed we all came out of it with 10 fingers!

So I guess my opinion all in all. If you don't like it hot I would cut the chipotle in half and try it. If you like a thicker steak, my method made perfect medium rare steaks, but I say, as well as the rest of my gang, TRY THIS ONE!! It was HOT!! 

Until tomorrow, keep your taste buds happy!!

Fiery Hot Texas T-Bones with Chipotle Smashed Potatoes and Hot and Sweet Pepper Saute

Ingredients

• 3 whole jalapenos
• 3 bell peppers, choose 3 different colors
• 2 1/2 pounds small potatoes, such as baby Yukon gold or small red skin potatoes, coarsely chopped
• Salt
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chipotle powder, divided
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon dark chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
• 2 large T-Bone steaks 1 1/2 inches thick, 2 1/2 pounds total
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 3 turns of the pan, divided
• 1/4 cup bourbon, eyeball it

Directions

Seed and slice the hot and sweet fresh peppers and reserve.

Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Add salt to boiling water. Cook potatoes until tender, 10-12 minutes. Chop and brown bacon in a small skillet and add a tablespoon of chipotle powder and onions. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat until onions are tender. When potatoes are tender, drain and return to hot pot. Add bacon mixture and sour cream to the potatoes. Smash potatoes and season with salt, to taste.

While potatoes are working, combine dry spice rub: chili powder, remaining chipotle powder, cumin and grill seasoning. Rub steaks liberally on both sides with the mixture. Heat a 12 to14-inch skillet screaming hot. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan. It will smoke. Add steaks and do not turn for 6 minutes. Flip and cook another 6 minutes for medium rare, up to 10 minutes for well done. Remove skillet from flame and add bourbon. Return steaks to stove and flame the pan. When the fire goes out, transfer the meat to a large serving platter and pour pan juices over the top. Let meat rest for juices to redistribute. Return pan to heat and add remaining tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet. Add hot and sweet peppers to the pan and saute them for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pile peppers alongside steaks.

Remove meat from the T bones and cut into 4 portions. Top with some peppers and pile some chipotle smashers along side. Spoon drippings and juices over meat and serve.

**side note - this WILL I mean I GUARANTEE it will cause a lot of smoke. Open windows and turn off the smoke detector it you can!!

Rib Eye Steak