Where's the Ham?!

Another day, another ham. Can I tell you a secret? I am sick of ham. I am tired of ham. I have had it up to here with ham. I don't want to see ham again for a very, very long time.

I decided to heed the advice from some sage Internet friends, so I diced the remaining ham and packaged most of it for the freezer. Though the texture will suffer from being refrozen, this ham can easily be used as toppings for pizza and omelets or in soups.

That still leaves some ham for tonight's dinner.

I trimmed and blanched some green beans and set those aside for later. I then cleaned and cut three Klondike Rose Red Skin Golden Idaho Potatoes (rose, red, golden - couldn't they make up their minds?). I tossed them with some olive oil and seasoned with salt and black pepper before baking them in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

At that time I pulled the pan out and added the green beans, along with a sliced shallot, some diced ham and a slice of bacon that was cut. Salt and pepper were sprinkled over the green beans and this went back into the oven for another 30 minutes.

Wait a minute! This doesn't look like ham. Why, it looks like a Cowboy Rib Eye Steak. The steaks were on sale at the grocery store today, so one jumped in my cart. This one steak will easily become two meals for us, and the bone will be added to my freezer stash for beef stock makings.

Olive oil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper coat each side of the steak. I heated my cast iron skillet over high heat before I put the steak in the pan. I seared each side of the steak before sticking the remote-probe thermometer in the center of the steak and placing the pan in the oven. I set the thermometer for 130 degrees. After resting, the temperature would reach 135 to 140 degrees and the beef will be rare.

The timer went off and I plated the veggies.



After resting, the steak was ready to be sliced for service.

This looks good enough to eat.

Just Call Me Wilma

Flintstone, that is. I found this steak in the fresh meat case at my local grocery store a while ago and just had to get one. As this was Angus prime steak, even on sale it cost a pretty penny. As we would only likely have this once or twice a year, I decided to splurge a bit for my family. But first, the corn:

I bought three firm ears of corn at my other local grocery/department store.

Now, listen (er, read) carefully. It is not necessary to strip the husk away to determine if you have a good ear or not. Just firmly grasp and feel the ear and you can tell if it is fully formed and good (and get your mind out of the gutter, please - this is a family-friendly blog). I hate to try to find good ears of corn, only to find that others have unwrapped the things before I had gotten there.

And in this case, I needed those ears to remain fully husked, as it were.

The only preparation I did here was to pull the excess corn silk off the top of the husks. I then soaked the ears in water for a couple of hours before cooking.

Now, on to the butter. Compound butter, that is. I picked some fresh thyme and rosemary from the garden. Allow the butter to sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours to soften.

Now that the butter is soft enough to work with, finely chop the thyme and rosemary.

I do wish you could smell these freshly chopped herbs. Um, no. I won't ask if you can see the flavors. I really won't.

Now the herbs have been thoroughly mixed in with the butter. If dinner is to be served within a couple of hours, it is all right to keep this out at room temperature during that time.

And now we have the star of this meal: the steak. This is a Cowboy Rib Eye steak. Wouldn't Fred Flintstone be proud?

Now, I simply cannot imagine that this could possibly be meant for just one person. As it is, this particular steak is meant for three adults and I am sure that we will have leftovers.

Allow this steak to sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, or up to one hour before cooking. Not only must the meat rest after cooking, but it must rest before cooking for better results.

Drizzle with olive oil and liberally coat with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Heat your outdoor grill and drain the ears of corn before placing on the hot grill. I would not recommend cooking corn that is still in the husk inside as the aroma of burnt grass is prevalent.

I placed the corn on the cooler side of the grill and cooked for about 15 to 20 minutes before putting the meat on to cook.

I also added two sprigs of fresh rosemary to the meat before cooking. Allow the beef to sear on one side before turning. Remember, the meat is ready to turn when it easily releases from the cooking surface.

Turn the heat down to low and allow the second side to sear. Then move the meat to the cool side of the grill and cook until the desired doneness is achieved.

Take the meat off the grill and cover with aluminum foil so it can rest for 15 minutes or so before slicing.

While the meat rests, we ready the corn for service. Once the corn has been cooked, the silk comes off very easily.

After resting I sliced the steak. Ah, rare, just like we like it.

Hey, I was right. We had quite a bit left over for later. Mmm, I'm thinking about a nice steak sandwich with caramelized onions...