Salt-Fried Rib-Eye Steak (Page 427)

RECIPE #807

• Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 -- 8pm
• Location: Bloomington, IN
• Kitchen: My Apartment
• Dining Companion: Matty
• Recipe Rating: A
  

Matty and I were looking for a super-quick entree a couple weeks ago, and this steak fit the bill. This recipe had exactly two ingredients: rib-eye steak and kosher salt. The method was a new one for me. The salt was spread in the bottom of a cast-iron pan and then the pan was heated until just smoking. The steak was then placed on top of the salt and cooked to medium rare, turning once. This method generated an absolutely obscene quantity of smoke. My entire apartment was filled. Matty turned to me at some point and asked, "Do you think we should worry about smoke inhalation?" It was bad. Even with all the windows open, and the overhead fan on it took quite a long time for the smoke to clear. Was it worth it? Absolutely. This steak was awesome. The meat was perfectly cooked, and the salt formed a fantastically delicious crust on the beef. The crust complemented the juicy, tender meat wonderfully, both in texture and in flavor. It is important that the pan (and the salt in it) be really quite hot before you add the beef. Otherwise the juices from the meat will just dissolve the salt, giving you a steak that is salty rather than beautifully crusted. If you are looking for a no-frills, quick steak recipe, buy yourself a great piece of meat and give this one a try. It was delicious!

Here is the recipe.

Week one of my half-marathon training, more than 14 weeks ago now, my "long run" for the week was two miles. Two miles was manageable enough. But in those first few weeks even three miles was tough. I remember four miles sounding complete daunting. Today, my long run was eight miles, for a total of thirty miles of running this week! I have certainly never run eight miles before, nor have I ever run thirty miles in a week. And the truth is, it wasn't so bad. Today I ran from Em and Brian's place to the Stanford campus, and did a running tour of my alma matter before running back. It was pleasantly distracting to run around campus, recalling fond memories from various locations.

While I had eight miles on the schedule today, my special gentleman had seventeen. We both finished just in time for quick showers before we were meeting up with some math friends for dinner. The showering part was easy enough, but the bathroom at Em and Brian's is up a flight of stairs. We were quite a sight, using the arm rail to pull ourselves up, and ease ourselves down the stairs. It's amazing how you can feel ok while running, but then as soon as you stop everything starts to hurt. We made it to dinner though, and after a big dinner of Indian food, we split a malted milkshake at the area creamery. The best part about running is definitely the huge appetite! I can enjoy much more yummy food than I used to be able to!

Tomorrow is a much needed rest day, and then it will be onwards to another week of training!