Ribeye Steaks with Caramelized Onion, Blue Cheese Sauce

Ribeye Steak with Caramelized Onion Blue Cheese Sauce, Grilled Asparagus and Mashed Potatoes…

Oh yeah.

I was out of town most of last week which unfortunately meant a lot of airport food and sandwiches in the car. Not exactly the cream of the culinary crop.

So, when I got home – hungry and tired – I wanted something comforting, tasty and above all, EASY!

These steaks are fast and easy enough for any weeknight but tasty and fancy enough to serve to company.

Here’s what you need:

2 Steaks – I have Ribeyes, sweet yellow onions, small red potatoes, asparagus, butter, blue cheese (gorgonzola here), olive oil, salt and pepper.

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For most people, steak is the obvious highlight of any steak dinner. However in this case, I think the caramelized onions with blue cheese totally steal the show.

Plan on 1 medium onion per person as they will cook way down to syrupy, caramelized oniony goodness.

Begin by slicing the onion into thin strips. I like using sweet yellow onions as they have the most natural sugar.

Melt 1/2 stick (4 Tablespoons) of butter over medium heat in a large pan.

Add the onions, breaking them apart into strips as you put them into the pan.

Don’t worry if your pan is very full….the onions will start to shrink right away.

Once the onions just start to cook and take on a little golden color, turn the heat down to LOW. We want the onions to caramelize slowly not get brown and crispy.

This is what the onions look like after about 20 minutes cooking on low. Mmmmmmm.

If your onions are starting to get a bit dry, put a lid on the pan to keep in the moisture and contiune cooking on low heat. The longer these cook, the better they will be.

If you want to make the whole delicious dinner, you’ll also want to start the potatoes so they can get a head start on the steaks.

I love small redskin potatoes because they don’t require peeling. Simply cut them in half (so they cook faster), put them in a pot and cover with cool water.

Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until they are tender when you stick them with a fork.

Once the onions have about a 20 minute head start, season your steaks to taste. I like mostly pepper but you can also use salt or even seasoning salt if that’s what you prefer.

Pre-heat your grill or grill pan if you’re cooking indoors. Once the grill is hot (at least 400 degrees), coat the rack with a little oil or cooking spray and put on the steaks!

Close the lid and leave them alone for at about 6 minutes.

Did you know that the most common mistake that people make when cooking meat is fussing and fiddling around with it? If you have trouble with meat sticking to your grill or pan, it’s probably because you have tried to move it before the outside has seared and sealed. Resist the urge to poke at the meat or shift it around on the grill or in the pan. End of sermon.

Hey look! After about 6 – 8 minutes, we have lovely grill marks and the steak is looking good.

If you want to be super fancy, you can rotate the meat 1/4 turn to get the crisscross grill marks like at a steak house. If that’s your method, you should probably turn them after about 4 or 5 minutes depending on the heat of your grill.

Speaking of grills, I’m giving cooking times for my particular grill on this particular day. Your cooking times can and should vary depending on the size and heat of your grill and also on how rare to well-done you prefer to cook your steaks.

How about some grilled asparagus! Take a spear of asparagus and bend it near the stem end. You will notice that it has a definite point where it wants to break.

Go ahead and snap it in half at that bendy point to remove the tough stem end. It should break at about the bottom forth of the stem. My mother would also trim off those little purple flaps on the sides of the stems. Unless she’s coming over for dinner, the little flaps don’t bother me. Just be sure to give the asparagus a good rinse to get rid of any grit.

The Kitchen Gadget Queen also has grilling gadgets! What a surprise! This handy-dandy grill basket will keep my asparagus from falling through the grill.

May I just say that this is one of my favorite kitchen items? It’s great for grilled mixed veggies, grilled shirmp, grilled chicken fajitas, grilled fish….the list goes on and on.

However, if you don’t have one you can thread the asparagus spears onto wooden skewers to make a little asparagus plank. OR, if you’re coordinated, you can just line them up on the grill and be careful not to drop them through the openings. OR you can cook them inside in a pan.

Season your washed and snapped asparagus with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Since they will cook fairly quickly, I usually wait until I’ve turned the steaks to start the asparagus.

Let’s check in on our friends the Caramelized Onions. Looking good! It really is amazing that this is just butter and onions.

I like my steak medium rare, so after about 8 minutes I turn it over. Give the asparagus a little shake or turn at the same time.

The second side of the steak will cook very quickly since the grill is already hot and the meat is more than 1/2 way cooked. About another 4-5  minutes on my grill does the trick.

I test my steak using the famous finger poke method. What?

Here’s the trick:  Hold out your hand, palm up in a relaxed position in front of you. Now poke the fleshy spot at the base of your thumb with the index finger of your other hand. This is what rare meat feels like. For the medium rare feeling, bring your index finger to your thumb like the OK sign and poke at the same fleshy spot. It should feel firmer. Add an additional finger for medium, medium-well, and well-done.

Still confused? Go here:

Finger poke method for meat doneness

Don’t be afraid to poke at the meat. You really will get the hang of this method pretty quickly. Be brave, poke away. It sure beats cutting it open or stabbing it and letting all of the juices out.

Speaking of juices, once the meat has cooked, cover the plate with foil and let it rest so that all those juices are reabsorbed into the meat.

Don’t forget to rescue the asparagus. It should be slightly browned and just a little shriveled.

While the meat rests, smash up the cooked potatoes with a little butter and milk/half & half/buttermilk/heavy cream…whatever dairy product you’ve got handy. Sometimes I add a little sourcream if I’m feeling especially decadent. Salt and pepper to taste.

Don’t forget the blue cheese part of this dish!

Crumble a bit of your favorite blue cheese into the caramelized onions. I have Gorgonzola here but my absolute favorite is Maytag Blue Cheese from Iowa…oh Maytag Blue makes me positively swoon with happiness.

I used a little less than half the wedge of cheese. Raise the heat to medium low and stir the cheese into the onions until it melts.

Serve the steak topped with the caramelized onion blue cheese sauce with your lovely grilled asparagus and creamy smashed potatoes.

Go enjoy your dinner!

Here’s the recipe!

Ribeye Steaks with Caramelized Onion, Blue Cheese Sauce

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