Pan-Seared Strip Steak with Cowboy Steak Sauce and Spicy Potato Wedges

Fridays are usually my busiest day of the week. That's the day I run all my errands. Typically I give myself a pass to not post anything on Friday. But this week I felt in a bit of a panic to get a post up. This afternoon was the official kickoff for Spring Break for my boys and starting tomorrow afternoon my husband will be on vacation for the next week. Yay! This is rare in our house, to all get time off together. So it was a major stock-up day at the grocery store, buying up everything I could to keep my three guys satisfied all week long. It isn't until I need to do one of those shopping trips that I realize how much they eat outside of the house. I must have bought at least twice the amount I usually do in a week.

Anyway I felt like I better post while there was inspiration to because I know next week could get busy. And in the spirit of having all three of my men around me I thought I'd kick-off vacation week with some guy-friendly food.

Pan-Seared Strip Steak with Cowboy Steak Sauce and Spicy Potato Wedges

~serves 4~

Ingredients:

For the Cowboy Steak Sauce:

1/2 c. strong coffee

1/3 c. raisins

2 T. barbecue sauce

2 T. ketchup

3 T. worcestershire sauce

2 T. vinegar

1 T. dijon mustard

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced (2-3 t.)

For the Spicy Potato Wedges:

1 t. smoked paprika

1 t. garlic powder

3/4 t. cumin

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

3/4 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1/4 c. canola oil

2 lb. russet potatoes (3-4 large), each cut into 8 wedges

1. T chopped fresh parley

For the Steak:

4 1/2-inch thick strip steaks 

salt and pepper

2 t. canola oil

Instructions:

1. Make the steak sauce. In a medium bowl, add coffee and raisins. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave until it comes to a boil, 1-3 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, letting the raisins soften. In a blender combine remaining ingredients for steak sauce and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week or can be frozen for about a month. Makes about 1 cup.

2. Prepare the potatoes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Add in canola oil and blend until smooth. Add potatoes and toss until thoroughly combined. Spread in an even layer onto a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 1 hour, flipping the potatoes halfway through baking time. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to finish.

3.Make the steaks. Pat steaks dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the steaks and cook without moving about 3 minutes per side or until steaks reach desired doneness. You may need to cook the steaks in 2 batches if your skillet isn't beg enough to fit the steaks without touching each other. Remove steaks to a platter and tent loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve steaks with sauce and potato wedges.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Twice-Baked Potatoes

I LOVE it when I can make a dinner work double-duty for me. Admittedly it doesn't happen all that often in my house though. With a meat-and-potatoes husband and 2 growing boys under my roof, leftovers tend to go go quick around here. I made corned beef and cabbage over St. Paddy's day weekend and knew ahead of time I wanted to make these twice-baked potatoes with some of the leftovers. So I had to move with a quickness and call out dibs on the leftovers before anyone else could get their hands on them.

My inspiration for these potatoes came in part from the Irish dish colcannon, which is basically mashed potatoes with cabbage, a little ham or bacon and often times an obscene amount of butter. (Yum!) And who doesn't love twice-baked potatoes? Marry those two dishes together along with super flavorful and tender chunks of corned-beef, the results were delicious!

Corned Beef and Cabbage Twice-Baked Potatoes

~serves 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side dish~

Ingredients:

4 large russet potatoes, 8-10 oz. each, scrubbed clean

oil for rubbing on potatoes

2 T. unsalted butter, melted

1/2 t. salt 

1/4 t pepper 

1/2 c. sour cream
2 T. milk
1 T. whole-grain mustard

1 1/4 c. rough chopped corned beef

2 c. leftover cooked cabbage

2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Rub each potato lightly with oil. Bake the potatoes until completely tender, about an hour. Remove potatoes from the oven but don't turn the oven off. Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes.

2. Halve each potato lengthwise and scoop out the potato flesh into a large bowl using a soup spoon, being careful to leave about a 3/8 inch layer of potato flesh in the skin (this keeps the potato skin stable). Return the hollowed-out potato skins to the oven to dry out and crisp up slightly, about 10 min. Remove from the oven and set aside.

3. Mash the potato flesh until mostly smooth using a fork or a potato masher. Add the melted butter, salt and pepper, mix to combine. Add the sour cream, milk and mustard, mix to combine again. Add the corned beef, cabbage and 1 c. of the cheese, mix thoroughly.

4. Mound the filing into the potato skins on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the remaining cup of cheese. Return to the 400 degree oven, bake 10 min. Keeping the oven rack in the middle position, turn on the broiler and broil until the cheese turns spotty brown, 3-5minutes.