T-Bone Steak

I am a master at cooking rib-eye steaks, so when I bought the biggest T-bone Steak (on sale) that I've ever seen, I said to myself, "bring it on!"

As always, I first looked for recipes in my cookbooks, but surprisingly there weren't any interesting recipes. So I made my own wet rub for the steak and served chimichurri on the side and, oh my goodness, it was perfection.

In case you didn't know already, chimichurri is a pesto-like sauce that originated in Argentina. It's bright green in color and a bit pungent and tangy to the tongue. This is an excellent sauce to serve on the side of steaks. I think you can also marinate beef in this jolly green juice. Que bueno!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

DIVA'S RUB

• 1 T-bone Steak, about 1/2 pound (or a bit more) and 1" thick--one of these was enough for Matt and I, but you can double the recipe if you want to make 2 steaks.
• Olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

CHIMICHURRI

• 1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, washed, stemmed, and dried
• 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

For the steak: rinse steak in cold water and pat dry. Drizzle about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil all over the steak. In a small bowl combine the remaining rub ingredients and mix to combine. Generously sprinkle the rub all over the steak. Cover steak with plastic wrap and let it marinate in fridge for 1 to 2 hours. Take the steak out of the fridge 30 minutes before you're ready to cook it to bring it to room temperature.

For the chimichurri: finely chop the parsley and garlic in a food processor. Add the onion, vinegar, water, salt, oregano, pepper flakes, and black pepper and process in brief bursts until the salt crystals are dissolved. Add the oil in a thin stream. Do not over process; the chimichurri should be fairly coarse. Correct the seasoning, adding salt or vinegar to taste.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In an oven proof pan or cast-iron skillet add 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and heat on medium-high. When the oil is hot, place your steak on pan. DO NOT MOVE IT! Let is sear for exactly 4 minutes. Turn over and sear for 2 minutes more. With your oven-mittens on, carefully place the pan in oven and let it finish cooking. Bake 5 minutes for medium-rare, up to 10 minutes for medium-well. Don't go longer than 10 minutes.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let the steak rest for EXACTLY 5 minutes. Cut out the "T" bone and with a sharp knife, carve the beef into broad thin slices, holding the knife blade at a 45 degree angle to the top of the meat. Serve at once with chimichurri on the side. Baked potatoes or shoestring potatoes go extremely well with this dish.