Sirloin Steak with Blue Cheese Walnut Butter

Me? Cook a STEAK? You bet… as a Father’s Day treat! This is going to sound crazy, but I seriously don’t think I have ever cooked a steak before… or if I have, it’s only been like once or twice and I have no recollection of it. I am NOT a beef eater, so this was a curious challenge for me. But it was Father’s Day and I wanted to do it right, so I gave the husband (Dan) a couple of cook books to choose from and he decided on a book loaned to us (and written by the mother of) some new friends.

The book, The Big Book of Backyard Cooking (by Betty Rosbottom), is a great collection of 250 easy-to-make, delicious dishes that are perfect for this time of year (in this part of the world, at least!). I pulled four recipes from the book and each was delicious as the next.

For the steak, Dan chose the Sirloin with Blue Cheese Walnut Butter.

For this recipe, Betty says:

This is a recipe for those who like strong, assertive tastes. The steaks, enhanced by a fresh rosemary and garlic rub, are grilled and topped with pats of blue cheese walnut butter. When the seasoned buttered is spooned over the piping hot grilled steaks, it starts to melt and form a delicious sauce for the meat.

6 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tbsp crushed, dried rosemary
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 1-pound boneless sirloin steaks, 1-inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
Vegetable oil for oiling grill rack
Blue Cheese Walnut Butter (separate recipe, see below)

Combine garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender and puree several seconds until mixture resembles a coarse paste.

This was where I ran into my first challenge, as we JUST moved to a new house and I haven’t found my food processor or blender yet! So I had to go “old school” and use a mortar and pestle. Be glad that we have since invented electronic gadgets that do our blending for us…

The boy going to town on the garlic paste.

Doing our best to get the garlic paste to the right consistency…

Pat steaks dry and rub each side with some of the garlic paste. Please steaks on a platter and let them stand at cool room temperature for 30 minutes.

When ready to grill steaks, oil a grill rack and arrange 4 to 5 inches from heat source. Prepare grill for a hot fire (hot temperature). Grill steaks 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium rare. (Internal temperature should be 145 degrees F.) Remove and let stand three minutes.

Halve each steak and top each portion with some Blue Cheese Walnut Butter.

I got a late start, so it was pretty dark by the time we ate… so the picture is a bit dodgy. I served the steak with an arugula salad topped with sauteed button mushrooms and shaved Parmesan cheese with an olive oil and white balsamic vinaigrette. I also grabbed another recipe from the cookbook for Potatoes Gratin with Mustard and White Cheddar Cheese. Unfortunately, I didn’t grab the recipe… but all the more reason to try the cookbook. 😉

Blue Cheese Walnut Butter

6 oz blue cheese, crumbled
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 tsp dried, crushed rosemary
1/4 c (about 1 oz) toasted walnuts
Salt, if needed (I didn’t need any… the blue cheese I chose was salty enough)

Combine cheese, butter, parsley and rosemary in a medium, nonreactive bowl. Stir to blend well. Mix in walnuts. Taste and add salt if necessary. Blue cheese butter can be prepared 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate. Bring butter to room temperature before using.