union square cafe's Seared rib steak with rosemary and arugula

I've been on a cookbook binge lately. A few months ago, Ina Garten posted a list of her favorite cookbooks. You can bet I made note of that and have been working to collect them ever since. So far her recommendations have not disappointed. I have been cooking out of her cookbooks for some time and have come to trust her recipes emphatically. You gotta mix it up though, right? So I decided to try a new recipe from Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe Cookbook. This is the second recipe I've tried from the book (I made the Pumpkin Risotto on Halloween and it was phenomenal). I've never cooked a rib eye before, but I have to say this did not disappoint. The fresh rosemary was fragrant and the whole dish was perfect for the holidays (or a random Tuesday night). I paired it with Ina Garten's Rosemary Hassleback Roasted Potatoes, because...how bad could that be?

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Recipe: Seared Rib Steak With Rosemary and Arugula
Book: Union Square Cafe Cookbook ​

​I mentioned that I made Union Square's Pumpkin Risotto a while back. While delicious, it contained a lot of ingredients. I was preparing myself for this dish to involve a lot of prep as well. Imagine my surprise when there were not only a few ingredients, but most were things that I already had in my pantry. ​​

The first step of the recipe is simple enough, give the Rosemary a rough chop and simmer it in 1/2 cup of olive oil. Remove it from the heat and set aside for about 10 minutes. Can I just tell you this step will fill your house with a wonderful herbaceous scent? Basically, your house will smell like William-Sonoma. Not to mention, smelling Rosemary has been shown to improve memory, so that's a pretty great side affect.

Okay, back to the food. Season your steak with salt and pepper. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron or other oven proof skillet on high heat (I like this one, it's inexpensive and works well). Sear it for about 2-3 minutes and then pop it in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. This will get you a nice medium-rare steak. Obviously if you like your steak medium or well done you should cook it longer.
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​While your steak is in the oven, strain the Rosemary oil through a sieve into a container and put the wonderful toasted rosemary aside. Take the infused oil and add two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. The recipe calls for you to use a jar, but I only had a Glad container on hand- it worked just fine. Shake that baby up until it's all combined. 
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When the steak is done, put it on a cutting board to rest for 4-5 minutes. This is so important. I never used to let my meat rest, and I always wondered why it was dry. Letting it rest gives you a much more juicy and flavorful steak. So don't skip this step even though it smells yummy and you want to scarf it down immediately (oh, that's just me?). ​
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When you're ready to plate, put down a bed of arugula that has been washed and dried, and cut the steak into strips on a bias. Lay it on top of the arugula and drizzle the rosemary oil/balsamic mixture on top. Sprinkle it with the reserved rosemary and you're done! The recipe calls for it to be served with lemon quarters. I will say, I thought maybe they were just a garnish, but I was wrong! When you actually go take a bite, give your steak a little spritz of lemon (not too much or it will over power). The first bite I took was before the lemon, and it was delicious, but the second bite was after adding the lemon and it was phenomenal. The peppery arugula paired with the balsamic and the herbaciousness of the rosemary is kicked up a notch with the brightness of the lemon. In short, it is a perfect mouthful.

​You know when you go out to eat a nice restaurant and you leave with a warm belly that is full but not stuffed? You know that feeling of contentment after a great meal? Yeah, this will give you that. It is restaurant quality, and yet it is so, so simple. I recommend adding it into your repertoire. 

I paired mine with Ina Garten's Roasted Rosemary Potatoes since I already had the rosemary, and let me say they were also super easy and the perfect pairing.
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Take your potatoes (Yukon golds are preferable for this), slice a little off of the bottom so that it sits flat. Slice the potatoes into 1/8 of an inch but don't cut all the way through the bottom. Ina recommends placing the potato on a spoon and using that as a guide while you cut so that you don't cut too far. It worked like a charm. I actually found this to be a lot of fun, but I'm weird, so you do you.
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In a bowl mix olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary and coat the potatoes in the mixture. I actually coated them and then used a spoon to get the extra on top. Make sure it gets in between the crevices. Roast at 425 for about 30 minutes. They turn out to be deliciously crispy and soft at the same time, the flavors go through the whole potato, and they are salty and spicy simultaneously. Absolutely delicious. Since the rosemary comes out in the potatoes as well, they tie in nicely with the steak. I actually had leftovers for lunch today and let me say the potatoes were even better day two. 
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​I made the steak start to finish while the potatoes were in the oven, so all in all, this meal took me just over 30 minutes. I will definitely be trying more recipes from Danny Meyer in the future. Do you have a favorite restaurant cookbook?