his + hers blackened steaks w/ smokey blue cheese




blackened steaks w/ smokey blue cheese

 

treat yourself to a little weeknight steakhouse dinner. go on, you deserve it (and if you stay away from the bread, you can make yourself feel better by noting that you're eating gluten-free : ) all you need is a cast iron skillet, two good quality beef loin fillets and a spicy red wine.

prep time: 40 mins
cook time: 20 mins
ingredients:

• 2 (8 oz) beef loin fillets (don't skimp, go for the good organic steaks)


• 2 tablespoons olive oil for salad dressing plus more for cooking


• 2 tablespoons butter


• a few crumbles of smokey blue cheese (i used rogue river)


• 1 package (5 oz) pre-washed arugula


• 1 orange, segments sliced


• 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard


• 2 tablespoons chopped, toasted pecans


• kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper

pull steaks out of the fridge so they can come up to room temp.  you should do this about a half hour before you're ready to cook them. next, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. toast pecans over medium heat in a dry pan and set aside once they reach a nice roasty brown.
start with your salad dressing. segment the orange and squeeze the juice from leftover pith into a small bowl. combine with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, the dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste. whisk and set aside.
heat cast iron skillet on medium-high for about 5 minutes. next, pat salt and pepper into the top, bottom and all sides of your filets. this will give them a crispy, flavorful crust. once skillet has heated up, sear all sides of the steaks for about 2 minutes each. once you get a nice crust, top each steak with a pat of butter and put the skillet in the oven. let the steaks cook for about 8 minutes (you want an internal temp. of 120 to 125). now you'll want to set the table, if you're into that sort of thing.
once steaks reach desired doneness, pull them from the oven, transfer them to a plate and wrap it in tin foil for 10 minutes. finally, toss together your salad, orange segments, dressing, pecans and blue cheese crumbles. plate up your dishes and top with the steaks and a little more blue cheese. savor and smile~