Steak with Béarnaise Sauce & Caramelized Shallots

So… I may have become too invested in this recipe before really thinking it through.  And by that I mean I did not comprehend how expensive a nice cut of ribeye was until standing in front of the meat counter with the butcher glaring down at me.  Nonetheless, I cooked it anyways!  And I have no regrets.

I found both of these recipes in Ina Garten’s cookbook Barefoot in Paris that my mother had just sent to me.  I am studying abroad in Paris this summer, so I’ve become completely obsessed with French cooking!

Let’s start with the easy part: Caramelized Shallots.  Shallots are small, rather sweet onions from France.

Tip: Place the whole shallots in a pot of boiling water for no longer than a minute to have their peels fall right off!  Don’t forget to leave their little roots intact.

I HALVED the recipe and this is how much butter went into those shallots.  Full-fat Irish butter, at that!  Add sugar and sear them a bit, then toss them into the oven to roast. Good to go!

Here’s the Béarnaise Sauce.  I made this with egg yolks, butter, white wine, champagne vinegar, and tarragon!  I’m not a herb-y person, but I absolutely adore tarragon!  It made the sauce simply delicious.

Next comes the most challenging part: the steak.

What a delicious cut of steak.  The ribeye I got was about 1.5 inches thick.  YUM.  I rubbed it with coarse kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  The second photo shows the steak nearly done.  I have fallen in love with cast iron cookware.  Once you put in the effort to season it well, your cast iron will love you forever.  This small one is my best friend.  It’s perfect for single-serving meals.

And here she is!  The meal in its entirety.  The steak was perfectly rare and the sauce was so good I smothered the shallots in it.  Though the meal was wonderfully French, I drank a dark Montepulciano Italian wine.  I can always count on a Montepulciano to go perfectly with a heavy meal.  Plus, it’s such a basic Italian wine you can get a good one for cheap.

I hope you all enjoyed my first blog post!  I had a lot of fun with this meal.  The steak was honestly so good that I had to stop myself from shoveling it down.  Thanks Ina!!!

For a little something extra, here’s what I was listening too while cooking.  This is my most cherished vinyl record!