Sorry Dillas, You've Been One-Upped. Wait, no. Make That Eight-Upped.

My belly is FULL. What's it full of, you ask? Well, dear readers, gather 'round and I'll spin you a yarn...

It all began about a day or so ago, when I was at Bed Bath & Beyond. I had been jonesin' for a grill pan lately, so I went a searchin'. The first one I picked up was made by Calphalon and was more or less the size of a standard frying pan. It came with a press, which always comes in handy, for burgers and paninis. I kept looking though, and I found something even better. What is it, you ask? Well, dear readers, it was an Emeril reversable grill/skillet pan. Bajonkers! It's cast-iron, covered with an enamel coating so it won't wear or rust, and it stretches across two burners. "I needn't look further" I whispered to myself and the choice was made.

Fast-forward to today, I picked up a couple of N.Y. strip steaks, my personal favorite cut of meat. Now, I won't just buy my meat from any old supermarket. No no no. I go to Villager Foods, a little family owned grocery store on the edge of town. With a slogan like, "You can't beat our meat!", you can't go wrong. And you really can't beat they're meat. I know, I've tried. So, a few hours before dinner, I put some McCormick Steak Rub on the strips and tossed 'em in the fridge. Before cooking them, I let them sit on the counter for about 45 minutes. Steaks cook best at room tempurature.

So, dinner time was coming up soon, and my mom started making her famous twice-baked potatoes. More on those later. As soon as those were done, I threw the steaks on the grill pan. Notice how lean the steaks are.

Now, you can cook them however you like them. I prefer medium to medium rare. I cooked mine on medium-high heat for about 16 minutes, and it was a little too done for me. I'd say about 13-14 minutes would have done the trick. Notice that hot cross-mark action.

As for the potatoes, you bake them as you would a normal baked potato, about an hour at 350 degrees should do. When they're done, cut them in half the long way, and scoop out any potato "meat." Be sure to preserve the skins. In a big mixing bowl, mix the potato with the following ingredients:

-Milk
-Butter
-Salt & Pepper
-Bacon (finely chopped)
-Green Onions (finely chopped)
-Shredded Cheddar

Once you have mixed all of that thoroughly, fill the skins with the mixture. They should all be overflowing slightly. Shoot those back in the oven for about 40 minutes, still at 350.

And fashoom, you have an amazing dinner. As you can see from the picture below, there were also some brusselsprouts, but I hate brusselsprouts, so I didn't eat any. As I'm typing this, I'm still satisfied from eating that steak about 45 minutes ago. There's nothing better than a good steak.

-E