Nothing says thank you like beef

My husband is the best.

A couple of weeks ago, when I pitched this half-crazy plan to him — a plan that included cashing in 50,000 frequent flyer miles for 2 crazy late night/early morning flights, gambling on a Priceline hotel and using a rental car discount all so I could see the second leg of the Triple Crown from the grandstands at Pimlico he said, “Let’s go!”

And even though we experienced more than our fair share of travel woes during our 42-hour Maryland adventure, only spent about 8 total hours in the hotel over a 2-night stay and spent an hour or more just trying to find our seats at the track, he was a complete trooper and was excited for me as I anxiously awaited the 12th race.

The Mr. and me at Pimlico

For me, a total horse racing junkie, seeing that race up close made all of the travel-related hassles and sleep deprivation more than worthwhile. But, just in case that wasn’t enough for him, I wanted to make him a very special “thank you for being awesome” dinner. And nothing says thank you like a big chunk of well-marbled beef!

(As a side note, I had one of these for dinner, but tonight’s blog is all about his special meal, so we’ll skip to the main event. Which, by the way, would also make a nice prime rib dinner for 2 if you were so inclined.)

I started out with a 2-pound bone-in ribeye.

I gave it a good rubbing of garlic pepper and coarse black pepper and prepared a cast iron skillet with enough olive oil to just barely cover the bottom.

Once the skillet was good and hot, I added the steak and seared it for about 4 minutes on each side. Then, since it’s essentially a 1-rib rib roast, I transferred the skillet to a 400-degree oven and rotated the steak to where it was fat-side-up  to let it cook as such.

Internet research directed me to cook it for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, and then about 20 more minutes at 225 degrees. This wasn't nearly enough, though, so I ended up cooking it about 30-40 minutes at the lower temperature to get it to the rare-to-medium rare doneness the Mr. prefers. And, even if it means serving your side dish as an appetizer (which I may have done), I firmly believe it's better to undercook than overcook. You can always toss it back in the oven/back on the grill, but there's no turning back if it's too done! 

Once it was done I thought it was done, I transferred the steak to a warm plate and let it rest for about 5 minutes while I cooked one of the Mr.’s favorite side dishes, something my mom taught me to make that I like to call cheesy squash.

Here’s what you’ll need to make Mom’s cheesy squash:

1 large piece of yellow squash, sliced

1-2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Shredded cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

Here’s what you do:

Heat a non-stick skillet to medium high.

Melt the butter.

Add the squash and season with salt and pepper.

Cook until brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the cheese and cook until it melts.

Here’s what his dinner looked like, minus the German chocolate cake and ice cream he'll get for dessert later: