My Comfort Meal - a big ol' Ribeye steak!

There's nothing like a good steak. I, myself, prefer the Rib-eye, or you might also see it labeled as "Delmonico." It's a pretty fatty cut, which means it has great flavor, but boy does it pack a lot of calories. It's also fairly tender, so you end up with a juicy lusciousness that's so hard to find elsewhere.

I purchase my steaks from Costco. They're beautifully marbled and good looking, generous portions that are far less per pound than anywhere else. I know, I know, what about the leaner, more eco-friendly, organic grass-fed beef you've been talking about, Lina? And truly, when I think about why the meat is so well-marbled - cuz the cattle is so fattened up with grain that the fat begins to disperse into the muscle tissue - I just know there's a lot of no good going on. But, alas. I have an illicit love affair with fatty, marbled grain-fed steak.

The thing about Costco steaks is that they're so huge. Before I do anything, I cut them latitudinally so that I end up with steaks that are half the thickness. I find that an inch-thick steak is perfect.

Last night, I used my grill pan since it's 19 degrees outside, and who wants to stand out there grillin'? There's a lot I'll do for an excellent steak, but I gotta draw the line somewhere...

The thing I hate about grilling steaks inside is all the smoke that results from the steak hitting a screamin' hot pan. So here's a little tip on searing indoors. Don't oil the whole pan. Just lightly oil the food, if at all, in the case of a fatty steak. Otherwise, the oil of the pan that isn't in contact with the food will start smoking, and then you've got unwanted special effects in your kitchen that should only be left for David Copperfield in Las Vegas, the smoke alarm starts to scream, "It's Burning, It's Burning," and now you've got the burnt smell all in your hair and clothes; it's just a mess. Now, this method isn't going to eliminate the smoke, it'll just be minimized...

Seasoned minimally with salt, pepper, and some garlic powder, 4 minutes on each side should do the trick for Medium Rare steaks. When I take them off the pan to rest, I throw in my asparagus and sweet onions to get some grilling action on them, too. Olive oil, salt and pepper, that's it.

I also get the asparagus from Costco, and usually, the onions are from there, too. This time, though, I had gotten some organic onions from Hamid Hamid at Eastern Market. They were from Oregon, so in terms of food miles, appallingly far away. But when those bad boys came off the grill pan, they were sweeter than any other onions I had ever grilled. Organic factor? Hmm...

So here's the result. Nice glass of Cabernet, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be...