Herb Encrusted Rib-Eye

First of all, get good meat.  We get ours from Whole Foods but what you don’t want is the feed lot raised stuff.  You’ll need two rib-eye steaks, about two inches thick (1-1 ½ pounds each). Yes, the picture is of a roast: this recipe will also work very well with small (3-5 lb) roasts or prime rib. Kate's sketch is of a beautiful Christmas roast from a couple of years ago.

Glaze:

2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, minced

2 T Dijon mustard

2 T lemon juice

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T Worcestershire sauce (Note: I now use Pickapeppa sauce to avoid high fructose corn syrup.)

Herb Mixture:

2 T Herbs de Provence

1 T parsley flakes

1 tsp dried minced garlic

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 tsp lemon pepper

Directions

Insert a meat thermometer into each steak – this helps with handling as well as allowing you to determine when they’re done.  Combine the glaze ingredients and pour over steaks, being sure to cover them thoroughly.  Combine the herb mixture and sprinkle heavily over each steak, ensuring they are completely covered.  Place steaks on a rack in an ungreased roasting pan and bake uncovered at 325° for about 45-50 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness.  Remove to a warm serving platter. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serves four.

Notes:

1.  The herb mixture can be prepared in larger quantities and stored in a glass jar.

2.  The glaze can also be prepared ahead and refrigerated – just be sure to return it to room temperature before using.

3.  I cook these in our little convection toaster oven that has a tray that sits below the rack.  Rather than remove them to a serving platter I simply turn the oven off to let them rest.  This works just fine and also keeps the cats away from them.