Like most fathers, I look back on my first Father’s Day with warm memories. I do not recall getting to sleep in, by any means, on my inaugural daddy day, but the pot of coffee was at the ready and I was told to get dressed because we were going out for breakfast. Our daughter Betsy was decked to the nines in her new sailor outfit and I really couldn’t be prouder to show her off at the local Jewish deli when we lived in Stuart, Florida.
Here it was … MY day … and I’m battling for the limelight against an 8-month-old who is outshowing me with every bite of her bialy. But that’s how it’s been from the moment Betsy Monroe graced us with her presence at our home birth until now. She has a way about her … always has. Her energy and “joie de vivre” can light up any room and people have just always been captivated by her. I’ve always said that she has a career in show business waiting for her whenever she is ready. She’s just that kind of soul.
I often think back on the things my father did with me when I spent summers with him in Pennsylvania. The fishing trips through the Alleghenies, the late-night UNO tournaments at the doughnut shop downtown, or just lounging around watching marathons of “The Three Stooges” in our tighty-whities. We always had a close relationship, even though thousands of miles came between us. Some of my biggest childhood milestones were shared with my father — the first time riding a bike sans training wheels, the first perch I reeled in on my own with trepidation and excitement. These were all things that stayed with me over the years and when Betsy was born, I knew I wanted to share these moments with her.
Today, we pay homage to the men who have impacted each and every one of us, who have led and nurtured us, and have held our hands as we navigated through this life. Would buying dad another tie or a membership to the Dollar Shave Club really show you love and admire the very ground he walks on? I say nay! If your father is anything like mine, he would take a gift certificate to the nearest all-you-can-eat buffet over a formal dress accessory any day of the week. To be quite honest, I don’t think the man could tie a double Windsor knot if all three of his sons lives depended on it. Garlic knots, yes. Tie knots, no. Save them for the weddings and the funerals if you are Steve Russo Sr.
Dads love steak. The bigger, the better, right? It’s right up there with revving an engine at a stoplight or blasting the music for everyone to hear. There’s a certain kind of bravado that goes along with a 2.5-lb. bone-in steak. I am going to guide you through the process of making dad a meal he won’t soon forget.
Bone-in Rib-eye w/Roasted Root Vegetables & Herb Compound Butter
Ingredients
2.5-lb. bone-in rib-eye steak (approx.)
3 Yukon Gold potatoes (cut into eighths, the long way)
8 small carrots (stems on, left whole)
½ a yellow onion (left intact)
½ a bulb of fennel (shaved)
8 small portobello mushroom caps (stems removed)
Sea salt, crushed black pepper, and Herbes De Provence to taste
Herb Compound Butter
1 stick soft, salted butter (pasture-raised or grass-fed preferable)
½ a shallot (finely diced)
8-10 sprigs chive (finely diced)
Fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme (3 sprigs of each or to taste, finely diced)
Preparation
Set oven to 400 degrees F and begin heating a large cast-iron skillet on the stovetop using medium-high heat.
Add olive oil and butter to the skillet, and once it begins to lightly smoke, add potatoes, onion, and carrots. Season vegetables as desired. You are only using the stovetop to gain some char and caramelization on the vegetables, then finishing in the oven. When desired char has been achieved, add your shaved fennel to the pan and finish in the oven for approx. 15 minutes or until potatoes are done.
When preparing the steak, heat cast-iron or carbon-steel pan on the stovetop using medium-high heat until pan starts lightly smoking. Season your room-temperature steak liberally with sea salt and place into the hot, very lightly oiled pan. The hot, dry pan will aid in achieving that desired steak crust caused by the Maillard reaction. You always want your meat to make contact with the iron with the least amount of moisture in the pan. Moisture equals steam, which in turn produces those unsightly grey steaks that we all try to avoid.
Flip your steak every minute or so ON ALL SIDES. Yes, even lay the steak on its side for a bit. Constant flipping is a good thing, as it gives you a more consistent cook all the way around. Continue this process of constant flipping until your steak reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees F. Then let the meat rest on a cutting board for at least 10 minutes.
Lastly, in the hot pan you used for your steak, add a bit of olive oil and butter and proceed to sauté your portobello mushrooms. Once mushrooms are done sautéing; deglaze your pan with a red wine of your choosing and add those pan drippings to your steak. Top your steak and roasted vegetables with a few medallions of your herb compound butter and you will have a memorable Father’s Day meal fit for the king in your life. Enjoy!
