Do you like your father-in-law? I don’t like mine at all. I love the crying sakes out of mine. I’ve called him “dad” since the first months of courting his fine son. On more nights than I dare remember, he drove me back to my college apartment well past midnight, worried that John would fall asleep on the drive home.
On those moonlit drives, the two of us would talk about work, or school, or how hot his son was (okay, maybe he didn’t say “hot” so much as “honest, upright, and trustworthy.” But, I was thinking hot.) then he’d pull into the street in front of my apartment, headlights shined on the apartment stairs so I could make it safely home. When I reached the top of the stairs, I’d turn and wave, and he’d flash his lights twice, to let me know he was glad I was okay.
His care, concern, and unconditional love has never failed, so you can imagine how thrilling it was to have our Papa come visit for the weekend. He walked up and down our stairs, following grandchildren hither and yon, taking in all of their exciting news. “Look Papa! Come see this!” And he did. My dad-in-law is as good a grandpa as one could wish, and rather than telling him so over and over and over again, I decided to feed it into his soul.
How does one feed love into the soul of a man? With steak. This is true. Don’t ask me why.
So, I texted my pal Russell, and asked him what a girl is supposed to do with a hunk of steak. I literally don’t know what to do with it sometimes. But, I knew Russell would. ‘Cause Russell rocks the kitch. He makes Bunny Burguignon from whole bunnies and once spent weeks hunting down a groundhog. For reals.
Russell immediately suggested steak with peppercorn. He mentioned bleu cheese with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Yes, please. I thought how lovely bleu cheese is with peaches, and this simple meal was born. So easy to pull together. And Papa loved it.
Coincidentally, so did my little 8-year-old Jacob. A natural born fruit-eater, I can’t talk the child into eating a slice of bread or hunk of junk food, even if I use my pretty words. But tonight, boyfriend pulled five heaping slices of steak onto his plate and plowed through them like a rockstar.
And all the while, I sat back and smiled, knowing the love I’d grilled into that beef was headed straight for the little man’s soul.
Bleu Cheese Sirloin With Peach Rocket Salad
Ingredients
FOR THE SIRLOIN:
- 1 thick-cut sirloin steak
- sea salt & pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons white peach juice concentrate
- 2 ounces bleu cheese
FOR THE SALAD:
- 6 cups baby arugula rocket
- 2 peaches peeled and diced
- 1/4 purple onion diced
- 3 tablespoons light olive oil
Instructions
- Salt and pepper your steak. Heat a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Add butter and cook just until melted, then place the steak in the pan. Cook until nicely browned, about 5-6 minutes.
- Whisk together the balsamic vinegar and white peach juice concentrate. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the mixture.
- Flip the steak, drizzle with remaining vinegar mixture, then top liberally with bleu cheese. Cover your pan with a lid to allow the steak to cook to a perfect, warm pink center (about an additional 4-6 minutes depending on how thick your steak is).
- Gently transfer the steak to a cutting board and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. in the meantime, toss together the ingredients for the salad. Mix together the olive oil and remaining balsamic vinegar mixture. Toss into salad, salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve salad with sliced sirloin. Enjoy the heck out of it.
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