"Surf N' Turf" at Home

Surf N' Turf at Home (for Two)

1 medium-sized boneless NY strip steak, cut in half equally
olive oil, salt & pepper or "steak seasoning"
2 lobster tails

Grill the steak over hot coals and oak wood (or Mesquite, your preference). Grill very briefly, depending on the heat of the fire. I find that steaks that are "medium-rare" (hot pink on the inside) taste best. You want to get a good sear on the outside while not overcooking the inside! You need a nice hot fire. Coat each steak with olive oil and seasonings and set over a hot/medium-hot fire. After a few minutes (maybe 3-5, depending on the heat), season the other sides of the steaks and flip over, cook for 2-4 minutes longer. All this depends on thickness and the heat of the fire. It is not an exact science, but that is partly what makes it fun! I find if you press on the center of the meat with tongs, if it feels sort of like the 'fleshy' part between your thumb and forefinger, it is probably at optimal temp (I like mine medium-rare.....seared on the outside and still quite red on the inside! Seems to be the most tasty!). You have to play around and experiment with it, especially since wood fire temperatures differ, as well as outside temperatures and thicknesses of steak. This is part of the fun!
Cut down the middle (on the belly) of the lobster (to allow for the flesh to expand). Oil the lobster tails and place on the grill, shell-side down. As the tails turn red, flip over and cook very briefly on the "belly" side. Slather with butter & serve.

For the Sautee'd Mushrooms

I sautee'd a few sliced white button mushrooms with a few slices red onion in olive oil/butter. I tend to prefer sweet onion, so you could try that instead of red. But you can also use whatever you have on hand, like I did. Partway through sauteeing, add a small splash of any dry white wine, then continue to sautee'. Season mildly with kosher salt and pepper. When done sauteeing, add a pat of real butter and stir around.

For the "Luscious "Cheese Sauce

Most steak preparations will call for blue cheese, and I will admit, I LOVE blue cheese, especially with steak! But on this particular night, I did not have a wedge of blue cheese. I substituted what I thought was the next most logicle cheese that I had on-hand...FETA!! Feta has an 'assertiveness' to it that can serve just as well. And it came out quite good!

Heat about 1/4 cup or so of heavy whipping cream in a saucepan. Add lots of coarsely cracked black pepper! Stir and stir as it thickens. Then add a narrow slice of Feta (or Blue cheese), crumbled, and stir to melt. Keep stirring until you see the sauce form as you like. Taste for seasoning. I also added fresh-cut, minced chives from my garden. If you prefer, you can add freeze-dried chives, minced dried onions, or just leave the sauce as-is. At the end, when you take it off the stove, add a pat or two of real butter and stir around.

After grilling the steaks, spoon some of the cheese sauce over them, followed by the mushrooms. Enjoy!!


** If you want, you can accompany them like we did: I made garlic mashed potatoes (for both of us, I peeled & boiled 3 medium-sized white potates with a tbsp. minced garlic. Then I mashed them with a couple pats butter and a tbsp. real mayonnaise, a splash of half n' half). We also grilled a packet of yellow squash, zucchini & vidalia onion (sliced and wrapped in foil along with olive oil, minced garlic, kosher salt & black pepper). Yum!

Optional Krab-Stuffed Mushroom Appetizer**

6 medium-sized whole button mushrooms, (wiped & de-stemmed)
Small amount of Krab, about 6 tbsp (broken up into smaller flakes)
1/2 cup thin-shredded cheddar
1/2 cup (or so) real mayonnaise
1/8 (or so) tsp dried dill weed (you don't want excessive dill, but a good amount can be quite
quite tasteful).
1/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs

Mix the filling ingredients together. Stuff into hollow of de-stemmed mushrooms (pile on!). Set in baking pan (sometimes I even set mine on a sheet on the Non-Stick Reynolds Foil in the toaster oven) at about 350 degrees. Watch them until the filling browns on top real well, like 10 minutes or so?

Enjoy!!