A Great Summer Dinner, Fresh Herb Crusted Steak

 The other night, I had plan to have our leftover Lobster and Scallop Fisherman Pie.  Unfortunately, there was not as much left over as I had thought, it was mostly the yummy mashed potato topping.  Well, what goes better with potatoes than steak.  Luckily I had some in the fridge.  

I took them out about 2 hours before dinner.  For more info on preparing the perfect steak, feel free to check out my Feb blog, The Perfect Steak.  While the steaks were tempering, I did have to keep an eye on Apollo, he has a rep!

 Meanwhile, I went out to the herb garden.

 I cut some parsley, rosemary and thyme.

 I combined all the herbs with 2 cloves of garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

 I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and tossed some fresh asparagus with some O Ruby Grapefruit Olive Oil. 

 I sprinkled some salt and pepper on both sides of the steaks.  I heated my cast iron skillet and added some olive oil.  When the oil started to smoke, I seared both sides of the steaks for 1 minute.  I then carefully spread one side with my herb garlic blends.  I popped the steaks in the cast iron skillet into the hot oven.  

 I put the leftover Fisherman's Pie in my small oven proof bowls and sprinkle with a little more Irish Cheddar Cheese.  I put them in the oven.  I removed my steak after 10 minutes, I like mine rare, and I removed Gordy's after 20 minutes, he likes his well done.  While the steaks were resting, I put the asparagus in the oven.  After about 10 minutes, I sliced the steaks and put them on a plate with the roasted asparagus and the Seafood Mashed Potatoes.  YUM!!!

Also, a HUGE thank you to Emma at Food, Fork & Good for the wonderful award.  I am so happy you think I have a Lovely Blog, I feel the same about yours!!!  I cannot wait to try those Spiced Apple Pie Rolls!!

The rules for this award are:

1. Link back to whoever nominated you.
2. Write 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Nominate 11 bloggers.

I have a TON of Randon Facts:

1. I am scared to death of the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz
2. My favorite movie is Despicable Me
3. I like country music
4. I hate to vacuum the house but love to pressure wash the pool deck
5. I don't mind doing the wash, but I HATE putting it away
6. I don't like snorkeling, but I love to scuba dive
7. I do not eat hot dogs or jello
8. My favorite candy is Good N Plenty
9. I love gadgets, kitchen ones mostly
10. I don't like bananas, but I eat them
11. I am happiest in the kitchen, but my garden holds a close second.

My nominations are:

1. A Kitchen Addiction 
2. Amy's Cooking Adventures
3. It Bakes Me Happy
4. ABpetite
5. Crunchy Creamy Sweet
6. What's Cooking Italian Style Cuisine
7. The Country Cook
8. Cookin' Cowgirl
9. Squirrel Head Manor
10. Lea's Cooking
11. Tickle Your Tastebuds and Make Your Life Delicious

Like I said before, These awards are supposed to be fun, and by no means, a mandate of set conditions and rules for those being nominated. It's just a great way to link other blogs we love and share our love for food and blogging.

 Fresh Herb Steak

Herb Crust:
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Strip Loin:
4 6 ounce New York Strip Loins, trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

To make the herb crust: Combine the minced garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary and olive oil in a bowl to form a paste. Set aside.

To make the strip loin: Preheat oven to 375°F. Season beef on both sides with the salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully add the strip loin to the hot pan and sear for one minute on both sides. Spread the herb mixture one sides of the strip loin. Place the skillet in oven. Roast for 7 minutes or until it reaches desired doneness. Remove from oven and set aside to rest.