Here’s my playlist for a classic go-to: steak and potatoes … and asparagus
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IDAHO FALLS — Another weekend put me in charge of dinner Saturday. So, I pulled out the old standby: steak and potatoes.
This is a quick and relatively easy meal, which is why it’s a dad favorite.
While I’ve got the grill heating up, I usually set the whole production to music. You can find my Steak Playlist below.
The Story
Growing up, my kids learned pretty quickly that when Mom was out, dinner was going to be steak, potatoes and asparagus. Or maybe just steak and asparagus (sorry Idaho).
When I was a child, I’d spend a good part of my summer vacations at my grandmother’s home in Kansas. Grandma lived in a tiny wheat farming town in north central Kansas. She and my grandfather lived in a great big Craftsman style home on a one-acre lot that included her huge backyard garden.
Every afternoon before dinner, grandma would walk my sister and I out into the garden to help her prepare the meal. Grandma grew everything: corn, potatoes, carrots, beats, squash, cucumbers; but my favorites were her garden fresh tomatoes, lettuce and especially asparagus.
So, here’s how I do steak and asparagus.
The Recipe
Buy fresh asparagus from the garden section of your grocery store. Steam it on you stove top until it’s tender. Set it aside and place a pad of butter on it.
Next, select a good cut of beef, I prefer a sirloin, but you might like something else; it all cooks pretty much the same.
Turn on the grill to high; you want it really hot. Then, go inside and pull your steak out of the fridge. Sprinkle it on all sides with salt and pepper. If you want to season it with something else, now’s the time to do it. I like plain old salt and pepper.
Place it on the grill and close the lid. After two minutes. Open the lid, flip the steak and close the lid.
After another two minutes, open the lid, flip the steak and turn it 90 degrees to get a nice hash mark, and close the lid.
Two minutes later, open, flip, turn, close.
Two minutes later, open the lid and check the steak with a knife. It should be about medium or medium rare. If it’s not, close the lid and cook for another minute.
Just remember this rule when cooking on a grill, “When you’re looking, you’re not cooking.”
When it’s done, place the steak on a plate and let it rest for a few minutes.
The Playlist
Bay City Rollers, “Saturday Night”
Rick Springfield, “Jessie’s Girl”
Sir Paul McCartney & Wings, “Listen To What The Man Said”
Fleetwood Mac, “Go Your Own Way”
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, “Oh, What a Night”
Cake, “Short Skirt / Long Jacket”
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, “Who Loves You”
Johnny Cash, “The Man Comes Around”
Ram Jam, “Black Betty”
Billy Joel, “Movin’ Out”
Fleetwood Mac, “TUSK”
Sawyer Fredericks, “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (cover)_”
If you follow any of my columns you’ll notice I may have a few playlists with overlapping songs. Sorry (not sorry), That’s “How I Do It.”
David Kennard is the News Editor at EastIdahoNews.com. Contact him at david.kennard@EastIdahoNews.com.