Steaks on the grill

I love when it's spring and we start grilling again on a regular basis. Here in California you can pretty much grill year round. But our grill ran out of gas a few months ago during the rainy season, so that was the end of grilling....until now.

On Tuesday night we (ok, Don) grilled filet mignon steak, fingerling potatoes and zucchini on the grill. I prepped the potatoes, which involves nuking them for 5 minutes then slathering them in olive oil and spices until it's time to throw them on the grill. The zucchini gets sliced, and slathered with EVOO, salt and pepper. Let them sit for about 15 minutes before you grill them. The meat gets a heavy dose of steak seasoning before they hit the grill. Then our secret weapon is from Steven Raichlen's grilling book. His tip for a "Steakhouse Steak"is to take it off the grill, add a pat of butter, wrap in foil, let sit 5 minutes to rest.  

The last thing I do is saute the mushrooms. I don't know about you, but I can't eat steak without mushrooms. I make them the same way my mom did. Slice one tub of mushrooms really thin (I use a mandolin) add 1 tB butter to a small saucepan, add the shrooms, then season with Lawry's seasoning salt. Saute for a few minutes. That's it.  

We opened up a bottle of Michael Pozzan Cabernet - and viola!  Dinner is served. 

Everyone enjoyed it. Even Elli. She loves the mushrooms. Go figure! We gave her some ranch dressing for the zucchini. Which actually would have tasted really good with some horseradish added. For us. Not her.

We have leftover steak for lunch tomorrow. I'm going to make a steak salad. Lettuce, tomatoes and steak. Yum.

Happy grilling!  The key to the perfect steak is to watch the grill time (use a timer) and let it rest.  For help with grill times: click here