Simple Shell Steak

 I was at work having a debate with co-workers about cooking, when a co-worker announced that he CAN cook and said just last night had made steak, potatoes and salad for dinner. I smiled because I thought how classic this dish is and without sounding too sexist, I thought this is such a GUY thing to cook. And I don't mean that in a mean way - I just mean that men are more driven to eat meat (especially steak) because it seems more masculine. I'm serious. This is true. I read it in the elevator TV on the way to work one morning. Anyhoo, I digress. Cooking steak can be difficult. There are so many different ways to do it: charcoal grill, marinades, cuts of meat, etc. So I decided to do it simple...and delicious.

Living in NYC, not everyone is lucky enough to own a grill (or even a backyard ). So I made mine in a frying pan. Now everyone can do this. I bought shell steak because...well...they're cheap. My favorite is Porterhouse or Filet Mignon. If you want to splurge. go for it. The dish, is simple. All I do is sprinkle coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper on either side of my steak. And while it's cooking I chop up 1/2 a small yellow onion and add it to the pan with one tbspoon of butter. I take another tbspoon of butter and split it. I put one piece on top of each steak and let the butter melt. Seriously - steak and butter is never a bad idea. I prefer my steak medium to medium rare while my sous chef likes his medium. I pull mine off first and let it sit while I let his cook a few more minutes. The worst thing is over cooked steak. It's hard to say how long to cook a steak because it depends on how big the piece of meat is. Usually 4 to 5 minutes on each side does it for me but sometimes I have to alter that. Usually I can tell my touching it. It should have a little bit of motion but mostly feel firm. Also, let the sucker rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Now - go cook one. ENJOY!