That Time Popeye Met a Cowboy: A Steak and Spinach Romance

I’ve been making this particular combination for years now, although my wife says I haven’t made it since we were dating and I was still trying to impress her, so I dunno. She’s probably right.

The secret to the steak is its simplicity and the roasted peanut oil, which is impossible to find where we live so I have to order it off the internet dot com like some kind of ’90s wayfarer. You could make it with standard peanut oil or any other high smoke point oil if you really want to, but it won’t be nearly as good and you’ll want to blame me for your failure – but I ain’t got time for that kind of negativity in my life so take ownership of your mistakes for once, willya?

Oh yeah, about the smoke. If you live in an apartment or if your stove isn’t vented very well, you’ll probably want to cover your smoke detectors and open a window or two. Fair warning.

Anyway, that’s the steak. It’s amazing if you do it right, so try to do it right. It’s not rocket science. I believe in you!

The spinach is a whole other thing. I wouldn’t eat it on its own, to be honest. It’s good but it really only exists here as a flavor enhancer for the steak. Take a bite of steak, then a little bite of the spinach and you’ll understand. The two just create some kind of culinary magic when they meet. It’d probably be good with other things too, but I wouldn’t know about any of that because I’m just here for the meat meet.

Just don’t skimp on the nutmeg.

The Steak

Reagents

• Steak (I go for ribeye, myself)
• Roasted Peanut Oil (order it online if you have to)
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly Coarse-Ground Black Pepper
• Coarse-Ground Garlic Powder

The Destructions

• Grab your steak out of the fridge so it can get up to room temperature
• Grab one of the racks in your oven and set it directly on the oven floor if you can, or the lowest position possible
• Toss an iron skillet on that rack
• Crank up your oven as high as it will go, whatever that is (mine tops out at 500°)
• Let that skillet sit and heat up for 30 minutes to an hour
• When your skillet is ready, grab your steak and pat it as dry as you can with a paper towel, then season it on both sides (and the edges) with way more kosher salt than you think you need (trust me), then do the same with the black pepper and garlic powder and make sure to smoosh it all in
• Turn one of your stovetop burners as high as it will go
• Grab your iron skillet from the oven and toss it on the burner, then pour in a good glug of the roasted peanut oil
• Plop your steak in one side of the skillet and let it sear for about a minute
• Grab it with some tongs, flip it over, and set it on the other side of the skillet for another minute
• If you did it right, it shouldn’t stick at all and you’ll be left with an excellent crust on both sides
• You can also sear around the sides at this point, if you’re extra
• Flip it again and toss it in the oven for two or three minutes for medium, a little less for medium rare, a little more for medium well (the thickness of your steak will affect this; I’m using a pretty standard thick cut ribeye)
• Take it out of the skillet and let it rest on a wire rack for a little bit
• Slice into thin strips, then serve with a drizzle of the skillet oil on top

The Spinach

Reagents

• Three 10oz. bags of fresh spinach (or around two pounds)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup finely minced shallot
• 1/2 cup finely minced onion
• 3 cloves finely minced garlic (or a tablespoon of jarlic)
• 2 cups of whipping cream (maybe more, if you need it)
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg (you’ll probably add more to taste, but start with a teaspoon)
• Salt
• Pepper

The Destructions

• Rinse all the spinach really well
• Grab the rinsed spinach by the handful and drop it in a big pot, cover and wilt it down over medium heat until it’s, well, wilted down. Feel free to add a little extra water if you need to.
• Strain the wilted spinach under cold water while you mix it around and squeeze it
• Once it’s cooled down, smoosh all the water you can out of it, then divide it into two halves
• Throw one half in a blender with a cup or so of whipping cream (you can use more if it’s having trouble blending) and puree it all
• Finely chop up the other half (for texture, dontchaknow)
• In a large pot/saucepan melt the butter over medium heat
• Toss in the shallot and onion and saute until they’re however you like them (I do mine for a bit past translucent). When they’re just about ready, throw the garlic in and give it a minute
• Add in the pureed spinach along with another cup of whipping cream (more if you need it) and the rest of the spinach
• Stir it all around, then add in the nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste while it simmers

You’re welcome.

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NOTE:  I know times are hard and yeah, I need to make a living too, but if you want to read any of my books but can't afford to buy them right now, hit me up.

I'll take care of it.

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