Tonight, I decided to try a couple of new recipes. I found the Cast-Iron Cowboy Skillet Steak in Southern Living magazine. The mac and cheese recipe I also got from Southern Living but I changed the recipe slightly. Since I always plan ahead my menus, I asked one of the local breweries in Northwest Arkansas what might be a nice brew to pair with my grilled ribeye.
The Cast-Iron Cowboy Skillet Steak was a rather easy make. This recipe had essentially no prep, so fast meal and easy clean up. I purchased two 7 ounce ribeye for the dish. Here is what I would have done differently. Next time I will splurged and purchase the larger steak. The recipe calls for a 1 1/2 to 2 pound bone in ribeye or porterhouse. I shortened my cook time because I had smaller steaks but I feel the recipe would have been better with the larger steak. However, the flavor was still fantastic. The recipe leaves it open for you to choose your fresh herbs that you add to the skillet while cooking the steak. I chose both rosemary and oregano. Next time, I will change it up just to see which I prefer.
Here is the reason I chose to make the mac and cheese. Someone in my office had directed a person to me for a good mac and cheese recipe that would feed about 20 people. I have experimented with a lot of different recipes but I could think of only one time that I made a mac and cheese from scratch. I decided to start trying a few recipes so that the next time I am asked about a mac and cheese recipe I will have the perfect one.
I also try to support the local market and thought hey what would go great with a good steak, a beer. I contacted a couple of local breweries and Core Brewing Company responded with a couple of suggestions on a nice pairing. Core Beer suggested two beers, one was the Hilltop IPA and the other was Easy Livin’. We decided on the Easy Livin’.
Although I would use a thicker steak the next time, the flavor on this steak was really incredible. The Easy Livin’ Core Beer was the perfect pairing for the ribeye, great bold smooth flavor. The mac and cheese was a solid recipe. I might experiment the next time with the mac and cheese recipe. One of the interesting aspects of the mac and cheese recipe was that this recipe said to the cook the dish in a slow cooker. I cooked mine in the oven but I would like to try it in the slow cooker. Definite win tonight!
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