I came across this recipe a couple of years ago thanks to a grilling edition of Bon Appetit.  The first time I made the dish, it immediately became one of my “signature” meals.  And what credentials must a dish have to be “signature,” you ask?  …. I think the honest answer is that the men in my life praise it highly and request the meal again.  (sad, I know.)  With a small ingredient list, this relatively simple dish took me by surprise.  I find that I am more and more impressed with recipes that call for 10 or less ingredients, as long as those ingredients are quality.  A simple dry rub of paprika, bay leaves, cumin, and cayenne and this steak is ready for the grill.  Don’t be scared by the addition of cayenne.  With the inclusion of other spices and creamy Gorgonzola to compliment, the steaks are surprisingly tame.  The cayenne adds extra dimension without adding incredible heat.

The original recipe calls for T-Bone steaks – certainly a quality cut of beef.  T-Bones are pretty much what they sound like: a steak with a T-shaped bone with meat on either side.  The larger side of the T-bone is a strip steak, while the smaller portion is a tenderloin.  (Porterhouse steaks are very similar to T-bones, and often the names are used interchangeably, but porterhouse steaks contain a larger portion of the tenderloin.)  With the combination of two great cuts of meat, this steak gives you the best of both worlds.  (If T-Bones are too much of a splurge, you can easily create this recipe using a strip steak.)  I must warn, however, that T-Bones are very large cuts of beef.  And again, don’t let that scare you off.  I like to buy one T-Bone for my husband and I.  I will admit that I give him the larger strip steak and save the valued tenderloin for my plate, but shhh, don’t tell him, he doesn’t seem to notice. 

While the T-Bone itself certainly stands out, I have to be honest that the Gorgonzola toasts are the real show-stoppers here.  Again, a simple creation of grilled ciabatta bread and melted Gorgonzola cheese and suddenly your mouth is experiencing something completely new.  I have always loved blue cheese paired with steaks, but I was skeptical about bread paired with steak.  However, the airy ciabatta bread adds a light crunch to round out the cream of the cheese and density of the steak.  Surprisingly so, a piece of grilled bread turns out to be a wonderful companion to steak.

Now that grilling season is officially here, try expanding your summer steak repertoire.  Go ahead and treat yourself to the T-Bone and get ready to be hooked on the steak and toast culinary phenomenon!

For the perfect summer-time meal, serve with freshly grilled vegetables or sweet summer corn.  A nice summer red, such as a Merlot or Pinot Noir would round out the meal perfectly.

Recipe: Spice Rubbed Steaks with Gorgonzola Toasts