rib-eye steaks with herb-shallot butter + onion rings.

Do yourself a favor. Whatever plans you had in your head for cooking up a healthy dinner this weekend – forget them.

Seriously. You owe it to yourself to make this steak. Take it from me – I don’t normally even like rib-eye. I proudly consider myself to be a filet-only girl.

But this rib-eye has converted me. There’s something about a rib-eye that feels so much more rugged, and more appropriate with these beer and vodka battered onion rings. The filet still has my heart – don’t get me wrong. But once in a while, you need something fattier. I’m not talking about those globby, excess pieces hanging onto the edges of the steak; cut those off and forget about them. I’m talking about marbling – beautiful, flavor-packed marbling. If you can get a good cut of rib-eye with lovely marbling throughout, it doesn’t get much better.

It’s up there with butter. And bacon. The sacred food groups.

Speaking of butter… The original recipe called for a blue cheese butter, which I would have totally made except for the fact that we also enjoyed yesterday’s wedge salad with our steaks, and the butter seemed that it would have brought us into blue cheese overload – that is, if such a place exists. So instead, I opted to whip up this herb-shallot butter based on the ingredients I had on hand. So good, and so versatile – you could use this butter on anything from fish to veggies.

And then, there were the onion rings. The onion rings were so shockingly good, and they made me proud, as it was my first attempt and they came out so perfectly that I couldn’t even believe I’d made them. Part of this was because I toyed with the recipe, adding buttermilk when the recipe seemed dry as it was. I love the feeling I get when a recipe doesn’t seem right and I actually know how to fix it, or improve upon it. Pure satisfaction.

Rib-Eye Steaks with Herb-Shallot Butter + Walla-Walla Onion Rings

Adapted {loosely} from Bon Appétit

• 2 1-pound rib-eye steaks (each about 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick)
• Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herb-shallot butter:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 shallot, minced
• Squeeze fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt

Onion rings:

• 1 cup cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup beer
• 2 tablespoons vodka
• 1/4 cup (or more) buttermilk
• Canola or peanut oil (for deep-frying)
• 1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds, separated into rings

As soon as you can (preferably overnight), sprinkle steaks on both sides with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on plate; cover and chill until about 30 minutes prior to cooking.

For the herb-shallot butter:
Using a fork, mix all ingredients in small bowl. Season with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt. This can be made a day ahead; cover and chill, but let it come to room temperature before serving.

Make onion rings:
Whisk flour, coarse salt, and baking powder in medium bowl. Add beer and vodka; whisk just until blended. Add buttermilk gradually until you get a nice and creamy, thick but still liquid-like consistency. Add onion rings to bowl. Pour enough oil into heavy large pot to reach depth of 2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer to side of pot; heat oil over medium heat to 350°F. Working with 2-3 onion rings at a time, dip onion rings into batter; shake off excess. Gently drop onion rings into hot oil; fry until deep golden, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer onion rings to paper towels. Repeat with remaining onion rings.

Cook steaks:
Heat large heavy skillet (not non-stick; I used my cast iron Le Creuset) over medium heat. Add one tablespoon vegetable oil or other cooking fat (I used bacon grease since I had just made bacon for a wedge salad) until hot. Add steaks, cook for about 5 minutes on each side for medium-rare. My steaks were on the thinner side so I did about 4 minutes each. Remove from skillet, place on plate, and loosely tent with foil for about 5 minutes.

Cut steaks in half across grain. Place 1 steak half on each of 4 plates. Top with herb-shallot butter and onion rings.