Giada's Steak & Black Olive Viniagrette

So, this might be a very long post. I preapologize for any time this takes away from your work.

But, whatever. It's steak. And black olives and Bimmer Man's Birthday.

I let him pick out his absolute favorite meal - steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus with a black olive vinaigrette for the steak.

My pee smelled like an old person's home for 3 days.

But black olives are absolutely lovely. You'll start this meal by making the vinaigrette first - that way you won't get distracted while searing the steak or mashing the potatoes and realizing that you left out one of the most important parts of the meal.

Red wine vinegar, grainy mustard (Excuse me sir, but do you have any Grey Poupon? I miss those commercials!), black pepper, coarse salt, oil (both olive AND vegetable oil).

Go ahead and put all the necessary ingredients in the food processor.

But I thought I read 2 tablespoons of mustard, really it's 2 TEASPOONS of mustard. Oops.

Go figure. So I'm a little disorganized.

Mix together the oils in a large bowl that you'll be able to pour it out of.

Mix it in a large bowl that you'll be able to pour it out of. I obviously didn't do that.

So I put it in a plastic Bacardi cup instead so I could pour it through the small hole in the food processor. Whoops.

And then let 'er rip!

Yum... this is really good over pasta too!

Red meat. I don't really eat too much of it, so the stark redness kinda gives me the shivers.

Olive oil, salt, black pepper and Herbes de Provence. Rub it all over.

Then go ahead, sear the wonderful juices of cow into the meat.

6 - 8 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, boil your potatoes and let them drain.

Notice all the dirty dishes in my sink? Some of the potato water got on the floor.

And the perfectly MEDIUM steak. Crusty on the outside, all nice and juicy on the inside.

After you've taken the steak out of the pan, immediately throw the asparagus on. It needs to cook ONLY 2 - 3 minutes per side. You still want it to have a BITE.

Mmm... all put together on the plate...

Look at that steak juice... And gravy and asparagus...

Oh man...

Rib-Eye Steak with Black Olive Vinaigrette

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

Rib-eye Steak:

• 1 2-inch rib-eye steak, boneless
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Black Olive Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup black olives, pitted
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

For the Rib-eye: Preheat your grill pan on medium high heat. Coat the beef with olive oil and sprinkle with the Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes a side until the meat is medium-rare, remove from heat, and allow to rest.

For the Black Olive Vinaigrette: Combine the olives, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender and blend until mixed. In a small pitcher combine the olive oil and vegetable oil. Drizzle the oil into the blender with the machine running. Transfer the vinaigrette to a serving dish. Stir in the parsley and serve with the rib-eye.

Enjoy!