Filet Mignon

My mouth is watering just thinking about steak. I am a carnivore. It's true. I love beef, especially good cuts of beef. Lane has perfected cooking steaks (he hopes to have a professional broiler in our kitchen one day!). I gave him a little gas grill several years ago for Christmas and he could grill everything perfectly on it. Sadly, after years of use, it died this summer. We also have a charcoal grill that my dad gave us, but sometimes that can be more hassle than it's worth. So, we have had to resort to using our cast iron skillet. Which, honestly, has been fabulous! We have a very old gas range that gets really, really, ridiculously hot (maybe not so safe, but great for steaks!) and is perfect for the steak-in-cast-iron-skillet combo.

Whenever we can, we try to buy steaks from our favorite local butcher, VonGeerstem Butcher Shoppe. Greg, the owner, is one of the nicest people I've ever met and will do anything he can for you. When we can't get steaks from Greg, we just hope for the best at our local grocery store, which is what we did this Friday. We always ask for the grocery store butcher to cut fresh steaks for us, instead of the ones that have been sitting out in the counter. These particular steaks turned out great. They had great flavor and were really juicy.

Filet Mignon, cooked rare plus
(2) 10 oz. filets
Kosher Salt
Garlic Powder
Pepper
1 Tbsp butter

About an hour before cooking, set the steaks out. You want them to get to room temperature before cooking. Sprinkle salt and garlic powder to lightly coat each side. Let sit for one hour.

When ready to cook, heat cast iron skillet on high and heat oven to 425. When pan is hot, sear top and bottom for about 2 minutes each. Lane sears the "sides" for about 30 seconds each. Once seared, add to oven and cook for 3 minutes. Flip and add 1/2 tbsp butter to top of steak and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer steaks to a plate. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.