from The New York Times
As much as we enjoyed that Creamed Spinach Sauce, it actually wasn't the first thing we gravitated toward when we initially read Mark Bittman's piece on making steakhouse steak at home.
This was.
Bittman wrote that of the five steak sauces he came up with for this feature, this was the one he liked the most:
My favorite is what I call ‘‘blue butter,’’ a blend of blue cheese and butter, about which one of my friends said with a sigh, ‘‘I wish I didn’t know about this.’’
We really liked the flavor of this blue butter. How could you not? As Bittman said, it's literally a blend of blue cheese and butter, of fat on fat. Those (and salt and pepper) are the only ingredients.
But while we loved the taste, we have to say we found this a little overwhelming in its richness. A couple bites and we were done. It seemed like the kind of thing you would slather on a subpar piece of steak. But we'd painstakingly prepared a (pricey) ribeye, and we wanted a sauce that would complement the taste of the meat, not overpower it.
If you do make this, know that a little goes a very long way. It's heavy and rich and creamy and sharp -- all things we love, for sure. We just weren't in the mood for it.
Maybe it was a seasonal thing? It seemed awfully heavy for a steak in August. Check back with us in January -- we'll probably be slathering this blue butter on everything we can find.
Blue Butter Steak Sauce
via The New York Times, recipe by Mark Bittman
(This photo: Grant Cornett for The New York Times)
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces blue cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Salt and black pepper (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Cream the cheese and butter together with a fork; add salt and pepper if using. Roll into a log, wrap tightly, chill until firm and cut into thick slices to top the roast before slicing. Or serve the softened mixture by the spoonful after slicing.
