The most magical place in the world

For our honeymoon, Matt and I were blessed to go to the most magical place in the world.  You might be thinking I am going to say Disney World because all those Disney World commercials claim that title. However, those commercials are very, very wrong.  Just so everyone knows, the most magical place in the world is Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.  If you don't believe me, please leave this blog, spend the next five minutes looking over the website, and then spend another five minutes trying to find someplace better.  It just can't be done.

This oh, so magical place also has an oh, so magical cookbook that we bought while we were there.  Periodically when I (1) feel like being extra nice to Matt or (2) feel like cooking him some meat, I will make a recipe out of this cookbook.  Every recipe I have made turns out phenomenally.  However, please let it be known I am not claiming this because of any of my cooking skills.  All credit goes to the actual recipe.  Somehow the author has created fail-proof recipes that blow your mind in regards to their deliciousness level.

So last night I made "Grilled Chili-Rubbed Rib Roast" from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook.  I had to make some modifications because this recipe serves 8 people and we don't definitely don't need that much meat in our house. We also don't have easy access to a grill, which is the suggested cooking method.  Instead, I used my Dutch oven to sear the meat and then let it cook with the pepper mixture.

Here we go!

First, I took 6 chilies de arbols and 6 serrano peppers, cut them in half, and seeded them.  Then, I put them in a skillet with about 6 cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup of olive oil.  I let these ingredients cook together for 15-20 minutes, until the the peppers and garlic started to brown.

Then I put the pepper mixture in my food processor. I put about 1 teaspoon of cumin and 1 teaspoon of coriander in also.  I pureed this mixture, adding about 1/4 cup olive oil slowly until everything looked evenly pureed.

The recipe recommends that you let your meat sit out for about 45 minutes before cooking.  It also suggests using a rib roast.  If I am being honest here, I normally buy Matt something a little less fancy than a rib roast.  This time around I bought him skirt steak.

Heat a large skillet/Dutch oven with olive oil.  While the olive oil is heating, generously salt and pepper your steak.  Once the skillet gets hot, sear meat on all sides.  Once seared, take the pepper mixture and spread it on all sides of the meat.

Because we are grill-less, I covered the meat/pepper spectacular in the Dutch oven and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes in all the pepper/oil/meat juices at a medium heat.  Periodically I would flip over the meat just to make sure neither of the sides were burning.  After I decided the meat was looking cooked through and juicy (that 25-30 minutes mentioned above), I turned off the heat and let the meat rest in the Dutch oven for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

And that was our dinner!  It was super easy to make and was a hit with my meat-loving husband.  He actually said this dinner was a 5 out of 5 chicken wings!  I cooked more than we needed so later in the week Matt can make a steak quesadilla with the leftovers.  Just as a warning, this recipe is a little on the spicier side.  However, if you know someone who loves spicy foods and steak, this could definitely be a winning dish.