Cooking for two

Garlic-herb steaks end/start year right

— These pan-seared steaks make a just-special-enough main dish for a weeknight New Year’s celebration. The steaks are seasoned with a garlic rub, and served with pan sauce of bourbon, butter and olive oil.

Serve the steaks with your favorite vegetables and crusty bread for mopping up any extra sauce.

Garlic-Herb Steaks With

Bourbon Pan Sauce 2 (1-inch thick) steaks (about

3/4 pound total) 3 tablespoons garlic-herb rub 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup bourbon

Generously coat each steak with the rub. Set aside at room temperature, about 30 minutesto an hour.

Heat a skillet over a medium-high flame. Add oil and butter and heat until melted and splattering slightly, then add the meat and cook 5-6 minutes per side or to desired doneness.

Remove steaks and tent with foil.

Reduce heat to medium-low, add the bourbon and, stirring constantly, simmer 2 minutes, making sure to scrape up any browned bits. Set the steaks on warmed plates, top with the bourbon sauce and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Recipe adapted from The Grassfed Gourmet by Shannon Hayes

For something different, skip the traditional baked russet potato and consider a baked sweet potato (just skip the brown sugar and marshmallow toppings). We like the potatoes topped with butter, sour cream, diced green onion and plenty of black pepper.

Baked Sweet Potatoes 2 medium sweet potatoes,

scrubbed Vegetable oil Salt and ground black pepper Desired toppings such as

butter, sour cream, diced

green onion, bacon bits

and/or shredded cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Prick each sweet potato withthe tines of a fork in several places. Rub potatoes with a thin coat of vegetable oil.

Place potatoes on a baking sheet or directly on the oven rack (but be sure to place a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven rack below the potatoes tocatch any drips) and bake until tender, about 1 hour.

While potatoes are piping hot, cut a slit in the top of each one and fill with desired toppings.

Makes 2 servings.

Food, Pages 22 on 12/26/2012

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