I was working from home the other day and felt like I was kind of having a bad day- for no good reason, I was just feeling listless and moody. Nothing lifts the spirits like a steak for lunch, though. It was just what the doctor ordered. And by "doctor" of course I mean "myself." Mood lifted upon first bite. I love meat.



Not wanting to be a totally irresponsible lunch-eater, I threw in some greens for good measure, and shaved some hard dry Vella jack cheese on the top. If you haven't tried dry jack yet, get your hands on some- it's sort of like a cross between jack cheese and parmigiano, and it's my new favorite for salads. It's hard enough to shave but not crumbly and dry. If they don't sell it in your area and you're willing to buy a couple pounds of the stuff, you can order it on the Vella site.

This is a pretty easy and quick meal to make. You could easily make this for a summer dinner party and be ready in no time flat. I like it with flat iron steak or hanger steak- I think a more flavorful, gamey cut works well with the greens.


Flat Iron Steak Over Greens
This will serve one person. You can omit the butter to cut the fat, but let's face it, that's no fun.

Ingredients:

• One flat iron steak, about 1/3 to 1/2 pound should be a good portion
• 1 tsp butter
• handful of greens (anything will work. I prefer baby arugula but spinach, romaine, cress, etc. would be great too)
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• hard cheese shavings, like pecorino, parmigiano, or dry jack

Method:

• Season steak. Heat a pan til very hot and cook steak, a couple minutes per side, depending on how done you want it. When almost to the right doneness, turn off pan and add butter. Leave in pan to rest.
• While steak is resting, toss greens with a splash of oil and vinegar and salt and pepper.
• Slice steak and lay on top of greens. Shave some cheese over top and eat immediately.