Cast Iron Skillet Ribeye Steaks with Aromatic Feta & Herb Butter

Valentine’s Day is always a special occasion. This year we are dining in — rather than going out to eat at a fancy restaurant. I am cooking a “gourmet meal” with ribeye steaks seared in a cast iron skillet and topped with “Aromatic Feta & Herb Butter.” It’s not an everyday supper, I’m planning something upscale. The “aromatic butter” consists of butter, feta cheese, with thyme and marjoram for herbs. I admit that feta cheese is an unusual ingredient to pair with a steak. However, we love feta cheese and I like to try new ideas. The fresh marjoram turned out to be the “secret ingredient” in this dish. It added a “bright” flavor to the steaks.

Recipe Inspiration

The recipe inspiration comes from the vintage cookbook, Easy Gourmet, dating from the 1997. It is my mystery cookbook – and I don’t know where it came from. It just sits there on a shelf in my “cookbook” cupboard and never gets in the way. I happened to notice it recently, and decided to take a look again. I have enjoyed several recipes in the book and feel that I’m really cooking a gourmet meal since this steak recipe is in their cookbook.

Recipe

This is a quick and simple recipe. Here are the ingredients for the steak and aromatic butter. I used boneless ribeye steaks for this dish.

“Aromatic Feta & Herb Butter” and Surprise Ingredient

The “surprise” ingredient in this dish turned out to be fresh marjoram. I’ve never cooked with this herb before but took the extra effort to purchase some from the grocery store for this recipe. Perhaps I’ll try to grow it in my garden this year. Marjarom is a perineal herb and a member of the mint family. It is native to the Mediterranean and parts of Asia and Africa. The taste reminds me of both oregano and thyme. It grows on a stalk and the fuzzy leaves grow in clumps. Add fresh marjoram at the end of cooking to preserve the flavor.

Make the “Aromaic Feta & Herb Butter” ahead of time and let it chill for 2 to 10 hours. It consists of feta cheese, softened butter, Dijon mustard, thyme, marjarom, lemon juce and pepper. Chop up the feta cheese and fresh marjarom. The roll everything into a log and chill.

Cooking the Steaks in a Cast Iron Skillet

Now, let’s cook the perfect steaks. My husband likes his steaks rare — just browned and flipped– so that is easy. Here are a couple of tips.

• Let the steaks “rest” and set at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour prior to cooking. The inner meat of the steak will come to room temperature and the steak will cook more evenly. Plus, the fibers in the steak will relax so that it is more tender.
• Add salt to season the steak prior to cooking. It makes a difference. Add other seasonings at the end of cooking.
• Get the skillet or griddle very hot before cooking the steaks. Add a little oil and let it smoke. This will help sear the steaks and help them brown with a juicy and tender inside. I like to use my cast iron skillet because it easily heats to a high temperature and holds the heat evenly. It doesn’t take long to cook steaks — just a few minutes on each side.

After cooking the steaks, cut the “aromatic butter log” into chunks and layer on top of the steaks. Feta cheese doesn’t melt, so the “Aromatic Feta & Herb Butter” appeared as clumps on the steak. This was tasty topping for the steaks and I loved the flavor that the marjarom imparted. We didn’t use all the aromatic butter on the steaks — and used the remainder as a topping for the baked potatoes.

I like the idea of “dining in” from time to time and cooking something special, rather than going out to eat at a restaurant. I enjoy the idea of making a creative dish. I hope you enjoy this recipe too — and experiment with cooking with marjoram.

References:

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-is-marjoram/