Welcome to Voo's (Psst, prepare to gain weight)

Just so you know what "Prime Grade" Ribeyes should look like. Check out the AWESOME marbling on those steaks.


The finished product. Notice the veins of fat running through the steak, that's what gives the pricey steakhouse steaks the "melt-in-your-mouth" sensation.


The dish from another angle. Enough ogling, GO COOK!

Oh, and I apologize for not taking more pictures of the shrimp while I was preparing it. I was way too busy concentrating on the final product.

There's a little story that goes with this recipe. I was assisting my sis (aka making all the food) with her BBQ and we were shopping at Sam's Club looking for some Ribeyes. I was on a mission for the best marbled ones, and if you are familiar with steak grades, you will know that the "Choice" grade is what supermarkets usually stock, I almost NEVER see "Prime" grade steaks, EVER! So, as I was loading our cart, I saw 2 magnificent "Prime" grade Ribeyes staring at me, for $8.99/lbs too!!! I was soooo excited, but, for the sake of not appearing any weirder than I already am, I will spare you the details of my excitement. Naturally I wasn't going to waste those steaks on some puny BBQ when I could turn them into a Scampi Surf and Turf.

On to the preaching. I only buy Ribeye or New York cuts, while they are one of the most expensive cuts, (filet mignon is the most pricey) they are extremely tender and flavorful steaks. When looking for steaks you will want to select those with the most marbling. Marbling is the streaks of fat that run through the meat.

Steaks should be cooked to medium-rare, no more. I do not entertain requests for steaks any more done than medium-rare. For the prep, the steaks are salted 2 days before cooking, left uncovered in the fridge and on paper towels. I turn them over once a day too. This process is known as "dry-aging". Granted, steaks can be dry-aged for a longer time, but since I am an amateur cook, I try not to push my luck. Dry-aging does a few things to the steak. It reduces the moisture content and intensifies the flavor of the beef. This makes for a tastier steak. The process also allows enzymes in the beef to break down additional connective tissue, making it more tender. After 2 days, the steaks will take on a deep red color. Before cooking, you should trim any grey parts on the steaks. Since the surface of the steaks are drier, you will be able to cook them at high heat and they will have a crispy crust while maintaining a juicy center. I prep all my steaks this way and I have always received compliments on them.

The recipe...

6 16U Shrimp Per Person (16U is the size of the shrimp, it means there are 16 in a lbs).
1 Ribeye Steak
Finely Minced Garlic (About 3-4 cloves per person)
White Wine (1/3 Cup per person)
Olive Oil (Do not use Extra Virgin Oil as the taste will overpower the dish)
Unsalted Butter (About 1 tbsp per person)
Rice
Salt
Pepper
Optional: Lemon Wedges
(Yes, I feed people as if they are livestock to be fattened up, you were warned)

PREP (The day before)

Scampi Sauce:
Put garlic in a small pot and add enough olive oil and butter to cover the garlic. Slowly bring the ingredients to a slow simmer for 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. This allows the olive oil to extract some of the flavor from the garlic, you do not want to brown the garlic.

Add white wine and continue simmering for 15-20 minutes till the garlic is soft. Remove from stove. You should make the sauce the day before and let the shrimp marinade in it.

The sauce should be a little under-salted as the shrimp will have some salt in them from living the sea.

Shrimp
De-shell and de-vein the shrimp. Add the cooled scampi sauce and shrimp in a sealable bag and marinade in the fridge overnight.

COOKING THE DISH
You should prepare the dish in the following order:

Rice
Start cooking rice. (I don't think I need to explain this).

Steak
Pre-heat grill till it is screaming hot. (I don't know exactly what "screaming hot" is, but I believe it is about 400°F). Season steaks with pepper and lightly coat them with oil. Grill steaks, turning them once. They should have a nice crispy crust and still remain juicy in the center. If you want your steaks to have fancy cross-grill marks, grill your steaks at 45° angle and turn them 60° half way through cooking. (I always do that ^.^).

When they are medium-rare, remove from grill and allow to rest. Do not slice them yet.

Shrimp
Empty the shrimp and scampi sauce into a pot and bring to a boil. Ensure that you gently stir the shrimp so that it gets cooked evenly. Once the shrimp are mostly pink, turn off the stove and continue stirring for another minute, then remove from stove. You do NOT want to overcook them as they will turn rubbery. If you are not sure if they are cooked, take one out and slice it at the thickest part. If it's not opaque, it's not cooked through.

PLATING
Slice the steak into nice thick slices. Don't spoil it by slicing it paper thin. You want to taste the meat and have a nice meaty texture with each bite.
Scoop out rice, top with shrimp, garlic and scampi sauce. Finally add the steak and garnish with lemon wedges.

Bon Appétit!

I received one of the best compliments ever when I was told that my steaks are as good as a $40 steak, eaten a pricey restaurant. /bow

As with all recipes, you should taste the dish during each step of the cooking process to ensure that there is sufficient seasoning and more importantly, you are not over-seasoning the dish. There is nothing worse than having realized that the dish is too salty when you are serving it. It is always better to under-season than over-season.

If (or more appropriately, when) I open my restaurant, you should be forewarned that asking for steak sauce will see you promptly ejected from my restaurant and YOU WILL BE BANNED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!! Steak sauce is used to cover up the taste of crappy meat and I will be most insulted if you ask for that "condiment". My good friend Mark will do the same thing if you did that in his restaurant, the only difference is that he would probably greet you with the largest knife he can get his hands on. Cleaver anyone?