Cooking Italy: Bisteca Fiorentine-T-Bone Steak, Florentine Style

One of the most recent additions to my pantry in my quest of being an awesome cook are black peppercorns. I typically throw 'em in when I'm making stock and since pepper is probably one of my favorite spices, it's just a joy to have around. So buying black peppercorns for the latest Cooking Italy recipe wasn't necessary - I'd just use up some that I already had on hand.

Just one problem ... I don't have a mortar and pestle for grinding and I don't have one of those peppermill thingies (was on the wedding registry ... people must have underestimated my love for pepper ...). So when it came time to "coarsely grind" my peppercorns, I was a bit stumped. So I grabbed two Ziplock bags. And my rolling pin. And I tried to beat the hell out of my peppercorns. Didn't really work. I thought about grabbing a hammer, but dear husband was already staring at me like I was insane.

So as soon as he left the kitchen, I grabbed the next implement handy ... my coffee bean grinder. And yup! That worked perfectly. (Note to self: Make sure hubby doesn't use said grinder before I clean out the peppercorn residue ...)

This steak - from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Italian Cooking" - was delicious, even though I thought I overdid it with the peppercorns (I didn't bring out the coffee grinder for nothing, mind you ...) But this was awesomely seasoned with just a hint of garlic and the perfect shade of pink to signify medium well.

Bisteca Fiorentine - T-Bone Steak, Florentine Style

from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Italian Cooking"

A charcoal or wood burning grill (**I hauled out my Bobby Flay cast iron grill pan - have I told you lately that I love that pan?)

Black peppercorns, ground very course or crushed with a pestle with a mortar (or decimated with a coffee grinder)

1 T-Bone steak, 1 1/2” thick, brought to room temperature

Coarse sea salt

OPTIONAL: a lightly crushed and peeled garlic clove

Extra virgin olive oil

If grilling with charcoal, wait until you see a white ash. If grilling on gas grill, preheat 20 minutes ahead to high. Rub steak with peppercorns on both sides.

Grill to desired wellness. Medium rare is about 5 minutes on one side, 3 on the other. As you turn steak, rub with garlic clove, including the bone, add salt. Do this on both sides.

When steak is finished, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. I let my steak rest for about 10 minutes to let the juices settle back into the meat (and I even tented it with foil because that's what Ina Garten would do ...)

**Yet another random note ... another reason why I was really excited about this recipe was that we have a new deli/butcher that's opened up in town and it's just down the street from my office. It's called Meatheads and at one point I had found the website, but now I can't - but if you're in Rochester, trust me ... it's just an amazing place. And the service is stellar.