UrbanUpdate

Hello, lovers. Now that you’ve mastered the basic rules for date-night cooking, it’s time to put those skills to use on the ultimate romantic menu: steak for two. You should not be daunted by steak. Steakhouses have fancy dining rooms and fancy wine lists and fancy menu prices, but cooking meat for your beloved is about as primal as you can get. If it got the early humans laid, who’s to say it won’t work for you?

Once you’ve successfully cooked your hunk of meat, all you have to do is put something nice next to it and you’ve got a meal. Want to keep things light? Make a salad. Want to go all out? Mash the hell out of some potatoes. It’s all pretty simple. So break out the sharp knives and take the batteries out of the smoke alarm: It’s time to get your steak on.

Get a Good, Big Steak

First things first: You need some meat. Unless you know one of you likes it burnt and one of you likes it bloody, get a big steak to split. It’s more romantic that way, and more fun. Something in the 18-ounce range if it has a bone; 14 ounces if not. Don’t sweat the cut too much: Rib eyes are probably your best bet, but anything that’s about an inch thick and nicely marbled with fat will do the trick. Go to a good butcher, since they will have more options for you to choose from. (This is not the time to get the cling-wrapped stuff in a styrofoam container.) Spring for an aged steak if you like—it’ll have a super beefy, almost blue cheese-y funk to it—but if not, buy the best you can afford and move on.

Once you get it home, put that hunk of meat in the refrigerator until about an hour before you’re going to cook it—you want it to come up to room temperature.

Add Some Sides

You will need a potato, most likely. Mashed potatoes will do the trick if you’re into them, or if you want something ultra-easy, go for baked potatoes. (Gussy them up with crumbled bacon and sour cream and chopped herbs when they’re done.) If you trust your cooking skills, go ahead and make a classic (read: fancy) potato like Potatoes Anna or a gratin.

You also need a vegetable. Ideally something green. If you’re feeling spunky, swing by the farmers’ market and check out what’s in season. Right now, you might try snap peas or asparagus, quickly cooked in well-salted boiling water for a minute and then tossed with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper. Or make a simple salad: Buy the most beautiful lettuce you can find and toss it with a bit of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper before serving. Boom, done.

Get Some Wine

Red wine. The specific red wine is your call, but it has to be red, and again the best you can afford. This is date night: You’re looking to impress. If you have no idea what you’re doing, go to a good wine shop and ask for help. Put a bit of a chill on the wine, but don’t get it totally cold: Put it in the refrigerator about 20 minutes before your date shows up. Serve it in wine glasses if at all possible, but short glass tumblers will do in a pinch.

Get a Pan Really, Really, Really Hot

Ideally, you should use a cast-iron pan. If you don’t have one, use the most heavy-duty pan you own that will fit the big steak. While the pan is heating up, season the steak with salt and pepper generously on both sides. When the pan is really ridiculously hot—almost smoking—open the closest window to the stove and add a swish of vegetable oil to the pan. Add the steak. It will smoke and spit like crazy. (Aren’t you glad you opened a window?) This is, perhaps, the one drawback to making steak for date night, but it is also dramatic and exciting, so maybe it depends on what kind of person your date is.

Sear, Baby, Sear

Leave the steak to cook on one side for a few minutes, then flip. You’re looking for that good brown sear to form on both sides, and once you’ve got that, you only want to cook it to just how you like it. There are all kinds of ways to test how done a steak is, but in general, find the part of the steak that is farthest from the edge or a bone and poke it with your finger. You want it to be tougher than it was when it was raw, but still have a good amount of give. If you have a meat thermometer, 130°F will get you a medium-rare steak, while 150 will get you a more well-done but still rosy steak.

Dinner Is Served

Your steak will need some time to rest when it’s finished. Set it on a plate with a piece of butter on top, and finish your sides. (Also, pour some wine for your date who just got smoked out by the steak situation. Make a little joke about it. It’s fine.) Once it’s rested, slice it into thin strips. If you really want to get fancy, dot it with a sauce like chimichurri or Béarnaise. But honestly? The steak, a glass of wine, and your smile should do the trick. Now go get ’em.

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