Blackened Rib Eye Etouffee  (Dinner for 2)

  *Blackened*- Season 2 thick rib eyes (23 oz. or a little bigger is perfect) to marinate with a little salt, black pepper, red pepper, garlic powder, a dash of Worcestershire and Dale's (or your favorite) steak sauce. (Chef K Paul has some pretty awesome blackening seasons that you can use to sprinkle on too) Marinate at room temp for at least 30 minutes.

   You can blacken anything outside on the grill or stove top with good ventilation. Either way, heat a large iron skillet until it is very hot. Drop into the skillet about 1/2 stick of butter that is cut into chips. That butter will immediately begin to steam and bubble. Go ahead and add each steak to the skillet. It will look like your world is going up in smoke..that just means you're doing it correctly. Sear for about one minute then flip the steak over to sear another minute. Plate the steaks to rest while you prepare the rest of the dish...

   Cut into rings one large red onion and one large bell pepper. Finely chop about 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, celery and green onion, each. Mince 2 or 3 large toes of garlic. Finely chop one jalapeno. Slice a pack of 8 oz. mushrooms, or leave them whole.

    Return the steaks to the skillet and begin to cook on low-medium heat. Scatter all of your veggies over-top the steaks. Season with a little more salt, black pepper, red pepper, Worcestershire and if you used the Chef Paul's seasoning, dash-on some of that too. Pour over-top 2 cans of diced tomato and one small can of tomato sauce. Add another dash of salt, black pepper and a pinch of sugar and put a lid on it!

    Looks like a ton of stuff in your skillet, but it will all cook down and settle. Unless you just want to lift to lid to admire your work, leave the lid on and simmer for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

    Should be good and done by now so serve with some homemade mashed potatoes and fat lima beans on the side and homemade biscuits or fresh homemade garlic bread.

    Some of you have cooked this before or with slight variations. For those of you that haven't...don't be mad at me.

   * You could have used smaller cuts of rib eyes to feed a couple more folks. No big deal. Just consider the size of your skillet. You may think you got a pretty big skillet until somebody whips out a bigger one.*