April 22--Does grilling the first steak of the season trigger your cowboy-on-the-open-range fantasies? Know that you can still have a barbecue as big and outsized as your dreams, whether your version of the proverbial "back 40" is a Logan Square backyard, a West Loop balcony or a sandy stretch of Hollywood Beach.
Holly Peterson is here to help with her latest book, titled "Smoke Fire, Recipes and Menus for Entertaining Outdoors" (available May 24, Assouline, $50). She has everything from an East End lobster bake on a Long Island beach to, apropos of our yearning for yonder, a "Montana Big Sky Campfire." What caught my eye, though, was the recipe for "Brontosaurus Steaks" from a party called "Guys' Night Out Surf and Turf." It's a recipe you can take anywhere and enjoy with friends whenever your inner caveman -- and the outdoors -- beckons.
Brontosaurus Steaks
Makes: 8 servings
Make sangria butter: Heat 1 bottle red wine in a stockpot over medium heat, reducing until it gets syrupy. Combine wine reduction, 1 pound room-temperature unsalted butter, 1 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup black pepper, salt to taste.
For the steaks: Salt 6 double-cut rib steaks on both sides. Grill 7 minutes per side or until desired doneness is reached. Just before removing steak from the grill, spoon 1 tablespoon sangria butter on each side. Let steak rest on cutting board 15 minutes before serving.
wdaley@tribpub.com
