Horseradish Crusted Ribeye Steaks

We generally aren't fans of chain restaurants however, there are exceptions. Our exception is Wildfire Restaurant. This place has a special meaning to us because it's where we held our engagement party just a little over 4 years ago. For our recent anniversary dinner, I prepared these Horseradish Crusted Ribeye Steaks, which were inspired by one of our favorite steak places, Wildfire Restaurant. The Parmesan Crusted Asparagus served as a perfect side dish too...

A little tidbit - our engagement was just over 30 days long since both my then fiancee and I didn't want to deal with the hassle and headaches that usually come along with planning a big, traditional wedding. He proposed to me on my 30th birthday (the best present ever, by the way!) so it will always be memorable, especially on my birthday. Now, four years later after our wedding, we have no regrets with how small our wedding was (23 guests - three of which were children). In fact, I'd do it all over again in exactly the same way, if not smaller!

For our anniversary dinner, I thought of our engagement party at a local Wildfire restaurant for inspiration. Our favorite meal there is a steak dinner and for an added punch of flavor, I wanted to prepare the steaks with a crust. After some searching online, I came across the recipe for Wildfire's Horseradish Crust that they offer on their steaks and that became the main entree of our meal.

Who knew the crust was so easy to make? It consists of just three ingredients - horseradish, panko breadcrumbs and butter. The original recipe calls for crusting filet mignon by forming a disk with the breadcrumb mixture then broiling. Since I was using ribeye steaks, I decided to crumble the crust on top. Either way, its a delicious way to serve up steaks. Another alternative to a horseradish crust is preparing it with blue cheese, substituting the horseradish with blue cheese instead. I served our steaks with Parmesan Crusted Asparagus (recipe follows) which complimented the steak perfectly!

Horseradish Crusted Ribeye Steaks
recipe adapted from Wildfire Restaurant

Horseradish Crust:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/4 cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs

2 ribeye steaks
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized bowl with a wooden spoon cream the butter. Once the butter is light and fluffy, add the horseradish and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs and mix until they have been incorporated. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to stiffen up so its easier to crumble.

Preheat the broiler or the oven to the highest temperature.

Season your steaks with salt and pepper to your taste. In a hot cast iron skillet, sear the steak until a nice browned crust is formed, 2 to 3 minutes on the first side. Turn the steaks over and sear the other side. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes for medium rare. Crumble the horseradish breadcrumb topping over each steak and place in the broiler until the crust becomes golden.

Parmesan Crusted Asparagus
recipe from AllRecipes

1 pound thin asparagus spears

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 ounce shaved Parmesan cheese

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, or to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Place asparagus on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss to coat. Arrange asparagus spears in a single layer. Spread Parmesan cheese over asparagus, and season with freshly ground black pepper.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and asparagus is tender but crisp. Serve immediately on warm plates, sprinkling with balsamic vinegar to taste.