A Grill of One's Own

Once upon a time, many years ago, I had a house. It was smallish but it had a tiny patio on which I placed my grill. I wasn't a chef at this point in my life, but I knew how to grill. In Florida, that is how you cook in the summer time. It's too hot to crank up the broiler/oven and who wants to stand over a hot stove? Fast forward and four apartments later, I have learned to live my life without a grill. Being without one does not deter me from steak though. It just means I have to improvise.

The broiler is a good choice, but you have to keep your eyes on it, it can get a little carried away. Cast iron skillets are great, but mine is small. Enter: the grill pan. I bought this one for about $40 about two months ago. It's 13" with a good offset handle and low sides, so you can easily flip burgers or fish.

I bought a nice steak from the local market here and decided to try my luck with it. The only obstacle that needed to be overcome was the fact that the steak was thick, and by the time it was cooked to the center, the outside was going to be blackened. Not tasty. Grills have lids you close, basically creating an oven inside. My grill pan has no lid. What to do?

Solution: Cake pan. Square aluminum cake pan. Pop it on over the steak and it will contain the heat and create a mini-oven. Steak is medium rare in the middle, which is how I like it, and not charcoal on the outside. And that's a beautiful thing.

And so we have lovely steaks, even without a grill, and we lived happily ever after.

The End.