It’s summer in Seattle.

It’s a hot summer in Seattle, which is not normal.

Hot summers mean I don’t want to turn on the oven or run the stove for any longer than necessary. This “fear of heat” means that quesadilla’s or pasta are about the only things coming off my stove right now.

How can I make something that isn’t our 80th quesadilla or our 10th batch of cold pasta salad?

I really do want to be eating something more than reheated pesto and take-out. I know I can cook delicious food, but can I do it without burning up the kitchen or my person?

Why yes – yes I can. But, how?

It starts with having vacuum sealed NY steaks from Costco a few weeks ago (can’t tell you how much I continue to be surprised how much I love my Cuisinart VS-100 Vaccum Sealer). Every trip to Costco I try and vacuum seal some steaks with salt, pepper and butter right after we get home, so they never have a chance to go bad. I’m traditionally horrible at remembering how long we have to use food (meat, veggies, bread, cheese, etc) and when it comes to delicious steaks I’m finally learning my lesson.

Then it continues with being lucky to work across from Macrina Bakery where I can pick up some delicious bread at lunch or on the way to my car after a day in the office. Nothing like a super fresh baguette to make a delicious sandwich for dinner – I know why the French can be found riding around on their bikes with fresh bread on their way home. Fresh bread can be the catalyst to change a meal from bland to mind-blowing.

Now, when I get home all I needed to do was break out my Nomiku to do most of the heavy lifting. Fill it with water, fire it up to 55 degrees centigrade, drop in some steaks and walk away for 2 hours.

Spend the evening playing with kids, watching the sun set, throwing balls for your dogs, pouring a ridiculously tasty glass of wine, do laundry, and dream of what awaits you… I’m sure you can find a way to fill 2 hours of your evening – it really isn’t that hard. Heck, you can Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram for 2 hours or watch Sportscenter on loop…

Now that 2 hours is nearly up – heat up a cast iron skillet. I mean get that skillet red hot. Scorching hot. Then open all your windows, crank up your ventilation hood, and step back as you drop your steaks in the skillet for ~2 minutes per side until you get a super crispy char. You’ve seen this in fancy steak houses around the world, Top Chef, Food Network or on this blog before.

Now pull those bad boys out of the skillet to rest. While they enjoy their little nap before being devoured it is your turn to carve up your baguette, slice up some cheese and find some sauce in the back of your fridge for your steak sandwich.

With all that “steaky goodness” you need some serious sauce (especially if you use white cheddar like me) and my go to is Harissa Ketchup from Saint’s Sin Sauce. I was introduced to this by Amber and Kenji from Roosevelt Ale House a while back and how Eric (nay Saint) has completed his Kickstarter campaign and is making sauces for the masses.

After you’ve got all the pieces ready – lay that baguette down, slather on some sauce, layer some delicious white cheddar cheese and cover it all with delicious sous vide NY steak.

You’ll have this delicious creation ready for your enjoyment. Behold my masterpiece!

Most nights of the week I dream of what I can cook for dinner that isn’t too complex. And luckily this isn’t complex or too time intensive, so I can spend more time with my family.

Doesn’t mean that tonight I’m not eating hot dogs – twin 2 year old boys get exactly what they want for dinner (helps that I’m a sucker for a good hot dog covered in Harissa Ketchup).