Chez Murphy's Steak and Baked Potato

Dinner evolved from a minor disagreement at the Beef Counter, Ralph's Supermarket (Kroger elsewhere.)   Richie had stated his preference for a NY Strip as my eye fell upon a row of neatly package single bacon-wrapped filet mignons $5/each.  Do you know what you'd pay in a restaurant for same?  Ruth's Chris steak house, say?  Probably $40 each.  'Way too pricey for us.

I put two in our cart and marched off, leaving Himself pouting and reluctantly following me, right after I told him, "Well, we don't always get what we want, do we?"  in the manner of a disapproving first grade teacher.

In Fruits and Vegetables, I got a lovely big potato to bake.  We already had leftover mushrooms to make a suitable steak sauce - butter, mushrooms, and a splash of steak sauce or, in a pinch, just Worcestershire sauce.

Now, I wondered, studying them, how the hell do you cook these round chunks of tender beef with a bacon ribbon?  Set them up on edge and roll it back and forth cooking the bacon and hoping for the best to cook the interior?  That's when I spotted the green plastic spike holding the bacon ends together - be sure to look for it.

Google and several other people told me, "Sear the flat meat, stick in a 400 degree oven for 6 - 8 minutes, flip sides and do the same again and let sit for some 8 to 10 minutes for medium.  

I give ours a dubious gaze … the meat was nearly 2 in. thick.  I hate steak blood on my plate ...I am not a cave dweller.

So I didn't bother to sear it, but put them on a metal tray and slid them into the oven where the baked potato was cooking.  (400 for an hour.)   I flipped both a half hour later and the meat, specifically the bacon, was beginning to darken.  

Half an hour after that the bacon had become nearly caramelized and they were looking toothsome indeed.

I halved the baked potato, admired the fluffiness of it and then cut that in half to accommodate my next Big Thing - Parmesan baked potato - mash up the potato, add butter, a couple of shakes of Parmesan cheese and mix lightly.  The other quarter was for sour cream - in this case onion dip - and fluff the two together.

Richie not only ate his but finished off mine which was admittedly only a few more bites.