Florentine Steak -- The Food That Connects Every Version of Me

Week 392. Fall 2023. I am 40 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like cinnamon and falling leaves and this is my life. This is the life I built.

The clinic was busy this week — spring puppies and summer emergencies and the constant, comforting cycle of animals who need care and humans who love them enough to bring them in.

Mason is 12 and reading everything he can find and examining the world under a microscope with the intensity of a tenured researcher.

Lily is 10 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.

I made roasted Brussels sprouts this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

Week 392 called for something elemental — something that required nothing more than heat, good meat, and steady hands. A Florentine steak is exactly that: no fuss, no performance, just the kind of cooking that lets you stand at the grill and be exactly where you are. After a week of spring puppies and Mason’s microscope and Lily’s fearless riding, I wanted a meal that felt as grounded and unhurried as this life I’ve built — something I could make with my hands and set on the table and just breathe.

Florentine Steak

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 2–3

Ingredients

• 1 T-bone or porterhouse steak, 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick (about 2 lbs)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, halved (for rubbing)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Bring steak to room temperature. Remove the steak from the refrigerator 30 to 45 minutes before cooking. Pat it completely dry with paper towels — this is essential for a good sear.
2. Season generously. Rub both sides of the steak with the halved garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and season all over with coarse salt and cracked black pepper, pressing gently so it adheres.
3. Prepare your grill or grill pan. Heat a charcoal grill, gas grill, or heavy cast-iron grill pan over very high heat until smoking hot. You want intense, dry heat — this is what gives the steak its crust.
4. Sear the first side. Place the steak on the grill and cook undisturbed for 5 to 6 minutes, until a deep brown crust forms. Do not move or press it.
5. Flip and finish. Turn the steak once and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare (internal temperature 125–130°F). In the last minute of cooking, lay the rosemary sprigs directly on the coals or burner to perfume the smoke.
6. Rest the meat. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let it rest, uncovered, for at least 5 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute.
7. Slice and serve. Slice the meat away from the bone, then cut across the grain into thick slabs. Arrange on a warm platter, drizzle with your best olive oil, and finish with a little extra sea salt. Serve with lemon wedges alongside.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 48g | Fat: 36g | Carbs: 1g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 620mg