The vegetarian/meat eater divide... please help!

[spicyelephant]

I'm mainly posting in AIBU for traffic but am quite willing to accept i'm being unreasonable for being a completely unimaginative chef!

I've always been vegetarian and my boyfriend loves meat with a passion. Things have been tough recently, I've been a bit of a nightmare and he's really pulled through for me and been fantastic and incredibly supportive. I really want to surprise him and treat him to a steak dinner. (With an ironic nod towards steak and blowjob day!) Basically I want to do something lovely for him.

So.... here's the thing, what on earth do I cook?! I don't want to just sit and stare at him while he eats. I was thinking of doing dauphinoise potatoes and roasted veg kebabs as side dishes as that could be my meal? Do you have any alternatives you do for vegetarians when cooking a meat heavy meal?

Also, I've never cooked steak before but how hard can it be?

Please let me know any hints and tips you have. (Also feel free to share any stories of when dinner dates went horrifically wrong!)

Veggie of 33 years standing here. Steak is dead easy. Melt some butter in frying pan, chuck in steak (without touching because bleuurrggghh), turn every few mins until it's nicely browned. I normally stick a sharp knife in to check no blood coming out. Add some crushed garlic/pepper etc/herbs when half way done and Voila!

I am only non raging carnivore in my household of 6 and HAVE to cook meat daily (draw the line at fish - double bleuurrrggghhh). It is a heavy cross that I have to bear.

High - I don't care one bit if meat is in the house so long as i don't have to eat it. I do hate the smell (and idea) of minced beef but just light my smelly candle then. Might be linked to why you are a vegetarian - i am mainly because I don't like meat/fish not so much because of the animals if that makes sense.

Steak is hard to do properly. I would
Leave it out together to room temperature
Oil and season both sides
Get the griddle really really hot
Cook for two or three minutes on each side, depending how thick it is, and turning only once
Leave it to rest for a few minutes

Actually DH tends to cook the steak in our house. It is a bit of a treat and he's less stressy than me about messing up.

I'm in the same boat as you. I sometimes cook DH steak as a treat. It depends how well done your DP likes steak as to how long you cook it for. If rare just cook it for a couple of minutes on each side so it's still largely pink in the middle, and if well done just cook it until all the pink goes. If medium just cook it until there's a little bit of pink left in the middle.

I usually have quorn peppered 'steaks' as my substitute, but veggie burgers or grilled / fried halloumi can also work pretty well.

I'm veggie, often cook steak. Heat the pan, really hot. Oil the steak, pop it in the pan, cook for 1 minute, turn it, then season it, turn after 1 minute and season the other side. Thats cooked rare. Turn twice more at30 second intervals for medium rare, another set of 30 seconds for medium. Not worth eating if more cooked!
Def. kebabs or stuffed mushroom as a side, with a lovely crisp salad and cold beer. Followed by chocolate cake.

• buy a really good piece of steak - fillet for tenderness & lean or sirloin or ribeye for flavour if he doesn't mind a bit of fat
• bring steak to room temp before starting to cook
• bring pan to v high heat
• lightly oil & season the steak
• pop it in the pan, don't push it about, leave it to seal before turning
• we like rare so max 1 min each side if it is thinnish (under 1")
• add a knob of butter for last 30secs and baste
• REST it under foil for 10mins or so while you finish off the chips & veg

Enjoy.

Our Saturday dinner is steak/chips/peas for husband, stuffed peppers/chips/peas for me.

I am vegetarian but apparently very good at cooking meat. My lamb shank is particularly delicious, I'm told. I don't find steak difficult at all, but don't have a problem handling/pressing it to see how well (or not) it's cooked.

If it feels like:
Your cheek - rare
Your chin - medium
Your forehead - well done.

Or just cut into a bit and look

I got a Kobe beef steak for my bf's 40th. I chickened out at the last minute and got him to cook it as the thing cost me £25 and I was afraid of ruining it! I had a quorn peppered steak with it, chunky chips and béarnaise sauce.

Thinking of a piece of fillet apply the following formula:

Brush steak with oil.
Season well with salt and pepper (lots of pepper)
Leave to sit to come to room temperature.
Heat pan til very hot (preferably a griddle)
Add steak and cook for 1 min a side for blue/very rare with 8 mins resting wrapped in foil.
2 mins a side with 6 mins resting in foil for rare
3 mins a side with 4 mins resting for medium rare
4 mins a side with 2 mins resting for medium.
5 mins a side no resting for well done.

Steak is nice with béarnaise.

I normally stick a sharp knife in to check no blood coming out.

a) it's totally ruined in that case and b) the liquid that comes out of steak isn't blood.

Steak doesn't take long - 3 mins each side. So I'd be tempted to suggest he cooks it the way he likes it while you do everything else.

I would do this too.

Can I just point out that for everyone saying to cook the steak so many minutes per side, that it really depends on the size and thickness of the steak!

That being said, M&S do nice steaks with pretty easy to follow instructions; the really important things to remember are to oil the steak, not the pan, and to allow the steak to rest before serving.

Good job I'm not eating it then Rainmaker. DH knows better than to complain.

Good job I'm not eating it then Rainmaker. DH knows better than to complain.

I do also know the difference between clear meat juices and blood!

My DH would happily eat the steak raw so do check how bloody your dp likes his steak before commencing cooking! I also leave the steak out for half an hour or so before cooking it, as well as resting it for at least 2 minutes after cooking before serving.

Steak is really easy to cook! I like to rub olive oil, salt and pepper into the steak before I fry it. I let it sit out of the fridge to let it get to room temperature as well.

It depends on how he likes his steak how long you fry it on each side, ask him how he prefers it if you don't know.

With steaks ..season, sear and oven ( do not over cook or you'll end up with chewing gum!
We do a marinade with olive oil, loads of lea and perrins, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Or you could make a nice mushroom sauce for it.

Sorry...I'm married to a south African...meat is an important part of life for me now lol.

I hope it goes well
What a lovely thing to do, cooking meat as a veggie must be tough.

Xx

Love how people are suggesting the OP bugs and cooks vegetarian steaks/sausages when she and specifiacally said she wants to cook him meat

Do not buy quorn/Linda McCartney anything. As a meat eater I can honestly say they taste shite absolutley NOTHING like steak!

(I will add my dd is a vegetarian and I cook her veggie stuff all the time.)

Yeah have to admit if someone wanted to treat me to a steak and then fed me that awful quorn stuff I would wonder why they bothered

Why don't you ask him to cook it OP, how to have your steak is personal. I doubt he'll mind. Just cook everything else.

bake have you misread the thread or have i misread it?

the op has asked what she could have while her dp has steak.

So a lot of us have shared how we do a meal that both could have.

Ginky that will be me completely misreading the OP

Oh good I thought it was me

Thank you everyone for all your support and suggestions.
... tonight is the night! I'm taking your suggestions and i'm going to ask him to cook his steak (as it's so quick) as I don't trust myself to not ruin it.