I made the most exciting purchase this weekend!
Back story – last year at the 2010 Des Moines Art Festival I stumbled upon an incredible, couch-sized painting depicting a sweet little white house plopped right in the middle of a flat green field, framed by a bright blue sky and accented with the cutest kite-flying girl you ever did see. It was so Midwest. I was dying to have it.
Titled “Summer Daydream”, the massive painting cost more than one month’s paycheck, and where the heck would I put a 7 foot wide painting anyways, so purchasing it was out of the question. What I could afford (and fit in my house!) though, was the festival’s commemorative poster featuring the exact same painting. What luck!
Foolishly I waited until the very last day of the festival to go and purchase the poster, and by the time I got there they were completely. out. “Noooooooo!” I remember wailing (mature) when I heard the news.
There was something about that lonely house, open field and whimsical kite that struck a chord in me. Alas, it seemed there was nothing I could do to make it mine.
Fast forward one year later to the 2011 Art Festival that took place this weekend, and what do I find as I’m browsing through the new commemorative items for sale? MY 2010 POSTER! FRAMED! $100! WHEE!
I scribbled a check so fast my hand blurred, marched out of the festival with the poster tucked under my arm and promptly hung it on my wall. I don’t even want/need to know why a poster they were supposedly out of last year was randomly out and found by me this year. It was fate. I love it so much!
Then I found $50. Just kidding! I just had no way of transitioning out of that story…
So…in other news, I took some inspiration from a recipe included in Hy-Vee’s weekly flyer and made Warm Steak, Feta & Artichoke Salad for dinner tonight!
Greek-meets-grill in this quick & easy dinner. Greek = crumbly feta cheese, vine ripened tomatoes and tangy artichoke hearts. Grill = rare & buttery rib eye steak!
Ben and I tag teamed this recipe, which came together in about 20 minutes.
He started us off by seasoning a couple rib eye steaks with his signature steak spice rub: garlic salt, black pepper and olive oil.
Sprinkle lots of everything on, rub it in, then grill those puppies over high heat for 3 minutes on one side, then 2 minutes on the other.
While Ben manned the grill, I cooked up some pasta and threw in fresh green beans to soften up when the pasta was nearly done cooking.
Then I got to work crumbling up a pile of flavor-packed feta cheese.
LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THIS PACKAGE! (twss) Bigger than my head!
Euphrates was started by the same guy who started my beloved Chobani, and the company sent me this eNoRmOuS block of their feta cheese to try.
With just 3 ingredients, this feta is much less salty and shocking to the taste buds than, well, pretty much every other feta cheese I’ve ever had. It was delightfully mild, and really creamy too!
When the steaks were cooked and had rested for 10 minutes, I cubed them up and tossed them in with the cooked pasta, green beans, feta cheese, artichoke hearts and homemade basil balsamic vinaigrette.
Topped with fresh tomatoes and extra feta cheese for a burst of flavor!
Warm Steak, Feta & Artichoke Salad
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
2-8oz rib eye steaks
garlic salt, pepper, olive oil
8oz dry pasta
1 cup fresh green beans, ends trimmed off then cut in half
1 can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
3/4 cup feta cheese, divided
1 large tomato, chopped
Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt, pepper
Directions:
1. Pre-heat grill to high. Generously season steaks with garlic salt, pepper and olive oil on both sides and rub the seasoning in. Let them sit on the counter for 10 minutes before grilling for 3 minutes on one side, then 2 minutes on the other. Remove the steaks to a plate and allow to rest for 7-10 minutes, before cutting them up into bite-sized pieces.
2. Cook pasta in salted, boiling water according to package directions. When the pasta has 3 minutes left to cook, add green beans into the boiling water to soften. Drain and return to the pot.
3. Add artichoke hearts, 1/2 cup feta cheese, and steak into the pot with the pasta and green beans. Whisk together basil balsamic vinaigrette, pour on top and toss everything to coat. Plate salad and top with fresh tomatoes and remaining feta cheese.
All the flavors in this dish totally clicked with each other – and that rib eye was sooooo tender and flavorful. Why in the heck do I not buy rib eye more often?!
The great thing about this salad is you can totally change it up and add or sub in whatever you’ve got on hand. Swap the green beans for asparagus. Ditch the pasta for a bed of baby spinach. Cube up chicken instead of steak. Whatever you do though – don’t forget the feta and balsamic vinaigrette. It really brings it all together! 
In dessert news, I had a total DUUUUHREALLYKRISTIN?!?! moment today when I realized I never checked the cook book Ben’s late Grandmother gave us when we got married, for Cookie Cake!
This book is full of Gwen’s favorite recipes that she typed up, then hand wrote where she got it, why it was special, and other fun tidbits.
I must have missed the recipe every time I’ve flipped through it, because lo & behold, there it was – smack in the middle of the cake tab – COOKIE CAKE!
As soon as I told Ben, he raced out to get the two ingredients I was missing to make his beloved cake – buttermilk and sugar (I know, who allows themselves to run out of sugar?) An hour later, we had Cookie Cake! Well, the remnants of cookie cake, anyways. 
Light and fluffy, yet rich and dripping with buttery, chocolaty icing. OMG!!!!
Ben wouldn’t say for sure if it tasted like Grandma’s (I don’t think it ever will) but I got a good whoop, expletive and a “Best cake you’ve ever made baby!!”
I’ll take it!
Sadly Ben is not in a sharing mood, and wishes to keep his Grandmother’s Cookie Cake recipe a family secret for now, but I’ll let you know if/when he changes his mind. I will say that The Pioneer Woman’s Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. is very, very close in flavor. Cookie Cake is just a little more light & fluffy though!
Mmmkay – I am off to enjoy the rest of my evening before it’s back to the grind tomorrow. Can you believe July 4th is NEXT WEEK?! Ahhh! Freaking out that summer is nearly 1/3 over, but getting excited for fireworks, baked beans and everything else that comes along with the 4th.
See you!
~~~~~
What kind of art work do you like best? Paintings, sculptures, pottery, jewelry, photographs?
I love, love, love photography – especially travel photography. Lisa Kristine is my very favorite!
oh yum, that cake looks beyond amazing.
my favorite type of art is definitely photography!
Score on the poster! LOVE! Your dinner & dessert both look like winners, too!
Fun post! I love paintings of almost any kind, but I’m not hot on abstract – too mysterious and overpriced.
I love the 4th of July! Baked Beans and ice cream here I come!
I am loving prints by Minnesota native, Rick Allen. I have at least three framed in my house and am always on the look out for new ones! He has a great “Taking The Plunge” print that is a standard wedding gift for our friends/family these days. Love him.
Oh I love your print. It is so Iowa..but modern. Very cool.
I’m pretty crazy about photography too…though I’ve definitely gotten more interested in paintings.
Freaking out so much that it’s almost July! But stoked that the time is flying even FASTER now that I finally got a new job! Whee. I love PW but the look on Ben’s face makes me antsy for grandma’s recipe
And beautiful picture!! My co-workers got me a print “what I love about Iowa” … it’s so cute…. when I left home last year. You’ll love having it in your house.
So glad you found that artwork. My husband and I bought and fred an amazing colorized photo of the Quad Cities (our first home together) at our local farmers market. I cannot think of a better thing for our livingroom wall. I tend to like photography best.
They sent me the same HUGE block of feta!! I can’t wait to crack that baby open. Everything is betta with feta!
The cookbook that Ben’s grandma made looks like such a treasure!
I understand how some recipes just want to be kept a secret, my husband is the same way with our spaghetti sauce recipe.
Yay for getting the poster you wanted!
I love dog sculptures… I know that is totally random but I do! I am currently hunting for the perfect dog sculpture for on my front steps. My aunt has two super cute dog sculptures, one of which she got at the Brooking Art Festival so I thing I may be headed there to check out the goods! I also love glazed pottery and unique paintings. We have a painting from Mexico that the artist made in front of us using only his thumbnail as a brush! It’s gorgeous!
Lisa Kristine’s work looks to be world class. Thank you for sharing that!
I love this picture too! So cute! Also, that steak salad looks super yummy.
I just have to say that your “and then I found $50″ totally cracked me up. My friends and I used to have this tradition of saying “and then I found a million dollars” when we realized a story we were telling was actually not that interesting. If you realized your story was REALLY lame you had to say “and then I found a BILLION dollars.” hehehe
Beauuuutiful. The picture AND the cheese. I love the way feta looks!
What?! You didn’t use the Wacky Mac called for in that recipe?
A friend of mine & I were discussing it & we decided that while it probably tastes okay, the pictures in the ad didn’t make it look all that appealing. Your version, I would eat!
As for art, I’m more of a photography & prints kind of gal. A blog friend of mine has an Etsy shop & she does a lot of collages that I’m dying to purchase. I’m also that there’s a Warhol exhibit down in Sioux Falls for the next couple months, and I’m hoping that there will be posters or print reproductions for sale!
Hahaha – Ben vetoed the wacky mac in the store. He wasn’t feeling it for some reason!
I used to work at Tone’s, and love that you use their product. But for the life of me i can’t understand why you would use garlic salt over garlic powder. Actually Tone’s granulated garlic is the best for cooking flavor.
This girl puts Garlic Salt on her cereal!
We want the flavor of garlic, and need salt, so we kill 2 birds with one stone.
You are so photogenic! When will we see you in the magazines again!?
That’s a lovely painting! And the cake looks fabulous!
What a fantastic gift from his g-mother. Those kind are the best, as evidenced by Ben’s appreciation of your cake!. The poster was a fantastic find! Good job all around!
Yay for getting the poster you wanted!
That steak salad looks incredible! I made sure to save this recipe. 
So sweet that you made Ben’s grandmother’s cake! It looks really tasty!
Congrats on the poster find! Meant to be for sure. The steak salad and grandma’s cake both look yummy, love the post! THANKS!
I don’t blame you for not sharing the Cookie Cake recipe!
I love the pasta dish y’all made. I’m pretty sure that everything is better with Feta. Ok, maybe not everything, but I love dishes made with Feta cheese!
props to Hy-Vee for a great recipe–that looks delicious and simple, perfect for summer!!
you are AMAZING at taking photos!!!
and that meal looks SO SO GOOD…think it would taste good with salmon?
Ooo – I’m sure it would be delish with salmon instead!
Ben, you stingy little turd!
Sigh. The Cookie Cake looks so heavenly, and this is coming from a guy who loves sweets and is born to make desserts. *bribe bribe* Any chance of convincing Ben ol’ boy into releasing the famous Cookie Cake recipe?
Oooh… I asked around and a friend of mine had tons of relatives in Iowa. They pointed me to this recipe… some of the ingredients, including BUTTERMILK, had the same measurements that were displayed on that cookie cake recipe photo elsewhere in this blog.
It’s called Chocolate Cookie Sheet Cake. Here it is:
http://www.grouprecipes.com/49022/chocolate-cookie-sheet-cake.html
Now off I go to make it!
That cake isn’t my grandma’s cookie cake. There are definitely no pecans anywhere in it and you definitely don’t frost a hot (or even warm) cake otherwise the frosting never sets. I’ve made that mistake before.
Also, I agree with Ben on keeping the recipe in the fam for now. And, Kristin, grandma taught me how to make it and I know there are a few things she never wrote down so if you want those secrets the next time you make it, let me know; I know how obsessive our family gets about that cake.
I just don’t get not sharing the “family secret”. Why not?
I sure Grannie would love to have alot of people
enjoy her dessert and not just a handful of family members.
Am I wrong?
Sherry
[...] 2011 by Iowa Girl Eats I’m thinking about changing the name of the blog to Iowa Girl Eats steaks, ribs and other manly meals. Whataya [...]
Late as always, but I made this last night for dinner (sans tomatoes, of course) and I couldn’t believe how GOOD it was. The flavors go so well together. And there’s enough left for dinner tonight – win, win, win in my book!
I would totally keep the recipe secret. Some things are sacred!
[...] Balsamic Artichoke Pasta Salad (similar to this recipe.) [...]
I love that you are an unapologetic eater of red meat. I completely understand.
NomNOM! Gonna make this soon. Glad my daughter sent me the link to your recipe. Great blog here. Will be back…and follow if I can find the little widget. :@)