Charred Pepper Butter Grilled Ribeye with Radish Salad

and some thoughts on the joy of collaboration

As a freelancer, I spend a lot of time working solo—chipping away at projects, finding new ways to stay motivated, and embracing the freedom that comes with it. While I doubt I’ll ever miss the office environment, I do miss the built-in social aspect of having coworkers.

Every now and again, us freelancers get the bright idea to team up on a project or event, and when we do, it’s pure ~chicken soup for the soul~. The collaboration, the laughs, the motivation to put on a real outfit—it’s the perfect medicine when the solitude of freelance life is getting you down.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much more individualistic and socially isolated we’ve become, thanks in large part to the convenience of technology and straight-up addiction to social media. That on top of working for myself mostly from home, fughettaboutit. We hardly even go to the store anymore. I mean why bother when everything is a tap away on our phones? I’m just as guilty as anyone, but recently, I’ve found a lot of joy in shopping locally. Instead of ordering some tiny doo-dad from Amazon, I’ll walk to a neighborhood shop and buy it in person. As a result, I feel more connected to my community, more fulfilled throughout the day, and more aware of just how much is available right in my neighborhood.

So what does this have to do with food, cooking, and collaborating with friends? Well, as much as I love the flexibility of freelancing, working alone all the time can be a little... crazy-making. And sometimes, the best way to shake off that feeling is by creating something with someone else and spending working hours with friends.

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind of collaboration with some of my closest friends and fellow chefs, and it’s reminded me just how much I love working alongside fun people who make work feel like a hangout.

My friend Marissa and I recently cross-tested 75 recipes for a cookbook under a serious time crunch, which meant an uptick of FaceTimes, texts, and calls—not just to troubleshoot, but sometimes just to gab. She was my first real friend in LA—the one who made my new-to-me city feel like home. We used to work directly across from each other and cook daily family meals for the team, the days flew by. Now that she’s in Minneapolis, working on a project together was exactly what I needed to get through the February gloom.

Then,

Alexis deBoschnek

rolled into town and together with our girl,

Sara Tane

, we dreamt up a vibrant spring menu and planned a mini block shoot at Sara’s to capture all the deliciousness. Alexis and I are bonded for life through our time together at BuzzFeed Tasty, where she was maybe my boss? We’re still not totally clear on that. Now we have a long-distance love affair that consists of a lot of phone time so having her here IRL was a real treat. Sara and I met via a shot in the dark email I sent her to “meet up sometime” back in 2022? And since she moved to this side of town we’re pretty inseparable. Lucky me!

Once upon a time, the phrase block shoot sent shivers down my spine and robbed me of sleep. Back in the day, that meant gearing up for a hellish week of managing the execution of 15 to 18 recipes over four shoot days—juggling multiple food stylists, producers, and the pressure of cranking out commercial-quality videos, all while double-masking under COVID restrictions. Like hello!? Was that even me in there?? That’s an in-person collaborative job experience I do not yearn for. But this? This was different. This felt like a return to the kind of creative spark that can be hard to capture when working solo.

Alexis made Crispy Halloumi and Zhoug Smashed Potatoes —a dish so good I ate it with nearly everything for days. Sara made a light, bright Toasted Coconut, Hazelnut, and Biscoff Parfait with mango curd. (Yurm. Could be breakfast, could be dessert, could be both.) And I made Charred Pepper Butter Grilled Ribeye with Radish Salad, which I’ll be sharing below. We all walked away agreeing that it was perhaps, a perfect meal.

Shooting with friends and enjoying the food together at the end was such a massive upgrade from the solo shoots I do in my apartment that I fear I won’t be able to go back.

To cap off an absolutely banner first quarter of cooking with friends, I catered an engagement party brunch for 35—alongside two fellow chef friends—with

Amanda Berrill

and Natalie along for the ride. Amanda, with whom I share an unshakable bond thanks to some truly trying times in the test kitchen (swirled together, of course, by so many fun weekends I’ve lost count). And Nat, who I became close with through Amanda—who, funnily enough, grew up just one town over from me in New Jersey.

Together, we whipped up a beautiful spread, had a blast, and wrapped it all up with tinis afterward. Just another reminder that work doesn’t always feel like work when you’re with the right people.

I’m sharing a recipe from that event in my next newsletter—keep an eye out!

So yeah, I could’ve talked about how eating radishes during radish season is good for your health for xyz reasons. And maybe that would be enough to counterbalance the nutritional reality of a ribeye slathered in butter. But for today I’m going to stick to focusing on the mental health benefits of nurturing friendships, getting out of your house, engaging in your community, and sharing your creativity and food with cool people.

Charred Pepper Butter Grilled Ribeye with Radish Salad

Ingredients

Charred Pepper Butter Grilled Ribeye

2 large anaheim or Italian frying peppers, about 6 ounces

1 stick salted butter, softened to room temperature

Zest of 1 lime

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 large bone-in ribeye, about 20 ounces

Copious amounts of kosher salt

Radish Salad

3 to 4 medium radishes, varying colors and sizes, thinly sliced and halved depending on their circumference, you want roughly 1/2-inch size pieces

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

1 cup loosely packed watercress

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions

Juice of 1 lime

A good drizzle of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

preparation

1. Make the charred pepper butter: Preheat the grill on medium-high until it reaches between about 450˚F.

2. Add the peppers to the grill and roast until charred on all sides, turning occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the grill and set into a medium bowl and cover with a lid to steam and continue cooking, about 30 minutes.

3. Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, stem, seeds, and pith and discard.

4. Add the peppers to the bowl of a food processor with the butter, lime zest, coriander, and a pinch of salt. Process until the peppers are completely broken down and the butter is a homogenous green color. Remove from the processor and set aside until ready to use.

5. *this step can be done ahead of time and the butter will keep in your fridge for up to 5 days. So you may or may not turn off your grill at this point.

6. Make the radish salad: In a medium bowl mix together the radishes, watercress, cilantro, scallion, lime juice, olive oil and salt. Stir together to coat the radishes so they soften slightly. Set aside while you prepare the ribeye.

7. Make the ribeye: Heat the grill on high and get the temperature up to between 500-600˚F.

8. Generously salt the steak on all sides with kosher salt.

9. Sear the steak for 4 to 5 minutes before flipping and cooking for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. The steak should have a golden brown crust on the outside and be tender on the inside. If you like to temp your meat, I’d aim for about 129˚F before pulling off the grill.

10. Top the hot steak with a good dollop of the charred pepper butter as it rests for about 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into slices and seasoning with flaky salt.

11. Top with the radish salad and some more charred pepper butter on the side.