**Not Endorsed**

So, you’ve signed up for a meal kit subscription box. Did you think you’d just be eating chicken and stir fry’s? Think again. This week I made (attempted) to make Steak Au Poivre–one of the recipes from my first Plated box.

Before we go into detail of my review, keep in mind that this recipe is from Plated, a weekly subscription box that sends you measured out produce and protein to bring your recipes from paper to plate. For more information, you can check them out -> here.

This meal consisted of: steak with a shallot pepper sauce, sauteed kale in garlic, and roasted fingerling potatoes with sliced shallots. The combination wasn’t bad at all.

Jumping into our steak–I am an anxious mess in the kitchen because my attempts at cooking steak are not that of a professional. One day I know I will master it, but do you know what that takes? Practice. Patience–and hope that I’m not spending too much money on a steak before being confident that it won’t be charred on the outside and so red you can still hear it “moo” on the inside.

This recipe was definitely a challenge for me because it was the first subscription meal kit that had a recipe for steak. The sides were fingerling potatoes and sauteed garlic and kale, which meant that most of my focus could be on the steak.

In general, I feel like a cast iron skillet is the best for searing and cooking steaks (if you’re not grilling them). I don’t know what level Plated expects its subscription chefs to be, but there were no tips on what skillet should be used. This recipe, in particular was marked as “easy”. I couldn’t reference the pictures from previous experience of cooking steak indoors. I felt less confident not being told what was expected of me. I do expect a little bit more guidance from these recipes.

In the end, the steaks did turn out alright–they were cooked to a nice medium-rare, but I definitely watched the meat closely rather than depending on the recipe suggested time. This is the first subscription box where the times have failed me on more than one occasion. Again, it all depends on what you’re using. I was using an electric stove, so I still have to watch everything I make very closely regardless of what the recipe says.

How did Plated do?

For this being the first recipe that I’ve tried from Plated, I have to say that my experience was a little bit more bitter than I’ve had with other subscriptions. I’m one of those people that tends to get stressed out pretty easily, and that doesn’t exclude cooking. We’ll certainly get into more about Plated in a separate post, but for now…let’s focus on the recipe and what we actually thought of it.

Grey’s Grade: 4.5/5

Overall, the dish was very tasty. Now, if I was a little bit more seasoned in cooking steak (ONE DAY), then it would have been perfect. By roasting the potatoes and sauteing the kale, it gives you more time to focus on the steak, which is incredibly important. The entire meal came together very quickly and it offered yet another tasty combination of flavors. The only reason this recipe did not get a perfect 5/5 was due to some aspects around the subscription box itself. On its own, it’s fantastic and makes for a great meal that can be made during the week OR on the weekend.

This recipe is also simple enough that it can be made with every day ingredients. Nothing in this recipe included anything that couldn’t easily be found at a local grocery store.

For more reviews of Plated recipes and the subscription box itself–make sure you follow my blog for notifications of new posts.

As always, I wish you all a wonderful weekend and happy nomming!

-Grey