Gastronomically speaking, it doesn’t take a lot to put a smile on my face. And sometimes, the more simple, the bigger the smile.

A steak and a baked potato are as basic as basic can be – but with the tiniest little tweaks, they can become awesome.

The tiny tweaks tonight started with a spice sample I got from Penzey’s – Chicago Steak Seasoning. I have often said that I don’t buy or use a lot of spice blends – except for the dozen or so that I always use – so when this one arrived with my last order, I was a bit skeptical. I used it, tonight, and I must admit that it’s pretty good. It’s a blend of: salt, Tellicherry black pepper, sugar, garlic, onion, lemon zest, citric acid and natural hickory smoke flavor. And it works.

I cooked the steaks on a cast iron skillet and then finished them off in the oven. Since I was baking a potato, I heated the skillet in the oven. It was nice and hot when I put the steaks on…

I baked a potato, split it in half and added a bit of butter. On top went steamed broccoli in a quick cheese sauce – butter, flour, milk, jack cheese and a bit of garlic powder. Simple as simple can be.

Added to the plate were a couple of slices of fresh-baked bread. I held off on the butter, but there were some nice steak juices to sop up.

A single steak cut in half. A single potato cut in half. Really simple and a really big smile.