Frites Olympique
The Olympics kick off Friday night in Paris and if you ever needed an excuse to fire up something French for dinner, now would be an appropriate time. But, honestly, do you really ever need an excuse?

For those who want to go all out while watching the Opening Ceremonies, there are so many amazing possibilities for French noshing. A French-inspired charcuterie platter would be fantastique with a little brie, port salut, camembert, or, one of my favorites, Boursin. Add some paté, a little jambon (French ham), a bunch of crispy cold grapes, a few cornichons, a lovely French mustard, and some sliced baguette and you’ve got yourself un repas fantastique!

Personally, I think the best bet would be to go with a tried-and-true staple of many a Paris bistro, Steak Frites. Steak Frites is a simple dish of a well-prepared steak accompanied by equally well-cooked potato fries. Very simple. When paired with the French wine of your choice you could almost imagine being seated outdoors on the banks of the Seine with the faint sounds of La Vie En Rose playing in the distance. Ahhh! Il n’y a pas mieux que ça. (Translation: It doesn’t get better than that.)

I’m not going to lie, you could drive yourself crazy looking for the perfect recipe for steak frites. YouTube alone can send you down a rabbit hole from which there is no return. The reality is that it doesn’t matter if you use a bearnaise sauce, a green pepper sauce, or even a compound butter on top of your steak. Any way you choose to make it, you will have a steak and french fries and you can never really go wrong with that.

Steak Frites Recipe
Adapted from Food and Wine
Yields 6 Servings

This classic French bistro dish, steak frites, gets its finesse from perfectly medium-rare rib eyes topped with a dollop of Roquefort butter. Then it is paired with golden, crispy fries.

The frites get their soft interior and crisp crust from a two-step frying process. The first step is to fry them at a lower temperature so they cook through. And, then at a higher temperature to crisp them.

Ingredients
6 1/2-pound rib eye steaks
5-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce Roquefort cheese, at room temperature
4 large baking potatoes
Peanut oil, for deep-frying
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus more to taste

Directions
Bring the butter and Roquefort cheese to room temperature. Melt 1-1/2 tablespoons of the butter.

Brush the steaks with the melted butter and season with pepper. Then allow the steaks to come to room temperature.

In a small bowl, beat the 4 tablespoons of butter with the Roquefort until blended.

Prep the potatoes
Peel the potatoes and slice them lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Cut the slices into 1/4-inch-wide sticks and soak in ice water (for about 15 minutes).

Fry the potatoes
For the first frying, heat 2 inches of oil to 325°F in a deep-fryer or a large saucepan. Drain the potatoes and blot them completely dry with a towel.

Divide the potatoes into 4 batches and fry each batch until cooked through but not browned (about 4 to 6 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried potatoes to paper towels to drain.

Cook the steak
Light a grill. Generously season the steaks with salt and grill over a hot fire (about 4 to 6 minutes per side) for medium rare. Alternatively, pan-fry the steaks over moderately high heat for about 4 minutes per side.

Finish frying the potatoes
Reheat the oil to 375°F. Fry the potatoes until crisp and golden brown (about 1 to 2 minutes per batch). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the frites to fresh paper towels to drain.

To serve
Top each steak with a spoonful of Roquefort butter and serve the frites on the side.