Four Alarm Fire? Nope...just pan seared steak.

Ever since our awesome dinner at St. Elmo's in Indy last month, I've been wanting to try cooking steak in our cast iron skillet to sear in the juices. So last night, with Rachel happily eating Puffies in her bouncer, I got out the skillet and gave it a try. All was going well. I had turned the first steak over and it had the wonderful crispiness that was sealing in the juices. It wasn't until the second steak went in the pan that things got interesting. About 30 seconds after starting the second steak, the smoke detectors went off. I probably should have turned on the vent above the stove... I got out the broom and hit the reset button on the alarm...yelling "Ooops! Sorry!!" up the stairs to Nick. I no more than got back to the stove to check on my steak and they went off again. Rachel thought this was all very interesting watching Mommy run around with the broom. Pepper, on the other hand, did not find this very fun and was searching out a spot where the screaming alarm wouldn't burst her eardrums. The second time, Nick came down the stairs with a grin on his face. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" I said, this time opening windows to help air out the smoke. The dectors went off yet a third time...thankfully, this time the steak was about done.
I had also made potatoes in the oven....along with roasted asparagus. Unfortunately, the potatoes stuck to the pan...and while they tasted good, the pan was a mess. This is when I knew I'd better offer to clean up my charred mess!
I called Nick to dinner saying "It tastes better than it sounds, I promise!!".
As Nick filled his plate, he took one look at the pans and said "I'm so glad I'm not doing the dishes." HA.
I think I'll leave the pan seared steak to St. Elmo's. Or at least make sure I have all the windows open before I try it again.