Peppered NY steak

Before Emeril Lagasse morphed into a bullfrog, he hosted my favorite tv show.

It was called "Emeril Live," and as a 9-year-old foodie, it was the best thing on television.

His cooking was magical.

Emeril brought Louisiana cooking to life in his own charismatic, over-the-top, sometimes dangerous style.

Creating traditional dishes right in front of the drooling, middle-aged women in his audience, who paid a king's ransom to sit at the chef's table in front of him.

"Make some friends," he'd say to the star-struck woman in the center, setting an extra-large bowl of steaming jambalaya in front of her.

As her table mates greedily converged, he'd introduce his next dish.

Everything about Emeril’s cooking was memorable.

The mountains of shellfish, the brown roux, the prolific use of spices, and the "trinity" of green bell pepper, celery and onion that formed the base of flavor in his dishes.

But his sense of flair would often get out of hand, as he'd casually dust the rims of plates with cayenne pepper.

I thought it was a mistake, the first time I saw him do it.

"Emeril, you missed!" I yelled at the TV. "Spices go on the food - not the plate, you dim-witted Cajun!"

Chalk it up to being eccentric; everyone has a signature kitchen move.

It's not mine, though.

I'm an enthusiastic user of spices in cooking, and you'll taste them in my marinades, stews, sauces, meat and fish seasonings....

But never on the rim of a plate.

This week's SIMPL recipe stars one of my favorite spice blends that's usually buried somewhere in the back of the spice rack until around mid-October.

Pumpkin pie spice.

It's lightly toasted in a pan to bring out an extra dimension of flavor.

Then it's combined with butter, agave syrup and orange juice, and tossed with diced sweet potatoes, forming a sweet, rich glaze with an aroma that reminds me of spiced rum as it's roasting in the oven.

5 servings of New York steak are given a generous treatment of fresh-ground black pepper, then seared in a pan to medium-rare. Before plating, I like to slice the steak at a 45 degree angle, which makes it fan out nicely on a plate (or meal prep box).

Blanched haricots vert (French green beans) give the dish some bright green color and a healthy crunch.

With only 11 ingredients, this tasty, high-protein dish took me 90 minutes to cook, so the when I say it’s SIMPL, I mean it.

Here's the nutrition breakdown for 1 serving of this recipe:

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