Flavor bomb? Flavor explosion? Flavor avalanche? You decide.

This past weekend was all about flavor. Flavor, flavor, and more flavor. Every ingredient, every step. The results were outrageous!

I decided that I wanted to make sliced ribeye sandwiches. But the more I craved them, the more ideas I had to make them even more bursting with flavor. Hence, my Ribeye "BAT" with Hot Sauce Fried Onion Rings. No, that is not a "BLT" typo. BAT = Bacon, Arugula, Tomato!

I started by making a horseradish sauce using one half cup of mayonnaise, one quarter cup of prepared horseradish, two tablespoons of whole grain mustard, salt, and pepper. I covered the bowl and stuck it in the refrigerator.

Next up was the bacon which I did on a parchment lined sheet pan. I covered the bacon with a second sheet of parchment and set a second sheet pan on top so that the bacon would stay flat and get crispy. I baked at 350 degrees for twenty minutes, removed the top sheet pan and let bake for five more minutes.

One of the stars of the sandwich was the hot sauce fried onion rings. I sliced one onion into rings and covered with bottled hot sauce for an hour, occasionally tossing for even coating.

The dredge was flour, cornmeal, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.

I heated several inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees, fried the onions in batches, and then set them on a rack to drain. Once finished, I popped the tray into a warming oven along with the tray of bacon while I worked on the rest.

My local grocery store had beautiful boneless ribeyes. This one was around one inch thick. I brought it to room temperature for even cooking, and generously seasoned both sides with salt and pepper.

I melted a tablespoon of butter with a tablespoon of olive oil and heated until the pan was screaming hot!

I cooked the steak for three minutes on one side, flipped it over, added two tablespoons of butter, one smashed garlic clove, and a sprig each of rosemary and thyme. I basted constantly while the second side cooked for three minutes and then removed it, covered in foil, and allowed it to rest for ten minutes before slicing.

PERFECT medium-rare!

Time to build this monster!

Step 1 - Layer of ARUGULA which I dressed in a lemon vinaigrette (lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper).

Step 2 - Layer of grape tomatoes which had been soaking in a garlic vinaigrette (chopped garlic heated in olive oil and combined with red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper).

Step 3 - A layer of horseradish sauce on the top half of the loaf.

Step 4 - Sliced ribeye which had been dipped in a homemade quick au jus (more on that in a bit).

Step 5 - A thick layer of crispy bacon.

Step 6 - A thick layer of fried onion rings.

Step 7 - Top the masterpiece!

Step 8 - Start salivating!

Instead of a fancy platter, I just sliced it and served on butcher's paper with the extra onion rings and a small bowl of au jus for dipping. To make the quick au jus, I melted two tablespoons of butter and added a tablespoon of flour plus one half teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder. I cooked for several minutes and then added two cups of beef stock and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. (For a thinner au jus, the flour can be omitted.)

And as if lunch was not bursting with enough flavor, take a look at this amazing S'mores Brownie Cake! Decadent and not an everyday dessert, but an occasional worthwhile treat and SO easy to make, despite not being from a box.

I began by melting two sticks of butter. Once melted, I added six ounces of chopped chocolate (60% cacao), two teaspoons of vanilla extract, a teaspoon of salt, and a teaspoon of espresso powder which enhanced the chocolate flavor.

In a separate bowl, I combined one and a half cups of granulated sugar with one half cup packed light brown sugar and then added the chocolate butter mixture.

To that, I added four room temperature eggs, one at a time and finally one cup of flour and one half cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, stirring until shiny and just combined.

I divided the batter evenly into two nine-inch cake pans which had the bottoms lined with parchment, coated with baking spray, and dusted with cocoa powder.

I baked in a 350 degree oven for twenty minutes and then used a cake taster to start checking every few minutes. The total baking time ended up around thirty five minutes.

Once the brownie cakes had fully cooled, I removed them from the pans and covered the top of one with a generous layer of marshmallow fluff, followed by a layer of crushed graham crackers, and then I added the second brownie cake.

The final decorations on the top and it was ready to go!

So how's THAT for a flavorful post? And more excitement is on the way!