French Country Salad with Lemon Dijon

Homemade Fettuccine with Cream Sauce

Steak Au Poivre

Chocolate Lava Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream

French country salad with citrus vinaigrette

• 1 (5 oz.) bag of arugula
• 4oz asparagus, tough ends trimmed
• olive oil, to drizzle over asparagus
• sea salt, to sprinkle over asparagus
• 1/4 cup sliced cooked beets, canned, jarred, home-cooked
• 1/4 cup whole walnuts or pecans, toasted
• 1 oz crumbled goat cheese

For the vinaigrette

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 oz olive oil
• 1 clove small garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheetwith a piece of parchment paper. Cut the asparagus into 1 1/2″ long pieces. Spread the asparagus out onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the asparagus along with a sprinkle of sea salt. Roast for 4 to 5 minutes, until the asparagus is tender but still has a bite. Allow the asparagus to cool before using.
2. Toss the arugula with the asparagus in a large bowl; temporarily set aside.

To create the dressing

1. Whisk all of the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl

1. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette until everything is lightly coated in the dressing. Then garnish the salad with the sliced beets, toasted nuts, and crumbled goat cheese.

Fresh Pasta Dough

yield: 2 servings

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

  Making fresh pasta dough is fun and very easy. Traditionally, the dough is mixed directly on a board or counter but it is acceptable to begin the dough in a bowl to limit the cleanup. Laminate counter tops are fine for kneading dough but natural or engineered stone is best as it is non-porous and maintains constant temperature, especially important when working with yeast doughs.

  In a bowl or on a countertop, combine the salt and flour. Using your fingers, create a well in the center of the mound, being sure that the well’s walls are equally thick and high. In a separate container, combine eggs and olive oil. Scramble eggs with a fork to incorporate oil.

  Add 1/3 of egg/oil mixture to center of well. Using a swirling motion, pull flour from inner walls of well into eggs and mix until it forms a thick paste. If working on a countertop, be careful not to break through the walls of the well as egg will run out over the work surface. When center is no longer runny, add half of remaining egg mixture and stir to paste. Add remaining liquid and repeat. Continue to mix until fork is no longer effective and then turn dough out onto work surface.

  Knead dough by flattening, folding it in half and pressing hard with the palm of your hand. Rotate 90’ and repeat over and over until dough is a consistent color (no patches of flour or egg mixture) and begins to feel springy. Pasta dough should be visibly bumpy but soft and smooth to the touch. To test, press a finger into dough. The depression made by your finger should spring back almost entirely. Flatten dough into a disk 1 ½ inches thick, wrap with saran and place in cooler to rest for 20-30 minutes or until finger divot does not bounce back. This means that the gluten that was excited in the kneading process has relaxed and the dough is ready to be rolled and cut.

White wine cream sauce

  yield: 2

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup parmesan

 ½ cup white wine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon veggie oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat add veggie oil and garlic, as soon the garlic is aromatic Add white wine. Cook wine down until the pan is almost dry then add heavy cream and cheese. Mix until cheese is fully melted then season with salt and pepper.

Steak Au Poivre

2 thick-cut Steaks Beef Tenderloin or NY Strip steak, 6-8 ounces, about 1 1/2 – inches thick

Coarse salt

1Tablespoon whole black peppercorns crushed

1 Tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons brandy

1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

1. At least 30 minutes up to an hour before cooking remove the steaks from the fridge. Sprinkle all sides of steaks with salt. Just before cooking, pat steaks dry with paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Generously coat all sides of steaks with the fresh ground black pepper, pressing it into the steaks.
2. Heat a large heavy cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil. Just as butter begins to smoke, place steaks in pan for medium rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side. Adjust cook time for desired doneness, using a meat thermometer for doneness. Transfer to plate, cover loosely with foil.
3. Turn burners off. Carefully pour Cognac into hot frying pan. Carefully light the alcohol with a lighter and swirl the pan around until the flame burns out. Turn heat back on to medium. Whisking until sauce lightly thickens, about 6-8 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, pour sauce over steaks.

Steak temperature:

Rare 125F, Medium Rare 135F, Medium 145F, Medium well 150F Well done 160F

Truffle Aioli (Truffle Garlic Mayo)

Ingredients

½ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon white or black truffle oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

½ teaspoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic grated

kosher salt or sea salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

Whisk – Add mayonnaise, truffle oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and garlic to a bowl and whisk until combined.

Brownie pudding (chocolate lava cobbler)

  yield: 8

1 cup flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons veggie oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 ½ cup hot water

Preheat oven 350

Grease 9×9 pan

In a small bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, milk, veggie oil, and vanilla. The batter will be very thick. Pour into prepared pan, spread evenly.

In a small bowl combine brown sugar and remaining cocoa powder, pour over top of thick batter. DON’T MIX.

Pour hot water on top and place in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.