Luscious Steak and Pasta

Roasted Beet Arugula Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Freshly made Fettuccini with Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce

 Steak Bites with Balsamic Glaze

Lemon Gelato

Beet, Orange and Arugula Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil or sunflower oil

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 large or 4 small beets, roasted, peeled, and cut in rounds or half-moons (depending on the size)

1 oranges, peel and pith removed, cut into slices or half-moons (depending on the size)

4 cups wild or baby arugula

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped walnuts

PREPARATION

Step 1

In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, sherry or red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and oils. Taste and adjust the acidity, adding a little more vinegar or orange juice if desired.

Step 2

Toss the beets with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Toss the arugula with 3 tablespoons of the remaining dressing and arrange on a platter or in a wide bowl. Arrange the beets and oranges on top of the arugula in an alternating pattern and drizzle on the remaining dressing. Top with the cilantro and walnuts, and serve.

TIP

Advance preparation: Roasted beets will keep for 4 days in the refrigerator. They can be prepared and tossed with the tablespoon of dressing, and the oranges can be prepared, several hours before assembling the salad.

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.

 Creamy Garlic Steak Fettuccine

  Yield: 2:

1 pasta recipe, prepped and cooked

1 cup cubed or sliced steak

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup parmesan

1 tablespoon parsley

½ cup chopped tomatoes

2 cups spinach

1 tablespoon balsamic glaze

In a large skillet over medium high heat add steak. Cook until caramelized then remove from pan. Add butter and garlic then cook until fragrant. Slowly pour in heavy cream while stirring to pick up any fond on bottom of pan. Once heavy cream in added bring to a boil and add tomatoes, and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Turn heat off, add cooked pasta to pan along with parmesan, parsley, and steak. Toss to fully coat and incorporate. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper then finish with balsamic glaze. Serve.

Lemon Gelato Recipe

SERVINGS 6

INGREDIENTS

125 ml lemon juice ½ cup (about 3 lemons)

150 g granulated sugar ¾ cup

250 ml milk 1 cup, whole and fresh

250 ml heavy cream 1 cup

INSTRUCTIONS

How to Make Lemon Gelato WITH Ice Cream Maker

Wash and squeeze the lemons. You will need about 125 ml (½ cup) of juice. Of course, it depends on the size of the lemons. About three lemons should be fine.

Strain the juice through a strainer to remove any seeds or peels.

Pour the strained juice into a larger container. Add the sugar to the lemon juice and stir.

Then add the heavy cream and finally the whole milk. Mix thoroughly with a spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Pour the mixture into the basket of the ice cream maker, close it and start. After about 40 minutes (time may vary depending on the model of the machine) your lemon gelato is ready!

How to Make Lemon Gelato WITHOUT Ice Cream Maker

Wash and squeeze the lemons. Strain the juice through a strainer to remove any seeds or peels.

Pour the juice into a larger bowl. Add the sugar and stir. Then add the very cold whole milk. Mix thoroughly with a spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Whip the cream with the help of a stand mixer or an electric whisk.

Then add the milk and lemon mixture and stir gently from bottom to top to combine. Pour the mixture into a gelato container and place it in the freezer for about 5 hours. Every 30 minutes you have to break the frozen surface. So remove from the freezer and mix for about 30 seconds using a hand whisk or an electric whisk on low speed.