Steak Au Poivre

 Fresh Pasta- Brown Sage Butter sauce

Caprese Salad

 Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

STRAWBERRY AVOCADO CAPRESE SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients  

• 1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup mozzarella pearls, extra mini
• 1/2 cup sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup ripe strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1/2 large semi-ripe avocado, diced and sprinkled with lime juice
• 1/4 cup basil leaves, torn to small pieces
• ¼ cup olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Optional: honey roasted almonds, chopped or slivered

Instructions

1. Balsamic Reduction: In a small saucepan, add the balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil. Boil and stir 3-4 minutes or just until liquid is reduced by about half; should be thick and syrup-like. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool to room temp.
2. Toss:When ready to serve, add all remaining ingredients to a large platter or bowl, folding very gently with rubber spatula. Add kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and then with balsamic glaze, sprinkle with almonds if desired, and serve immediately.

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.

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Brown Butter and Sage Sauce

yeild: 2 servings                                                                           

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in ½ inch cubes

1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped

½ tablespoon sherry vinegar

Fine sea salt and ground black pepper

  Melt 6 tablespoons butter is a medium skillet at medium-low heat. When butter melts and foam subsides, increase heat to medium. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until butter begins to brown and takes on a light brown color and nutty aroma. Add sage

Steak Au Poivre

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

Coarse salt

1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns crushed

1/2 Tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup Cognac

1/2 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. Reduce by ½ then add cream. Then whisk 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

Strawberry Ice Cream

Yield: 8 servings

2 ½  cups heavy cream

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar

6 large egg yolks

1 cup frozen strawberries

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Prepare ice bath

  In a small saucepan, heat half of strawberries on medium-low heat until they are broken apart and syrupy. Remove from heat and press through a fine-mesh sieve to remove seeds. Set aside to cool.

 In a medium saucepan, combine cream, milk, sugar and salt. At medium heat, bring mixture to 170-180 degrees, careful not to boil. Stir constantly to dissolve sugar and keep dairy products from scalding. Mixture is ready when bubbles appear around edges and steam begins to rise.

  In a medium mixing bowl, add egg yolks and whisk vigorously until they become fluffy and turn a pale yellow color.

  Move mixing bowl up against side of saucepan. Using an 8 oz ladle, drizzle hot cream mixture into egg yolks, slowly at first but with increasing speed on following ladles. Continue until 80% of cream is added and mixing bowl is hot to the touch. Transfer egg and cream mixture back to saucepan and heat on low until custard thickens slightly, careful not to let any of eggs cook to bottom of the pan. If whisked vigorously, foam will appear on top but will disappear quickly when mixture begins to thicken.

  Strain through fine-mesh sieve into clean bowl and set in ice bath, stirring occasionally to cool evenly. Add strained raspberries and whisk to fully incorporate.  When mixture is below 50 degrees, transfer to ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.

  When ice cream is finished churning, add fresh uncooked strawberries and fold to incorporate. Transfer ice cream to freezer until ready to serve.

  Serve in chilled bowl or ramekin.