Valentine’s Beef Wellington
Beef Wellington
Sun Dried Tomato Risotto
Brie Stuffed Mushrooms
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
with Heart Shaped Mocha Cookie
Beef Wellington
yield: 2
ingredients
Tenderloin
4 sheets prosciutto
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ t thyme
4 oz mushrooms, minced
¼ c Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Puff pastry
Egg wash
Preheat oven 400F
In a large skillet over high heat add oil. Season steak and add to hot skillet. Sear all sides and remove from pan. Turn heat down to medium and add mushrooms, cook until all liquid and steam dissipates, add garlic and thyme, cook until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside. Coat meat with mustard and wrap in prosciutto. Lay puff pastry out and add mushroom mixture. Then add meat and wrap puff pastry around. Lay the wellington on a sheet tray lines with parchment paper seam side down. Coat with egg wash and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes depending on the desired temperature.
Sun Dried Tomato Risotto
INGREDIENTS
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 oz sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oi
- 3/4 cup arborio rice
- ¼ cup dry white wine or sub more vegetable broth
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese plus more for serving
- 2 tablespoon freshly chopped herbs plus more for serving parsley and/ or basil
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large saucepan cook the onion in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes.
- While the onions are softening bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the tomatoes, cook for 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes, set aside. Turn the broth down to warm.
- Add the garlic to the onions, cook for 1 minute. Add the rice, stirring until each grain is coated with oil, and stir in the tomatoes. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates, stirring as needed.
- Add ½ cup of the simmering liquid and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the liquid, ½ cup at a time, stirring every 30 seconds and letting each portion be absorbed before adding the next until the rice is tender but still al dente. Between 15 and 20 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the risotto with the parsley.
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Classic Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons
yield: 2 servings
½ head trimmed Romaine lettuce, cut in 1 inch slices
2 ½ inch slices Italian bread, cut in cubes
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese, grated
½ teaspoon anchovy paste (or 1 small filet mashed)
½ lemon, juiced
¼ teaspoon plus ½ teaspoon garlic, minced and divided
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt and ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
Small block of parmesan or Romano cheese for garnish
In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 teaspoon garlic, anchovy, lemon and Dijon. Whisk to thoroughly mix. Add egg yolk and lemon whisking again quickly to combine and begin drizzling oil at slowest steady stream possible while whisking vigorously. If oil begins to pool, stop pouring and whisk until excess oil is emulsified. Continue adding oil until a lightly thickened dressing is formed. Taste and add salt and pepper to eliminate acidity of lemon. Set is cooler until needed.
In a small mixing bowl combine ½ teaspoon garlic and 1 tablespoon oil. Mix for 2 minutes to combine and extract garlic oils. Add bread cubes and toss quickly to evenly distribute garlic-oil min. Add parsley, fold in, and transfer croutons to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 3-5 minutes until cubes are golden brown but still chewy in the center. Set aside to cool.
To assemble the salad, Toss Romaine lettuce and Caesar dressing in a mixing bowl to lightly coat, using only half of dressing to begin. Add more dressing if desired uniformly coating the lettuce. Add croutons and fold until evenly distributed. Divide salad between 2 chilled salad plates and garnish with shaved or shredded parmesan block.
Brie Stuffed Mushrooms
INGREDIENTS
- 8Baby Bella Mushrooms
- 1small wedge of Brie cheese
- 1/3cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/4cup Pecorino Cheese
- 1/4cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1tsp fresh thyme chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 2tablespoons Olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Clean the mushrooms and remove the stem. Place them bottom side up on a baking dish. Put about 1 tablespoon of brie into each of the mushroom cavities.
- In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Fill the mushroom cavity with a small scoop of the bread crumb mixture.
- Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and then cheese is melted.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and serve.
The BEST Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate cookie Crust¹
1 ½ cups ground oreo’s(170g)
2-3 oz butter, melted
Cheesecake
32 oz cream cheese² softened to room temperature (910g)
1 cup sugar (200g)
⅔ cups sour cream (160g)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup white chocolate chips melted
2 cup frozen raspberries tossed lightly in flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
Prepare crust first by combining oreo crumbs and melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.
Pour crumbs into a 9” Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. Set aside.
Cheesecake
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl (using a hand mixer) add cream cheese and stir until smooth and creamy (don’t over-beat or you’ll incorporate too much air).
Add sugar and stir again until creamy.
Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and stir until well-combined. If using a stand mixer, make sure you pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
With mixer on low speed, gradually add lightly beaten eggs, one at a time, stirring just until each egg is just incorporated. Once all eggs have been added, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and make sure all ingredients are well combined. Mix in melted white chocolate and then fold in by hand the raspberries.
Pour cheesecake batter into prepared springform pan. To insure against leaks, place pan on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with foil.
Transfer to the center rack of your oven and bake on 325F (160C) for 50-60 minutes (or longer as needed, see note 3). Edges will likely have slightly puffed and may have just begun to turn a light golden brown and the center should spring back to the touch but will still be Jello-jiggly. Don’t over-bake or the texture will suffer, which means we all suffer.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on top of the oven⁴ for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes has passed, use a knife to gently loosen the crust from the inside of the springform pan (this will help prevent cracks as your cheesecake cools and shrinks). Do not remove the ring of the springform pan.
Allow cheesecake to cool another 1-2 hours or until near room temperature before transferring to refrigerator and allowing to cool overnight or at least 6 hours. I remove the ring of the springform pan just before serving then return it to the pan to store. Enjoy!
Chocolate Shortbread Heart Cookies
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature + 3 Tbls
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt together. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Between two sheets of waxed paper, roll the dough 1/4-inch thick as evenly as possible.
Chill for 30 minutes.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Cut out the cookies with a heart shaped or other cookie cutter. Arrange the cookies, on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until crisp and firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes and then transfer to a wire
cooling rack to cool completely.
When the cookies are cool dip the hearts into the melted chocolate. I only dipped about 1/4 of the heart. Sprinkle the chocolate section with sprinkles, if desired. Place the heart cookies on wax paper until the chocolate is completely set up.
