Rosemary Garlic Steak with Caramelized Onions

This is a great straightforward way to prepare steak: sure to please and easy to make.





Recipe:

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup rosemary, minced (also good split with parsley)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Generous amounts of salt and pepper
• A dash of paprika or chili powder if you're up for it

1. At the very least, coat the steak in the above ingredients before putting it in the pan. Ideally, let them all hang out together and marinate for as long as you can allow.

2. Sear on both sides over high heat, allowing each side to visibly cook

3. Turn down to medium to cook meat to your desired temperature.
At this time, add sliced red onions to allow to caramelize until the meat is finished cooking.

*I often place the top of a pan over the steak in the skillet while it's cooking to lock in moisture and flavors during any of these stages. This helps to keep your meat from becoming dry or rubbery as well.

This kind of steak is excellent with dijon mustard, which can be incorporated into the marinade (read my whole post about it here, especially the Garlic Aioli Dijon Mustard from Trader Joe's) or as a side condiment for dipping.

If serving this steak over a salad, then turn the dijon mustard into a dressing by adding balsamic vinegar and chopped rosemary until the desired viscosity is achieved.

Healthy, Fresh Vodka Sauce Recipe

I have always been a fan of Penne a la Vodka, mostly for the sauce, but had never really attempted to make this dish for myself.

Time to broaden my horizons. I searched for a basic recipe and found one on Cooks.com.
My healthier, fresh-ingredient interpretation of the recipe is this:


1. In a sauce pan, turn heat to medium-high and combine the following:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced onions (I say red, white, shallots are all acceptable depending on what you have and prefer, I used red)

2. Saute until the onions are clear. Then add:

• 1/3 cup vodka (Skyy worked well yet is probably the minimum quality vodka you'd want to use)
• 3 peeled Roma tomatoes, minced. (Substitute for recipe's 1 can peeled tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced

3. Keep the heat at medium-high and slowly add:

• 1/2 cup half and half (substitute for recipe's pint of heavy cream)
• Salt and pepper to taste

4. Cook until the sauce reduces a bit. Add pre-cooked ingredients to be combined with vodka sauce. Suggestions:

• pasta or quinoa
• broccoli, zucchini, asparagus
• chicken, shrimp
• parmesan, etc.

I made this with broccoli and quinoa, sprinkled with parmesan and thought it was fabulous. 

Take note that while this is healthier than the traditional vodka sauce, it will turn out less creamy than your favorite local Italian restaurant's hearty Penne a la Vodka because of using half and half as opposed to heavy cream. That's your prerogative.

I also thought upon finishing about blending the ingredients/final result in a food processor to make the sauce smoother, although I thought the minced ingredients made for a pretty presentation as well.

My Go-To Asparagus

Asparagus is one of my favorite stovetop vegetables. It tastes amazing and is incredibly easy. This particular way of preparing it will give you a well-cooked, lemon-flavored asparagus dish that makes a perfect side to anything. I will sometimes also turn this into a stir-fry with meat, as pictured left.

For any time you make asparagus, be sure to wash it and rather than cutting the ends off, take each and snap the end off. This way, the not tender, not cook-able part will be disposed of.
Here's what I do with asparagus in a skillet:

1. Put the skillet on high heat and add:

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bunch of asparagus, cut into segments if you choose

2. Let the asparagus cook for a minute, then add:

• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to flavor
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts- pecans or almonds is what I tend to add

3. Optional additions to this asparagus at this point (as pictured):

• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 1/4 cup minced red pepper
• sausage, chicken, steak, or shrimp

4. There should be enough lemon juice to cover the bottom of the pan but then cook off. Cook all of the above until the asparagus becomes a bright, almost neon green. 

5. Note: Asparagus can definitely be overcooked, it will be almost floppy when it is and probably not taste great. So when you think it may have reached the bright green point, try one. If is tender yet doesn't respond too much to gravity, take it off the heat and enjoy! If it is still a bit too crunchy, let it cook a little longer until it's reached the desired consistency.

6. Also--if you're a fan of polenta, all of these ingredients plus a little cheese can make an incredible polenta dish. Cook these first then add into the polenta with cheese to finish cooking. 

That's all for today! For tomorrow: making zucchini pasta!

Another Reason for Popeye (and You) to Eat Spinach

http://bornbackwards.com

Put down the can, Popeye, we've got a better spinach recipe for you to try. Really though, spinach is one of my favorite greens to have on hand to make any of the following recipes quickly.

It can be served raw in salads with apples, walnuts, cranberries, a little feta or goat cheese, and a balsamic vinagrette, for example.

Or, my favorite, sauteed.
Heat the skillet to medium-high, add copious amounts of spinach (it cooks down to nothing), drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with seasoned salt and you've got yourself a winner. Let it cook until the spinach wilts and the olive oil and spices are well distributed. This is a great side to any meat dish, or combined with fresh tomatoes.

Another favorite sauteed spinach dish: on medium-high heat, combine spinach, olive oil, thinly sliced apples, red onion, salt, pepper, and cheddar. Saute until the spinach is wilted and the apples are cooked. The cheddar can be added after you've taken it off the heat or at the end so that it melts a little.
Ta-dah! No more boring spinach.