Elegance Meets Down-Home Cooking: Pasta, Steak and Salad

 

Elegance Meets Down-Home Cooking:

Pasta, Steak and Salad

There are times when we have to make careful, intentional meal plans.  You have important company coming over, but you were planning on beef and potatoes. 😒  Don't worry...I got you covered. I call this my three-in-one meal.  A bit of elegance, a bit of down-home cooking and all kinds of deliciousness. Set aside an hour on the day of the meal and your important dinner will be a success!  Let's get started, shall we? 

Simply Stylish Sinful Salad

Ingredients

2 shallots, diced

1 cucumber, skin mostly shaved off, and cubed

2 scallions greens, diced

6 fresh basil leaves, rolled and diced

baby broccoli srouts (or your favorite sprouts)

*halved marinated mozzarella balls (*optional)

1 pint halved grape or cherry tomatoes

two cloves garlic, diced

salt and pepper

Crumbled Feta (about a teaspoon per serving)

***I would have added fresh thyme and oregano, but, my spouse thought the container held spoiled food and had thrown out my herbs container.

😅 

the zest of one lemon and the juice of half of it

*Your favorite store bought vinaigrette or, make your own favorite!

Place the halved cheese and tomatoes in a bowl, add half of one of the shallots, the lemon zest, a fourth of the scallion greens, garlic and salt and pepper to it, as well.  Toss with a spatula to gently season the veg.  Add 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette you decide to use and stir.

 Let the salad marinate for at least thirty minutes. More is better, but, it fully depends on your time agenda. No stress!  However, place the bowl into the refrigerator. 

Next, the edible salad bowl!

Grated or crumbled Parmesan cheese

*Optional: Any spices you may like to "doctor it up"

- I used salt and pepper and Herbs de Provence

Lay a sheet of parchment paper to a baking sheet. I like to spray veggie non-stick spray to the parchment even though the melted Parmesan crisp will lift without it.  I just like to err on the side of caution. Place the baking sheet into a preheated 400-degree oven for about four minutes.  

As you can see, the cheese "crisp" easily lifts. I spray either the underside of a muffin tin or a ceramic bowl, as in this case. I place it back in the oven for a three minutes to release and form a cup. I then cool the crisps until I am ready to use them. They make a delicious and decorative bowl, or cup. I enjoy serving various salads in them, not to mention they are so simple to make.  When they are done, place them in a zip lock bag and set them aside to keep them fresh. 

The Luscious: 'When Garlic Met Pasta'

For the pasta, I used an angel hair spaghetti. I made two servings of pasta, rather than use an entire package. I saved enough to use for another entire meal for two. There was no "sauce" for this pasta, however, there was quite a garlic presence. I had not done this before, but I added eight large cloves of garlic to a small pot with about a cup of extra virgin olive oil and I slowly brought it up to a boil. The one thing I forgot to do was to remove the garlic cloves when they turned golden brown (they were black by the end of it) but the heavy garlic aroma and flavor in the boiling evoo was prevalent. 

First....

Bring about four quarts of water to a roiling boil. Liberally salt the water, as it is the only chance you get to season the pasta. Two servings should take six-to-eight minutes to boil till al dente, tops. The taste and texture test is best to tell when the pasta is perfect. 

Strain the pasta in a colander and use tongs to plate it. I tried to make a bit of a nest out of it. Not my best work, but hey, the fun is in the eating, right?  I carefully used a spoon to drizzle the boiling garlic infused evoo onto the pasta. It was seriously satisfying to hear the sizzling sound as I drizzled it. The aroma was equally amazing! I added Herbs de Provence, so gloriously fragrant and flavorful to the pasta, and a pinch of salt. I added a slight sprinkle of grated Parmesan, some diced fresh basil and shallot as garnishments. 

Two Down...One To G0!

The Steak....

I love ribeye steaks. They can be pricey, but if you catch them on a holiday sale, you have had a shopping coup!  (Be careful and look at the original packaging dates to make sure you Are getting a great deal!) 

Bring the steaks to room temperature, and salt and pepper both sides. Add evoo, or, your favorite oil to a skillet or stove top grill over high heat. When the oil begins to ripple, it is time to add the steaks. Reduce the heat to medium-high after the steak begins to caramelize and get a good crust on them. Turn the steaks over after about seven minutes if they are thick, or five, if they are fairly thin. After another five-to-seven minutes, again, thickness of the steak pending, check the temperature of the steaks. About 135-degrees should suffice, unless you like it well done. 

Remove the steaks to a cutting board and allow them to cool for about five minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute, allowing for a more tender, juicy cut of meat. Using a sharp culinary knife, slice the meat against the grain and at an angle. If not, it's no big deal. It's only for presentation, and not the end of the world if it is not perfect. I like my steak rare to medium-rare, and it is not easy to slice it perfectly when a bit rare. 

 I bought two large ribeye steaks for two of us, so the plate is pretty full of meat. If you are feeding three or more, simply reduce the amount of steak, perhaps half or slightly more than half of what you see on the plate, above. 

*If you do not "enough" meat, perhaps add biscuits, or dinner roles to accentuate the dish. 

A different view

With that, my friends, as always, Thank You so much for your time and consideration! I am grateful your taking the time to view my humble little blog. 

Now, Go Cook For Someone You Love!❤

~ Martin

In-House Cook

 

My baby boy, GusGus, when he was a puppy, about 18 years ago. I miss him each and every day.