Valentine's Main: Rib Eye Steak with Marsala Cream Sauce

While wandering around my local Morrisons I noticed that their beef steaks were on offer because of Valentine's day. So, I took advantage and picked up some great rib eyes. Delicious! But what to serve with them? Last time I visited my parents in Rome, I had an amazing green peppercorn sauce and really wanted to try making that at home. However, after tasting my peppercorns, I found them to be really strong and was a bit worried that they would completely overpower the sauce. So, I decided to throw in a few other ingredients to temper the peppercorns. I think next time I try this I'll probably use my pestle and mortar to break up the peppercorns a bit before adding them to the sauce. Essentially this was a marsala cream sauce with a few peppercorns so if you don't have peppercorns, don't worry!

Ingredients

Onion, garlic and peppercorn mixture after the Marsala wine had cooked off.

Simmering sauce

Although you see mustard in the ingredients picture, I ultimately didn't use it because the sauce had lots of flavor on it's own. I also didn't use salt because the bouillon cube is already quite salty. Overall, this was a great main course for our special dinner and I'll post the recipes for the two sides (roasted cherry tomatoes and white beans with prosciutto and herbs) in a separate post. Be sure to take the steaks out of the fridge 20 minutes before you want to cook them so they can cook evenly. I brought them out when the starter was ready so that they could come to room temperature while we ate. Perfect! I had already made the sauce so that way we only had a few minutes between each course. 

Steak!

Finished dish ready for the sauce

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced
20 green peppercorns in brine, drained and rinsed
100-150ml whipping cream
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp thyme
1/4 - 1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 a beef bouillion
2 rib eye steaks

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion. Saute for a minute before adding the garlic and stir to combine. When the garlic is fragrant and the onion has softened, add the peppercorns and continue to cook over a low heat. After a few minutes, add the marsala wine and the herbs and increase the heat to medium. When the wine has simmered for a few minutes, it should start to be absorbed into the onion mixture and the pan will have noticeably less liquid in it. Reduce the heat and add the cream and beef bouillion. Allow to simmer and thicken to the consistency you prefer.

For the steaks, place a grill pan over medium high heat and brush with olive oil. Season the steaks with salt and pepper generously and lay in the pan. Allow to cook for 3 minutes before flipping and then allow 3 further minutes on that side. Cooking time will depend on how well done you prefer your steak and also their size. 

Valentine's Starter: Pappardelle in Saffron Cream

Appologies for the delay in posting this recipe (and the others from Valentine's Day for that matter), I still need to figure out a better way of making recipes before the day in question so that you can all have the recipes in advance... rather than afterwards! I think what I'll do is start tagging recipes that might be good for certain holidays or occasions (such as Easter). Anyway, we had a lovely evening of tasty food and it was all much more relaxed than going out to a restaurant. I was a bit nervous about making a three course meal since I thought it would mean I would be stressed and racing around the kitchen as pots boiled over and steaks burnt to a crisp. Fortunately, these recipes were all really simple. I made the sauces before Sam arrived so that all we needed to do was boil the pasta for the first course and then cook the steaks for the second. Perfect! I also made the side dishes in advance but I'll get to those in a different post. 

Ingredients including that questionable vanilla... 

Onion sauteing 

This recipe was inspired by one on the Food Network website. Their recipe called for vanilla extract to be added to the cream sauce but, having used it, I found it gave the dish a strange dessert like quality that wasn't entirely appropriate. So I've adjusted the recipe below to avoid that happening to others! I've also added parmesan cheese into the sauce rather than just on top because... well, why not? All in all, this was super easy and was a great way to make something that seems just that little bit more special for a day like Valentine's day. Hope you all had a lovely day and enjoyed something delicious either at a restaurant or at home!

Boiling the pasta

Finished product! 

Prep Time: 3 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
Pinch of saffron threads
250ml or 2/3 cup of cream
salt
pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice
zest of half a lemon
50g parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
2 tbsp chives, chopped
Pappardelle pasta

Method: 

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. While waiting for the water to be ready, add the butter and onion to a sauce pan over medium heat. When the onion starts to soften, add the saffron threads. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened. Slowly add the cream and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over medium high heat until the cream has thickened and then stir in the lemon juice and parmesan cheese. Lower the heat and keep warm while boiling the pappardelle according to the instructions on the pack. When ready, drain the pasta and add to the sauce pan. Toss to coat and add the chives and lemon zest. Plate with a few more chives and the remaining parmesan cheese. 

Chicken and Chorizo Empanadas

Empanadas always seemed like the slightly mysterious cousin of British pasties. Delicous but far too difficult to bother making at home. However, by using store bought puff pastry, you get a tasty (if not all that original) version that makes great party food or a side dish for a tex-mex night. The filling is easily customizable to whatever you happen to have on hand or your favorite flavors. I managed to get 16 empanadas out of 2 packages of ready rolled puff pastry but you could easily get more by making smaller cut outs. These were perhaps slightly too big for a party (3-4 bites) so in the future I'll use a glass to cut out the circles and aim to make them more of a 2 bite option.

Browning chicken

Garlic and Onion

Filling simmering

Ready for the oven!

Fresh from the oven

Finished product!

This recipe was based on a Smitten Kitchen version but with a few changes that go along with my preferences. For exmaple, I used chicken breast where she used chicken legs because I prefer them. Because of this, I used a bit more wine and let it simmer longer so that the chicken wouldn't get dry etc. I also used black olives because they were what I had.

Recipe inspired by www.smittenkitchen.com

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Serves: 16

Ingredients: 

2-3 chicken breasts
Salt
Pepper
90g chorizo, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 cup olives, sliced
2 packages of ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg

Method: 

Preheat oven to 400F / 205C.

In a saucepan over medium heat, brown the chicken breast with salt and pepper until they are cooked through. Remove from the pan and slice into three pieces. In the same pan, saute the onion, garlic and bay leaves until the onion is translucent and the garlic is aromatic. Add the chorizo and Spanish paprika and saute for a few minutes before adding the olives, wine and chicken stock. Place the chicken pieces back into the sauce pan and let simmer until sauce has reduced. When sauce is ready, remove the chicken and chop before mixing back into the pan with the other ingredients. Remove filling from the heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, roll out the puff pastry and cut out circles. The finished product will be semi-circles so size your original circles accordingly. Fill each circle with a tablespoon or more of the filling. Use an egg wash to seal the edges and crimp before placing on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush the empanadas with the egg wash and bake for 25 minutes. Start with trays on the top third and bottom third of your oven and switch them halfway through cooking. Serve with salsa and other condiments. Enjoy! 

Lamb and Feta Burgers

I was really excited to try this recipe. I mean, who doesn't like a good burger? I hadn't really played around with different meat options before, which is ridiculous since there are so many interesting recipes out there! Staying loyal to beef has been so limiting. So, in that vein, I started looking over lamb burger recipes. Some had lemon, some had feta, and some had garlic. I thought, why not all of them? I have a similar recipe for lamb meatballs that include lots of garlic and lemon zest so it seemed natural to add them all together. And the results were delicious! Super easy, fairly healthy (especially if you omit the pitta bread bun) and delicious. This recipe came together so quickly that I'll definitely repeat often! I was a bit too greedy and didn't want to waste time adding salad into my burger (I was hungry!) so that might be a nice addition next time. I also used the sun dried tomato and basil mayonnaise from the last recipe because I still had some on hand. Delicious!

Ingredients

Feta

Ready to mix

On the grill pan

Finished product!

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

500g lamb mince
90g feta, chopped/crumbled
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon
1/4 cup of sliced olives
4 pieces of pitta bread

Method: 

Mix the ingredients together and form into four patties. Grill on a lightly oiled grill pan until cooked through. Toast the pitta bread, slice in half and then place half of each burger into each half of the pitta. Add mayonnaise, onion and other favorites. Enjoy! 

Chorizo and Pepper Pittas

Finished sandwich!

Last friday, I was looking for a tasty lunch and remembered a sandwich I had in Borough Market over a year ago. There's a stand where you can get a chorizo sausage and roasted red pepper in a tasty bun. Simple and delicious. My only slight critique I had at the time was that it seemed a bit dry with just the sausage and pepper. So, I wanted to try and jazz it up a bit. This mayonnaise based addition is really flavorful and so easy to make it almost seems silly not to. Add in some sauteed peppers, onions and a little salad and you're ready to go!

Sun dried tomatoes in the mini  chopper

Sun dried tomatoes and basil, chopped

Finished condiment

Peppers and Onions

Prep Time: 15 min 

Cook Time: N/A

Serves: 6

Ingredients: 

3 slices of chorizo per pitta sandwich
1 bell pepper, sliced
1/2 a red onion, sliced
1 handful of salad leaves per pitta sandwich
Pitta breads
10 sun dried tomatoes, either packed in oil or rehydrated
small handful of basil leaves
2-4 tbsp light mayonnaise

Method: 

Toast the pitta breads while mixing the mayonnaise condiment. In a small food processor, blend the sun dried tomatoes, basil and mayonnaise until smooth. Add 2-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise depending on your personal preference. In a small saucepan, saute the chopped peppers and onions until soft. When this is ready, smooth over one side of the pitta and top with three slices of chorizo, some of the peppers and onions and a few salad leaves. 

Mexican Seven Layer Dip

I have a slightly unhealthy love for this dip. It's great for parties, super easy to put together and delicious. I had been a little worried about introducing it to my British friends since refried beans aren't as popular here as they are back home but it went down a treat! I made this for a little taco night get together yesterday and it proved to be a great appetizer to share while we chatted before getting to the main course. I served this with tortilla chips and a bowl of homemade salsa so it was more of a nibble than a starter. The rest of the menu included beef tacos (recipe for seasoning mix coming soon), chicken and chorizo empanadas (recipe coming soon) and a cranberry granita for dessert (recipe coming soon). It was such a nice relaxing end to the weekend and I think I'll definitely have to repeat the evening. Plus, I still have lots of leftovers so my meals this week are basically sorted, which is lucky since I have some serious plans for my Valentines Day menu... more on that later this week.

First Layer: Refried Beans

Second Layer: Cheese

Third, Fourth and Fifth Layers: Salsa, Sour Cream and Spices

As for the number of servings, there were four of us last night and this was the perfect amount since we weren't too full to enjoy our tacos. If you were putting this out with a bunch of other nibbles for a party, this would easily serve ten or more. I used both store bought salsa and homemade because that's what I had on hand but you could easily substitute chopped onion and tomato for the second salsa layer. Green onion is also a nice addition but I didn't have any on hand. Also, if you don't have the spices involved, one of those taco seasoning packets is an easy substitute. Please keep in mind that the amounts in the ingredients list are sort of arbitrary since it will depend on the size of your dish.

Sixth and Seventh Layers: Fresh Salsa and Olives

Optional Eighth Layer: Jalopenos 

Finally, you will notice that there are actually more than seven layers to this dip (if you're including jalopenos). That's the beauty of this recipe - you can customize it as much or as little as you want. The main stars I think are the refried beans, sour cream, salsa and spices so everything else can be played around with to your taste.

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: N/A

Serves: 4-10

Ingredients: 

1 can of refried beans
100g low fat cheddar cheese, grated
Salsa, hot or mild
200ml low-fat sour cream
1 tsp onion granules
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
Fresh salsa
Black or green olives, sliced
Jalopenos to taste

Method: 

Place the refried beans in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 30 seconds or until the beans are softened and pliable. Spread them over the bottom of the serving dish and top with the grated cheddar cheese. Carefully spread the salsa over the cheese layer and then repeat with the sour cream. Sprinkle the spices evenly over the sour cream and then dot with the fresh salsa. Finish with a sprinkling of olives and jalopenos. Enjoy!

Weekday Dinner: Bulgur Wheat Leftover Salad

Obviously there are some nights when you just don't feel like making dinner. And there are nights when you have lots of leftover bits and bobs but nothing is really looking all that appealing. The best nights are when those two elements come together. Tonight was one of those. I was hungry but everything looked super boring and I didn't have any new and interesting groceries. So I had to make do with what I had: leftovers! This is a great recipe to jazz them up and make something completely different and it's easily adjusted to whatever you have on hand. For example, I used bulgur wheat because that's what I had but couscous would be equally nice. I also had some leftover chicken breast and sweet potato but sausages and roast veg might also go well here. The secret is the dressing: spicy, takes seconds to make and can completely change the whole flavor of a dish. I had hoped to make a recipe from Smitten Kitchen but I didn't have lemons (since I used the last of them to clean my shower glass... seriously, try it. Amazing) so I went with cider vinegar and it was still delicious. So use what you have and give it a go - leftovers reborn! I also made 1/2 a cup of bulgur wheat so that I'd have some for my lunch as well.

Inspired by www.smittenkitchen.com

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup bulgur wheat
1/2 chicken breast, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 sweet potato, chopped
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp - 1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Method: 

Place the bulgur wheat in a heat proof bowl and cover with boiling water. There should be about a centimeter of water above the top of the bulgur wheat. Cover with a plate and leave for half an hour.

Meanwhile, place the chopped chicken breast, bell pepper, onion and garlic into a pan over medium high heat with a splash of olive oil. Saute for a few minutes until the chicken is heated through, the pepper and onion is softening and the garlic is fragrant. Add the sweet potato and turn the heat to medium-low. Continue to saute gently until everything is warmed through.

When the bulgur wheat is ready, start on the dressing. Mix the cider vinegar, honey, cumin and cayenne in a small jar. Add the salt and pepper before slowly pouring in the olive oil while mixing continuously. When the dressing is ready, mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Add more salt and pepper to taste and enjoy! 

Hassleback Sweet Potatoes

This style of cooking potatoes has been my go to for a slightly special twist on the usual baked potato for the last year. It's easy, takes slightly less time to cook and looks pretty. What's not to like? I'd never tried it with a sweet potato before but I thought, "why not?" And as I suspected, it was delicious. Don't worry if you accidentally cut all the way through the potato - just stick it next to the following piece and cook as usual. Simple.

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 45-60 min

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
1-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 sweet potatoes, washed
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Method: 

Pre-heat the oven to 225C / 437F.

Dry the sweet potatoes and place them on a cutting board. Turn them until you find a side that they can sit evenly on. Using a sharp knife, slice the sweet potatoes at even intervals, approximately half a centimeter. Be careful to slice 75% of the way down, without cutting through entirely. This should cause the slices to fan out slightly. Meanwhile, place the butter and garlic into the microwave for thirty seconds or until the butter has melted. Drizzle the butter over the potatoes and tuck the pieces of garlic in between the slices. Place the potatoes in a baking dish and cover with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until the slices are soft and the skin is crispy. Enjoy! 

Sweet and Spicy Ribs

I have had ribs lots of times. In restaurants, at my parents' house... but I'd never thought to try making them myself. I think part of my reluctance was the expectation that any attempt would take a lot more effort and hassle than I was willing to deal with. However, this recipe was pleasantly surprising. The only fiddly bit is the mixing of the spices and sugar and then patting it onto the ribs. After that, it's straight into the oven and they basically sort themselves out. Genius. And since they're wrapped in foil, the clean up is ridiculously quick. Smitten Kitchen calls these ribs sweet and smokey but I found the smoked spanish paprika definitely gave it a kick so sweet and spicy is how I think of them.

Ribs

Spices

Spice/sugar mix 

Ribs ready for spices

As with most recipes from Smitten Kitchen, this doesn't need much in terms of adaptation. The only issue I had was that my chili powder was the normal boring kind and so I played around with a mixture of chili powder and paprika. I also added some finely chopped dried peppers to the mix because my supermarket had them and I've never tested them out in a dish before. I happened to have two types of paprika in my cupboard (normal and smoked) so I went ahead and used both but one or the other would be fine. While the cooking time (6 hours) is definitely long, these ribs literally don't need anything done to them while they're in there (except for changing the temperature after 4 hours) so you can go about your day as you normally would. I bought three racks of ribs (500-600g each) and managed to get about 4 meals out of them when they were basically the only part of the meal except for a simple salad. If you were serving these with french fries and other add ons, then they might go further. Smitten Kitchen suggests you plan about a pound for each person. Finally, she also suggests increasing the salt content if you prefer a less sweet version.

Ribs with spices

Rib packets

Fresh out of the oven

Ready to eat!

Recipe by www.smittenkitchen.com

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 6 hours

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder  
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dried ancho chili, finely chopped
5 pounds spareribs, cut into 4 slabs, rinsed and patted dry
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Kitchen foil 

Method: 

Preheat oven to 200F / 93C.

Mix the sugar, chili powder, paprika, salt, garlic powder, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, and dried chili in a small bowl. Place a slab of the spare ribs onto a piece of kitchen foil that is large enough to create a sealed packet around it (I had to use two pieces on some of them). Pat the spice/sugar mix generously onto all sides of the ribs and fold the packet tightly around them. Repeat with all the ribs and all of the spice/sugar mix. Place in the oven on a rack over a baking tray that has been lined with foil to catch any drips/make clean up easy. Bake for 4 hours and then reduce the  temperature to 175F / 79C and bake for a further 2 hours.

When the ribs have finished in the oven, open the packets carefully and pour the juices into a pot. Simmer until they have reduced and coat the back of a spoon easily. Stir in the cider vinegar and smoked paprika. Serve alongside the ribs.

Enjoy!

*Sorry for the lack of posts this week! It's been crazy busy but hopefully things will be more manageable this coming week. Also, I haven't quite figured out the best place to take food photos in my kitchen so some of them are still a bit dodgy as far as lighting/framing goes... will work on that too!*