Valentine's Day Revisited

Valentine's Day is one of those days that I am ambivalent about. Single or in a relationship who cares? All I know is that on this day that everyone feels they need to be flamboyant about their love I would rather stay in and be with people I care about. With that said I have pulled some recipes (old and new) that I think will go perfectly on this day and at the end a special dessert that will put you in a food coma :)

Starters:

• Truffled Mushroom Bruschetta - this recipe is still one of my favorites and a definite crowd pleaser. While this is a little heavier, it's a perfect start to any meal.
• Ricotta and Honey Toast - this recipe is essentially a lighter version of the one above. They both involve ricotta (one of my favorites) and toast, however this will start you off more on the sweet than the savory side. 

Entrees:

• Butternut Squash Ravioli - the brown butter sauce over the smooth, light raviolis still makes my mouth water. This is staple in my kitchen when I have guests over or in from out of town. It's fairly easy and always delivers.
• The Perfect Sirloin - while this isn't the most "exciting" thing that I have to offer, it's incredible good. The technique and flavors are simple, but when you have a good cut of meat you don't need any more. I love this recipe! 

Dessert

So this is a recipe that I was inspired to create by something I saw in Bon Appetit. Thier recipe look good and intense. I wanted to take is down a bit and just concentrate on the flavors. After one successful attempt I created the blackberry jam and lemon ice cream masterpiece...

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon
• 1 pint of vanilla ice cream
• 1 container of blackberries
• 1 cup watter
• 1 cup sugar
• Graham crackers (optional)

Directions:

Listen. This is pretty straight forward and bottom line, look at those ingredients. Can you really mess this up? If you can I would like to know because everything on that list is sheer heaven. Sugar, ice cream, blackberries - COME ON!

Let the ice cream become soft and transfer to a bowl. Add the zest and juice of one lemon to the ice cream and mix together. Place the ice cream back in the freezer. 

On the stove add one cup of water and one cup of sugar. Keep stirring the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add in your container of blackberries (after rinsing of course) and then bring the entire mixture to a boil. 

Once the mixture has started to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring every few minutes or so until the "jam" has reached your desired consistency (I like to let mine simmer for an hour).

After your delicious meal, take a scoop of ice cream and a hefty spoonful of our blackberry mixture and create a sundae. Crumble graham crackers on top and there you have it - the dessert that is so good you won't be able to move afterwards.

No matter what you do, I hope you have a wonderful weekend with whoever you spend it with :)   

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The PERFECT Sirloin

As I quickly updated yesterday, Jef's birthday was this past Monday and we had quite a feast! I took several recipes from the cookbook I received for my birthday, Think Like a Chef, by Tom Collichio. My favorite dish of the evening was the main course protein - the thick, tender, cooked to perfect, sirloin.

To start, I went to the butcher at my local grocery store and asked for a 14 ounce sirloin NOT cut. Apparently the purpose of this is to get one loin in which you will cut into two so that the portions are the same. So simple, yet brilliant!

Once home, I let the meat sit out, so that it would come to room temperature (this allows the meat to cook more evenly.) Then I really just followed the instructions! My interpretation is below...

Ingredients:

• 14 oz. Sirloin 
• Kosher salt
• Fresh pepper
• 2-4 sprigs of thyme or rosemary
• 2 tbsps butter
• Olive oil

Directions

First, heat a skillet on medium heat and add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Tom emphasizes that the oil should not sputter, but simply shimmer in the heat. While the pan is heating, pat dry the sirloin (I used a paper towel and was SHOCKED at the excess moisture), then cut the meat into two even portions, add salt and pepper.

Once the oil appears to have a shimmer add the steaks to the sautee pan. Leave the steak down for three (3) minutes then flip to the other side for three (3) minutes. After both sides are seared, then flip the steaks on their outsides for two (2) minutes each. If you are nervous like I was, set a timer!

After these first four initial flips, add the two tablespoons on butter and sprigs of thyme or rosemary (I used thyme and thought it worked out great!) Let the butter cook down for a minute or two creating a brown butter sauce, then repeat the pattern once more (2 minutes on each sides) generously coating with the brown butter sauce.

Remove the steaks and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Bam you are done! You don't need a grill or a grill pan to make a delicious steak. Using simple techniques and ingredients you can create something quite tasty. That Tom is on to something :)

The rest of the meal was accompanied by purple mashed potatoes, mushrooms with thyme, garlic and shallot, french onion soup and of course cake!

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