Veal Scallopine w/ Curried Cauliflower & Mushroom Demi Glace

It's been a CRAZY week.

I left my internship at the Marriott hotel.  It just wasn't me.  Hotel food is just not me.

However, I spoke with my chef at the restaurant I work at and he is really good friends with Edward Lee (from Top Chef fame).  So he did an amazing job of setting me up a new internship at Lee's new place in Actor's Theatre, Milkwood.  I started this week and already love it.  Not only is it better hours than my normal job (I'm safely home by 10:30/11 as opposed to midnight or later!), but the food is impeccable! 

So I really haven't had much time at home this week, but was able to make this yesterday afternoon for my lunch and Andy's dinner later that night while I was away.  It came together quickly and was tasty, to boot!

Ingredients:

4 thinly sliced veal cutlets
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Cauliflower:
 
1/2 head of cauliflower, florets sliced thin
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan

Mushroom Demi:

1 oz. flour
1 oz. unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup mirepoix (small diced carrots, onion, celery)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 cups veal/beef stock, divided
6-8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste

Your sauce will take the longest time, so go ahead and start with that first.  In a large saucepan, melt the butter under medium heat.  Add the flour and slowly cook under moderate heat until you achieve a dark brown roux. You'll want to stir constantly so you don't scorch the flour. 

While you're waiting for your roux to darken, in a separate saute pan, heat olive oil under medium high heat.  Add mirepoix and cook until lightly caramelized.  Add tomato paste and cook for another minute or two to incorporate.  Set aside until roux is at desired dark brown color. 

Add mirepoix mixture to roux and stir to incorporate.  Temper in 2 cups of the stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 20-25 minutes.  Strain of solids, then return to saucepan.

Add remaining 2 cups of stock and reduce mixture by half. 

In a small saute pan under medium high heat, saute the mushrooms in a little bit of butter or olive oil until caramelized.  Add mushrooms to the demi and simmer under low heat for a out 10-15 minutes.

For the cauliflower:  Combine the cauliflower, curry powder, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and mix well.

Heat a medium saute pan under medium high heat and add remaining tablespoon of olive oil.  Add cauliflower and saute until caramelized around the edges.  Finish by tossing with fresh parsley and shredded Parmesan cheese.

For the veal, heat a large saute pan under high heat and add olive oil.  Scallopine slices are really thin so you want a really hot pan so you can get a good sear quickly and prevent any overcooking.

Season the veal slices with salt and pepper and add to hot pan.  Get a nice golden brown sear and flip over and cook just for about 30 seconds to 1 minute longer.  These guys will cook very quickly.  Remove from pan and let rest on a cutting board for about 2-3 minutes.

To plate, spread a nice amount of sauce in the center of the plate.  Place some cauliflower slices over the sauce and top with 2 slices of veal.  And bam, veal scallopine.

Hope you guys have a great week!

Grilled NY Strip w/ Vegetables & Olivada

Can you believe that before this meal, I haven't had a bit of red meat in over 2 months?  And you know what?  It made this meal all the better!

It was simple, but elegant.  We had our friend Terry over and he straight cleaned his plate.  That's always a sign that the meal is good, right?!

While I'm not usually a big fan of olives, this olivada (very similar to a tapenade - but easier!) was a winner in my book.  Intermingled with the vegetables and on top of the steak, it was a great condiment and rounded out the dish well.

So the next time your in the mood for a steak dinner - this is where it's at!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's recipe

1 red onion, cut into thick slices
1/2 cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into strips
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing
salt and pepper, to taste
3 12 oz. New York Strip Steaks

Olivada:

1 cup green olives, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon capers
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

To make olivada, combine olives, capers, garlic, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and olive oil in a small bowl.  Let sit for about 20 minutes for flavors to meld.

Meanwhile, combine onion, cauliflower, asparagus, and bell pepper in a grill pan  Toss with 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill under direct heat until vegetables start to char - about 10 minutes or so.  Toss vegetables with about half of the olivada.  Set aside.

Brush the steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill steaks on direct heat, turning once, about 8-10 minutes for a medium rare.  Cook a little bit longer if you want them more done.  Let rest on carving board for about 5 minutes.

Serve steaks alongside the vegetables and top steaks with additional olivada, if desired.

Seriously, if you're a carnivore, this is sure to please ya!  I don't know if it was because I hadn't had meat in so long or what, but this meal is definitely a keeper!  See you guys tomorrow - have a great rest of your Wednesday!

Beef Tenderloin W/ Broccoli/Cauliflower Hash

There's nothing more savory to me than a big hunk of beef (sorry vegetarians)! Especially a tenderloin, which when cut up is pretty much filet mignon! And don't worry you vegheads out there! I've got a Broccoli/Cauliflower Hash that is to die for (you could opt out the bacon of course to suit your needs).

Beef Tenderloin Ingredients:

1/2 cup parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb beef tenderloin in one piece
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 cups chopped cauliflower
1 lb red potatoes, cut into cubes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 ounces sliced pancetta, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup beef stock
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon white truffle oil

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine May 2009 issue

In a food processor, combine parsley, rosemary, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Process until it turns into a paste. Coat the tenderloin with the paste and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight is ideal.

In a large saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Also, line a large bowl with paper towels and set aside. Add the broccoli and cauliflower to pot and cook until crisp and tender, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove broccoli and cauliflower from pot and place in bowl with paper towels and pat dry. Set aside.

Put the potatoes in pot and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the pot and dry potatoes. Mash the potatoes and add them to broccoli and cauliflower bowl. Mix the vegetables together well and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in medium sized skillet and add pancetta and cook until crisp, maybe 5 minutes. Stir the pancetta and oil into hash mixture.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Spread the hash mixture in the skillet in an even layer and cook until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Flip over hash in sections, and carefully pour remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil around edges. This will make sure the edges crisp up as well! Cook for another 3 minutes or until browned and crisp. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the tenderloin, you can either cook on a grill or pan fry in a skillet. It was raining outside, so I couldn't use the grill, so I decided to pan fry. And i liked this idea better too because I could get those juicy sucs from the tenderloin to make my sauce even better!

Unwrap the tenderloin and cut into 4 even slices, about an inch and a half thick. Season with salt and pepper and sear both sides until medium high to high heat, about 8 minutes on both sides for a nice medium rare. I use the palm method to test my steak's doneness, so timing really doesn't work very well, especially when stove heat differs for each person. Just cook it how you like it though! Transfer the steaks to a cutting board and let rest for about 5 minutes.

Now it's sauce time! With those delicious sucs you've got, deglaze your pan with the beef stock. Also stir in your mustard. Season with salt and pepper and there you have it, basic sauce! In addition to all this, I added 1 tablespoon of cold unsalted butter, this gives the sauce an added sheen and another depth of flavor. You can choose to do this or not. Set the sauce aside.

Reheat the hash in skillet until sizzling. Transfer the hash to plates and drizzle with a little bit of white truffle oil (if you've got it). Place the tenderloin steaks on top of the hash and drizzle with the sauce and serve.

Yes, there may be a ton of components to this dish, but trust me, it is WELL worth it. Very good all around! Enjoy

oh, and as an added side note, these brownies were what we had for dessert! You can find the recipe here at A Dash Of Sass!