Cook an easy, elegant, restaurant quality dinner at home. Make the meal special by placing a bouquet of flowers on the table and getting a good bottle of wine. This picture just says – relax!

Salad With Roasted Beets, Blue Cheese and Pistachios

Vinaigrette

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large garlic clove, grated
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

Salad

1 bunch small golden beets, trimmed of leaves and washed well
4 cups romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
¼ of a red onion, sliced very thin
4 ounces blue cheese, cut into cubes
1/3 cup shelled, toasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
Homemade croutons, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the beets on a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and seal the ends to create a package.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until tender. Cool; peel and slice or cut into ½ inch pieces. Transfer to a small bowl.

Make the vinaigrette:

Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined

Toss the beets with 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette. Set aside until ready to prepare the salad.

Place the romaine and onion in a salad bowl and toss with some of the remaining vinaigrette.

Add the beets, pistachios and blue cheese and toss gently. Top with croutons, if using.

Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon

Ingredients

Serves 2

2 filet mignon steaks, (5 to 6 ounces each, about 1 1/2 inches thick)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black peppercorns
2 teaspoons olive oil

Red Wine Sauce
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
Coarse salt to taste

Directions

For the beef:

Season the beef filets very generously on both sides with the salt and pepper, patting it firmly. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Move the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.

Place the steaks in the skillet and cook, without moving the steaks, until a dark brown crust has formed, about 3 minutes.

Using tongs, turn the steaks over and cook until well browned on the second side, about 3 minutes.

Place the skillet in the oven and roast the steaks 5 minutes for rare or 7 minutes for medium-rare to medium.

Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes, then serve with the sauce.

For the red wine sauce:

Place 1 cup red wine in a small saucepan; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from the pan from the heat and add the butter. Stir the sauce until the butter is melted and the sauce is thickened, about 1 minute.

Season with salt according to taste, if needed.


Posted by in Beef, beets, Cheese, Healthy Italian Cooking, onion, Pistachio, Salad, Salad Dressing, Sauces, wine sauce Tags: