Rib-Eye Steak with Pan Jus

The Bride and Groom Cookbook suggests you serve over mashed potatoes... I also would serve this with baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes and a vegetable of your choice!


What you'll need: 

• 1 Rib-Eye steak, 18-20 Ounces, 4 inches thick. 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 spring fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 small springs fresh thyme

Preheat the oven to 400.
Season the Steak with salt and pepper, press rosemary leaves into steak.
Heat the olive oil in an oven proof saute pan over medium heat.
Just before the oil starts to smoke, sear the steak, 1 minute on each side, be sure to get the edges too!
Place the pan with the steak in the oven for 10-12 minutes for medium rare, longer if you like it cooked more.
Remove from the pan and let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the wine, stock and thyme to the drippings in the plan and place over medium heat.  Deglaze the pan by stirring with a wooden spoon.
Simmer until reduced by half. Remove the thyme springs.
Carve the steak along the grain into thin slices, arrange on plate and pour the pan jus on top!

YUM!

Minestrone Thickened with Bread

Tis the season for Home Made Soup!!!  From my Bride and Groom Cookbook.


What You'll Need: 

• 1 Loaf of day old peasant bread
• 5-7 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper for taste
• 1 lb shelling beans, canned cannellini beans work great! 
• 2 small yellow onions, diced
• 3-6 slices pancetta
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 TSP chopped fresh sage
• 3-5 ribs celery, diced
• 2-4 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 small bulb fennel- i left this out. 
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 1 head of kale, or other sturdy green, coarsely chopped
• 6-8 drained canned whole tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced savory cabbage
• 6 cups chicken stock or water 
• parmesan cheese for garnish. 

Mix it all together!
Preheat the oven to 350, cut the crust off the bread, tear into bite sized pieces, toss lightly in olive oil, spread on baking sheet, season with salt and pepper.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until crispy.

Heat 2-3 tbsp olive oil in a soup pot, add onions, pancetta, bay lead and sage. Saute until onions soften slightly, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the celery, carrots, fennel and garlic.

Mix in the kale, tomatoes, and cabbage, saute until the vegetables soften slightly, 3-5 minutes.

Season with Salt.  Add the stock, raise the heat to high, bring to a boil.  Then lower the heat and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.

Add the beans, and 1 cup of water and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Add the bread pieces, start with half, and see how thick the soup becomes, add more as desired.  Save the left over as crutons! Cook with lid on, for about 15 more minutes.

Serve with fresh parmesan and pepper!

Enjoy!

Delicious French Toast

The blend of flavors in this french toast makes it a perfect treat for FOOTBALL SUNDAY BRUNCH.  If you know my husband, hes parked in front of the TV on Sunday's with a game on TV, a Game on the IPad and a computer up and running tracking his fantasy team... we call this the command center on Sunday's. When I don't work on Sunday, we love to make bunch and hang out!

What You'll Need:

• 1 day old Baguette
• 4 Large Eggs
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1 TSP Vanilla Extract- I always put more! 
• 1 TSP Orange Zest- I use the zest of 1 large naval orange... more flavor!!! 
• 2 TBSP Orange Juice- from the orange you zested.
• 4 1/2 TSP Sugar- plus a little extra :) 
• 3/4 TSP Salt
• Butter as needed for the pan. 

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, yolk, milk, vanilla, orange juice and zest, sugar, and salt.  Put this mixture into a 8 x 8 glass baking dish, or large shallow bowl.
Slice the Baguette into 1 1/2 - 2 inch slices.
Submerge the bread into batter, soak for 10 to 15 minutes - flip bread over half way through.
Warm a few TBSP of Butter on a cast iron frying pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown.
If cooking for a large number of people, warm the oven to 200 and set bread in oven to keep warm while you cook another batch... or serve immediately.

Sprinkle with Powdered Sugar and serve with warm Maple Syrup.

Enjoy with a cup of coffee, tea, milk or OJ and GO Chargers!!!

Banana Bread

To start a new chapter in Kristie's Kitchen, I've been using some recipes out of cook books that I got when Nick and I got married.  One in particular, "Bride and Groom Cookbook, from Williams Sonoma" we've had sitting on our island for 2 months and when I have time to cook a well thought out dinner, Nick or myself pick a recipe and we give it a go!

This first one is for Banana Bread.  Now, I LOVE to bring baked goods to work and someone told me this was "the best Freaking Banana Bread I've ever had in my life."


What You'll Need: 

• 1 3/4 Cups Flour
• 2 1/4 TSP Baking Powder
• 3/4 TSP Salt
• 1/3 Cup Butter, @ Room Temperature
• 2/3 Cup Sugar
• 1 TSP Lemon Zest
• 2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/4 Cup Mashed Ripe Banana (about 2 bananas)

Optional: 
1/2 Cups Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Cups Dried Cranberries
*You can also use pecans, dates, or other nuts / dried fruit. Chocolate Chips are also a nice sweet option!

Preheat the Oven to 350, Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 Loaf Pan with Butter
Sift the Flour, baking powder and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat the butter with the sugar and lemon zest, until soft and creamy.
Add 1/3 of the Flour Mixture, stir until fully incorporated.  Repeat until you've added all of the flour.
Mix in the Eggs and Banana until well blended.
Gently fold in the nuts / fruit.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour- or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm with butter, or at room temperature... nick loves his nice and warm right out of the oven!

I love this because it doesn't have a lot of sugar in it.  Its fluffy and delicious!

ENJOY!

Rib Eye Steak w/ Sauteed Apples and Quinoa Salad

A spur of the moment dinner. Using most items I already had in the house, all I needed was to run to the market and grab a Rib Eye Steak!

Steak:
I cooked this on the stove top, since we don't have a BBQ Grill at the moment.  Simply seasoned with fresh minced Garlic, salt and pepper.  Grilled to perfecting in a little bit of Olive Oil.

Quinoa Salad:

• Spinach
• Arugula
• Canned Corn
• Quinoa
• Lemon Juice
• Cheese of your choice

In a salad bowl or plate, mix the Spinach and Arugula, then squeeze 1 lemon on top.  Add warm Quinoa and warm Corn.  Squeeze 1 more lemon on top.  You can top with your favorite cheese: Feta, Goat etc are all delicious!

Sauteed Apples:

• 2 Red Fuji Apples cut into thin wedges
• 2 TBSP Butter cubed and melted
• 1 heaping spoonful of Brown Sugar

Melt the butter into a small frying pan, add sliced apples and cook for about 5 minutes or until apples are soft over medium heat.  Then add in the brown sugar, stiring and cooking for about 3-5 more minutes. Serve while hot.

There you have it! One simple Fabulous meal!!! Enjoy! Serve with warm french bread if you'd like!

Oven Tri Tip with Farro and Veggies

Nick and I don't have a BBQ or a spot to put it.... which is a bummer only if we let it be!!  This is a fabulous way to cook Tri Tip and its just delicious!

Tri Tip: 

Costco, Safeway, Whole Foods, they all sell decent Tri Tips.  We change the marinade every time so its never the same.  I actually can't claim the rights to the marinade--- thats Nick's job and since this is Kristie's Kitchen... so use what you like because I am really bad at making marinades.  Nick usually uses some mixture of: Very Terraki Sauce, Soy Sauce, and spices like salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes etc.  We marinate the day before and let it sit for 24 hours before cooking. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes for medium rare, or 40-45 minutes for a more well done Tip!  Since in my family, we have 1 person who likes it red and another person who likes the tip a little more done, 35 minutes is perfect and I eat the end pieces and Nick gets the center! 

Farro: 

Cook as directed. I buy my Faro at Costco, its cheap and comes in a big bag and lasts forever, a delicious healthy grain with any meal!

Vegetable Meadly:

You can use whatever you have on hand with a little creative seasoning Vegetables are just delicious! Tonight I'm using: 

1. Yellow Onion (1/2 of the onion, chopped)
2. 2 Green Bell Peppers chopped
3. 2 Cups of chopped Crimini Mushrooms

First saute the onion in olive oil until tender, add in bell peppers, saute a bit more than the mushrooms and saute a few more minutes.
Salt, Pepper, and a bit of Soy Sauce are simple and taste great!

Enjoy!

Things my Grandma Taught Me

As I may have said before, probably more than once, my Grandma Dorio has taught me so much in the kitchen- baking especially!!!  Every time I bake something, I think of her and the baking tips she has given me throughout the years. 

Tonight I made a few things: Peach Blueberry Pie - no sugar added.  Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice and Cinnamon Twists!

Peach Blueberry Pie:

• Pie Crust- use your favorite recipe, or the store bought kind.  I cheated tonight and used the store bought kind from Trader Joes. 
• 4 Peaches, skinned and sliced thinly 
• 1-2 Cups of Blueberries 
• 2 Spoonfuls of Cinnamon
• A few dashes of Nutmeg
• A few dashes of ground Cloves 
• A spoonful of Honey

Mix the fruit with the cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. Then add in the honey and mix one more time. Spread the fruit evenly over the bottom layer pie crust and cover with the other crust.  Trim the excess crust and set aside. Press down the edges with a moist fork, and wrap the crust with tin foil (grandma tip!) It keeps the crust from burning.

Bake at 357 for about 1 hour.

Cinnamon Twists:

With the extra pie crust, roll out into a tin layer.  Cut in pie shaped wedges.  Mix in a small bowl some sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Coat the crust with the sugar mixture and roll like a crescent roll.  Bake along side the pie for about 10-15 minutes, or until crunchy,

Now, nothing goes with some good ol pie like fresh squeezed Orange Juice.  This picture is just for fun.  Love my kitchen aid mixer and attachments.  Nick picked out the color after our wedding "it looks so cool, it has the same color and look to it as a TOOL"  love it.