Now that I'm a lawfully wedded wife, I think I signed something somewhere without knowing that said I have to feed my husband every night, because he keeps coming home from work and asking me what's for dinner. (Side note: if your response is wine and Greek yogurt he won't be happy). This Garlic Goddess was used to making lavish one night a week dinners now I have to feed my husband 3-4 times a week (the other nights we order in or go out to dinner). My husband, John is one big carnivore and I am on the verge of being a vegetarian (cured meats and buffalo chicken dip do not count). As I start blogging in our new home I hope you will notice how I try to balance out my leafiness with his meaty-ness, and mange to cook delicious meals that are not too time consuming. Marriage is about compromise so I'll eat some steak and he'll eat an orzo, spinach feta salad and we'll both be satisfied. Which was exactly what was on the menu last night! Along with some lemon roasted asparagus!
The recipe for this dinner is below.
Lemon Roasted Asparagus
1 Bundle of skinny asparagus1 Juice from lemon
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Clean the asparagus, pat dry, and cut off the woody stems. In a flat baking pan with an edge spread the asparagus in a row and drizzle with the fresh lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Depends how crunchy or soft you like your asparagus.
I'm used to cooking for more than two people so I tried to adapt this next recipe for just the two of us (Enzo didn't get any). Although I did end up having a lot left over, it's a perfect lunch or side for the next night.
Besides my husband and dog one of my other loves is spinach and pasta. Since I was cooking a steak with a bleu cheese sauce I wanted something bright and refreshing to go with it. I always try to have a huge bundle of spinach in the fridge and I had some feta too so this recipe was born. There's also a secret ingredient that I'll let you in on.
Orzo, Spinach, Feta Salad
1/2 box orzo3 handfuls of baby spinach
2 handfuls of baby arugula
1 handful of basil
1/3 to 1/2 a cup of feta
1 beef steak tomato
1/3 of a red onion
1/2 cup of olives
3 to 4 tablespoons of Otria Cucumber Dill Feta Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip(secret ingredient)
Quick Vinaigrette
1/3 of a cup of red wine vinegar1 juice from a lemon
1/2 - 1 cup of Olive Oil
Boil heavily salted water for the orzo. *If you want to infuse more flavor into the pasta you can cook it in chicken or vegetable broth.*
While the water is coming to a boil dice the tomato, onion, and chiffonade the spinach basil and arugula.*A chiffonade is done by bunching the leafy greens together into a tight ball, then use a sharp knife to cut across the tight bunch, the closer you cut, the thinner they will be. *
Once everything is chopped put in a large bowl. Cook the pasta according to the instructions so that it is al dente. Once the orzo is drained, toss into the bowl with the chopped vegetables, add the feta, the cucumber dill yogurt dip and olives. Then make the quick vinaigrette and add to the salad and toss. At this time add salt and pepper to taste, chances are the feta and olives have already added enough salt so you may just want to add some pepper. This salad can be severed warm, cold or at room temperature. I like it warmed the best. The Greek yogurt dip adds the perfect amount of creaminess and tang. It is very versatile too, you can add chick peas or garbanzo beans, peppers, mozzarella, even add some grilled shrimp or chicken the possibilities are endless!
Steak with Bleu Cheese Frank's Red Hot Sauce
2 steaks2 tablespoons butter
Olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese
2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Original
2 minced garlic cloves
Fresh cracked pepper
Take the steaks out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Salt liberally while they are resting.
The sauce comes together very quickly and the steaks cook quickly too, so just keep that in mind.
To cook the steaks:
Before placing the steaks in the skillet, press the fresh cracked pepper into both sides of the meat. On medium heat in a skillet, melt the butter and olive oil to coat the pan. As soon as the butter and oil start to turn golden (make sure it doesn't burn!) put the steaks in. Depending on how thick the steaks are for medium rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side. Once they are cooked let them rest on a plate with a tin foil tent for 10 minutes. During this time make the Bleu Cheese Frank's Red Hot sauce.Bleu Cheese Frank's Red Hot Sauce:
On medium heat in a small nonstick skillet add the minced garlic and heavy cream, bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Add in the bleu cheese and stir until cheese melts completely, at this time add a lot of fresh cracked pepper & the Frank's Red Hot. Once the sauce is complete serve on top of the steak.Lunch Time Leftover
As much as I try to eat steak I really don't like it, and there's only so much, in good conscience I can feed Enzo. Therefore, John the carnivore is in luck! I prepared a lunch for him with the leftovers. I had fresh ciabatta rolls, leftover bleu cheese sauce and some arugula. I sliced open a roll, picked some of the excess bread out from the inside (this helps everything you're going to fill it up with stay in place better), spread the bleu cheese sauce on both sides of the bun, thinly sliced the steak and added some arugula.Let's just say he's still emailing me telling me what a great lunch it was!
