filet mignon w/ pepper cream sauce

When I studied in Rome in college, I indulged in amazing Italian food morning, noon and night. However, every once in awhile I'd get a craving for a really awesome steak. There was a small place in Trastevere that served an amazing filet with this creamy peppercorn sauce. I've tried a bunch of recipes that sounded the same, but nothing's been quite as good - until now! This was super easy to do. Here's what you'll need:

• Coarsely crushed black peppercorns
• 2 (6 ounce) beef tenderloin filets, 1 1/2 inches thick
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Place the peppercorns into a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the beef tenderloin filets with salt on both sides, and coat both sides with crushed peppercorns.

Melt the butter with the olive oil over high heat in a non-stick skillet until the foam disappears from the butter. Gently place the steaks in the pan, and cook until they start to become firm and are reddish-pink and juicy in the center, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the steaks to platter, and cover tightly with foil.

Pour the beef broth into the skillet, and use a whisk to stir the broth and scrape up any dissolved brown flavor bits from the skillet. Whisk in the cream, and simmer the sauce until it's reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Place the steaks back in the skillet, turn to coat with sauce, and serve with the remaining sauce.

I made these with roasted red potatoes, and the extra sauce was even amazing on those.

Bon chappétit!

steak w/ farro, tomato & zucchini salad

Some days I just want a steak. It's just a craving I get that I can't resist. I tried a new recipe tonight that let me have steak over a farro salad. I figured maybe that somehow made up for the slab of juicy meat I was about to have? Probably not, but it was still tasty. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 (8 ounce) filet mignon
• 8 ounces farro
• 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• A bunch of basil, chopped
• 1 cup Parmesan
• Salt and pepper

Prepare farro by cooking in salted boiling water for 12 minutes and drain.

While the farro is boiling, season the filet with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with just a splash of oil. Once hot, cook the meat about 2-3 minutes per side (this is for a medium steak, for medium-well or well, let it go a few minutes longer on lower heat). Remove from the skillet the meat rest while the farro finishes.

When the farro is ready, mix it with the remaining ingredients in a serving bowl. Slice the steak right when you are ready to serve. Serve with the sliced filet on top. Perfection.

Bon chappétit!

PS. Ditch the steak and you have a pretty sweet vegetarian dish. Who said my meals weren't versatile?

PPS. I made this for myself - it could easily feed a family of 4.

filet mignon wrapped in bacon

Yes - meat wrapped in meat. What could be better? Dan and I made this back in February, and to date, it's one of our favorite dishes. And like everything else, it's insanely easy. Here's what you'll need:

• 2 filets (~8 oz.)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 slices of bacon

Rub both steaks all over with olive oil. Wrap a slice of bacon around each steak. (Note: Don't use a toothpick to secure the bacon. A friend of Dan's did this and it caught on fire).

Place the steaks on a broiler pan (or you could grill it, if you're lucky enough to have a grill. If you do have a grill, I've just decided to like you slightly less). Place on the highest rack in your oven and broil for 5-7 minutes. Turn the steaks over and sprinkle some shallots on top of each. Broil another 5 minutes. You can cook a little longer, but really, if it's a filet, it should be rare/medium rare. Live a little.

I paired this with some simple seasoned redskin potatoes (cube them, toss them in a bag with olive oil and dry ranch mix and cook for awhile...I don't even know, 20-30 min on 350 degrees would probably do it). And voila! A crazy good meal. The pic above had really bad lighting, but I promise, that steak was amazing.