This is a win-win EASY half-make-ahead special dinner. I love those! You get credit for taking the time to make something special for someone special.  But why suffer to do it?

Picture it: The messy work is all done… cheesy delicious pillowy gnocchi, lovingly made with your own two hands, are waiting for you in the freezer, the rest of the meal is all prepped and ready to go, seasoned steaks mellowing on the counter. You are rested and have only about 20-30 minutes of cooking ahead of you. Then sit down to rosemary steaks, wine, praise and accolades… what more could you possibly need?

Tips

Simple foods made from simple ingredients are usually the best! However, your finished meal is only as good as the quality of the ingredients you use. A dinner made from grass-fed beef and butter and unbleached organic flour is just going to taste better (as well as be better for you) than lesser quality ingredients. Protein is a wise place to splurge. You can make up for it by incorporating Meatless Mondays. 🙂

If you want, you can save money on wine. No need to buy the most expensive, but you should use wine that you would actually drink. I always keep a couple bottles of Whole Foods Three Wishes… four bucks and great for cooking!

How to temp your Steak

If you have a meat thermometer, your steak will be rare at 125-130 degrees, medium-rare (most tender) at 130-140, medium at 140-150, medium-well at 150-155, and well-done at 160-212.

You can also judge doneness just by feel. Here’s how!

A little trick to determine doneness… from Beef and Lamb.com.au

• Rare steaks. Make a circle with your index finger and thumb, press the ball on the palm side of your thumb. Steaks with the same soft texture will be rare.
• Medium-rare steaks. Make a circle with your middle finger and thumb, press the ball of thumb. Steaks with the same soft and springy feel will be medium rare.
• Medium steaks. Make a circle with your ring finger and thumb, press the ball of thumb. Steaks with the same springy feel will be medium.
• Well done steaks. Make a circle with your little finger and thumb, press the ball of thumb. Steaks with the same firm feeling will be well done.

Rosemary Steaks, with Goat Cheese Gnocchi, and Fresh Asparagus

Do Aheads

Make and freeze your goat cheese gnocchi in advance. Find simple instructions here.

The day before (or even earlier in the same day), purchase and prep all your ingredients, including pesto, so that you can put it all on the table quickly when you are ready to serve.

The night of…

Season your steaks and allow them to come to room temperature, while you prepare the rest of your meal and set your table.

In a skillet, place asparagus (tough ends cut away) with water to lightly steam. Allow water to cook off and add a bit of butter of olive oil to lightly brown them, if desired. Do not overcook. Just cook them until they are tender-crisp, then set them aside, tented to keep them warm. Rinse out your pan to use for steaks.

Do not remove gnocchi from the freezer until you are ready to quickly cook them. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in a few frozen gnocchi dumplings at a time, being careful that they stay separated. They will cook on the bottom of the pot for a few minutes. When they float to the top, continue cooking for 1-2 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon. Toss with pesto or sauce. Keep warm.

If your steaks are thick, preheat oven to 350°.

For your steaks, heat about 1-2 T oil in your skillet. When pan is hot, add your steaks. They should sizzle. (Do not crowd the pan. Cook one at a time, washing out pan in between steaks, if needed) Do not move steak until it browns and releases on its own.

Seriously, can you see that sizzle? Can you hear it? Can you smell it? Mmmm

When the first side is nicely browned, flip it and brown the other side. If you cooked your steak quickly, it should still be a nice medium-rare. If you have thick steaks, and want it to cook a little further, place them in the oven to continue cooking to desired doneness.

Set steaks aside, tented with foil. Allow them to rest.

If there is excess oil in the pan, pour that off and discard. Add shallots to the pan and cook for just a few minutes until they are tender.

Add wine – preferably with the skillet moved off the heat so as to not start a fire. Deglaze the pan, scraping up all those yummy bits from the bottom.

Cook wine until it is reduced by at least half and alcohol is cooked off. Add a pat of butter to finish the sauce.

Plate your meal with sauce under or over steak and gnocchi piled up on top.

Rosemary Steaks, with Goat Cheese Gnocchi, and Fresh Asparagus

No need to slave over a hot stove all day. Make your gnocchi in advance, so you can pan fry steaks and pull everything together quickly for a delicious special dinner for two.

Ingredients:

• Two steaks – filet mignon if you prefer a lighter meal
• rosemary, enough to sprinkle over steak
• cooking oil (I like coconut oil)
• 1 T shallots, diced
• 1 cup red wine (anything you would drink)
• 1 T butter
• gnocchi, frozen in advance – recipe here
• pesto, either a prepared pesto or make your own – earthy kale pesto recipe here
• fresh asparagus spears (tough ends cut off and discarded)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• optional: bread, salad, wine, anything you like

The night before… gnocchi can be made well in advance, if you like… 

Make and freeze your cheesy gnocchi. Directions here. You can use a delicious purchased prepared pesto, or you can make your own simple pesto the night before. Directions here.

The night of:

Season your steaks generously with salt, pepper, and rosemary (we like a lot of pepper). Set steaks aside, allowing them to come to room temperature, while you prepare the rest of your meal.

In a skillet, on medium-high temperature, place asparagus with a little water to cook. Allow water to cook off and add a bit of butter of olive oil to lightly brown them, if desired. Do not overcook. Just cook them until they are tender-crisp, then set them aside, tented to keep them warm. Rinse out your pan to use for steaks.

Do not remove gnocchi from the freezer until you are ready to quickly cook them. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in a few frozen gnocchi dumplings at a time, being careful that they stay separated. They will cook on the bottom of the pot for a few minutes. When they float to the top, continue cooking for 1-2 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon. Toss with pesto or sauce. Keep warm.

If your steaks are thick, preheat oven to 350°.

For your steaks, heat about 1-2 T oil in your skillet. When pan is hot, add your steaks. They should sizzle. (Do not crowd the pan. Cook one at a time, washing out pan in between steaks, if needed) Do not move steak until it browns and releases on its own. When the first side is nicely browned, flip it and brown the other side. If you cooked your steak quickly, it should still be a nice medium-rare. If you have thick steaks, and want it to cook a little further, place them in the oven to continue cooking to desired doneness.

Set steaks aside, tented with foil. Allow them to rest.

If there is excess oil in the pan, pour that off and discard. Add shallots to the pan and cook for just a few minutes until they are tender. Add wine – preferably with the skillet moved off the heat so as to not start a fire. Deglaze the pan, scraping up all those yummy bits from the bottom. Cook wine until it is reduced by at least half and alcohol is cooked off. Add a pat of butter to finish the sauce.

Plate your meal with sauce under or over steak and gnocchi piled up on top.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

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