Beef Medallions with Caramelized Tomato Mushroom Pan Sauce

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef tenderloin, trimmed, cut into 8 (4-ounce) medallions
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 sliced fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/3 cup Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Directions:

1.Season beef medallions with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

2.Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat. Cook beef until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Remove beef to a warm plate.

3.Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir mushrooms, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, olive oil, and a pinch of salt in the skillet until mushrooms are very well browned about 10 minutes.

4.Mix in tomato sauce; cook and stir until tomato sauce thickens about 5 minutes.

5.Pour in Marsala wine and increase heat to high. Cook, scraping browned bits from bottom of skillet. Once most of the wine has evaporated, stir in broth and bring to a boil; cook and stir until broth mixture has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

6.Reduce heat to low and return beef to broth mixture; simmer until beef is cooked to medium-rare, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer beef to serving plates.

7.Remove skillet from heat. Cook and stir 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and oregano into the sauce until butter melts. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

8.Spoon sauce over beef and serve immediately.

Cherry Tomato, Basil, and Feta Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
1 pinch red pepper flakes
9 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon very thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
olive oil
1 pinch sea salt

Directions:

1.Beat eggs and red pepper flakes together in a bowl. Stir tomatoes, feta, and basil leaves into egg mixture.

2.Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat until oil starts to shimmer. Pour egg mixture into hot oil and cook, without stirring, for 5 seconds.

3.Cook and stir egg mixture until eggs are scrambled and softly set, about 30 seconds. Transfer eggs to a plate and sprinkle with sea salt.

Sherry Braised Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, cut into
1/2-inch pieces 3 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
salt and ground black pepper to taste
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
1 bay leaf
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dry sherry
1-quart beef broth

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned about 10 minutes. Transfer crisped bacon with a slotted spoon to a Dutch oven. Retain bacon drippings in the skillet.

3.Generously season short ribs with salt and pepper.

4.Heat bacon drippings in the same skillet over high heat. Cook short ribs in hot bacon fat until browned and caramelized on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer ribs to the Dutch oven, reserving drippings in the skillet. Add thyme and bay leaf to the ribs mixture.

5.Reduce heat under the same skillet to medium. Cook and stir onion in the skillet until soft and golden, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

6.Whisk flour into onion mixture and stir until the mixture becomes paste-like and light golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes.

7.Pour sherry into onion mixture; cook until thick and hot, about 2 minutes. Pour onion-sherry mixture into a Dutch oven; add beef broth and salt to taste. Bring ribs mixture to a simmer and cover the Dutch oven with a lid.

8.Transfer Dutch oven to the preheated oven and cook until short ribs are fork tender, about 2 hours. Remove ribs to a serving dish, reserving sauce in the pot.

9.Set Dutch oven high heat and boil sauce until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Spoon reduced sauce over ribs.

Salmon with Warm Sweet Corn and Bacon Relish

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ears white corn
1/4 cup chopped green onions - white and light green parts separated from green tops
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 (8 ounces) center-cut boneless salmon fillets
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 cup fresh spinach leaves (optional)

Directions:

1.Preheat an outdoor grill (preferably charcoal) for high heat and lightly oil the grate.

2.Place bacon in a skillet over medium heat and cook until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.

3.Cut kernels from corn ears into a large bowl using a sharp knife held at a 45-degree angle. Scrape cobs with the back of the knife into the bowl to get the juices.

4.Stir white and light green parts of green onions into bacon and add red bell pepper; cook and stir until vegetables just start to become tender, about 2 minutes. Stir corn into bacon mixture and let corn just warm through. Season with salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, a few chopped dark green onion tops, olive oil, and rice vinegar. Turn off the heat under relish.

5.Spread vegetable oil onto both sides of salmon fillets and season fish with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

6.Cook on preheated grill until fish shows good grill marks, the flesh flakes easily, and fish is still slightly pink in the center, about 5 minutes per side. A crack that opens up in the salmon flesh as you cook will let you see how done the salmon is in the middle.

7.Divide spinach leaves onto 2 plates and top each with a salmon fillet and half the bacon relish. Sprinkle on a few green onion tops for garnish.

Smashed Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

2 English cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds total weight)
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 garlic cloves, finely crushed
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
(or regular rice vinegar with an extra pinch of salt and sugar)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
red pepper flakes, to taste
toasted sesame seeds to garnish

Directions:

1.Rinse cucumbers and pat dry. Cut crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.

2.On a work surface, place a piece of cucumber (or several) cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife flat on top the cucumber and smash down lightly with your other hand. The skin will begin to crack, the flesh will break down and the seeds will separate. Repeat until the whole piece is smashed. Break or slice diagonally into bite-size pieces, leaving the seeds behind.

3.Place the cucumber pieces in a strainer and toss with a big pinch of salt and a big pinch of sugar. Place a plastic bag filled with ice on top of the cucumbers to serve as a weight and place the strainer over a bowl. Let drain 15 to 30 minutes on the counter, or in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.

4.Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar and rice vinegar. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in sesame oil and soy sauce.

5.When ready to serve, shake cucumbers well to drain off any remaining liquid and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with grapeseed or olive oil and toss. Add half the dressing, half the garlic and the red pepper flakes to taste, and toss. Keep adding dressing until cucumbers are well coated but not drowned. Taste and add more pepper flakes and garlic if needed. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds.

Crispy Seared Salmon Fillet

Ingredients:

2 (3 ounce) fillets salmon, with skin sea salt to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1.Rinse the salmon fillets and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels; season with sea salt.

2.Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

3.Gently lay the salmon into the hot oil with the skin side facing up and cook until the flesh side is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes; turn and continue cooking until the skin side is slightly browned, about 5 minutes more. Remove the salmon from the skillet, allowing any oil to drain from the fish back into the pan.

4.Remove the skin from the salmon fillets; fry the skin in the oil remaining in the skillet until crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the crispy skin with the salmon.

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