Hearty Winter Salad with Seared Rib Eye |
Red Angus Organic Rib Eye, L'Autunno Blend EVOO & Berkshire Blue
A hearty salad can be a healthy antidote to the winter blues for those of us in the colder climes. We turned to our friend Gwen Kenneally for just such a salad because she shares our passion for using the freshest, most flavorful, and healthiest ingredients available.
Gwen’s love affair with food started early in life. When she was a small child in Petaluma, California, her mother observed her enjoying her lunch, and said, ”Gwenny, you don’t eat-- you Dine!”
Gwen believes that every meal should be about savoring the pleasure of food, family and friends. She started cooking family recipes as a young child with her grandmothers and great aunts. Later, as an adult in Los Angeles, whenever she shared her culinary creations she was swamped with requests for recipes and started writing them down.
Gwen went on to write a weekly food column and today she runs Back to the Kitchen, a full-service catering and party planning business, and publishes a blog by the same name. By telling her stories of turning culinary nightmares into signature dishes, she hopes that readers will learn from her mistakes and triumphs and gain the confidence to explore their own creative approaches to recipes.
Gwen says of this recipe:
Hands down this is one of my most popular winter salads. The little hint of maple syrup gives it such a cozy flavor perfect for a chilly night. This salad also works well with grilled chicken or seared salmon. When choosing salad greens look for the heartier than usual winter varieties such as romaine, watercress, Bibb, Boston, Integrata Red, Butter head and arugula. Serve it with warm crusty bread.
Ingredients for 4-6 Servings
• 2 12-Ounce Red Angus Rib Eye steaks
• 2 Tablespoons L'Autunno Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preparation
Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a 12-inch heavy ovenproof skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat until hot, then add olive oil, swirling skillet to coat bottom, and cook steaks for 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to a platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5 minutes. Slice thinly on the diagonal.
Meanwhile whisk together:
• 2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Schoolyard Sugarbush Pure Organic Maple Syrup
• 1 Cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ Cup L'Autunno Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh ground pepper
Lightly toss the following ingredients with dressing:
• 10 Cups assorted organic wintergreens
• 3 Ripe pears, cored and sliced
• 6 Ounces Berkshire Blue Cheese, crumbled
Presentation
Arrange lettuces on platter. Place pears and sliced rib eye prettily on top and sprinkle with the Berkshire Blue and fresh ground pepper.
Gwen & Her #1 Protégé
To visit Gwen’s fine blog & gets lots of cooking tips borne of experience, or contact her, go to: Back to the Kitchen
To order a world class, hand-picked olive oil from California's Stella Cadente, and our favorite, go to: L'Autunno Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil
If you'd like to purchase flavorful, premium & safe Red Angus Rib Eye from Damar Farms in Wisconsin go to: Organic Red Angus Rib Eye Steaks
To purchase a mouth-watering, award-winning blue cheese from Massachusetts go to: Berkshire Blue
To purchase some superb Schoolyard Sugarbush Organic Maple Syrup from the Weed family in Upstate New York go to: 100% Pure Organic Maple Syrup
Comments
Wow - this truly sounds like a sensational dish. I am a little afraid of cooking steak myself, but Gwen makes it sound pretty simple.
I am definitely going to try this recipe.
Posted by: MaxMillion | February 25, 2009 01:38 PM
p.s. Are you sure this serves two persons?! More like 4-6 people, I would have thought...
Posted by: MaxMillion | February 25, 2009 01:41 PM
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and spotting our error. You are right, it should have said 4-6 servings. It got by 2 of us here, but we made the change.
Posted by: Jeff Deasy | February 25, 2009 05:23 PM